Magic

• What is Magic?
• What are Arcane Energies?
• What can magic do?
  • Earth
  • Fire
  • Water
  • Air
  • Nature
  • Molten
  • Tempest
  • Frost
• What Can't magic do?
• How do you Perform Magic?
  • Natural Talent
  • Spiritual Assistance
  • Medium
• Casting Magic Specifics
• What about Spirit?
• Necromancy

What is Magic?

Magic is the process of utilizing ones own arcane energies to reach out and influence the arcane energy within the world and other entities. Everything is constructed of a form of this arcane energy which permeates the universe.
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What Are the Arcane Energies?

The arcane energies which permeate the world are made of four raw elements; Earth, Air, Fire, Water. There is a fifth basic element, but not all things possess this energy. It is considered a divine element called Spirit.
Accompanying the raw and divine elements, there are four refined elements which are composed of a combination of the raw elements in balance; Nature (Earth and Water), Molten (Earth and Fire), Tempest (Air and Fire), Ice (Air and Water).
Polar opposites (Fire/Water, Earth/Air) do not have an element of their own as they are fundamentally incompatible, that does not mean they cannot be utilized together. Fire can be used with water to manipulate the temperature of water, while Air can be used with Earth to create sand and dust storms.
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What Can Magic Do?

The amount of manipulation that the caster (manipulating individual) can afflict on the target depends upon the caster's own strength in the elements being utilized and the sentience of the target. The simpler the target's makeup, the easier to manipulate it. The raw elements are the easiest to manipulate, such as fire, air, water, and earth.
Magic can be used to direct and shape the raw elements. With the correct combinations of elements, one could freeze water and shape ice, create or redirect storms, manipulate plants and metals, heal wounds, and even manipulate the body itself.
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Earth:

Solidify dirt into stone or sand; break stone down into earth or sand. Reshape earth or stone with caster's hands or through familiar's touch.
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Fire:

Control the size of or heat put off by a fire. Create fire by manipulating the heat in an object. Create sparks or fire by manipulating the heat in the air. Shape and direct fire (as seen in firebolt).
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Water:

Pull ambient water from the air to "create" water. Pull ambient water in the air to create mist. Shape and direct water (as seen in firebolt).
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Air:

Move air to create a breeze or high winds. Pull air away from an object to create a vacuum. Pull oxygen from water particles to breathe underwater.
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Nature:

Manipulate the shape of malleable plant life (vines, non woody plants). Influence the shape of young woody plant life (small branches, young trees). Reshape shed woody plant life (logs, fallen branches). Influence and direct the growth of plant life. Calm and communicate with non sentient animals.
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Molten:

Reduce metal or stone to a molten state. Shape molten stone or metal with hands or familiar's touch (warning: this can and will cause harm if done without proper protective equipment). Control temperature in objects in a molten state.
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Tempest:

Influence over existing storms (redirect, break up, strengthen). Create storms. Manipulate ions to create and direct lightning. Create dust storms. Manipulate water vapor.
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Frost:

Manipulate temperature in water and liquids to create or melt ice. Shape ice.
Direct ice (as seen in firebolt). top

What Can't Magic Do?

Magic has it's limits, as all things do. Magic cannot break the natural order of the world. It cannot make ice hot and fire cold, turn wheat to gold, make an apple a watermelon, and so on. Magic can empower objects to defy the natural order of the world, such as making stone float so long as the enchantment is powered, but the natural laws will always eventually re-assert itself. It cannot bring a dead body back to life, but it can animate a corpse. Even the gods are subject to these natural limitations.
Magic, for the most part, cannot be used to create the substance it is manipulating out of nothing. Water can be pulled from the air, but if there is no water in the air, then water cannot be pulled out. Fire can be made by super heating the air, but if it is too cold, then the air cannot be heated fast enough.
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How Do You Perform Magic?

Magic is utilized in one of three ways; Natural Talent, Spiritual Assistance, or through a Medium.
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Natural Talent:

A natural talent in magic is seen mostly in races of those who were exposed to specific conditions or became enlightened. Creatures such as Dragons, Fae, and Unicorns developed an ability to perform magic naturally through exposure of high concentrations of arcane energy over a long period of time. It is a result of natural evolution.
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Spiritual Assistance:

Spiritual assistance utilizes an in between to manipulate the energies, consisting of Familiars , Demons , or Shades . The assistants accomplish this by attuning to the spiritual element within their charge. Through the bond, they are able to direct the will of the caster through themselves to affect the target. This method of casting, however, is limited in strength by the assistant rather than the caster.
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Medium:

Casting through a medium is using written or spoken instructions to manipulate energies. It is a rare form of magic, primarily used by Fae folk via True Names and Dwarves via Runes and is limited in uses. True Names only affect creatures with the ability to hold a concept of self and require a deep understanding of the identity of the target. Using the true name on a sentient being is easier than using it on something of lower sentience. Runes are limited to the manipulation of raw or refined elements to grant an enchantment, such as a stone box pulling cold into itself to create a freezer.
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Casting Magic Specifics

Within the  Eldyverse, the energy that permeates the world can be compared to water. Each energy flows across the world in slow gentle streams, sometimes pooling, sometimes mixing in a whirlpool of energy, creeping and diverging across the lands, influenced by and influencing the land around it. Thus, spellcasting can be viewed similarly to chemistry or alchemy. The energies are mixed in different proportions for different effects. Sometimes, one can use one type, sometimes one mixes two or more. Like chemistry, there can be explosive backlashes with the wrong mixtures and quantities. 
The time it takes to cast a spell varies depending on the complexity of the spell. The more elements mixed in, the longer it will take and the more precision required. Simple spells can be cast instantaneously and on instinct, sometimes able to be chained back to back, others can be cast instantly with focus and require focus to maintain. 
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What About Spirit?

Spirit is an element which is both manipulatable and unmanipulable. It is either positively charged or negatively charged and found within living or once living things, such as plants, animals, and people. Within a living body, it is positively charged. In a corpse and in spirits, it is negatively charged. Spirit is believed to be the element that composes the soul. Spirit is manipulatable by naturally talented individuals or those who only have a spiritual affinity, however manipulation is limited. A positive charge allows the being to view and interact with The Reflection. A negative charge allows the being to interact with The Mirror.
Spirit also facilitates the bond between Assistants and Casters. This bond can be mutually beneficial for the involved parties, but also a double edged blade for the caster. In the case of familiars, the bond is exclusively mutually beneficial. To be considered a familiar, the spirit is benevolent and cooperates with it's partner, thus growing from the bond. With Demons and Shades, it is a double edged sword. Demons are malevolent, bonding with the caster for it's own ends, and often uses the bond to manipulate the caster's body to suit it's own needs to eventually take over as it's own. Shades are enslaved souls of the dead forced into servitude by Shadow Dancers, who are beings of pure spirit affinity due to exposure to extremely high levels of arcane energy. They are able to use the bond to manipulate the shade in question as well as manifest it like a familiar on the physical plane. The shackles placed on the Shade prevent it from the body manipulation a demon is capable of, but should the Shadow Dancer's will fail, the Shade can wrest control of the body and expel the Dancer's soul from it.
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Necromancy

Necromancy is a terrible and forbidden art. It deals with the reanimation of the dead. It is considered an abomination of magic, even the gods seek to snuff out despite their non interference pact. Necromancy is achieved by few, requiring a balance of the caster's elemental affinities, a strong spiritual presence, and intimate knowledge of elemental balance within a body. As the corpse ages and decays, the elemental affinities within the body begin to weaken as well, like a water skin with a slow leak. The more it decays, the more susceptible to necromantic magic it becomes.
As corpses lack the spirit element once the soul leaves the body, there is no will to resist manipulation. Basic elements can be used to reanimate it into a mindless slave. These animated corpses can be instructed to go dormant to save their energy imbued by the caster, then become active when conditions to do so are met, such as movement from an intruder or a command given by the caster. Souls are able to be placed into a corpse to create an intelligent abomination, but it will lack the memories of the body. The ability to place a soul depends upon the soul's remembered affinities and the body's own affinities. The more decayed or different from the memories the body's elemental presence is, the more difficult it becomes to bind the soul into the body.
Necromancy encompasses more than manipulating corpses. It involves the creation of other abominations... Vampires. The creation of a vampire involves manipulation of the body and soul while the victim is still alive. It is easiest when the creature is willing, but it is possible on an unwilling victim by weakening the creature's resolve. Being on the brink of death or despondent makes the victim far easier to manipulate. Once a vampire is created, the abomination is capable of sacrificing it's own food source to inject a poison into a victim and inflict the changes easier than if it is created through necromancy.
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Type

Metaphysical, Arcane