Vocabulary of Various Terms

Written by strigital

Aether

the non-chaotic magical energy present on Orbis; inert radiation of The Flow near the surface of the earth, present in all living and nonliving things.

Anomaly

an area where the level of chaotic magical energy (or supercharged aether) is much higher than is the norm. Such an area develops anomalous weather, sick and mutated flora and fauna, and high background magical radiation, which disrupts magical artifacts and spells. It is also usual for such areas to have an exit point of a ley line or an open interdimensional rift.

Ante Exitium

(abbr. AE) - a part of a time-tracking system, proposed by the Lodge of Magi of Amaranthine in the first age of the third era. It stands for "before destruction" - a poorly documented time in history from before the Age of Calamities. All that has happened in the AE is considered ancient history or forgotten ages.

Apostate

a practitioner of active magic, whose legal status has been revoked by the church of The Temple Of The Three, or by any official and state-recognized institution of magecraft, or by the monarch, or by personal decree.

Aurora

a visible band of colorful light of the Flow that stretches across the skies north-east to south-west. Depending on the time of the day, moth or year, weather conditions and current fluctuations within the Flow, the aurora can be more or less vibrant. It is at its biggest and brightest in the darkest months of winter and during summer storms.

Blue rot

a potentially deadly sickness caused by the exposure to dangerously high aethereal radiation or raw mana. The afflicted suffer fatigue, indigestion, necrosis of living tissue and organs, cellular damage, unstable mutations and crystallization of the body, mental deterioration, and death. The sick also radiate aether, which can in turn poison any healthy organism that comes into contact with the afflicted. Elves, dwarves and some other non-humanoid species are immune to the negative effects of magical radiation and thus cannot become sick with the blue rot.

Chaotic magic

a highly reactive and very energetic form of magical energy, which mostly prevails within The Flow itself. Occasionally, it will manifest on Orbis in places of the high magical activity or near anomalies. Chaotic magic is deadly and cannot be used practically without causing severe damage to both living organisms and structures. Areas with chaotic magical radiation must be evacuated immediately and isolated until full dissipation. Such areas are also a magnet for chaotic elementals – entities of pure energy that can only exist within the Flow and whose presence on Orbis causes anomalies and rifts in the fabric of reality.

Dead magic, Antimagic

an instance of negative magical energy, which upon contact with positive magical energy nullifies it. It is used to dispel, disenchant, and destroy magical manifestations and entities, as well as to make areas that possess high levels of chaotic energy safe once again. It also instantly destroys chaotic elementals and collapses any open interdimentional rifts or artificial planes of existence.

Fluctuation

an instance within The Flow's natural lifecycle, where its activity slows down or speeds up. A fluctuation is usually the cause of an anomaly, and mages track them in order to perform spells requiring certain conditions of magical weather. In a way, fluctuations are similar to the phases of the moon, albeit less predictable and more impactful on life on the planet.

Glow

a living organism trait that manifests in areas of higher than usual aethereal radiation, which causes plants and animals to emit a blue glow. The glow is harmless to the organisms but causes them to possess inborn magical abilities.

Husk

any living organism which is magically inert. Having one's soul or magic removed from the body produces a husk. Husks can be artificially created, naturally created, or spontaneous. They may also carry an antimagic aura around them, causing nullification to happen in a small radius around them. In some places they are used as living tools for various controlled magical processes and experiments.

Ley line

a mana vein that runs close to the surface of the earth; a horizontal sheet of new mana, usually located in depths above 1000 meters. Despite packing less energy by volume, this newly formed mana is highly reactive, thus surface areas above them pose a more active aethereal energy field. Ley lines emerge in places of high metaphysical activity and huge fragile mana crystal obelisks are formed in such areas, which are actively mined by all races, as well as devoured by some creatures as part of their natural diet.

Magic Unit

(mu) – a standard international unit of magical potential or aetherial force. Example 1: one deep inhalation of aether-saturated air by an average humanoid being with healthy lungs will yield approx. 1mu of magical energy. Example 2: A grain of mana contains approx. 10mu. Example 3: A standard flask of magical restoration potion contain approx. 100mu. Example 4: An average humanoid with no inborn predisposition towards magic has on average 1000 mu within their body. Example 5: A highly trained mage’s body will contain over 10 000 mu of magical energy.

Magnus

extremely dense and ancient mana, found deep beneath the mantle of Orbis. It is rumored that one stone of magnus contains enough raw magical energy to cause a city-destroying explosion. To date, the depths at which sheets of magnus lie are yet to be reached by anyone.

Mana

crystalized aether; non-chaotic magical energy, which has penetrated the surface of the earth and condensed into a blue gem-like structure, which can be obtained through mining. One grain of mana contains approximately ten times the amount of energy as one inhalation of aether-saturated air.

Post Salutis

(abbr. PA) - a part of a time-tracking system, proposed by the Lodge of Magi of Amaranthine in the first age of the third era. It stands for "after salvation" - a point in history at which an event known as the Age of Calamities came to an end and the First Era began. All that has happened after the PA is sorted into antiquity (the First Era), grim ages (the Second Era), rebirth (beginning of the Third Era), and new history (from the middle of the Third Era and onward.)

Witch (female), Witcher (male)

a person with an inclination towards magic, who uses it practically without being affiliated with either the church of the Temple Of The Three or any official and state-recognized institution of magecraft.