Landsong

By Daniel Mitchell (tempest@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au) for the Wandjina

Description

Landsong is the art of reading and receiving aid from the land itself. It is known only by the Wandjina, who teach it through the use of pictograms because of their inability to speak. This unusual method of teaching makes it harder for non-Dreamsinger kiths to learn the Art (all castings at +1 difficulty). This art is commonly used to aid the Wandjina in their roamings and guiding.

Attribute: Perception

* Wind's Whisper

Although the Wandjina have no mouths, some people have reported that the Wandjina have spoken to them. All sources consulted say that the voice of a Wandjina is very faint, almost a whisper carried by a gentle wind. All these incidents of the Wandjina "speaking" are a result of this cantrip.

System: Actor and Fae are the usual realms, but Nature or Prop can be used to make the voice come from an object. Each success allows the Wandjina to speak one sentence in a faint whisper -- five allows this effect to last for a whole scene.

** Dreamer's Compass

This cantrip allows the Wandjina to locate any object, person or place that he has seen or knows of. The Wandjina use this cantrip to assist those that they guide, so that they may unerringly guide their charges to their destinations.

System: Any realm is used for this cantrip, depending on what the Wandjina is to guide his charges to. The more successes the Wandjina gains, the faster and more unerring the Wandjina can locate the destination or person.

*** See The Heart's Eye

This cantrip allows the Wandjina to gaze into the eyes of another person and see her memories. Such memories are usually projected onto the face of the Wandjina, so that the target can also see what the Wandjina sees. Use of this cantrip is rare unless the Wandjina suspects the motives of any of his charges.

System: Actor and Fae are usually used, but Nature can be used to see into animals. Each success gained can be spent in one of two ways:

• Each success can be spent to ask one question -- if the subject remembers the answer, the memory of said answer is shared with the Wandjina.
  
  
• Successes may also be spent to add other sensory information. All memories are visual as a base -- each success spent adds one other sense.

The memory is not only seen by the Wandjina; it is also projected onto the face of the Wandjina so that the subject can see what the Wandjina sees. This ability can penetrate memories disguised by magical means (Fugue, Mists of Memory, Depths of Will etc), but the difficulty is increased by half the number of successes gained on the casting of the disguising influence, rounded down.

**** Restful Dreaming

This cantrip allows the Wandjina to implant dreams into the mind of a target. The dreams are generally another way of the Wandjina to guide the travellers to their destination and is usually used when the Wandjina must depart the travellers for some reason for a time, or to set up a meeting place. The target will dream of the place until it is reached.

System: This is similar to Dreamtime Compass, in that the realm used is dependent on what the destination is. The more successes the Wandjina gains, the clearer the dream is.

***** Reshape the Spirits

This cantrip allows the Wandjina to temporarily warp the shape of an object or person. This cantrip does not allow shapechanging -- only alteration of the current shape. Thus, a tree could be made to bend over and provide shelter, but could not be made to become a bush. It is very rare for non-Dreamsinger kith to see this ability, as it is kept as secret as possible by the Wandjina.

System: Prop and Nature are the usual realms used, however Actor and Fae can be used to warp people and Scene can be used to warp multiple objects. Successes may be spent on either the degree of warping or the duration, and multiple castings are cumulative.

Successes	Amount of warp	Duration
1	Insignificant warp (a branch may bend a little out of the way; a rock could be made smoother)	1 turn
2	Noticeable warp (a branch could be made to bend down so that others could climb on; rocks can be made soft enough to leave footprints if stepped on)	1 minute
3	Large warp (a hole/cleft/small cave could be made in a tree, rock or ground while a large object was pressed through)	1 hour
4	Very large warp (a tree could be made to bend backward if pushed; a rock could be reshaped to make a large cave)	1 day
5	Immense warp (a tree could be reshaped into a dwelling; a rock could be made to act like water)	1 week