The World of Shadows of the Apt

Ant, Wasp, Dragonfly, Beetle¹ - these are the tribes of people known as the kinden, each with their Ancestor totem that shapes their identity and gives them otherworldly powers.

Before history was written, before the first cities, the great insects swept the world and devoured people and beasts alike. It was the end of their world.

Desperate to survive, some people found the ability to understand and commune with the insects.

A pact was made. Those who joined the tribes of the insects were given powerful gifts. It was the start of their new world.

The Gifts of the Insects

The Ancestors - insect² totems - bestow powers on the kinden, their human tribes.

Ancestor Art
The intrinsic powers of a totem, and part of the tribe's identity.

Magic
The ability of some kinden to twist the framework of reality to their own ends.

Aptitude
The ability to work within the framework of reality to invent mechanisms, machines, and technology.

These gifts are not spread equally. All possess at least some of their totem's Ancestor Art. But, those kinden strong in Magic usually cannot use the technology of Aptitude, and kinden bestowed with Aptitude are usually insensitive to and cannot use Magic. Kinden who can use technology are known as Apt, and kinden who cannot - but who can use Magic - are known as Inapt.

Ancestor Art, Magic, and Aptitude are all facets of the same primal power; in manifestation, though, they are distinct.

Ancestor Art

Their insect totems give their kinden Ancestor Art. A kinden's Art has philosophical roots in the essence of their Ancestor:³

• Kinden with flying totems (Flies, Wasps, Bees, Dragonflies, etc.) are able to fly on shimmering wings.
• Strong and robust totems such as Beetles give their kinden endurance and strength.
• Those totems with natural weapons (Wasps, Bees, Spiders, etc.) grant their kinden fearsome weapons of their own.
• Social totems such as Ants have Art-bestowed linking of minds.
• Totems that live and hunt at night give their kinden, such as the Moths, Art to see in the dark.

At first Ancestor Art seemed like a kind of Magic, but as the tribes settled into their identities and kinden were born with the Art all around them, it came to be accepted simply as part of everyday life.

People do not possess Ancestor Art as infants. All kinden teach their children the meditation techniques that develop the Art; it appears roughly with adolescence. Some seem natural exemplars of their totem, showing facility and strength with their Art powers. Others need to work harder to develop their Art. The core Arts of a kinden exist within all their people, but not everyone is able to attain all of the powers that flow from their Ancestor.

Magic

Magic is "simply" taking a basic understanding of the fabric of reality, and... twisting, folding, reshaping, or tearing it. Some of this twisting can be done easily and quickly; this looks like a single person casting a spell for a perhaps surprising but short lived or minor effect. Other kinds of reality shaping takes longer, requiring hours or days of concentration, sometimes with multiple people involved.

Some centuries ago, kinden that were easy and powerful wielders of Magic ruled the world. Now, Apt kinden such as Ants, Beetles, and Wasps are the rising powers in the world due to the military might of their Aptitude-developed machines.

For generations the Apt have held the opinion that Magic is the stuff of mythology, essentially frightening tales used to keep slaves in line. They are wrong. Some Magic-capable kinden have withdrawn from the larger world, and gone through a period of introspection as they deal with their losses in status and power due to the rise of the Apt. They are now experiencing something of a reawakening.

Some consider Magic a dark practice, bordering on evil in some cases and nefarious in all cases. Those historically strong in Magic tend to appreciate its benefits without concerning themselves about the moral panic of others.

Only the Inapt can wield Magic⁴. Apt kinden have an innate disbelief in Magic. Even when faced with the evidence of seeing Magic take place, all but the most sensitive Apt kinden will simply explain it away as some kind of as yet unknown natural phenomenon or artifice.

Aptitude

Aptitude is roughly, although not precisely, the opposite of Magic. It is the ability to create, invent, and use technology. The definition of Aptitude seems to require a description of the Inapt, those kinden who cannot make use of the creations of the Apt.

An Inapt person seeing a crossbow - having its purpose and operation explained to them - could grasp the fact that it hurls a bolt with power and speed. However, they would be unable to use it, and unable to perceive or reason about the principles of its operation. It would be an annoying, nonsensical, opaque chunk of wood and metal. The same would be true of things as simple as doorknobs or as complex as steam or clockwork engines.

Given what Aptitude is not, it is perhaps simpler to see what it is. Apt kinden are able to create or invent clever devices, processes, and fantasy science that enable Apt artificers to create technology both wondrous and terrifying. Artifice, the practice of Apt creation, is a bit steampunk and a bit Tim Burton.

Aptitude is, somewhat, the Magic of the Apt.

The Mythras game system, rules, etc. are copyright The Design Mechanism.

All of Adrian Tchaikovsky's literature, stories, etc. are copyright Adrian Tchaikovsky.

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