Magic

Overview of Magical Organizations

Any with magical abilities on the continent must either join a The Cult of the Weave temple, go to the Magic University of Lorilla to support the Knights of Alba, or go to The Isle to hone their skills in preparation to defend the world. Magical talent is scarce; therefore, there are only a few hundred mages worldwide. Less than fifty are of considerable power, five of which are in The Holy City of Kindra serving as High Priestess Priests. One runs the Magic University of Lorilla, Three The Isle, and the rest are distributed between the other races, with the Stillary of Stillendam and the Quintri of Quintrium having a disproportionately high number.

Where is the Weave of magic?

The Weave controls all magic in Ayrul. In the continent of Azrea, the Weave belongs to The Cult of the Weave. They are also known as the daughters of Cos: the All-Mother goddess of Light and Protection or the five goddesses. At the centre of the arcane web sits Mag: the goddess of Magic and Balance. The spider goddess who maintains the Weave. The Arcane Web touches both the light and the dark realm simultaneously while physically existing in a dimension between them. These realms run parallel to the world wherein humans live. In Azrea, the dark realm is warded off from the others by Mag: the goddess of Magic and Balance, and it holds the dark side of Cos: the All-Mother goddess of Light and Protection and her dark son Hazmothane: the First Son god of the Cycle. It would be possible for these deities to find another way into the physical realm by travelling to other parts of the world and across domains. Still, the dark realm contains many heavily territorial beings of equal power who do not take well to the presence of others. The daughters of Cos: the All-Mother goddess of Light and Protection have made a deal with a potent deity in the dark realm on the Apour continent. This deity contains these threats from their end in exchange for souls.

What is the Arcane Web?

Geography

The arcane web is an ecosystem that revolves around the flow of magic. Webbing spans all directions, and magical energy runs along with these cords. At the centre of the network in Azrea, which stretches throughout the solar system, sits Mag: the goddess of Magic and Balance. She is a glorious white light of energy in a translucent spider body. The webbing carries neutral magic that has not been imbued with any specific function, effectively lines of raw power. Mag: the goddess of Magic and Balance and other creatures spin these webs, regenerating and adding to the network. In the Weave, this magical power is at its strongest. Once a piece of webbing is brought into another realm, it begins to lose its power. Unless tethered to the Weave, it is tough to tether magic. Only the most skilled craftsman who knows magic well can create artefacts that hold their magic this way. Lesser works tend to lose energy quickly, and few spells can survive disconnected from the Weave for more than a day. Most lose power in a matter of minutes. The webbing is highly malleable, especially in the hands of a skilled master.

Biology

There is an extensive ecosystem that lives on the Weave centred around magic. Enigmites and other insectoid creatures eat magic, which Weave Spiders eat, and other similar critters adapted to feeding on the magic eaters. The Weave Spiders descend from Mag: the goddess of Magic and Balance, and they have evolved over many generations. Their webbing adds to the Weave, and carries magical power in them, however for that power to last and amplify, it must be connected to the Weave itself. The insectoids that feed on the magic can choke the flow of power, and so the predators are essential to keep their numbers under control. Eating the insectoids intern, gives the predators the energy they need to combine light from the light realm and dark from the dark realm, to create webs that contain magical energy. The cycle both creates and burns magical energy perpetually.

How do magic-users tap into the Weave?

Natural

The Weave is inherently unconstrained by type. It can be imbued with life essence to give it additional properties. Some creatures can use their life force to infuse it, like elementals, spirits, deities, and others must use the essence of others, see the divine and arcane sections. Webbing must be extracted out of the Weave or obtained from a live Weave Spiders or a similar source. There are different ways to access the Weave. The most common way is to use your life energy to connect to the Weave, thereby creating a rift. However, this drains your life energy away. The longer the person keeps the rift engaged, the more life energy is sapped away. A magic-user that extends this breach beyond their limits will die. Rest, meditation, and relaxation can recover lost life energy. However, it takes time, depending on how much gets sapped. It can potentially take as long as months to recover fully. There is a rare stone called orrellium, which can hold a spell indefinitely, with the power to release as needed. Few humans are aware of its existence, and its nature is a closely guarded secret of the Dwan of the Northern Towers. All magic is limited because it must be of or connected to the Weave. Levitating something at a distance that you cannot see is impossible without previously having placed a web there, imbued it, joined it to yourself in some way and then later calling on that connection. To cast a spell, one must physically send the imbued web from where you are to where you want the spell to take effect. The cycle of draining your life force and refilling does not accelerate your death. Some magic users have used healing to extend their lives beyond their expected time.

Divine

A divine magic-user uses the essence of their deity, channelled through their holy symbol or another device, to imbue the webbing with energy. The nature of that deity determines the limitations of the magic. While the followers of two different gods can do much of the same magic through other means, some aspects of what they do would be restricted as the essence does not allow the caster to go there. Healing is common among most divine or natural magic users. However, the Goddesses deal in souls as their primary currency, and they guard it closely. Resurrection is not possible in Azrea. If someone were to be able to do it, they would be committing a grievous offence to the ruling Deities of the region, and it would most definitely bring down their wrath.

Arcane

Arcane casters can use the essences of elementals or other magical creatures to imbue the cords for specific functions. An arcane caster would have a pouch of different materials for infusing. Each combination of elements would create a different effect. Since this approach of combinations can be pretty volatile, many who discover it on their own do not survive it for long. At magic University of Lorilla or The Isle, teach users the correct quantities to use and the appropriate safety measures to execute any spell and avoid bringing a Weavestorm on themselves.

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural