Magic
Of the Four Spheres - and the three Forces, "magic" and "void" are the ones with which I, myself, am most familiar. That said, it is also where there is the most to know. It is the most mysterious, the most difficult to control, the most dangerous and has the potential to be the most powerful and versatile. That said, the vast majority of mortals, at least, have familiarity with only the slimmest band of what "magic" truly is. The question is... why?
It is the consequence of the way in which we learned to dance with Void. During the building of what we now know to be "schools of magic" inside Gaean, it became necessary to construct "learning pathways" for humans to traverse en route to understanding. The problem is, no single path can touch every part of an expanse as large as the void for which it is called.
The Nature of Magic
Magic is the word given to the ability to move, channel and manipulate Void Energy energy. This energy permeates the world itself, and is present in all things - it is, therefore, a much more generalized form of energy than, for example, the Od energy used by Psionics.
In its default form, Void is invisible to the naked eye; when examined by an energy sensor, it appears to be white light. The process of using magic involves pulling apart and controlling the various "colors" of light or energy and amplifying, diminishing or recombining them in various ways to create different effects - once this begins, the energy being used becomes visible with a hue reflecting the specifics of the manipulation in process.
General Spheres and Effects
There are three general "spheres" of colored energy (Red, Green and Blue) each of which roughly correlates to a wider swathe of effects (Destroy or Remove, Create or add to, and Transform or Change, respectively). Unlike psionics, magic always has some kind of visual effect, with brighter effects generally indicating a greater amount of energy being utilized and thus a stronger effect.
There is more on this (and the caveats) below. For now, it's enough to know that the color of the effect correlates to where on the "wheel" of colors the effect rests - for example, an effect that combines destruction with transformation will have a purpleish hue. When all three work in tandem, creating effects that require all three spheres, the effect appears white. When they are suppressed or drained, the resulting effect appears black, like shadows.
Sphere Breakdowns
External War
One of the purest expressions of destructive power - this includes any kind of damaging or physically destructive magic. Fireballs, lightning strikes, force bolts, ice shards that fly across space to impale enemies. It touches slightly on Creation due to the need to invent whatever effect is being used, but it remains a rather violent form of magic.
Classic Examples: Fireballs, explosions, lightning bolts.
Struggles With: Anyone with a gentle or very empathetic personality, pacifists.
Comes Easily To: Warriors, people with rage issues, violent people.
Travel or Summons
Removes something from one place and adds them to another place. This can involve direct, instantaneous travel or things like creation of pathways between places. It also includes summoning of items, people, animals, etc.
Classic Examples: Teleportation, paths between spaces, summoning monsters or spirits.
Struggles With: Homebody types
Comes Easily To: Most others, as people tend to want to go places.
Illusion/Phantasmal Matter
Creates images, sounds, etc that do not exist outside of the magical effect. This can include solid constructs, for example. To do this one must remove emptiness and add the thing being projected/created. Phantasmal images or sounds, temporarily conjured objects, etc. are all possible, but must be actively maintained.
Classic Examples: Solid light constructs, phantasmal servants or mounts, creation of visual or audio experiences.
Struggles With: Unimaginative people, people who struggle with abstract concepts
Comes Easily To: Deceptive people, creative people, abstract thinkers
Learning and Communication
By removing the veil obscuring understanding, one adds or creates new knowledge and understanding, one is able to uncover secrets or communicate at range. This can include things like language interpretation, precognition, energy detection.
Classic Examples: Induced visions, clairvoyance, language interpretation, detection of a specified thing, matter analysis, communication with animals
Struggles With: Closed minded people; people who dislike a certain thing will have a hard time communicating or learning about that thing, e.g animal haters struggle at communicating with animals.
Comes Easily To: Intellectually curious, scholars, nosy people
Conjure/Manifest
Creating actual things that previously did not exist. These things are not summoned from elsewhere, they are made by the magic itself, but are self-persisting. In some cases, they may be dependent enough on magic that negating the magic dissolves the creation, but this is not always the case. This is the purest form of creation or addition, and can include things as simple as manifesting a feather pen or as complicated as the growth of homunculi.
Classic Examples: Food or drink creation, homunculi, creation of simple objects
Struggles With: Destructive people
Comes Easily To: Architects, artists, etc. People will have an easier time with things directly related to their personality or habits (for example, an expert blacksmith would find manifesting a sword easier than creating a meal).
Life/Heal/Cure
Transform disease or wounds through the application of constructive energy that purifies and heals. This magic is associated with life in all its forms, however - it can also be used to, for example, restore life and health to plants.
Classic Examples: Healing, regenerating lost limbs, reviving plants, speeding plant growth.
Struggles With: Destructive or hostile people
Comes Easily To: Healers, biology experts, selfless or kind people.
Empower/Enchant
Use magic to enhance, empower, strengthen. This is the flavor of magic used to bind effects to objects. It is also used to, for example, temporarily increase one's own strength/speed or even intelligence or understanding. It can also be used to temporarily empower some other object or person with a give ability or effect.
Classic Examples: Enhancing the physical power of oneself or others, creating permanent magical items.
Struggles With:
Comes Easily To:
Change/Alter
Altering a thing to make it another thing. Water turns to blood, blood turns to soup, cats turn to dogs, a person turns into a tree. This magic will often (but not always) have a temporary effect; it is easily used for minor cosmetic things, such as changing one's hair color, bbut it can also have more substantial effects (e.g. turning a bowl of stones into a bowl of fruits, nuts and bread for starving people.
Classic Examples: Shapeshifting, changing the flavor of a food someone has to eat but dislikes
Struggles With:
Comes Easily To:
Necromancy
Magic related to death and transfigurations linked directly to death or dead things. Animating skeletal remains, trapping souls to empower golems, draining life energy, etc all fall under necromancy.
Classic Examples: Corpse animation, soul anchoring, spirit summoning
Struggles With: Those who are disturbed by death
Comes Easily To: Killers, morticians, those who are interested in death.
Exchange
Consumes one thing to create another. This can often look similar to change or alteration, but the underlying mechanism is very different, as alteration changes one thing into another whereas exchange destroys one thing to create another. This form of magic relies on the principle of equivalent exhange, but what qualifies as "equivalent" can vary between objective (two pounds of cherries for two pounds of blueberries) or subjective (someone's favorite music box for a thousand gold pieces).
Classic Examples: Alchemy, growing physically stronger by consuming matter.
Struggles With: Hoarders
Comes Easily To: Bargainers
Deconstruction
Taking things apart or removes them. This takes a thing/person/object/etc and removes it by way of pulling it apart a piece at a time. Disintegration would be a prominent example, but it can also be used to negate magic or form protective circles that destroy any attacking item or magic. This is the purest form of destroy/remove magic, of course.
Classic Example: Magic negation, magical armor that absorbs the kinetic force of blows, banishment, removing enchantments
Struggles With:
Comes Easily To:
Internal War
The battle for control over the minds and behavior of others. This includes any magic designed to control, invade or influence the mind or spirit of others.
Classic Example: Altering emotions or memories, controlling minds, hypnotism, activating others' abilities against their will.
Struggles With: Very physical or straightforward people
Comes Easily To: Controlling people
The Hidden Spheres
White
When all spheres are used simultaneously in equal measure, this produces a white-light effect associated with some of the most powerful magic. At the highest levels these spells are capable of warping reality or time.
Classic Example: Slowing or stopping time, granting wishes, undoing an already done action
Black
When all void energy is pulled back from a location this produces the null-magic called Shadow or Darkness Magic. This is inherently destructive, though the form of that destructiveness can depend on the will shaping it. At its most basic it will tend to drain the energy or life force out of any person or thing it touches.
Classic Examples: Life drain, will drain, corruption, entrapment
Essential Information
Prevalence
Magic use is nearly universal among Demons, and fairly common among Celestials as well. No Mortal is born with the ability to use magic, but many can learn to do so. That said, for Mortals it is more difficult, and often more restricted, due to the need to organize the magic in one's head using specific systems, or schools. For more on the specific relationship between mortals and magic, see Systems and Schools below.
Rarity of Ranks by Species
| Ability | Demons | Mortals | Celestials | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palen | 5% | 75% | 42% | No ability to manipulate, or inaccessible ability. This is extremely rare among Demons. |
| Enop | 20% | 15% | 10% | A low level of ability capable of small/simple manifestations. For Demons, this level is most common among Debils, Gargoyles, and Drereccas. |
| Modu | 52% | 10% | 25% | The most common level of ability for those who have the ability to begin with. Capable of small but more complicated tasks or larger but simple tasks (e.g. lighting a furnace). For Demons, this is the average level of any subspecies other than Djinn, Baetolori and Archdemons. |
| Dumen | 15% | 4% | 10% | The level of ability demonstrated by most Djinn and Baetolori. |
| Vaham | 8% | .75% | 7.5% | The highest rank (naturally) achievable by most Demons aside Djinn, Baetolori an Archdemons. The level typically demonstrated by Archdemons. |
| Vallus | .33% | .02% | .25% | This is the highest level typically achievable by Djinn and Baetolori, the highest level achievable by mortals to date, and the usual cap of Celestials aside from Dei. |
| Vis | .0002% | 0%* | 0%** | The level of ability common to the most powerful archdemons or Dei and a statistically insignificant number of non-Dei Celestials. |
Void: A Bottomless Well of Power
Unlike Psionics, Elemental Affinities or Physiological abilities, there is no theoretical limit to the amount of Void energy one can use in creating their choice effect. This is because the energy used is external to the body and permeates the world itself, creating a hypothetically near bottomless well of power on which to draw. This does mean that even a low ranked Debil could, in theory, use worldshaping magic. Again, in theory.
Practically, however, limits are imposed by the physical and mental endurance of the wielder. For more on this see Effect on the User below.
Ranking Void-users
The strength of a void-user is ranked by the typical Palen through Vis scale. Rank is determined by a mix of competence/skill level and physical/mental limits.
Manifestation
Magic is the most visually spectacular of the various ability spheres. Once Void energy is "touched" or changed in any way, the invisibility of the "light" is shattered, and the power being used announces itself to anyone within range of sight. Not only does the visual/light effects of magic announce its use, the color of the light gives away the kind of magic being used... and the brightness is a giveaway for how much void energy is being pushed, and thus how strong the effect is.
Altering the Appearance of Magic
The visual "loudness" of void use can be somewhat mitigated with high levels of magical skill, as a truly skilled void user can affect the appearance of the energy they wield. This can mean dulling or increasing the brightness of the effect to mislead others as to the strength of magic used, or even altering or dulling the color of the light to conceal the specifics of the effect.
This also means that some of the more visually oriented users are able to develop a specific visual signature to their abilities - specific patterns of light, for example, or even certain scents/sounds/etc. This is very common among Mortals associated with specific systems, see below. These signatures can also be a subconsciously affected reflection on the personality of the user.
Note, however, that the visual effect cannot be eliminated, only altered... with one exception.
When magic is used to support or enhance another ability sphere rather than used independently, it is significantly easier to alter or hide its use. Ergo, if someone is controlling fire via pyrokinetic psionics and boosting it via destruction magic, the outcome may be indistinguishable from normal psionic use.
Accessing, Shaping and Using Magic
Magic is a more complicated force than the other ability spheres - unwieldy and sometimes difficult to control. In order to truly excel at its use, one must understand how certain effects are achieved. It is also, generally speaking, a rather bombastic form of power - unlike the others, magic loudly announces its use in the form of different colored light, after all. Things useful to know, keep in mind, and/or manipulate follow.
Accessing Spheres as a Magic-Wielder
In theory, anyone who can access and manipulate void energy to create magic can do so in any area along the spectrum of spheres. However, in practice, users are often limited by their own personalities and tendencies: a person who does not value life will struggle with healing magic, for example, and a person who is loathe to violate the agency and free will of others will find it difficult to comprehend Internal Battle magic, and even harder to use it effectively.
Also, bear in mind that using the energy itself does not imply knowing any specific use for it. A user of alteration magic may be able to shapechange themselves but struggle with turning water into wine, for example. These capabilities are largely formed by one's interests, practice, personality and way of seeing the world.
Different Methods, Same Outcome
At times, the same or similar effects can be achieved through different spheres/types of magic. Achieving a similar looking outcome, however does not mean that the means of achieving that goal are the same. Before using a given method, a magic-wielding person should be certain that they understand and can deal with/accept what, specifically, they are doing. For example:
Obtaining a Pet Squirrel
In all cases you end up with a squirrel, and in the case of Alteration and Exchange magic it may even look as if the same "transaction" occurred, but they are not the same at all, really.
Effect on the User
Void energy, and thus magic, is like a wild current on the ocean that one is constantly fighting to stay steady inside. This means it does require a great deal of flexibility and quick thinking to master. The constant surge of energy running through the body of the user also tends to slightly destabilize their emotional regulation. This has resulted in Demons being perceived, correctly, as on the chaotic/erratic side. However, under normal circumstances, this is more of a personality effect than a serious concern for them or others.
Limits are more serious.
Due to the bottomlessness of void energy, all limitations are imposed by the physical, mental and emotional landscape of the user. As a generality, any given user will have soft, hard and catastrophic limits, which can be reached at the same or different times, to varying effects.
Physical Limits
The most straightword limit, this is largely dependent on the physical sturdiness, resilience, etc. of the user's physical body.
Mental/Emotional Limits
Mental and Emotional limits are tied to a person's emotional strength, willpower, and ability to cognitively map the use of the energy in ways that they can control vs. losing the thread and spiraling into uncontrolled places or madness. Limits will be higher when using magic that they person finds easy, and lower for magic they struggle with.
The Implications of Limits
Since limits are per-user, and physical vs emotional limits can be quite different based on the body and personality of the person, practical limits are often much shorter than true limits. For example, Nephilor are extremely physically powerful and often capable of channelling immense amounts of energy, but they are not any more mentally resilient than the average Demon, and so they are generally not as "powerful" as their physical power might otherwise imply.
Once limits are passed, the effects can tend to spiral out of control - for example, a person who surpasses their mental limits becomes less capable of judging their own limits and thus is in greater danger of pushing even farther, causing serious and permanent injury to themselves. Worse, if the person has access to other ability spheres, their ability to regulate or judge their own ability in other fields is also affected. Thus, a person might overreach their mental limits, lose the abillity to judge their use of both magic and psionics and end up surpassing their safe psionic useage limits causing themselves physical damage even while further unbalancing their own psyche.
Expanding Limits
The most obvious and natural way to expand one's limits is obviously to physically and mentally strengthen oneself. Maintaining good health helps with physical limits, and excellent mental health or emotional self-care such as meditation or maintaining sufficient rest can help with mental or emotional limits.
That said, limits can also be expanded through things like the use of Exedis to increase physical power, or by finding a way to order magic in one's mind through some kind of path or system that enhances the user's ability to manage and map the magic as they use it. That brings us to Systems and Schools of magic... which are helpful for Demons and Celestials, but necessary for mortals who wish to master void manipulation.
The Route to Magic
Magical Systems
In most cases, Demons and Celestials who can access magic do so directly and instinctively. For Mortals, it is not nearly so simple.
In nearly every case, a magic-using mortal has managed to access Void through the use of a magical system, also called a magical model. This is simply an artificial framework imposed over the use of Void to help mortal minds learn to navigate and manipulate the energy in question. Different systems adhere to different rules - these rules are not inherent to the use of magic, but are part of the architecture that specific system has put into place. Systems and schools are, in short, the prism through which a mortal understands and accesses Void energy.
As mentioned above, the use of a magical system can also help Demons and Celestials to order void in their minds, thus permitting them to use magic at a higher level than their natural capacity. That said, it is relatively uncommon for them to do this, as it's a great deal of work to undertake for beings who are already quite powerful.
There are several different schools, as well as a number of smaller niches put together by specific families or villages that are specific to them. Some of the larger systems are explored below.
What is a System of magic?
A system of magic is a specific way of looking at magic and its use. They can encompass a number of theories, worldviews and/or beliefs about how magic works and how it should be used. It may include methods of access (rituals, focuses, etc), but this is not necessarily the case. Because all schools and systems are imposed upon magic and do not define it, it is possible to change the way power is accessed by changing one's perspective or behavior.
Some of the more famous systems of magic are:
Elementalism
Taking a cue from elemental affinities, this school of thought suggests that all magic is created from elemental essences, and mixing amd matching those essences produces various effects. As is to be expected, those who adhere to this school tend to be much stronger in elemental magic than other effects. That said, if they are able to conceptualize a way for elements to come together to produce the effect they are attempting, it is significantly easier for them to manage.
Magical Schools
This system divides magic by larger effects - mind-affecting spells, offensive spells, protection spells, etc - with the option to specialize in specific schools. This is also one of the systems that creates specific spells with specific effects, sometimes requiring verbal, material or somatic components. This school is primarily associated with adventurer types.
Ritual Magic
Ritual magic focuses on slow-burn or large effects enacted through often elaborate rituals. There are a number of symbols associated with and evoked during ritual magic; often things like incense, candles and, if relevant, items associated with whom or whatever the ritual is meant to effect. Like the Schools system, ritual magic is primarily associated with specific spells.
Runic Magic
This system focuses on symbols; effects are triggered by placing the symbols in specific orders either physically or in one's mind. Generally runic magic can be identified by the series of symbols that form in the light of the void.
Language-based Magic
A system of magic that uses verbal patterns as a focus to produce effects. The effect of the spell must be verbalized with the use of the specific pattern - examples would be rhyming descriptions, or speaking words in some nonstandard order, or even an invented language. The patterns are often associated with specific families or regions.
Focused Magic
A system that uses physical objects as focal points to control magic. This can be something obvious like a magic wand or it can be something unexpected or specific to the person such as particular accessories, pets.
Fate Magic
Uses chance-based or otherwise uncontrolled focuses. This could be throwing dice to determine effects, using tarot cards to trigger an effect appropriate to the card or layout, anything along those lines. This school depends heavily on the idea that destiny or fate will determine the appropriate outcome.
Expansive Magic
Focuses on meditation, self-awareness and mindfulness to expand the mind and create a more ordered mental place. This does not tend to provide enough mental structure for mortals, particularly humans, as they are not naturally inclined to energy manipulation. It can, however, be useful for Celestials and Demons, who often just need a bit of a nudge.
Mixing and Matching Systems
It is generally not advised to mix and match systems, as the competing theories can create internal conflicts and backfire. However, some systems are more compatible with others, e.g. Expansive Magic is compatible with nearly any system, and there's nothing to stop someone from using a focus to aid in their use of elementalist magic. That said, it does involve twice the effort for diminishing returns, so it isn't necessarily recommended.
Comments