Psionics

To one extent or another, every human and demihuman on Athas has psionic powers. Most people are wild talents, with only one power that they have learned to use by trial and error. But anyone can harness their psionic powers through careful practice and study, and every city has at least one training hall dedicated to teaching "the way of the mind." Many warriors, templars, and sorcerers have attended these academies and developed powerful psionic abilities in addition to their normal talents.     Psionic powers are not magic. The user focuses his effort inward rather than outward, drawing upon natural forces that infuse his own being rather than those that imbue the world around him. Thus, the widespread use of such mental abilities does not further- enhance the degradation of our battered Athas.     From the lowliest slave to the most powerful sorcerer-king, psionics pervade all levels of Athasian society. Virtually every individual has some mental ability, although in many the true strength of their psionic potential remains unrealized.     Each culture values its psionic members. To the raiding tribes, individuals with clairvoyance are especially useful for locating targets. The nomads, for example, value an individual who can pinpoint the band's position in the desert.     Psionic powers are not always beneficial. They tend to be destabilizing and turbulent. There are always thieves who will use their psychokinesis to steal the property of a fellow tribesmen, and power hungry nobles who send assassins trained in psycho-metabolism to murder their rivals. Rebellious subjects can always find a use for nearly any psionic ability, and in seemingly peaceful villages, many sordid and disgraceful acts are carried out behind curtains of psionic deception.     Considering the potential psionic offer powers for amassing power and wealth, it should not surprise you that most cities have at least one school devoted to the Way~of the Mind. These schools are run by masters of the psionic arts, often with the stated purpose of helping the individual better understand his own potential and the responsibilities it entails. In reality, they are usually expensive academies for the sons and daughters of the wealthy, designed to develop the student's psionic powers to their full potential - with the explicit goal of gaining an advantage over their political rivals in later life. It is no wonder that, in many cities, such school are carefully licensed by the sorcerer-king. Sometimes, they are even banned altogether, though this merely forces the schools to disguise themselves and does nothing to eliminate them.     Psionics has often been called a great equalizer in the brutal world of Athas, for it gives even the most physically weak individual a chance to compete and survive. If anything can compensate for the gradual deterioration of our world s vital energies, it will be the power of the mind.