Compendium: The Fundamentals of Chronomancy

~ Tenth Edition ~

Written by: Magister Mithlas Dusksworn

Available for viewing at:

⦁ Silvermoon: The sunfury Spire Archives

⦁ Quel'danas: The Magister's Terrace Library

Author note: this tenth edition of the "Fundamentals of Chronomancy" has been significantly expanded using recent developments in a growing field of research and recent examples of its application.

Introduction

Chronomancy, the arcane art of bending time to the will of the caster. A simple description of what is arguably the most complex and dangerous magical art in the known universe. To attempt it carelessly is to invite death not only onto yourself, but onto entire timelines. In fact, to call it death would be a kindness. A wrong made with time can remove those affected from existence itself. There is no afterlife of any kind for those struck from time, only oblivion.

If this first warning has not detered you from reading on: welcome. In this tome we will cover the basic principles of chronomancy. However, despite its introductory nature this art is highly unfit for any but the most experienced mages. We will begin by going over a number of caveats in the practicality of the art. Only when these are understood will we be able to understand how chronomancy is used.

The Caveats of Chronomancy

The Bronze Flight

The Bronze dragonflight was created by the Titans during the ordering of Azeroth from a species of protodrakes. Charged with protecting the Time-Ways, these eternal custodians will be of great concern to those attempting the art. They will pursue with extreme prejudice any who seek to alter the past. Their great directive is to always ensure the proper flow of time is preserved. Any reader who began this tome with the desire of killing Arthas in his crib can abandon hope now. It will not come to pass. The Flight will be able to sense the intrusion, they will send their agents to destroy you before the act is done, and any changes you did manage will be handily reverted through chronomancy, illusion, and altered memories.

As a rule of thumb one should not attempt to alter any more than the last hour and even then there is a risk of incurring their wrath. More basic alterations such as speeding up, or slowing down time are generally safe.

That is not to say it is entirely impossible to circumvent the Bronze Flight. Indeed, it has been done before. Dragons can be killed, hard as it may be. The Bronze Flight has had its losses over the course of eternity. A prime example of this is our current connection to a parallel version of draenor which lags an estimated three decades behind our own in time. This connection was established by a rogue Bronze Dragon, and with the aid of an exceptionally powerful artifact. This should show that to be even remotely succesful at significantly influencing the time-ways great power is required. Even then, this rogue element did not truely succeed in its intent and was, it is believed, summarily destroyed.

There are other enemies to the Bronze Flight as well, which I will mention here in only the briefest, most cautionary manner. They are called the Infinite Dragonflight. Little is known of their origins, but we do know they will arise in the future, corrupted by the Dark Powers that be. Their existence has terrible implications for the fate of the Bronze Flight. Should their agents attempt to make you offers, deals, or any contact at all: run. Their ambitions are coated in an all too obvious layer of sanctimonious lies. The truth of them is madness!

Paradoxes

To any with the proper faculties of reason and logic it should be obvious that many of the actions made apparently possible by time travel, are in fact still quite impossible. Any altaration to a prior determinant that would affect your choice to make the journey through time will not work. This is quite often illustrated using the "grandfather paradox": Through chronomancy one could travel back in time and kill their own grandfather before this person has conceived either parent of the traveller. This would lead the traveller to cease existing. However, as the traveller ceases to exist he can therefore also not murder the grandfather. As such one would arrive at a state in which the grandfather is both dead and not dead, and the traveller both exists and does not exist.

This obvious impossibility is resolved somehow, but there are many theories on what exactly happens. One possibility is that the paradox resolves by retaining the oldest outcome: the grandfather dies one way or another and the traveller is erased one way or another. The paradox never occurs because time corrects itself. This seems the least likely of the theories. Another theory suggests that such paradoxes shatter time-ways, creating parallels for both possibilities. In such a case, both the traveller and the grandfather are alive in one parallel, while both being dead or non-existant in another. This second explanation fits well with the discovery of alternate time-ways and the existance of a prime universe. A third option, which is not mutually exclusive with the second, is that a paradox causes a destructive collision of time-energy, leading to the destruction of those involved.

As a general rule to avoid paradoxes one should at all times refrain from interacting in any way with ones own timeline, or the timeline of blood-relatives. Even when holding true to this rule there is a risk of self-anihilation. Which brings us to the final caveat.

Chaos theory

This theory is of great importance to the traveller of time. It is the observation that small errors in measurement, or deviations in the early conditions of a system will have far-reaching, and unpredictable consequences as more time passes. It is colloquially explained by the phrase "A hippogryph flaps its wings on mount Hyjal and a hurricane blows in Booty Bay". Put simply: the further back in time you affect things, the more unpredictable the changes to the present.

For instance, casting a rock into a river a few hours in the past will change almost nothing. Casting it into the river thousands of years ago could lead to utterly bizar consequences. Imagine, if you will, that this rock, over that huge span of time, ends up near Tarren Mill. There the grandfather of Aedelas Blackmoore trips over it and breaks his neck, whereas he would have lived before. This causes Aedelas to never be born, which leads to Thrall never forming the horde. A vital portion of history is changed, because you moved a rock. The rock could also alter the course of the river by the tiniest sliver, which over time makes it carve an entirely different route through the earth. This river's location, and shape could have been important for strategic reasons in a war, or it could have provided water to a vital area. Now that has all changed. Because a rock was moved.

The lesson here is not to not move rocks in the past, but that the more you act in the past, and the greater the distance from the present, the more unthinkable the consequences will become. As such it is highly advised to not travel very far into the past at all and, if you do, to not change anything. Render yourself invisible, do not make a sound, do not move a thing. Such a distant journey would be purely educational - a method of collecting information.

The Principles of Chronomancy

With these caveats covered you may think you must limit yourself to the absolutely trivial when it comes to Chronomancy. Nothing is further from the truth. While incredibly difficult to cast, there are some absolutely miraculous things that could be achieved through Chronomancy which do not violate the rules of the art. I will briefly look at the the general guiding principles of casting chronomantic spells before we look into specific applications.

The time-space continuum

When studying time one must let go of seeing it as something which is seperate from the dimension of space. Though at a local level, here on Azeroth, time may flow at the same rate for all present (excluding magical intervention), this is not true at a cosmological level.

First, in our own material universe, it is the case that changes in gravity can cause changes in the relative flow of time. Say, for instance, that one person were to draw close to an object of high gravity while another remained at a safe distance. Both carry watches to measure their personal flow of time. One will observe that time slows down for the person subjected to higher gravity. Each person will experience their own time as if it were unchanged, but the person observing the one close to the high gravity object will see the time of the other slow down relative to his own. The person close to the high gravity object will see the time of the person outside speed up relative to his own. Similar effects occur when different observers move through space at greatly different speeds.

Beyond our universe the flow of time can be even stranger. By moving from the material universe into a different spatial dimension, the Nether for instance, the flow of time will change significantly. One could spend a thousand years in the Nether and only thirty years would have passed on Azeroth. We are currently uncertain if this is a consistent ratio between these two planes. Given the Nether's chaotic nature the flow of time could be highly variable relative to the material universe. Outside the Nether there are numerous other plains of existence, all with their own, unique effect on time.

Beside these observable relations between space and time there is also a logical argument to be made. Put simply, the question is as follows: could you move through space, without moving through time? Given that time is a progression of instants, and that movement through space demands that you also move through these instants the obvious answer is no. In fact, what is space without time? Such a thing is simply not possible as it could not exist for a single instant. Conversely, what is time without space? Within what dimension would instants progress if not within space?

This demonstration of the link between space and time should make it clear that when you cast Chronomancy, you are not only affecting time, but also space. Specifically, you must at the very least select the space within which you will affect time. Failing to do so, and to attempt to slow down time as it is, without thought of space will result in failure. See, if you try to affect all of time, you are trying to affect it everywhere. This would cost such an unimaginable amount of energy that it will not only cause you to fail; you are most likely to die of arcane exhaustion. This brings us to our next principle which affects the methods used to bend time.

The energy-effect exchange

The youngest apprentice knows that easy spells require little arcane energy and hard spells require more. Even so it bares repeating in this particular case, as Chronomancy has a very steep curve when it comes to increasing costs. To make discussion of the applications of Chronomancy easier I will divide the spellwork into five levels of difficulty, based on their energetic requirements.

Note that these levels are based on the average arcane reservoires available to a magister, or archmage. Apprentices, even younger Arcanists, will have more difficulty with lower level spells, despite their apparent ease. Conversely, there are beings in the multiverse of reality for which most spells are rendered trivial. Titans, for instance.

• Level I: Trivial spells. These spells are incredibly easy to cast, requiring almost no energy to use. Aside from the caveats mentioned in the first part of this compendium, you should have no trouble using these.

• Level II: Taxing spells. These spells require a significant portion of your arcane reservoir to use. Prolonged use, or frequent use over a short span of time, can cause exhaustion. While you could still use several of these within the hour, you must take care.

• Level III: Depleting spells. These spells require a very large amount of energy and cannot be cast more than once or twice a day, at best. Your own arcane reservoirs should be enough to complete the spell, but it should not come as a surprise if its contents are halved in the process.

• Level IV: Ritual spells. These spells require more energy than is available in the reservoir of a single mage. This means a ritual must be used to draw upon outside sources of energy in order to complete the spell. These sources can be additional mages, arcane storage devices such as blood crystals, or the local ley lines. Note, thought, that there are sources of energy specifically attuned to chronomancy: the essence of time. This essence is typically contained in golden, crystaline structures called Epoch Stones. Such stones are, essentially, formed by the swift progression through instants. A similar energy source, perhaps sharing their origin, is Sand of Time. The ways of finding, or perhaps creating, these energy sources is beyond the scope of this compendium. More information can be found in my other works.

• Level V: Unattainable spells. These spells require such an enormous amount of energy that even a ritual could not meet its requirements. These are the sort of spells that are theoretically speaking possible, but are unused because they are practically impossible.

The Applications of Chronomancy

Accelerate/Decelerate Time:

⦁ Difficulty: I - V

⦁ Description: This is the fundamental spell of Chronomancy, and it can uniquely belong to all categories of difficulty. That is because the amount of energy required is directly proportional to the area you seek to affect, the duration of the spell, and the degree to which you wish to warp time. Changing the rate of time around a small number of individuals by half for a number of seconds would be considered trivial. However attempting the same on a ten square meter area would be taxing. Double this area and the spell may be considered depleting. Double it again and a ritual would be required to complete. Note though that you could still double the affected area many times before categorizing this spell as a difficulty V, but the ritual would become progressively more difficult to use.

Finally, it is not required to slow the time around the target directly. You could, for instance, create a space in front of you in which time is slowed -- a Time Bubble of sorts. Once targets enter this space they will assume the speed of time within it. In war this could be used to slow a barrage of arrows long enough to escape, for instance, or to speed up allies for a short distance.

Time Lock:

⦁ Difficulty: III-V

⦁ Description: The ability to freeze time in an area. One could consider it an extention of the ability to slow time, but given that this ability is pushed to its maximum under this spell it is classified seperately. As mentioned, the more you slow down time the more energy it takes. Reducing the speed to absolute zero makes this a depleting spell if cast on even a single individual. Affecting more would already require a ritual.

If a ritual is used the application may go much further. A famed example comes from the recent siege on the Nighthold during the Nightfallen rebellion. Grand Magistrix Ellisande used a Time Lock to trap a large portion of the rebellious assault force. With this spell she trapped around, we can estimate, a hundred elves for an indetermined amount of time. Of course, this is an extreme example as the Magistrix had access to the Nightwell at the time.

Warning: You may think a subject frozen in time is an easy target in war, but this is not exactly true. After all, if every single element that makes up a person is frozen in place, how could one cause harm? Time will not move and as such the skin of the target will not part for a dagger, nor will it flake to the presence of fire. They are rendered immobile, yes, but they are also invulnerable for the duration.

Time Portal:

⦁ Difficulty: IV-V

⦁ Description: The essence of a Time Portal is not difficult to understand. It functions much like a typical portal, but it not only connects two unconnected points in space, but also across time. As with normal portals, the further you wish to go from your point of origin the more energy will be required. Typically though, provided you do not wish to establish a permanent or especially large connection, a complex ritual will be sufficient to create such a portal. However, do not think this means the task is easy by any measure. The amount of energy required, the complexity of the spellwork, the required calculations, and the caveats of time-travel make this a spell that is extremely limited in practicallity. Before making any attempt, be sure to revisit the caveats mentioned at the start of this tome and realise how limited your actions are when travelling in this manner. Honestly, it is far wiser to simply not attempt it.

Still, for those stuborn about time travel, two pieces of advice: in order to more easily establish the link, the use of Epoch Stones is advised. In addition you will also require a focus to direct your mind to the destined point in time.

For instance, say you wish to see Quel'thalas in its prime. Posessing an object from that time would greatly increase the chance of success. You could use an object crafted two-thousand years ago by elven smiths, for example. Channeling the spell through this object will aid you in locating the destination.

The Epoch Stones, then, will act as a power source. You could use other sources, of course, but you will require much more energy by comparison as it lacks the attunement to time.

Chronoportation:

⦁ Difficulty: IV-V

⦁ Description: Chronoportation is the travel through time without use of a portal. It requires a similar ritual as a Time Portal, but less energy by comparison. In return though there is a set limit on how long you will remain at your destination. This depends on how much energy was used in the spell, but generally more than a few minutes will require substantial sources of power. Even a Bronze Dragon could not manage more than fifteen minutes of Chronoportation.

Time Warp:

⦁ Difficulty: III

⦁ Description: This is a complex spell in which you warp the relative time between a number of agents. Essentially, you mark a number of targets for whom you will increase the flow of time, and a number of targets for whom time will slow down. The result is that you have created a (military) advantage for those who now move quicker.

This spell actually draws its advantage from the energy-effect exchange. One would think that speeding up, say, ten people, and slowing down another ten would require more energy than simply speeding up twenty people. However, mathematically the results are equivalent. It takes as much energy to slow down time as it does to speed it up by the same amount. Knowing this you can increase the speed of ten people by twenty percent, and slow the speed of another ten people by the same amount. The result is a fourty percent difference between the two groups, despite having only spent energy for a twenty percent change for either. Quite a clever trick, indeed.

Note though that, despite the relatively low cost of energy, the spellwork itself is extremely complex as you must meticulously describe the desired effect for all those involved. The wording of this spell will need to be chosen carefully. It is a staple of the accomplished chronomancer, but it also embodies what turns many away from the art. It requires many calculations and years of study to be able to warp time in this manner, even if you have a sufficient arcane reservoir.

Lastly, there is some drawback to this spell. Specifically, warping time to this extent will cause those affected to become temporally displaced, making it impossible to apply chronomancy to them again for several minutes.

Time Reversal:

⦁ Difficulty: III-IV

⦁ Description: To put it simply, this spell will slow down time beyond absolute zero, making it flow in reverse. As such the energy cost is incredibly high, but the potential applications are definetely worthwhile. You could reverse the infliction of wounds in battle, or the destruction of certain objects. Even aging and death can theoretically be reversed in this way. However, the first caveat is of great importance in this instance! The Bronze Flight will not allow major tamporing with the timeline. Reversing time for more than an hour will almost certainly incur their wrath. Moreover, reversing time for more than a few seconds will require a ritual to even achieve. So theoretically speaking, yes, you could reverse death with this magic, but only if the subject died well within the last hour. And, more importantly, the subject cannot have been killed by a terminal cause. Imagine bringing back somebody who suffered death from a stroke. You would bring this person back only to suffer the stroke again. Even a master of time is not immune to the deterministic nature of the material universe.

Temporal Shield:

⦁ Difficulty: II

⦁ Description: This type of shield is essentially a type of preprogrammed form of Time Reversal. At the moment of casting you mark a point in time to which you will return once the spell ends. This will allow you to recover from wounds suffered for the duration, as though they never happened. Note that this spell will not prevent your own death. The spell will instead be interrupted at the moment of your demise, that is unless a third party cast it on you.

What is very interesting about this spell is that your arcane reservoirs will not be restored when the spell ends. Why this is the case is a very interesting topic of research, but well beyond the scope of this compendium. Suffice it to say that arcane energy appears to exists beyond time and space, somehow.

Warp Momentum:

⦁ Difficulty: I - II

⦁ Description: Momentum is the impetus gained by a moving object. Essentially a moving object will build momentum and "want" to keep moving. The more momentum has been built up, the harder it is to stop this object. This momentum will continue to build until the object reaches a terminal velocity, its maximum speed given the current physical conditions.

The attentive reader will already notice that momentum requires time to build and as such it is open to manipulation by a chronomancer. Through some relatively easy spellwork you could limit the build-up of momentum and decrease the speed at which an object moves. A colloquial name for this spell would be "slow fall".

A far less frequiently used application is to do the reverse and increase the rate at which momentum builds. Now, I would not advise this magic during a fall for obvious reasons. However, imagine you could aid your ally by giving his sword swing some extra momentum. You could help your martially inclined kinsman break shields and shatter bones.

Temporal Blast:

⦁ Difficulty: III-V

⦁ Description: This is one of the few purely offensive applications of chronomancy. It causes the collapse of time around an object forcing it to exist in several points in time at once. Essentially one takes advantage of the time paradox caveat. To exist in several points in time at the same moment is paradoxical, which leads to a painful release of time-attuned energy. This can cause severe physical damage, but if pushed to its limit the paradoxes will resolve the spell by dispersing the target. This latter result is unprecedented among mortal mages, which is why it is also classed as a difficulty V. To achieve dispersion of the target is beyond our current ability, but could theoretically be done by god-like beings. Even so, despite not being able to actually erase a person from time, the spell is still quite effective, even deadly, in combat.

Epilogue

We have now fully covered the basic caveats and principles of chronomancy, as well as some of the most important spells in the repertoire. You should now be ready to study the art yourself and I would encourage you to do so. This field of magic is still not well understood and many discoveries lie in its future (relative to the prime timeline, of course). My own research is currently focusing on the interaction between divination and chronomancy, looking into the workings of prophecy. It is a very esoteric branch of study of an already esoteric magical art. Many more minds are needed to unravel its deepest mysteries.

== OOC sources ==

Lore sources:

• Time in the wow universe: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Time_(lore)

• The Bronze Dragonflight: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Bronze_dragonflight

• The Infinite Dragonflight: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Infinite_dragonflight

• Aman'thul: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Aman%27Thul

• The Nether: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Twisting_Nether

• Vision of Time: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Vision_of_Time

• Epoch Stones: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Epoch_Stone

• Hourglass of Time: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Hourglass_of_Time

• Sand of Time: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Sands_of_Time

• Kairozdormu: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Kairozdormu

• Elisande: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Elisande

• Time travel: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Time_travel

• Transmutation: https://wow.gamepedia.com/The_Schools_of_Arcane_Magic_-_Transmutation

• Chronoportation: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Quest:The_Many_Advantages_of_Being_a_Time_Dragon

• Spell, slow: http://www.wowhead.com/spell=31589/slow

• Spell, time lock: http://www.wowhead.com/quest=44822/temporal-investigations

• Spell, time warp: http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp

• Spell, rewind time: http://www.wowhead.com/spell=213220/rewind-time

• Spell, temporal shield: http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198111/temporal-shield

• Spell, slow fall: http://www.wowhead.com/spell=130/slow-fall

• Spell, temporal blast: http://www.wowhead.com/spell=257645/temporal-blast

• Spell, temporal displacement: http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80354/temporal-displacement

Real world (science) sources:

• Grandfather paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_paradox

• Time paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_paradox

• Chaos theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

• Butterfly effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect

• Time-space continuum: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-time

• Special relativity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_relativity