Wabeno

Esoteric jugglers who use kakraohy, the energy of learning and using skills. They juggle special clubs that allow them to move this Damaskian power.

Figgum

Figgum is the art of esoteric juggling. It is the skill of juggling skills, of suspending on skill in order to use another, defeating the mortal limitations one might have in learning and keeping skills by removing some temporarily, and by transfering skill in one thing into being skill in another.

One Skill Is All Skills

The idea is that if one can learn one skill, then the act of learning has input into one's mind and body simply some essence of skill that can be converted to knowledge of another. To learn to juggle, therefore, is to learn literally all skills, if one is willing to temporarily know less about juggling and more about, say, calculating the slope of a curve or mixing cocktails or writing poetry. The one limitation is that they must be physically or metaphysically capable of it - a wabeno cannot draw the skill of flying from a bird unless they have wings to use.

Juggling

First, one must learn to juggle. The mundane way. This is less difficult than it seems, unless one has to figure it out without the right equipment. Once one can juggle to a certain degree (usually maintaining five clubs in a basic pattern), one can begin the meditative process to sensing the inner resource that is raw skill rather than specific skill.

Tegelek

Tegelek is the term for the "circle" formed by the juggled objects, which the wabeno focuses on. This circle is not just a focial point for meditation, but a representation of their skill. The greater their skill, the more even and clean the circle. The better the circle, the more potent the figgum is.

Meditation

While meditating upon the tegelek, a wabeno must remove all sensations outside of the circle itself. This means everything - not just sight but even the blaze of light still burnt on their retinas; not just sound but even the buzz inside their ears; not just the taste of food but the taste of their own saliva and the feel of their own mouth; everything but the circle. They they may feel the clubs as their hands touch them, but the air that moves because of them must be set aside. They must completely focus on the clubs that form the circle, and then erase the clubs. Erase the feel of their hands touching the clubs. Erase everything but the essence of the circle being formed.

This is the hard part.

If - and this is a very big if - they manage this, they will have a circle of pure skill before them. In order to use it, they then must be able to step through it. This is both in the physical world and in their meditative trance. This is a matter of sheer will power and awareness for most, though their skill at juggling will also come into play.

Beyond the Circle

Once they have gone beyond the circle (tegelegiň daşynda) for the first time, it becomes easier in subsequent attempts. It also allows them to imbue their clubs with different skills. When they juggle, each club comes to represent a skill. The minimum number of clubs for this to work is five, and one club must be their juggling skill. In order to imbue a club with skill, they must first (a) have the skill and (b) use the skill within a few minutes of their meditation. During meditation, after they have passed through the circle, they must then focus on that skill and place it into the circle. Once in the circle, all skills are one skill, so they can be converted, transferred, or temporarily removed. A new skill, one the wabeno does not have, can be attained then if either (a) someone with that skill throws them a club, (b) some emblem of that skill is added to the juggling circle, or (c) they draw raw skill from the circle and attempt something.

Skill Exchange

If another person with a particular skill set throws a club to the wabeno and consensually intends to send one of their skills, the wabeno will gain the skill if they catch the club. The trick is, however, that (a) they must catch it and (b) they have to then give up one of their clubs. The total number of skill points a wabeno has can never exceed what they already have. In other words, if you add up all the skill points a wabeno has, and they add up to 101, then someone throws them a skill, they must drop the equivalent number of points in order to gain the number of points in the skill given to them. Call it the law of preservation of skill. The wabeno may choose not to take as many points in the skill as is offered, however - i.e., if a mountain climber offered the wabeno 11 points in mountain climbing, but the wabeno does not want that many, they can drop seven points in, I dunno, ballroom dancing and gain seven points in mountain climbing. The remaining four points return to the mountain climber.

Bad Juggling

If the wabeno sacrifices their juggling skill, it can make them fail with the circle. If they do this, they may permanently lose the points they sacrificed. It is a very bold and assured wabeno who uses their juggling skills for these purposes.

Skill Equivalence

The difficulty in learning a skill adds or subtracts from its value. Brain surgery is a much more difficult skill to learn than juggling. One point of juggling is not equal to one point of brain surgery. The equivalences must be determined by GM and player, but one must account for issues of class and oppression when discussing these skills. Brain surgery is harder to learn than juggling, but one may not discount that juggling at a certain level takes a lot of work and focus. Moreover, it's relatively easy to cook an egg; it is more difficult to make certain egg dishes. It's still hard to be a fast food cook, and the skills involved should not be devalued based on their economic status.

Emblems

What counts as an emblem of a skill can vary greatly. The only rules are that the object must be juggleable, it must be used for or related to the skill, and it must have been used for the skill at some point if that is its connection. For example, a caduceus is a metaphorical object for doctors and can be used even if the specific object juggled was never used by someone in a medical setting. But a scalpel can't be a brand new scalpel. It has to have been used by a doctor for a medical purpose in order to convey the skill. Emblems notoriously provide only low numbers of skill points unless they are supernatural or extremely well used for their purpose. Back to the medical example, a scalpel used once will be worth far less than one used many times (cleaned between uses, of course).

Creating Skill

There is a very limited amount of time raw skill will exist outside the meditative trance. A wabeno must draw the raw skill, break the trance, and then engage in the attempted skill within about 10 seconds. They may stretch this if they are willing to permanently sacrifice skill points. Anything they attempt must be within their total numbers of skill points. They must sacrifice temporarily other skills to do it. And they must be physically capable of it - they can't draw the skill of flight without the wings to flap, so to speak. There is a grey area there, of course, as there is a certain amount of physical ability imbued when drawing some skills (dexterity comes with brain surgery skills, for example), but no one can use figgum to grow legs to run if they have no legs to run with. The skill created must also be a skill others have - they cannot completely invent a skill no one has used before. For example, they cannot invent a skill that allows them to build a kind of computer that has as yet not existed before. If no one can do it, the skill cannot be invented via figgum. It has to be figured out first. Raw skill exists as a conglomeration of all extant skills within Shem or the locality the wabeno is in at the time. This is also up to the GM's discretion.

Inventory

Wabenos have two main special items that are part of their skill set:

Clubs

The clubs wabenos use are usually just well weighted and designed juggling clubs, but they can be made from special woods, stone, metal, or plastics that carry some kakraohy in them to allow for an easier time. They cannot be made from materials with inherent aligned energies of significant quantity (i.e., plain oak wood will have some aether in it, but not enough to matter unless it is has been altered). Many wabenos use specific clubs for specific skills, marking them with special designs. Almost all wabenos mark one of their clubs to be the one to carry their juggling skill.

Vests

Wabenos often wear special vests with many, many pockets. A very skilled wabeno will put raw skill in their pockets after a trance in order to keep extra points in reserve. This power is extremely advanced, but all wabenos wear vests as part of their performance anyway.

Variations

Cultural variations include

• Di wan we de jɔj: wabenos from western Taggarus who are known for their use of storytelling while they perform.
• Jwe fent men: wabenos from the Reever Sea who are known for performing at seaside fairs and boardwalks as well aboard ships.
• Malabarista satawa: eastern Palhuric wabenos who are known for having trained monkeys with them.
• Oszustka: central Jesenyan wabenos who are known for their gruff, curmudgeonly style, which is usually pure performance.
• Vittaikkāraṉ: subcontinental Dabusenese wabenos who are known for their extremely colorful performances.

Specializations

Some wabenos specialize in specific skill sets:

• Remisnik: those wabenos who draw upon crafting skills, usually something involving a dexterous hands.
• Sair: those wabenos who work as an aqyn as well, mixing the two occupatons.
• Seido: those wabenos who draw upon drawing and inking skills to create fine works of art.
• Suitcaszi: those wabenos who take up the role of killing rogue wabenos or generally use their powers to become trained killers.
• Tahlilchi: those wabenos who draw upon administrative skills and find temp work in office settings to offset their travel expenses. These are usually found in modern settings, where it is harder to busk or beg.

Societal Role

In order to become a wabeno, one must know a wabeno who will teach them. This is because the power is kept secret by an ancient vow. Wabenos were once exploited brutally by powerful emperors and lords who would make them sacrifice all of their skills, permanently, to the ruler. The wabenos rebelled, stripping these lords of their skills, then going into hiding. This is why wabenos work as street performers rather than as agents of powerful militaries. A wabeno who breaks this vow and goes to work for the powerful will find themselves stripped of their powers by other wabenos called the suitcaszi. The point is to learn skills and experience all there is in life to do, not to be an agent of any political agenda. This extends to organizations working for the better good as well - wabenos enforce their unaligned status.

Skills

Their base set of skills usually includes

• Juggling
• Performance/showmanship
• Dancing
• Singing
• Escapology
• Begging
• History
• Costumery
• Sewing
• Cooking
• Travel survival

Stats

Modifiers from base of nation/species:

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