Demesne

A Demesne is a place of power and one of the three essential things for a practitioner to have.<ref name="Reddit">What if you make a vehicle a demesne?
Demesnes can't generally move. There are other ways to go about it, which wouldn't be termed demesnes, but generally at a steep cost.
It's like how some eastern practitioners have their own systems & standards, where they have familiars and implements wrapped up in the same system (generally with multiples or sets). You might go this route, but there's caveats - at least 2/3 of these are liable to crop up, but very likely all 3, depending on measures taken & how much the practitioner puts into the ritual:
You might go for a mobile demesnes but you're basically wrapping it up in familiar or implement. So you have a motorcycle as your cradle, but it's also your familiar, or you have a van as your cradle but it's also your implement. It's not ~actually~ an implement though, but it's taking up that space in terms of your self definition, because it's just this clumsy thing you're doing, and it's not an equal proportion of power. This means you're basically, instead of having a familiar at 100%, an implement at 100%, a demesnes at 100%, you're going 50/50, 100.
It's exaggerated further in that it's nontraditional here and so there's less respect and focus afforded to it. So it takes a hit and winds up being more like 33/33, 100 in terms of general puissance/power level. The end result is you've almost halved your overall power level compared to what you could achieve otherwise.
Remember Blake talking about how the tool represents how people approach the world, the familiar represents the relationships they form, and the demesnes represents the position they occupy in it? If you're saying "The place I hold in the world is living in a car" or "the place I hold is that of a traveler" then you're sending a lot of signals to the spirits. There's a pretty heavy quality of life cost in this. You're signaling to the spirits that hey, you're probably never going to own a house or live in an apartment for more than a few months. Now all of a sudden you're getting evicted or the landlord wants to stop renting so they can move family into your apartment, or you just can't get that mortgage approval or get a realtor to answer your calls. There's subtle effects to how people & Others see you too. To Others, the practitioner with a sailboat demesnes isn't worth dealing with because they're not going to be here next week.
Tradition matters and you can buck tradition but at a steep cost. Generally speaking, trying to get tricky with it isn't worth it - some niche cases exist and some people don't care about overall power level, they just want a talking motorcycle that makes their nomadic lifestyle more comfortable. But you're not going to have a van and be able to be a lesser god of your own domain when you crawl into the back of it.

What if it is in a high rise which gets demolished? Would fate prevent the demolishment of the building?
If you have a demesnes you generally want to actually have a claim to the territory. You don't claim a demesnes in an apartment high rise you don't own, because that leaves you without protections and generally fucks you when you get evicted and the spirits go, "Whelp, yeah, sucks, but poof, demesnes disintegrates, bye." Most rituals are just going to require ownership of the place (or for the place to be sufficiently neutral) as a matter of how they're enacted. Outside of the mundane world, if you own the space, have claim to it, and everything else, it's generally pretty darn hard to actually demolish. It's an extension of the practitioner and it's a rare, rare case where you'll actually be able to do substantial damage to the demesnes without also defeating the practitioner who lays claim to it... and once you pick that fight you're fighting a practitioner on their home turf. Explosives aren't liable to work right, fire doesn't kindle, flooding does minimal damage, holes in walls self-repair, yadda yadda, and while you're trying to knock down a building that's resisting the effort, the practitioner gets a heads up and then suddenly appears behind you, having arrived faster than they should've.

Can you not have a demesne where a dead person had one?
Not generally. Certain families have different rules & whatnot, so they break from tradition/normal rules, but just for the sake of argument & expansion, having the little convenience comes at a cost. If you're laying claim to the space that's been in your family for a while, then, well, it goes back to the identity thing I brought up above (third bullet point). You're identifying as someone who follows the path & place set forth by family. It might make it harder to be flexible with practice, and it'd impact how Others look at you. You're less a person and more a bloodline with a power & position that's currently resting in a different body than it was 30 years ago. The demesnes itself might be more powerful but less customizable, with each person to take it on being able to make only a few changes to make their mark on it (and less so with each subsequent generation).

Can you have an underwater demesne? What about one floating in the air, with no structure?
Generally we're solid beings who occupy solid spaces, not spaces of air or water or energy. You could dress it up as one of those, which is probably going to be easier to set up and more comfortable.
As to other options, well, ~yeah~ you could. But if you've noticed the trend outlined above, very often the cost is going to outpace the benefits. And I gotta ask - why would you even want to? You want a place that's convenient to get into. Even if you have practice that lets you swim or fly up to some door in the sky... that's basically you setting yourself up to pay a toll every time you want to go home.

Does the near-omnipotence extend to the walls? How far into the walls?
Yes. Far enough to have windows.
Can you have multiple or expand the original?
Not generally. Not given what demesnes are, what they represent about a practitioner. You could ~try~, but on top of the refrain in this post about how costs would likely outpace the benefits (even more so than trying to have an airplane demesnes) I'd say that if I were GMing it or writing the story, I'd include a very real chance that attempts to add multiple demesnes or expand the existing one just see you lose the demesnes & end up forsworn on your original statement of claim, with a corresponding, permanent loss in overall power, extending well beyond the initial 'forsworn' penalties.
It's just not what a demesnes is. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref>

Gaining a Demesne

To gain a place of power the practitioner must stake their claim and then defeat all those who would challenge them over it. By defeating all those who challenge them, the domain is the practitioners to do with as they please, but the bigger the location to more challengers. During the ritual they cannot leave and it may take hours to days to complete it.

During the challenge to claim a place of power the uncooperative Spirits and Others are ejected, leaving only cooperative ones, but if there are no challengers then there is no way to import power and makes it useless.

Most demesnes rituals require legal or de-facto ownership of the location.<ref name=":0">What if it is in a high rise which gets demolished? Would fate prevent the demolishment of the building?
If you have a demesnes you generally want to actually have a claim to the territory. You don't claim a demesnes in an apartment high rise you don't own, because that leaves you without protections and generally fucks you when you get evicted and the spirits go, "Whelp, yeah, sucks, but poof, demesnes disintegrates, bye." Most rituals are just going to require ownership of the place (or for the place to be sufficiently neutral) as a matter of how they're enacted. Outside of the mundane world, if you own the space, have claim to it, and everything else, it's generally pretty darn hard to actually demolish. It's an extension of the practitioner and it's a rare, rare case where you'll actually be able to do substantial damage to the demesnes without also defeating the practitioner who lays claim to it... and once you pick that fight you're fighting a practitioner on their home turf. Explosives aren't liable to work right, fire doesn't kindle, flooding does minimal damage, holes in walls self-repair, yadda yadda, and while you're trying to knock down a building that's resisting the effort, the practitioner gets a heads up and then suddenly appears behind you, having arrived faster than they should've. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref>

An area that is already a demesnes cannot be claimed by someone else, even if the person who claimed it is deceased.<ref>Can you not have a demesne where a dead person had one?
Not generally. Certain families have different rules & whatnot, so they break from tradition/normal rules, but just for the sake of argument & expansion, having the little convenience comes at a cost. If you're laying claim to the space that's been in your family for a while, then, well, it goes back to the identity thing I brought up above (third bullet point). You're identifying as someone who follows the path & place set forth by family. It might make it harder to be flexible with practice, and it'd impact how Others look at you. You're less a person and more a bloodline with a power & position that's currently resting in a different body than it was 30 years ago. The demesnes itself might be more powerful but less customizable, with each person to take it on being able to make only a few changes to make their mark on it (and less so with each subsequent generation). - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> (But see Variant Demesnes, below.)

Uses

Inside of a demesne the practitioner is 'a step below a god' and they have ultimate power as the domain is a reflection and an extension of the self, a safe place that they can do nearly anything in. They can alter or break the laws of physics, magic, potentially even logic.<ref>The draoidh briefly

laments the mess caused by the blood in her demesne, pools of sanguine 

humor and warm trickles from the roof.  As she cleans, she discovers that she can remove the mess while retaining the blood.  A small contradiction, but possible nonetheless.With testing, she finds she can alter the other rules of her surroundings.  Even a small demesne can be larger inside than it was on the outside.  Laws of gravity, physics, rules of magic and more can be bent or broken entirely.

Any rule can theoretically be broken within the demesne.  Should every rule be broken?  No.  Everything in moderation. Stories abound of practitioners who never left their demesnes.  A place that is entirely theirs, where they are a step below a god, and a place where they are safe. - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4</ref> They can alter the interior's appearance and materials, internal dimensions,<ref name=":1">When Fionna does return to her place of power, she finds herself disappointed.  There is little doubt this is her place of power, but the effect is minor at best.  The spirits and entities that have not been driven away by the challenge are few in number, and she finds herself less powerful in her domain than she is elsewhere.After the monumental investment in time and effort, and the debts incurred, initial reactions can be devastating. This, in itself, can be damaging, because one’s mood and ideas can influence the demesne, and the demesne at this point in time is in a fledgling state.

Fionna is more or less

at ease, thanks in large part to the time she took to herself.  She 

focuses on the details.  She sees how the very air in her demesne cooperates.  It tastes cleaner, it does not bar her movement, but buoys her.  The ground accommodates her footfalls.  She tries to manipulate the environment, by combinations of touch, word, and will, and finds it easy.  The aesthetics are the easiest part of it to change, and she takes her time altering her surroundings.

Fionna makes wall and floor into flesh, the place of power becoming a womb of sorts.  All things in her place of power are moist, and the ticking of a clock becomes the dull, distant thud of a heart.  Veins on every surface throb

in time with the sound.  - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4

</ref> prevent weapons or explosives from working, reshape the walls, move at superhuman speeds, etc.<ref name=":0" /> The air, ground, even the passage of time automatically, subtly accomadate them.<ref name=":1" /><ref>When Fionna leaves her domain, she finds more time than expected has passed.This is a typical thing.  Intentionally or instinctively, a practitioner often manipulates time within their realm.  When they leave, however, time hurries to catch up with them.  The end result is often not intuitive, and can lead to some confusion.  Adapting to this eventuality is a part of learning to use one’s place of

power.

- excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4 </ref>

As one can determine the rules within their realm, they can use the place as a form of esoteric moneychanger, changing one kind of power for another, including that of positive Karma.<ref>Whilst outside of her place of power, Fionna finds the connection to the location remains strong, wherever she is.  She can deposit power there and rest assured it is untouched.  She can also use the location to transmute power, turning personal power into karmic assets, draw from one kind of power to better influence a connection.As one can determine the rules within their realm, they can use the place as a form of esoteric moneychanger, changing one kind of power for another. - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4  </ref>

Some powerful practitioners find that they can draw on their continual connection to their place of power to access it from remote locations, using something like a certain key in any lock, an outline in chalk, or using the blood of an enemy.<ref>Some find that they can draw on their continual connection to their place of power to access it from remote locations.  This typically requires a fair amount of power, and may be rooted in certain rules or restrictions.  One might use a key in any appropriate lock to access their demesne, for example.  Others might draw a door in chalk, or step through a pool of blood left around a slain enemy. - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4</ref>

As a practitioner uses their demesne, it will improve as it draws likeminded spirits to it, eventually strengthening the practitioner.<ref name=":2">As she’s made her place her own, Fionna finds that she can use power more readily in the area.  She notes, in a matter of fact way, that simply holding a demesne

generates good karma, bettering her position in the world so long as 

she tends to the space.  The problem, however, remains, she isn’t stronger there than she is in the outside world.

Having driven away spirits in the course of the challenge, our example case finds that the spirits and beings that remain are conciliatory.  How, then, does the practitioner build up a power base?

Fionna finds that as she draws and manipulates power in and around the demesne, its power extends into the real world and vice versa.  Spirits in alignment with her draw like spirits with them, and on a more complicated level, intelligent beings who visit her demesne and find it to their liking may

contact others.  Word of mouth spreads, for lack of a better term.

Herein lies the heart of the demesne dilemma.  The greater the claim, the greater the power that is reaped.  But an area where there are no beings to challenge the practitioner will

have few beings of any import occupying or neighboring it, almost 

strictly by definition.  It proves useless to the practitioner.  Worse, it is stagnant, refusing to grow, for one needs power to gain power, and

such spaces have no inherent power to start with.

It is a canvas to be painted, but nothing more.

She settles into her new role as ruler of this demesne.  As she forms contacts with Others, the demesne becomes a meeting place and even

a home to some beings, who give her tribute in turn, by way of power, 

gifts, or service. - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4 </ref>

Limits

A demesne's flexibility can also be a drawback. Unwanted influences can creep in from the practitioner's mood,<ref name=":1" /> familiar, or sources of power. The usual solution is to focus and restrain these influences to just one part of the demesne.<ref name=":3">The area is very easy to influence, and this

can prove problematic, if one has other power sources in play.  The 

biggest and most obvious issue is when the familiar enters the picture. 

As an extension of the practitioner, they have a claim to some of the 

place of power.  If the practitioner and familiar are in accord, the issue is a minor one.  If they are not, it can be a source of friction that compromises the demesne. In any event, the familiar’s nature, background, mentality and power will affect the demesne.

In other cases, the practitioner may be drawing personal power from another source.  To use a metaphor, this may

add a dollop of color to the paintbrush, leaving streaks on the demesne
as the practitioner paints.  If they draw power from death and decay, 

they might find these elements alter the surroundings.

A typical solution is to focus this power.  If the familiar cannot be reconciled with, the practitioner can focus this other power into an area.  The familiar can be given a dedicated space, so that their power does not bleed throughout the remainder of the demesne.  These hypothetical powers of death and decay could be focused into a single ornament or object decorating the area. - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4 </ref>

Familiars have a claim to the demesne as they are a part of the practitioner.<ref name=":3" />

A practitioner in their demesne still requires outside connections and Others for power. Without them, they will find their magic and self weakening and potentially fade into nothing.<ref name=":4">Stories abound of practitioners who never left their demesnes.  A place that is entirely theirs, where they are a step below a god, and a place where they are safe.  The issue arises when the practitioner loses their connection to the outside world.  With

nothing tying them to people or things, they stagnate, growing weaker, 

and as they grow weaker, so does the place of power.

The effect is a cyclical one, prompting some

desperate practitioners to devote more time and attention to rescuing 

their domain, failing to see the problem at the root of the issue.  In other cases, the practitioner is so attached to their demesne that they become a part of it.  When it fades from the world, so do they.

When the practitioner’s demise coincides with that of their place of power, the end result is typically a ghost, and/or a location saturated with power. - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4 </ref><ref name=":2" />

Manipulating time in the demesne, even subconsciously, causes lost time on returning to the outside world in order to balance it out.<ref>When Fionna leaves her domain, she finds more time than expected has passed.This is a typical thing.  Intentionally or instinctively, a practitioner often manipulates time within their realm.  When they leave, however, time hurries to catch up with them.  The end result is often not intuitive, and can lead to some confusion.  Adapting to this eventuality is a part of learning to use one’s place of

power. - excerpt from Demesnes Chapter Nine, quoted in Interlude 4

</ref>

Destruction

In the event that a practitioner becomes too attached to their demesne and ignores the outside world they may become a part of it and die when it fades away, resulting in a ghost, and/or a location saturated with power. Otherwise they fade into Limbo.<ref name=":4" />

Physically destroying a demesne is generally nigh impossible, since the owner has so much control. However it might be possible if they were foolish enough to claim one in a property they don't control (such as an apartment in a building they don't own.)<ref name=":0" />

If a person was legally evicted from their demesnes it would disintegrate.<ref name=":0" />

Variant Demesnes

Mobile, underwater, or flying demesnes are all possible; but rare, and generally foolhardy. They are likely to be severely weakened or flawed as a result of violating tradition, and may not technically be considered "demesnes" by some.<ref name="Reddit2">They are, but keep in mind the power of tradition and culture, especially with the big things & the personally defining things. You can get a face tattoo and you know, you ~could~ get virtually any job or position, you could date people just fine, meet the parents, start your own business, whatever... But it's going to be a lot harder than if you didn't have a giant rooster on one side of your face. ...That is, unless you live in a country & place where face tattoos are commonplace. Ditto if you live out of a car & are known to be that guy who has no plans of ever getting a house, to just paint a picture demesnes-wise. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref><ref>Can you have an underwater demesne? What about one floating in the air, with no structure?
Generally we're solid beings who occupy solid spaces, not spaces of air or water or energy. You could dress it up as one of those, which is probably going to be easier to set up and more comfortable.
As to other options, well, ~yeah~ you could. But if you've noticed the trend outlined above, very often the cost is going to outpace the benefits. And I gotta ask - why would you even want to? You want a place that's convenient to get into. Even if you have practice that lets you swim or fly up to some door in the sky... that's basically you setting yourself up to pay a toll every time you want to go home.

- Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref>

Notable Demesnses

• Johannes' Demesne
• Jeremy Meath's Demesne
• Sisters of the Torch Demesne

References

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