Magic in the world of Eorde

Many consider magic, both arcane and divine, to be forces that should not be used in this world. These people are morons. In my countless years of study of the arcane and divine arts I have never seen something that brings us closer to who we are as people, that shows us who we truly are, as magic.
Magic is everywhere whether those Alterians like it or not. It flows through each of us. To help put the minds of some of the more common people to rest I shall attempt to explain in the clearest of words how magic works in our world...

— Keeper Drivintarus

The Origins of Magic

Many consider magic, both arcane and divine, to be forces that should not be used in this world. These people are morons. In my countless years of study of the arcane and divine arts I have never seen something that brings us closer to who we are as people, that shows us who we truly are, as magic.
Magic is everywhere whether those Alterians like it or not. It flows through each of us. To help put the minds of some of the more common people to rest I shall attempt to explain in the clearest of words how magic works in our world.

An Introduction

Before we can begin I must first make clear what magic is. Magic is energy. While many know that energy cannot be created or destroyed and must be recycled through nature most do not know that magic is itself not being created. It is rather being borrowed. Normally it would take quite a bit of work to seemingly create a bonfire from nothing. As such with only our mundane powers it would be impossible. However this bonfire is not being created out of thin air. It is rather being torn from a different place to be borrowed for a short time.

The Paths

The paths to put in the most simplest terms are different planes of existence. You need not worry yourself much about them. While it might take enormous energy to create a large column of ice in our world in an instant if one were to open a small connection to the path of ice it could be done with relative ease. This is what is happening when magic is cast. The magic user is establishing a connection between themselves and one of the paths and then pulling energy from there to cause an effect on our material plane.

Arcane or Divine

There are two main ways that one may take this energy from the paths. These are considered the two main branches of magic. When we refer to magic it is usually either referred to as Arcane or Divine. Divine meaning to come from the gods and arcane being some catch all term to mean any magic that doesn't come from the gods.

Arcane Magic

Arcane magic is performed by wizards and sorcerers. Wizards spend years of study learning about the paths so that they can, through the power of their own minds, create the connection necessary to cast the spell. Some people however are born with an innate ability to create these connections and these people are called sorcerers. Let's look at an example shall we? Zentara the wizard is going to cast fireball. She has spent many years studying the paths and so she knows how to open a large enough connection to the path of fire so that she can summon this giant flaming ball of death.

Divine Magic

Divine caster are those who are able to make a connection to the paths energy thanks to a gods help. Clerics and paladins are the most common of these types of casters. The god or ascendant is the one providing the connection and the energy needed for the spell. The caster is merely the physical conduit of that energy. Some people make pacts with the lesser gods or ascendants and they are called warlocks. For our example here we have Egglig the paladin. His ally has been downed and so he reaches out in his faith and his god hears his prayers and opens a connection to the path of healing allowing for Egglig to heal his downed ally. Even if Egglig doesn't worship a god of healing his deity is able to open the connection to the path. I should mention here that one often it is questioned whether the gods do indeed give their powers to the holy knights. Some show no sign of religious following and so we must wonder if their oaths are made to a higher power still than the gods. Mayhaps the universe herself is what grants these paladins their power and access to the paths.

Innate Magic

Some others have found they can open the Paths without hard study or the help of the Gods. These people are rarer but not so much that we don't know why they can do what they do. These Sorcerers as they are often called have usually been blessed by the gods in some way or are born under the star of prophecy. These people often either learn the ways of opening the paths as others do so as to better control their powers or they forever remain chaotic manifestations of wild magics.

Casting

Now that we know what kinds of magic there are it is important to understand how magic is cast. Stories are often told of wizards and witches needing vile ingredients to cast their spells. Of Necromancers conducting human sacrifices to fuel their evil incantations. Luckily this is not the case. While all mages of the guild use material components for their spellcasting when learning the trade most find it easier to rely on a focus of some kind. It is more difficult to master casting with a focus than material components but once mastered the ease and convenience far outweigh the time spent in study. Divine casters have no such worry. They often can merely rely on the symbol of their faith as a channel for the casting. You see it is true that the material components have power, however they are not needed in reality. They make the connection to the Paths easier to access but a mage could theoretically access the Paths with nothing but their mind. It is very difficult to do and dangerous to add but it can be done. Mages need some physical object or symbol to act as a channel for the energy that they pull from the paths.

Somatic and Verbal Components

In addition to material components for spells, most spell casting requires a mage to speak in the arcane tongue or perform certain gestures. The gestures themselves can vary between mages. They are physical manifestations of the opening of the Path. The verbal incantations however are more universal. From all of my travels throughout the wide world and from the stories of my brethren it has become clear that no matter where you go, while the words might be varied they al come from the same root language. The language of the ancient dragons. Those magnificent beings who gifted us with language and magic in the beginning of our time. Our Arcane language today in Westreach is one descendant of this language but there are many others throughout the world. All connected back to the Dragons of yore.

Type

Manuscript, Historical

Medium

Papyrus

Location

Westreach