Fire Magic is without a doubt one of the most famed forms of magic within the magical communities, renown for its incredibly potent offensive capabilities. It's of little surprise that those with natural access to significant Fire Magic bloodlines maintain significant power over many other traditional regions.
Ancient History
Unlike many forms of magic, there is significant historical records proving the use of fire magic in ancient history; for the
Hysilens, usage of fire magic was prevalent for... armed resolution of conflict, the fox-like species being purported to have been naturally blessed in the magic as an entire racial bloodline - which is nearly unheard of in a species; even magical species like the Elves only have plentiful magical bloodlines, but still possess a significant number of laymen, or non-magical members.
Further still, the
Raqise continued this trend even after the Hysilens ascended, studying fire magic thoroughly and compiling extensive knowledge on it, some of which survived the fall of the Confederacy and informs fire magic training in institutions like Torana to this day.
Early History
Even prior to the
Shard Ritual's development, interest in Pyromancy has been consistent across the planet; most cultures knew about it even in the Shard Era, but few took to it as fervently as the desert and basin dwellers of the Grand Salahad Desert, where pyro shards are quite plentiful indeed. The Salahad Empire - and later, its successor the Kisupet Empire - in particular used the might of fire magic to wage conquests over much of the Grand Desert.
Modern History
In the modern age, fire magic remains one of the most respected and revered forms of magic. The Kisupet Empire's High Mage, Shirahime, is one of the few mages of the empire who
doesn't specialise in fire magic, yet even she knows almost everything there is to know about it, and the vast majority of its battle mages know the magic to a high degree of skill.
When it comes to the tutelage of fire magic, the Kisupet Empire is home to many excellent magical institutions, but for those not in that area, the school of Torana offers damn near the next best thing.
Pyro Shards
The world has significant clusters of Pyro Shards present all over its surface, with the most intensive outcrops appearing in the harsh deserts of the world - such as the Grand Salahad Desert and in particular the Kisupet Basin - as well as, naturally, deep underground in regions of volcanic activity, which makes the acquisition of pyro shards relatively difficult at large, for there are surprisingly few volcanic regions and deserts in terms of spread.
Fire Manipulation
The most obvious and initial form of fire magic is... well, the manipulation of fire. These fire magic abilities are the easiest to learn, but require strict regimens due to their higher power compared to most forms of magic. Due to this, the less well-trained
Pyromancers can only wield minor fire magic intrinsically, but with just a bit of control and focus the magic can reach truly staggering heights, creating huge, roaring fireballs or entire walls of flame.
The key to fire manipulation is the fact that moreso than any other type of magic, fire manipulation magic is incredibly sensitive to someone's
Aether, particularly their
Aspected Aether. For any other magic type except for
Chaos Magic, running out of aether terminates the magic immediately, but fire magic begins to consume flammable objects from the environment itself, and lacking them, it'll deplete the vitality of the caster to sustain the magic.
Smoke Control
It's of little surprise that a student of fire manipulation can by extension control smoke as well. Smoke is less obviously powerful, but it's very easy to control; it traditionally sees use in vision suppression for combat purposes, as well as the general capability for the suffocation of victims.
Planar Fire Magic
Truly great
Pyromancers can begin to acquire magical powers that blur the lines between mortals and the denizens of the elemental realm of fire. This traditionally comes in the form of the famed and feared Pyromantic Resistance of a pyromancer; beginning only as a significant resiliency to fire, this ability can eventually become true immunity to all forms of fire for the truly great pyromancers. Beyond that, however, planar fire magic can also allow for cloaks of flame - not unlike the flame shields used by
Shielding Magic - and for the best spellcasters in the art to create fiery wings and other elemental additions that grant them something resembling flight, albeit limited.
Elemental Summoning
While
Summoning Magic is the core magical overseer of the summoning process, elemental casters like those with fire magic can establish a link to the elemental realm of fire to conjure forth limited summons. These typically range from binding small flame familiars to summoning larger fire elementals. The very best fire magic casters can even summon elemental phoenixes from the plane of fire, or even an elemental fire dragon, but these are legendarily hard to control.
Combining Elements
The four elemental magics can generally by combined by highly experienced characters to create truly destructive things. To date, there have only been successful combinations of two elements at a time, with three-and-four element combinations proving invariably fatal due to the sheer difficulty in controlling it.
Fire and Air
The combination of
Air Magic and Fire Magic is easily one of the most powerful elemental unions if mastered, with the wind magic allowing for flames to be fanned with air and grown to incredible sizes, or for fire magic to be introduced into storms and tornadoes to turn them into fire variants.
The most elusive and extreme ability however, exclusive to a precious few
Wizards that mastered it, is to use both elements to create plasma, wielding untold destructive potential. This recorded use of the magic is
so rare that only a single person is known to have demonstrated the capability to do so.
Fire and Water
The combination of Fire Magic and
Water Magic is one of the most famous, allowing a caster to create scalding water jets with the ability to burn enemies, or to regulate temperature using fire and water magic in concert. The most powerful casters can create magical clouds of heated steam, and can even use the ice manipulation component of water magic to chill fire and make fire that both burns and freezes.
Fire and Earth
The combination of Fire Magic and
Earth Magic is a combination that has a surprising amount of versatility and power, with the ability to superheat the earth magically, to create areas of searing heat or even - at high levels of skill - to create searing hot lava. While this lacks the destructive elegance of the plasma created with
Air Magic, it can still be extremely problematic when allowed to be used on a planet. That said, this combination is infamously difficult to pull off properly; it's not impossible by any means, but requires experience in both types of magic.
