Žymė (claim)¶

What it is¶

A Žymė (claim): a god or Force marks a mortal as its instrument, without consent. It is granted power, not asked, and the Force’s own nature binds it, not the Three Laws.

Žymė (claim)


Tipas	school
Family	granted
Pastaba	Žymė: supernatural mark or claim placed by a deity, force, or patron.

Who can use it (path & tier)¶

No one chooses it. The claimed is an instrument, not a caster (no tier, though a vessel is tier 5). Patron: Perkūno Rūstybė. Examples: Kęstutis and Vytautas (Perkūnas), contested with the Root-Mother.

How it works (medium, words, timing)¶

The mark is felt: a rhythm in the fingers, a smell of ozone or sap, eyes that catch lightning; sometimes seen as a scar. At Krėva it is a heavy, slow beat „not his own pulse“, asked for by no one (Book I ch. 10, the mark). The Force acts through the claimed at moments of its choosing; he is not empowered at will.

Kaina¶

Obedience to the Force’s nature. Perkūnas’s claimed must keep oaths; breaking them brings a blow (Book II ch. 5, 11, 26). At the right moment a claimed hand „knows which tree will be struck“ before the lightning (Book IV ch. 1). The mark is release, too: it lets go when the work is done.

Limits & counters¶

A claim can be contested (Perkūnas and the Root-Mother both want Vytautas). It does not make a sorcerer; his power is political, not magical. A žynys reads it for him: Perkūnas set a mark at Krėva, and an oath sworn by a name the Force has marked binds the Force too (Book III ch. 17).

Folk basis [Historical record]¶

[Historical record]. There is no Baltic record of a „claim“ system. Later folk belief treats lightning-struck trees and stones as holy and the person struck or spared as marked by Perkūnas. The saga turns that into a mechanism.

Notable practitioners¶

Kęstutis (Book VI ch. 13, 24, 28: „Perkūnas knows you“); Vytautas (Book I ch. 10, 19, 21; Book II ch. 5, 26; Book III ch. 17; Book IV ch. 1; Book V ch. 1). Pilkoji’s wolf-krikštas is a claim by the Root-Mother taken „against all custom“ (Book III ch. 7).

Ryšiai

Patrons: Perkūno Rūstybė

Žymė (claim)

Žymė · the claim, granted power from a god or Force

School: Granted power. The mortal does not initiate and does not consent
Tier: No tier: the claimed is an instrument, not a caster (a vessel is tier 5)
Casting: None. The god or Force marks the mortal
Components: None from the mortal. The mark is felt: a rhythm in the fingers, a smell of ozone or sap, eyes that catch lightning; sometimes a scar
Cost: Obedience to the Force's nature
Duration: Until the work is done. The mark lets go
Limits: The claimed is not empowered at will. The Force acts through him at moments of its choosing. It makes no sorcerer
Counters: A claim can be contested (Perkūnas and the Root-Mother both claim Vytautas). An oath sworn on a claimed name binds the Force too

Effect

Perkūnas's claim. Vytautas becomes the hand of justice and oath. Perkūnas rewards him when he keeps faith and strikes when he breaks it (Book I ch. 10, 19, 21).

At greater cost

The punishment. A claimed man who betrays the Force's nature is struck: the cracked window, the Vorskla verdict.

Breaking it

Breaking his oath. The Vorskla defeat is partly Perkūnas's verdict on Vytautas's oath-breaking (Book II ch. 26).

Source: Magic rules §1, §7 · Power systems §3, §4 · Book I ch. 10, 19, 21 · Book II ch. 5, 26

Sąsajos¶

graph LR
  claim["Žymė (claim)"]
  perkuno_rustybe["Perkūno Rūstybė"]
  perkuno_rustybe -->|Patron of| claim
  style claim stroke-width:3px