Empowerment is a technique for bestowing magical ability on a commander, mage, or priest, using gems. It is a permanent process that stacks with all temporary boosts, such as those from items, spells, and rituals.

Empowerment is very expensive. To empower you spend an amount of gems in that path equal to the new level times 15. The table below shows this for Nature:

New Path	Gem Cost
1	50
2	30
3	45
4	60
5	75
6	90
7	105
8	120
9	135
X	15*X

Note that the costs above are not cumulative, so empowering from not being a nature mage to having 2 costs 80.

Any empowerment should be done with a clear purpose. Empower costs are expensive but if done for a good reason can provide a good return on that cost.

Some examples of useful empowerments:

Example Scenario	Starting Path	Empowered Path	Cost	Example Purpose	Nation Benefit
Nation with 1 access only	1	2	30	Allows forging of a Skullstaff + booster. The mage can equip this item and is now 3. This allows access to the spell to summon a Mound Fiend which when given the Skullstaff becomes 4	Increased Death access. Nation path access increased from 1 to 4.
Nation with Earth but no Earth and Astral crosspath access	No Astral	1	50	Done with an Earth mage provides access to Earth and Astral crosspath items like the communion items Sky Metal Matrix and Slave Matrix.	Access to communions for non-Astral nations to cast higher spells in combat.
Nation with Astral but no Earth and Astral crosspath access	No Earth	1	50	Done with an Astral mage provides access to Earth and Astral crosspath items like the communion items Sky Metal Matrix and Slave Matrix.	Access to communions for non-Astral mages to cast higher spells in combat.
Nation with 1 access only	1	2	30	Alongside a forgeable (with any mage) water bracelet + booster this boosts a 1 mage to 3 and allows forging of the Sea Robe + booster.	Increased Water access. Nation path access increased from 1 to 4 and ability to make 2 x +1 boosters to make any 1 mage into a 3 mage.
Nation with 1 access only	1	2	30	Allows forging of Starshine Skullcap + booster and if done on a mage with 2 also allows forging of Coin of Meteoritic Iron + booster.	Increased Astral access. Access to one (and with 2 two) Astral boosters, increasing nation path access from 1 to 3 access (4 with 2).
Nation with Glamor but no Glamor/ crosspath access	No Water	1	50	Done with a Glamor mage provides access to Glamor/ crosspath to summon Water Kobolds.	Nation access to Glamor/ crosspath spells and sailing.
Nation with but no Glamor/ crosspath access	No Glamor	1	50	Done with a mage provides access to Glamor/ crosspath to summon Water Kobolds.	Nation access to Glamor/ crosspath spells and sailing.
Nation with 3 access but no crosspath	No Air	1	50	Provides crosspath to be able to cast Winds of Death, which is an impactful strategic option.	Ability to threaten significant attrition to large enemy armies.
Mage with 1	1	2	30	Provides access to Cloud Trapeze magic phase movement to the mage.	Enhanced strategic movement and attack options for mage.

Empowering into Blood is also doable; blood slaves are basically Blood gems, after all, just like how astral pearls are basically Astral gems.

There is a danger to empowering in Blood, though. The heinousness of the act may permanently stain the subject's hands with a horror mark, a sigil invisible to all but the gods above and the horrors further above them…