The Path of Suleiman
The path of sorcery was crafted in the ancient past by the sorcerer king Suleiman, one of the wisest and most respected rulers recorded in the Daena. Suleiman learned powerful summoning rituals which allowed him to call upon the jinni (singular jinn or djinn), the elemental spirits who existed in the lands around him and who plagued and pestered his people. Suleiman bound these djinn, and once he learned their secrets, called upon the rulers of the djinn. Treaties and rituals were created, whereupon someone who knows the proper invocations may call upon the djinn to aid them, and in exchange the mortal will pay respect to the djinn, or perform favours the djinn require. This balance of obligation and respect is deeply ingrained into those who practice this path of sorcery, and magus who do not show proper respect find themselves faced with powerful enemies among the djinn.
The Path of Suleiman is intricately intertwined with the Taw’hid. Those who follow this religion revere Suleiman as gifted with divine wisdom by Al-Batin. Respect is paid to the djinn and their servants, who are always petitioned in Suleiman’s name. In return, the djinn summoned follow the laws and customs of the Taw’Hid when they manifest, or when a practitioner of the path visits them in their native realms. Behind these customs is a complex system of respect, gift-giving, and exchange of favours. The Church of Joshua often finds this reverence a little too close to worship for their tastes, but as the djinn seem to follow a path similar to that of the Joshuite faith, the path is not prohibited by the Church of Joshua.
Apprentices are trained in the wisdom of the daena, and are expected to follow the traditions laid out in the book of faith. Knowledge of the names and ranks of the djinn are deeply ingrained into the student, and once the magus is satisfied with the apprentice’s training, they are allowed to call upon a familiar known as a jahi. Once a jahi has been successfully summoned, the apprentice is accepted as a magus.
Each time the magus performs an invocation, they accrue obligation. Obligation represents a debt owed to the djinn, and the greater the debt, the more these powerful entities will ask of the magus in the future. Obligation can be reduced by performing acts of respect and contrition to the djinn, through the bestowment of gifts upon the servants of the djinn, prayers in the name of the djinn, or simply be accepting any task offered by the djinn themselves. Performing a task at the request of the djinn completely removes the Hero’s obligation, regardless of how much the magus may have. If the magus forgoes the use of magic from sunrise to sunset as a show of respect and contrition to the djinn, their obligation decreases by a slight amount.
