In the late Fall of 1200 Post Demon-Rising, powerful wizard from all corners of the planes gathered at Archmage Snoop's wizard tower. This event was exclusive, only the most prestigious of mages were invited, but even fewer managed to pass the front gate and teleport inside the lobby. The arcane barriers set by Snoop made his tower inaccessible to all spellcasters of demonic vibes. Tonight's event celebrates the ascension of Snoop to the Realm of High Mages, an pilgrimage that is only attainable by the highest archmage once every thousand years. The ritual began with 18 mages passing a hash pipe around an advanced spell circle formed of all schools of magic. The rings they exhaled formed complex glyphs which proceeded the ritual, and moments later the tower began to hotbox with mana-suffused smoke. Each rune was perfect, the bowl burned evenly, and the Wizard Khalifa began an ancient chant:
"High up and we're floatin'
Don't know where we're goin'
Night until the mornin'
We rollin', rollin', rollin'"
Then, the other mages joined in.
The ancestor spirits of high arcanists past began to manifest about the spell circle, glowing a pleasant spectrum of colors. Their voices could be faintly heard in the air, like a chorus of whispers. Thousands of years separated these spirits, but they all singed in unison. After the Dozen Thaumaturges were summoned, the council began weighing Archmage Snoop's soul against the spirits of the ancients. After a moment of tense silence, the Grandmaster High Councilmage Willy Nelson passed The Blunt of True Enlightened Ascension to Snoop. With a calm faces of bliss, the mages had successfully ushered Archmage Snoop into godhood, solidifying his spirit as a permanent force in the Great Winds of Magic.
Young Astral had been witnessing this barely-comprehendible experience. As a longtime friend of Snoop, his master was invited to the Supremely Divine Ascension Ceremony and brought Astral. Astral he had only ever read about the Dozen Thaumaturges, but tonight he beheld the Grandmaster Willy Nelson pass a blunt to Archmage Snoop. Simply witnessing this act caused Astral to become enlightened. He felt his inner spirit wriggling inside his fleshly body. Was this the Transcendental Enlightenment he'd read about? His hands began to grow numb and he became lightheaded. Just as Astral had begun to collapse, a firm hand held him upright.
"This amount of mana-smoke is quite lethal to a young scholar. Here, this will stabilize your meridians."
These words came from Astral's master, The Wizard Khalifa. He wore a knitted beanie, and a pair of large tinted spectacles covered his eyes. An enchanted endless blunt hung from the side of his mouth. He retrieved an artifact from his satchel of holding and passed it to Astral. This artifact was known as the Underdank Pipe, a carved spiritwood pipe of dark elven craft that was blessed by the God of Resplendent Reefer. Astral held the pipe in awe for a moment before taking a long, smooth pull. Astral felt his spirit re-aligning, bringing back stability to the young mage. He had never taken a hit of his master's pipe before, but it was necessary to save his life. As Astral began to cough, he felt something extraordinary.
Not only was his spirit aligned, but this pipe had a unique effect on his arcane meridians combined with the Truly Enlightened mana-smoke. Primal mana began to condense in the tower's hotbox smoke around Astral, drawing attention from the spell circle. The wizards looked over to see Astral behind held up by his master. The young mage's robes began to be saturated with a sticky black substance that oozed from his body, and Khalifa released his apprentice. The expulsion of disgusting sludge from his body was a sign that all his meridians had been cleansed of mortal limitation. Furthermore, each meridian was attuned to the 9 schools. His skin shown shimmering, charged with pure mana. His body radiated extraordinary power and lifted Astral lightly off the floor. The wizards were astounded by Astral's magical metamorphosis.
His master gleamed with pride, "Wow! My apprentice is high as fuck!"
Astral struggled to speak, as his mind was currently being rushed with arcane knowledge. All wizards in the tower became targets of Astral's unbeknownst arcane divination spell: Legend Lore. This power calls to his mind a knowledge of significant lore about all things. He began to see each wizard's tales, their forgotten stories, and even some hidden secrets. Moments later, Astral's eyes cleared, and he consciously made his feet touch the ground. He passed the Underdank Pipe back to his master and smiled, his eyes red and his mouth dry.
"Bruh." Astral said.
All mages in the tower instantly became enlightened by hearing his word. The spirits of the Dozen Thaumaturges muttered among themselves, "Hell yeah brother", "Nice lol", "Yooooo!". Astral stretched his neck and loosened his body, he was incredibly intoxicated by the Underdank Pipe's ganja, he knew he must find a couch to sit upon.
At Astral's request, the mages and spirits collected together in the tower's entertainment chamber. A large crystal orb levitates above the center of a circular sectional +3 Couch of Comfyness. The crystal orb was currently divining the Extended Cut of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. Astral did not particularly care for the diving orb, as he was in complete self-centered meditation. He swam through the oceans of mana held deep within his core. By his own will, Astral focused on the image of an idyllic paradise.
Ocean waves lap upon a shore of white sand, the Primary Sun bathing the beach in warmth. Astral thought of himself lounging upon the beach, wearing his favorite swimming shorts. A split coconut filled with Piña Colada was in his staff-hand, and his body stretched in a relaxing pose. This imagined paradise brought swift slumber to Astral.
...
But Astral was soon awoken by an unpleasant pinching on his hind-side!
What was pinching him? Astral's eyes opened to harsh sunlight, and he instinctively threw his arm over to block the sun, but something cold splashed upon his chest!
Astral jolted upward!
His torso covered in Piña Colada, he swatted at the small crab that was pinching him. He took a moment to feel that his body was hot. Looking around himself, Astral found his paradise beach. He was baffled. Where was the tower?
Clarity began to sink in as Astral realized he chilled too hard and sunk into another plane of existence. Transporting between planes was a 7th level arcane conjuration. Astral wasn't sure why another mage would cast a Plane Shift spell upon him, and he wasn't convinced that he himself had cast the spell. He began to ponder if his master had exiled him, but exile in a beach paradise wasn't convincing either. Astral took a moment to meditate, and he was surprised by how light his body felt. He focused and examined his body, finding that all 81 of his mana meridians were attuned to the 9 schools of magic.
"This is truly incredible!" Astral exclaimed. He had never felt this level of potential. Most mages have to spend decades opening each meridian node one at a time through dangerous rituals and high expense. Even Archmages that are hundreds of years old only have 72 meridians cleansed, with only half of those meridians attuned to all 9 schools.
Unfortunately, Astral realized that even with his body as it is now, there is limitless potential but no actual power. He felt unattuned to the mana in the world around him, as if his body could no longer absorb mana around him. He wondered how he had done this incredible feat with no mana currently in his veins. Astral sat in meditation and peered into the deepest of his core and found the answer to all his questions:
His body had unlocked the ultimate power of converting THC intoMana.