Menstriae

One who, unlike a psionist, learns to use psionic energy through special metallic headbands and concentration.

Power of the Mind

Every mind generates psionic energy, which is the nommic essence of thought. It is the part of the mind, the brain that engages in active thought, in logic and reason, in consideration, in imagination, in learning. But most people do not know how to harness that power, do not know how to extend it beyond the realm of their bodies. Some are born with the ability to wield their psionic energy, but most must learn how and use the appropriate tools.

Training and Concentration

To wield psionic energy, one must be rigorously trained (unless one is born a psionist, in which case these powers come naturally - though they still require training to use them carefully). Most who learn how start early, recruited for their apparent ability to focus singularly on one thing. Meditation, concentration exercises, memory exercises, and logic puzzles are part of the early training. Later, they are trained via mental exercises that require that they try to affect the world outside their mind with their mind, to move things without touch or to read the mind of another. The first sign of psionic skill is a spark generated from the mind onto a piece of metal, usually a metal headband provided to encourage such activity.

Emotional Interference

As thoughts and emotions are often indistinguishable, emotional resonance and psionic energy are often difficult to separate. Menstriaes must practice this extensively in order to wield their psionic energy at full strength. Mostly this means maintaining control of oneself in spite of strong emotions like anger, love, or desire.

Externalization

After the initial spark, training takes place over the course of many years. On average, it takes about 15 years for someone to gain basic psionic ability (two to three psionic skills with scores above 8). For professional level psionic skill, it takes about 25 years (three to four psionic skills with scores above 11). Basic psionic ability is gauged by how well a menstriae can externalize their psionic energy, thus projecting their mental power outside their body. The two most common skills are mind-reading and telekinesis.

Once they can successfully externalize their power, they must practice the many specific skills of psionic science. Most have a limited range and must decide between sharpening skills or extending range, as they do not have time and capacity to do both. Thus, there are weaker menstriaes who can read minds vaguely at great distances and sharper ones who can read them perfectly if very close. Because of issues of range, it is much easier to wield psionic energy directly from the mind and out of the head, rather than channeling it through other parts of the body, which weakens it. Regardless of how they do it, they must have an unaligned metal tool to wield it at all.

Psionic Abilities

For more information on different psionic abilities, see psionics. Some common psionic abilities a menstriae can learn include

• Telepathy: sending mental information to another or reading the mind of another. Essentially, this is extending one's awareness and thoughts outside their body. This includes mind-reading, sensing thoughts of others, sending messages, and altering the mental processes of another.
• Telekinesis: moving objects outside of the body with the power of the mind. This includes interacting with other energies as well as physical objects
• Teleaspidis: shielding and masking one's own mind or the minds of others.
• Teleapothikefsis: storage and transferral of raw data, information, or skills.

Hive-Mind

In Psyara, all psionists and menstriaes are connected via a massive hive mind centered on an autocratic leader. All minds are connected, information and communications flow freely and openly between minds, and everyone is happy.

Inventory

The only implement a menstriae needs is a metal headband. The kinds of metal affect the psionic energy differently.

Headbands

Headbands are usually custom-fitted for the individual, with narrow arms that rest on the ears and a broader section to cover the entire forehead. Sometimes they are studded with gems or glass.

Metals

The metals that best work for the headbands are those that respond to psionic energy and those that are unaligned (or as unaligned as possible, considering all metals have some aether in them).

• Apoium: a shebvic metal that is often used because it neutralizes aligned energies near the menstriae.
• Caebewean: uranium. radioactive. not used often because it causes cancer, but very potent as a conductor of psionic energy. Also contains possibility.
• Cobalt: a strong metal that can allow the menstriae to filter out emotional resonance.
• Coltan: a strong metal useful for making connections, thus good for telepathy.
• Complex metal: one of the best metals for headbands, it is a liquid metal that only conforms to headband form for strong menstriaes.
• Copper: the commonest metal used for headbands due to its complete neutrality.
• Cuprum: a shebvic metal that works best if the menstriae's mind is very ordered and logical.
• Gezackt: very difficult to use, but transfers skills better than most metals.
• Gold: not as good as copper, zinc, or steel, but often used as a status symbol.
• Hydrargyrum: a liquid metal that does not stop moving, very difficult to mold, but for those with fast, unfocused minds it responds well.
• Jidhiry: a potent ethereal metal that allows for interpersonal psionic connections best.
• Magnacopper: another metal that works best for ordered, logical minds.
• Mahavyanite: one of the finest metals for headbands, it helps with information exchanges.
• Mercury: a liquid metal that reacts well to quick minds.
• Mufambite: a much more potent version of mercury.
• Oneirium: a metal that reacts to unconscious thoughts, thus enhancing menstriaes' abilities.
• Plumbum: a potent metal for subtle thoughts and masking mental processes from others.
• Quickchrome: a liquid metal that molds to those whose minds are attuned to their souls.
• Quickcobalt: a liquid metal that molds to those who seek to steal thoughts.
• Quickcopper: a liquid metal that molds to those who keep their thoughts secret.
• Quickelectrum: a liquid metal that heightens the synapses and neurons of a mind.
• Quickgold: a liquid metal that allows for transferral of skills better than any other.
• Quickpalladium: a liquid metal that molds to the minds of those who have extremely analytic minds.
• Quickplatinum: the most potent of all metals for headbands, it reacts to psionic energy and gives major bonuses to wielding them.
• Quicksilver: a liquid metal that molds to those who have quick minds.
• Quickwolfram: a liquid metal that allows for prescience.
• Quickzinc: a liquid metal that molds to those with strong wills.
• Ruddy copper: a potent form of copper gives small boosts to the menstriae as they use it.
• Silver: potent for headbands (or any esoteric usage).
• Spinter: a form of zinc that stores extra psionic energy.
• Steel: completely neutral and often used.
• Tin/living tin: commonly used by those who want to exchange information.
• Tutanego: a form of zinc that absorbs energies at a high rate.
• Vysolite/living vysolite: a metal that is useful for altering the thoughts of others.
• Yasada: a form of zinc that allows for mental connections easier.
• Zinc: a common metal good for storing or filtering energies.

Gemstones

Agates and fidelamicuan can channel psionic energy extremely well.

Variations

Some variations include

• Agbasbasa: carnival workers who use weak psionics to perform telepathic tricks.
• Baiulus: those who use their telekinetic powers to pilot ships. These are a favored profession in Psyara and considered elite in the military and in commerce.
• Bestial cor: those who seek mental connections to animals. These are very rare and considered very strange. Success is rare as well.
• Circumcontis: one who uses their telepathic and telekinetic abilities to play theremin. These are often patroned by the ruling class of Psyara.
• Dirunarius: menstriaes who use their powers to investigate thought crimes. These are distrusted even in Psyara.
• Ludusite: those menstriaes who work on the Puzzle of Thoughts. These are an important, hermetic group in Psyara with their own closed off place in the hive-mind.
• Mentat: psionic spies. Elite agents of the Vater.
• Mentologer: a psionic scholar, archivist, and historian.
• Pullulant: those who seek mental connections to plants. As weird and rare as bestial cors, but with even less success.
• Relatoris: those who use their psionic abilities through television.
• Upplysingafulltrui: those who use psionic abilities, usually telepathy, in communications work.
• Verto: those who entertain via telepathic abilities on stage, especially oratory.

Specializations

Many menstriaes focus on specific psionic skills:

• Telekine: those who wield telekinesis, often for partcular purposes (building, art, combat).
• Telepath: those who wield telepathy long distance to send messages.

Matermens

Women of Psyara who connect to a special part of the hive-mind that is only for non-men.

Militus

The army of Psyara has a hive-minded web of psionists and menstriaes who are controlled by a central telepathic mastermind who is a master strategist. They wield spears via telekinesis and are extremely powerful infantry.

Similar Occupations

Other users of psionic energy:

• Cerebral: those who wield unaligned forms and aligned forms of psionic powers.
• Consilium: those who think only of god.
• Liberligans: book-binders who imbue their work with psionic energy.
• Mai tunani: writers who use psionic energy to make their words more understandable, common in central Taggarus.
• Vater: the psionic mastermind at the center of the hive-mind.

Societal Role

See Psyara for the full details of how menstriaes are seen in psionist societies. The short version is that anyone not born a psionist is seen as lesser. In other societies, menstriaes are distrusted, as their powers allow them access to people's private thoughts. Though most menstriaes are uninterested in private thoughts, the stigma is pervasive, especially since some are groomed in powerful class societies to be agents of secret police, spy networks, or political or military forces.

Skills

Some common skills include

• Teaching
• Research
• Meditation
• Cold reading
• Mathematics
• Analysis
• Investigation

Stats

Modiifers from base of nation/species

PRO -1
ATH -2
STR -3
AWA +4
WIL +4
STH /
PRS -1