When in doubt, I fall back on the Most Revered Book of all (no, not the Abiding Book) : the DICTIONARY.
Sez in the french "Petit Larousse" :
MYSTICISM : "religious or philosophical attitude that affirms perfect communion
with God or the Absolute is possible through contemplation and/or rapture".
Armed with this knowledge (and I'll admit I had a very fuzzy grasp of the meaning of this word up to that moment), I see mysticism definitely as an extension / offshoot / branch of any of the other three systems. Mystics are the crazies and weirdos who go for the Absolute, not caring about the mundane world. There are many paths to Communion with the All. Lunar Enlightenement is one. Tarumathi use a theistic approach. Some Wyzards from the West lose themselves on the contemplation of Holy Runes (sorcery approach). Some animists whip themselves into a trance to get there, the most spectacular being the zorak zoran mystics who walk the path and Anger and Hatred.
So what about the eastern world, which up to now was said to be mystic ? I love the explanations about they being jealous of not having their own system, or the Godlearners trying to make this quadrant fit with their world-view, etc. Perhaps there are more mystics in this part of the world than elsewhere. Perhaps the first godlearner who landed ran into a group of mystics first and got the idea the whole of Kra Lor was mystical.
To me, most Teshnans are theists. The Kra Lori elite looks for Communion with the All using techniques learned (stolen from ?) dragonewts and adapted to their mere human form. They also fitted in there sorcery and theism to get useful magics. But the average paddy worker understands very little about all this and is no more a mystic than I.
As for mytic PCs, why not if they're your pleasure ? But it'd need to be worked out. They'd need a long-term goal that fits with their ultimate aim.
And who said Communion with the All recquires rejecting the mundane world anyway ? The All can appear in many ways, as the list of events possibly triggering Illumination in ILH 2 does show. Perhaps it is by seeking the most intense experiences in this World that one can reach the All. I suspect more and more that Hrestol did precisely that, including his Death (which he staged carefully).
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