Hysh

Hysh is the magic of illumination and holy radiance. It is the Aethyric manifestation of light, and the abstracts light sometimes represents to mortals, like enlightenment and purity. Hysh is the light that banishes darkness and keeps terror from your doorstep. Although diffuse and difficult to manipulate, Hysh is constant and steady luminence, completely opposite of Chaos's randomness.

Hysh has many potent applications, in healing, protection, and the banishment of evil. The Magisters of the Order of Light - or Hierophants, as they prefer to be known - are among the most disciplined of wizards, and the most obstinate foes of Chaos.

The color of Hysh is white.

White Magic
The nature of the White Order’s magic is as hard to pin down as the magic that forms and drives it. The spells of the White Order tend to fall into three general groups: illumination, protection or healing, and abjuration.

Illumination
These spells fall into two sub-categories: those of actual illumination (as in the creation of dazzling lights and so on) and the illumination of the mind (such as the ability to inspire or see through falsehoods). Hierophants are renowned for their mastery of light and brightness, and they are said to be able to bend any kind of luminance to their will in almost any way.

Where the Pyromancers of the Bright Order create bright, burning fireballs and walls of flame, the Hierophants are able to concentrate light into a tightly focused destructive force, which, although more limited than the destructive powers of the Pyromancer, is far more controllable and able to be directed because of it.

Healing & Protection
The Order of Light teaches the importance of the sanctity of existence and possesses a great wealth of spells dedicated to healing injuries and protection. This drive to heal and protect is geared more towards the preservation of the spiritual being of intelligent and sentient life, rather than a mortal’s body, which is more the concern of the Magisters of Ghyran. Because of this, Hierophants are generally peaceful and non-violent, but they are not total pacifists like the sisters of Sweet Shallya. Against the creatures and servants of Chaos and Dark Magic, the Hierophants are utterly ruthless, as devoid of compassion as they are of hate or fury for these creatures.

To the Hierophants, the minds and souls of Chaos servants are filled with darkness, and the creatures’ natural luminance has dimmed or has been extinguished altogether. And so, the Hierophants do not view such beings worthy of the gift of life and consciousness.

Abjuration
The abjuration practiced by Hierophants of the White Order isn’t about summoning spirits and various Aethyric beings but is instead a form of extremely powerful and dependable exorcism. Where the exorcism practised by the priests of Sigmar or Mórr relies on invoking the God in question and the supreme faith of the exorcising priest, the exorcism practiced by the Hierophants relies upon their ability to focus the searing light of Hysh into the possessed person, driving the offending entity into the light of day.

However, the magic of Hysh has very limited success exorcising the spirits of dead people not overly tainted with Dark Magic. If Hysh is the light that banishes the darkness, it cannot banish a soul that is already luminescent, just lost. Daemons and spirits of the blackest magic, like wraiths, are another matter. The great Hierophants of the White Order are able to drive these creatures back to the darkness of the Chaos Realm.

Controlling Hysh
Because Hysh is the subtlest of all the Winds of Magic, it requires the total focus of will and an absolute determination of mind to channel and bind it into a spell. Hysh is the most difficult of all the fragmented colours of magic to bend to one’s will. For this reason, the spells binding Hysh tend to be very elaborate and ritualistic, meaning that the Lore of Light is the hardest lore for a Human to master.

Master Hierophants combine the abilities of their Apprentices to draw upon the White Wind and focus it into a usable form that can be drawn into the Hierophants and channelled and sculpted by them into a spell. Many Light spells are so powerful they would obliterate any individual who tried to use them unaided. However, using the strength of a choir of trained Apprentices to control how much energy is focussed into the Hierophant and how quickly, Magisters of the White Order can create enchantments far beyond the powers of the other Colleges. However, not all spells of the Hierophants require the aid of Apprentices, only the most powerful or convoluted spells of the Order.