Dangers of Magic Primer

WIP

“The mundane world and magic are impossible to separate. There are many who refuse to believe this simple truth. They view magic as dangerous and evil because they do not understand it. Though that lack of understanding is becoming all too common these days. Those of us who use and study magic have noticed a growing change. There is something within the Arcane itself, An increase in the innate casters was the first sign of that change. The terrorgheists a far more concerning change that did not used to exist. I shudder to think what may come next if we cannot contain this change.” -Aldaris Vetamoor, Tavori Archmage

Excluding the dragons, the Tavori are seen as the masters of magic by many in the world. Their intricate seals and binding runes force magic to their bidding. Many view it as imposing order on something dangerous, chaotic, and wild. The only magic the majority of people will trust is that which comes from a Tavori-sanctioned practitioner. Within their order, those who were alive and practicing over a hundred years ago have noticed a drastic change in the state of the Arcane of the world. In the ages before the magic of the world was always temperamental with what could be compared to a beast's intelligence. It avoided things that hurt it and resisting against attempts to force it into anything. That intelligence has grown stronger as if some great slumbering essence has awakened. As it wakes magic changes.
None would argue that magic has gotten more potent, to a dangerous degree. Previously stable seals and wards began to shatter as magic grew more powerful causing the Tavori to scramble to construct more powerful bindings. In the times before magic could be compared to a constant stream, without warning it began to rage like rapids. Magic began bursting the walls of Arcane circles, enchanted items flaring and exploding causing all forms of chaos. Diviners have sought the answer to this and are all only shown the same thing. Towering obsidian monoliths radiating Arcane power and an even larger winged shadowy form behind it. Some believe it is the dragons, while more believe some fiend has enacted a plan to undermine the stability of the world as a precursor to outsider invasion.
The old guard struggles to understand the world they once claimed mastery over as it changes from under them. Those born into this new state of magic have many challenges to overcome. With that adversity, they can reach the same great heights of the greatest mages in the history of the mortal empires.

For characters embarking on the path of mastery of magic or studying it

There are many accounts of how magic once worked. Try as they might to make them work again, the old ways are dead. The Arcane itself rebels against the shackles that once held it.
In this new age of magic discovery, you must choose if you want to cling to the idea that magic can be controlled by the will of mortals. Or will you take the plunge into the unknown waters that the Arcane is going? To those born into their powers, there is no escaping the reality that they are bound to the Arcane. They feel the desire to know more, to grow more powerful, and most importantly gain understanding. These mages are never alone in this pursuit though. The moment their powers manifest there is an entity made from the Arcane, a Terrorgheist that stalks them. A threat that magic is useless against and that only you can see. The Terrorgheist knows your greatest fears, it knows everything about you and you know next to nothing about it. To those who gain their powers from pacts be it of faith or bargains with greater powers your magic is not your own. You do not experience the same tempest that magic can bring but you are not free from the dangers of magic either. The cost of magic is high, especially for those who were never meant to have it in the first place. Those born to magic have an inborn resistance to the ravages of magic. Those who study magic learn ways to mitigate the cost on body and mind granting some resistance so long as they are careful. Only the protection of your patron can shield you.
To those who study to gain power, yours is a long path with the potential for great rewards. With understanding comes mastery and there are a great many mysteries in this age. Through the use of sigils, seals, circles, and wards you bind the dangerous tides of magic. Through the use of components and words of power, you make magic bend reality to your will. It takes an immense will to take on something as powerful and dangerous as the Arcane and come out on top. For any small misstep opens you up to the full fury of the hostile tides you once sought to control.

The cost of power

All power has a cost, with magic it is not a metaphorical cost and often that cost is beyond lethal. For those who use magic, in any form, or even being too close to an object or area of great power one of two fates can await you.

Oversaturation/Lascora

To those without magic of their own, their bodies can only withstand so much Arcane energy. Too much magic risks the onset of the condition known as Oversaturation or Lascora. Oversaturation is when the body has become infused with enough magic to become toxic. There exist dangerous treatments, but, there is no cure.
Those who are slow to act on this condition will suffer from sickness, madness, mutation, corruption, and death. As the saturation continues the afflicted will gain more power through mutation. These mutations will cause the body to change and with it strange new powers to develop at a cost. Their minds begin to break apart memories are the first thing to go. The afflicted will lose emotional control and sentience as the mutations progress. When the afflicted devolves into a magic-starved mutant they crave the blood of mages. Most will choose to dwell in places of heavy Arcane poisoning such as crystal gardens.

Crystallization

This is the fate of those who have their own magic, studied or inborn. It begins much like Oversaturation but takes on a different form. Crystallization spreads with each overindulgence in magic accelerating each time. The mage does not lose their mind, both a blessing and a curse as they are always aware of what is happening to them. As the crystal consumes more of them so too does their fear of what is happening to them.
Those early in the process speak of hearing a soft constant humming that grows stronger around powerful magic. So far no one has found an effective treatment for Crystallization, let alone a cure. In the final form, the body will petrify. The crystal body sustains them on magic but traps them in their own bodies doomed to their crystal prison.

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"To delve into the depths of magic is to become strange to the mundane peoples of the world. As you immerse yourself in magic there will be changes to you, physical and mental. Some are hard to notice, withdrawing from basic tasks to focus on studies is a common first step. This leads to the shunning of people in general, taking an aloof attitude to their plights. It is far too common for those dedicated to the path of power they pay for it with their humanity or their equal to it. If only it would stay so subtle, there is an entropy to casting spells our bodies can only withstand so much. This is why any mage training worth a damn will stress the importance of not reaching beyond your means. To my knowledge, there is no way to predict what form the cost will take at any moment. The withering of bodies, the shattering of minds, and mutation all exist to remind us that there is a cost to magic." -Exerpt from a tome of magic

To understand magic better you must abandon the concepts that there is 'good' or 'evil' magic. Magic is a force of nature in this world. Magic is not something that can be divided into tidy little definitions. Compare magic to an ocean, if you splash about on its surface there is little to fear, never disrespect it, but don't fear it. As you go deeper though, you start to lose sight of the sun above. That which was once good and normal becoming more and more obscured by the darkness and crushing weight of the water. As it is with magic, the deeper you go into magic the more you become disconnected from the simple, mundane affairs of life. There are many reasons why someone would swim into the unknown darkness, curiosity is the biggest. As you swim deeper you will fight harder to resist the ever-increasing pressure that wants to crush you. To remain whole you must have training to fortify yourself to face the crushing depths and go deeper. If you reach too far and become lost to the ocean you will be consumed and what remains will be something else entirely. It should never be assumed that magic is safe, given the chance it will eat you literally and figuratively. A successful mage seeks to tame magic to use it in a way that it won't devour them.
To extend the metaphor the ocean is filled with all manner of creatures so to is the Arcane some may appear benevolent or malevolent but they are all part of that force of nature. A predator might choose your enemy as its food but that doesn't make it your friend. The deeper you go the stranger and more terrifying the creatures you will face.

Act of casting a spell

To the mundane of the world, they see a mage chant strange words, move their hands and sorcery happens. The truth is far more involved spells of the first circle and higher take a toll on the caster. they take a massive amount of willpower to impose their will onto the Arcane to shape reality. Taken too far this will lead to mental exhaustion to the point they are unable to do anything. Not being able to do anything complicated until they are well-rested and recovered. It is not only a mental toll though as the body acts as the conduit for the magic taking on extra stress. As the body is the conduit for that energy the mage guides its flow into and out of them. If the caster hasn't prepared themselves through training and preparation the spell will enervate them. It is not uncommon to find human mages in their early thirties with white hair even with preparation. The enervation of the body is the fear of those who practice Tavori's style of magic. The Scorathi train to immerse themselves in magic to take the role of a humble guide instead of a dominating force. The Tavori condemn this practice as reckless and having almost no real control. Through the Scorathi's methods of preparation, the Arcane does not ravage their forms. At least not in the same visible ways. A Scorathi caster is often more youthful in appearance, an 80-year-old human mage could look to be in their 30s. This effect is a danger as it becomes all the more appealing to overindulge and leads to Crystallization or other problems.
To cast a spell you must first gather the energy from the Arcane by using your own as a sort of beacon to attract more energy to you
Tavori: Using the gathered energy you force it into the shape of an Arcane circle of increasing complexity. Each spell circle gets another layer or ring into the circle itself. The magic will thrash and become violent as it rages within the formed circle. This is when the words of power and if needed a material focus helps channel the Arcane. The combination of words and a material focus gives an escape to the contained magic in the form of a spell.
Scorathi: The gathered energy flows into you without a circle to act as a barrier. This energy is euphoric but to craft a spell it requires a calm mind to offer a path through the body. As the magic travels through the body the mage shapes the spell in their mind projecting that will into the Arcane. That projection is then mirrored in the real world in the form of a spell. To help with the manifestation of the spell the use of words of power gives further intent and definition to the spell.

Words of power

The words of power used by the mages of the world are Draconic. The draconic language has a powerful meaning ascribed to them within the Arcane. A spoken word of power reverberates in the Arcane which helps the mage shape the spell by giving a clear vision of the spell in the Arcane.

Somatic components

The gestures with magic are another level to help the mage give shape to a spell. Most mages need help to visualize a spell's form. Skilled mages can shape a spell without needing these gestures but it requires a powerful imagination. As an example, while creating a spell that takes the form of a sphere it is common to move the hands as if sculpting the sphere in the air. The spell will form there because that is where their focus is.