Psionic Magic

Before the Gates

The Hysilens' interest in Psionic Magic goes back very far in their legacy, with them wielding it from the early days of their society, albeit primarily as a benign magic for entertainment and practical jokes. As far as their records are concerned, they never particularly understood the thorough exacts of the art, most likely due to a lack of interest in it compared to their other forms of magic.  

Early History

Much of the early cluster history of Psionic Magic is perpetuated by the gradual discovery of more advanced techniques, most notably - and infamously - the ability to influence and manipulate the mind. This power was used and abused at several times throughout history, most famously during the initial discovery of the techniques in the reign of the Terran Empire, which led to several high-profile cases of mental manipulation of officials and even outright attempts to mind control the Terran Emperor.   These attempts failed, but the risks were made very evident, and restrictions were quickly put in place to the usage of the magic style across the cluster, restrictions that remain in place, mostly intact, to this day.  

Modern History

In the modern age, psionics are well regarded, but very firmly regulated across the cluster. The most 'free' regulatory body is generally that of the Aurelian Empire, but even they outlaw the use of mental manipulation on VIPs and officials, and employ significant anti-Psion measures.  

Aldrin History

On Aldrin, the story is very similar, with the Psionics of the Hysilens being passed down to the societies of the world and innovations in other uses being made as time went on. Like with the cluster, vision enhancements and telekinesis followed suit, but even still the restrictions towards mental manipulation remain prevalent across Aldrin.   Indeed, the regimes and cultures of Aldrin are very commonly a lot more restrictive towards the powers of Psions than the cluster is.

Illusionary Magic

The art of illusions was one of the first uses devised for psionic magic by the Hysilens in antiquity, generally for a mixture of actual useful cases, but also as simple party tricks and jokes. These early illusions - generally still taught to rookie Psions are very simple and basic in nature, but can still be useful in areas such as the entertainment industry.   Later, however, powerful ocular projections and merography began to arise, which allow for far more versatile and lifelike illusions. Understandably, these powerful magics quickly found purchase in a wide variety of fields, from espionage to assassination work, and everything in between.  

Mental Manipulation & Telepathy

As the very nature of psionic magic might suggest, a Psion is also very capable of affecting the mind. The most important aspect of these abilities is that of Empathic Psionics, which allows a Psion to glean the emotional state of the target from their mind, allowing them to better read people around them. Many of these specialists also possess a limited form of telepathy, which allows them to communicate mentally with others, and at potentially extreme distances, generally only being limited in the cluster by the jumpgates themselves.   In addition, however, a far more powerful advancement of the art allows skilled Psions to manipulate the mind, to sculpt it, change behavioural traits and the properties of the mind itself. While this can be quite beneficial - as it can allow for a easier time dealing with trauma, or it can be used to improve the mind - it also has a very well-deserved reputation for having very nefarious uses as well, which leads to many firm policing attempts on this specific version of the magic. Full-blown mind control is an extreme rarity, but has been known to manifest as an ability of these casters.   Generally speaking, these forms of magic are dangerous enough that governments and institutions everywhere have implemented defensive measures against them, often using Shielding Magic Antimagic.

Telekinesis

A Psion with a good ability to concentrate their mind on the environment can even use psionic magic to manipulate the world around them. In this use-case, telekinesis allows for the mind to manifest its power in the form of an additional psionic hand that can be used over long distances.   While the obvious uses of this ability include moving items around both vertically and laterally, it's also capable of quite fine control and as such, skilled Psions can even use it to pick locks or access computer systems from afar, by giving the telekinesis itself tactile capabilities.  

Vision Augmentation

Vision Augmentation is one of the most valuable parts of Psionic Magic, and concerns the expansion - and enhancement - of forms of vision. By and large, it's split into Enhanced and Augmented Spectroscopy, corresponding to enhancement and expansion respectively.   Enhanced Spectroscopy augmentations involve the caster strengthening pre-existing forms of vision on a target. Macroscopy, Microscopy and Telescopy - the ability to alter their visual focus for various light conditions, focus upon small objects, and focus upon far away objects, respectively - are all cornerstones of the art and allow any Psion to tailor the vision of themselves or their intended target.   Augmented Spectroscopy augmentations involve the expansion of vision to new breadths of the electromagnetic spectrum, which can also famously be used to overcome blindness. All of the traditional forms of electromagnetic radiation capable of reasonably being filtered by the eye with magical aides, namely: Gamma, X-Ray, Ultraviolet, the Visual Spectrum, and Infrared.