Caian Elemental Magic

You will learn to channel the ravaging infernos and the shimmering heat of fire; to tame the rushing flood of water; to dance with the playful breezes and devastating storms of air; to master the sharp edges and glistening cold of ice; and to command the twisting thorns and cracking rock of earth.

— An arcan to his students

Caian elemental magic is the channeling of what are considered the five main elements in Caia: air, earth, fire, ice, and water. Whilst other continents have their own versions of elemental magic, this version is unique to central Caia. The generic term for users of this magic is 'casters'.

Basic Information

Geographic Distribution

Though this type of magic is known as Caian elemental magic, it is actually not prevalent across all of Caia. It is confined mainly to the centre of the continent, in areas directly around the mountain range of The Teeth. In general, elemental magic is spread out across the countries of Kaien and Serukis. Outside of these two countries, elemental magic is rare.

by JordanHoliday

Acquisition

Elemental magic is genetic, so the only way to acquire it is through circumstance of birth.
However, not all children born to magic wielders will have the potential for magic, and occasionally magical children will be born to parents with no known history of elemental magic. There is currently no way to influence whether a child will be born with power or not, though not for lack of research or trying.

Children begin to show signs of power between the ages of two and three. These displays of accidental magic are usually harmless, though there have been several notable occasions when a flood or house fire has been caused by a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Limits

by Torsten Dederichs

The power of the elemental magic depends entirely on the caster, and is tied to their energy. For some people, even simple magic such as lighting a candle can leave them tired, whilst others can maintain a powerful spell for several hours before feeling any long lasting effects. On rare occasions, people have died from expending more energy on their magic than their body can handle.
Through training, people can extend their limits, though there is a cap to how effective this is that varies from person to person. Unlimited power is unachievable, though this has not stopped several people from trying. As mentioned, this often results in death.

The Elements

by Andres Perez

Air

Whilst air magic is not the most popular or flashy of the elemental magics, it has a variety of different uses.
At a basic level, casters can push air around, creating gusts of wind and creating whirlwinds. This is often useful whilst sailing; casters can fill the sails with their magic, allowing ships to sail against the natural wind.
Stronger casters can turn a still day to a mild gale, sending wind whipping through their location for hours. There have also been several cases of tornadoes that have caused devastation to surrounding areas.
In 2946 EA, a mage from Kaien used the power of air to summon a hurricane, laying waste to the fleet from Bazuur who were laying siege to the coast.

Air magic also gives some dominion over storms and lightning. Weaker casters can give others mild shocks, whilst stronger casters can call down catastrophic lightning strikes. Sometimes, when a particularly powerful caster is angry, the clouds will boil and turn grey, threatening a ruinous storm. A more peaceful example of this magic is cloud writing, where the caster arranges the clouds in the sky into words and pictures.
Arcan from the arcana in Kaien have also worked out how to harness the power of the sonic boom - that is, magic breaking the sound barrier to send a shockwave through the air. Though this is still in a rather experimental phase, it is expected to be utilised in future to devastating effect.

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Earth

by Yoksel Zok

Earth magic falls into two distinct types: magic relating to plants, trees, and fungi, and magic relating to rocks, and crystals.
Plant-based earth magic is generally favoured in Serukis over rock-based magic, especially by members of the nobility. This magic can be used in a variety of horticultural pursuits, as it can revive dying or dead plants, or speed up growth or the blooming of flowers.
Casters can also grow a myriad of flowers and plants out of their skin. Members of the Seruic royal family especially enjoy growing roses - their emblem - in their hands. Other, more violent uses, for this magic include binding enemies with vines or thorns or, in one notable case, sprouting a tree from an enemy's still-beating heart.
On the more rock-based side of earth magic, power has been utilised to sense veins of ore deep underground, or to test if a cave is structurally sound. Some casters use the magic to grow crystals on their skin to accentuate their beauty or to satisfy some strange aesthetic.
More powerful casters can shake the very ground beneath their feet, or conjure walls of stone to protect themselves. Some even have split the ground in two, leaving great scars on the landscape.
There have been tales of accidental, emotionally-charged earth magic turning people around the caster to stone. All attempts to consciously and intentionally replicate this have failed. The closest anyone has come to it is when an arcan called Cassian Keene managed to turn his own thumb to rock.

by Devanath

by Brandon Morgan

Origin Theories

There are several different theories regarding the origin of Caian elemental magic.
The most widespread theory is that elemental magic is a gift from the Five Lords, as each Lord holds dominion over one of the five elements. As this is the predominant religion in both Kaien and Serukis, where elemental magic is common, it is unsurprising that the two have become linked in the minds of the people.
Another theory is that elemental magic is merely draconic magic that comes from human-dragon relations in the past. In Caia, it is generally accepted that there are dragons that embody each of the five elements, so this link is perhaps expected. However, each dragon has control over only one element, whereas elemental magic gifts control over all five. Detractors of this theory cite this in their arguments against it.
The third theory is the least substantial and least popular. As elemental magic seems to be focused around The Teeth, some scholars have suggested that something in the power of the mountains has leaked magic to the surrounding lands. No explanation of how this has occurred, or even the source of this power, has been put forward.

Cultural Differences

Kaien

In Kaien, practitioners of elemental magic learn to wield all five elements. They see this as the best way to worship the Five Lords. However, priests tend to focus on just one element, depending which Lord they worship.
There are several universities of magic, known as the arcana, where people who are born with elemental power go to study (if they can afford it, or if they are sponsored to). Graduates of the university are known as mages. Academics who work there full time are known as arcan. There is a strong focus on research, where arcan try to find new ways to utilise elemental magic.

by Stephanie LeBlanc

Serukis

In Serukis, practitioners of elemental magic tend to focus on just one element, depending on which of the Five Lords they have taken for their patron. This is especially true amongst the nobility, who are much more likely to have a patron Lord than the common people.
Magic in the nobility tends to be stronger, as marriages are often arranged with magic in mind. The High Lords in particular do their best to cultivate a strong line of power, as their right to rule is determined by their patron Lord.
Priests of the Five Lords in Serukis also tend to focus on one element, depending on the Lord they serve.

The Rest of Caia

Elemental magic is rare in the majority of Caia, and is often viewed with a mixture of suspicion, fear, and awe. Often, those born with this power in these countries will travel to Kaien to learn the art of magic.
In Bazuur, magic is seen as a crime against the gods and is punishable by death.

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Fire

Elemental fire magic is seen as rather simplistic, but it has perhaps the wildest of extremes. It can be used to light a candle or heat a pot of water, but can also be used to rain down a cataclysmic firestorm upon one's foes.
On the more peaceful end of the scale, fire magic is used for both light and heat. In the Glass Gardens in the capital of Serukis, fire magic is used to keep areas of the gardens hot and humid. Fire dancers of Kaien use fire magic to allow flames to flutter harmlessly across their skin whilst they perform for crowds. In the frigid months of winter, heat magic melts away snow from around doors and windows.
However, fire magic has a great potential for harm. Powerful casters can call up towering walls of fire to cut themselves off from their enemies, or send a swirling vortex of flame towards an opposing army. Some can boil the blood inside of a person, or set them aflame with a mere thought.
Unsurprisingly, accidental occurances of fire magic have the highest fatality rate of the five.

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Ice

Where fire magic is the mastery of heat and flame, ice magic is the mastery of cold and snow. From creating small flurries of snow to violent hailstorms, it shares similar extremes to its fiery counterpart.
Ice magic is often used in the preservation of food, especially during the height of summer. Soft snowfall is used to entertain children, whilst magnificent ice sculptures are crafted to decorate the banquet halls of nobles. An experienced caster of ice magic can walk on water by freezing it under each step.

by Christopher Burns

On the other side of the spectrum, hail- and snowstorms can be called forth on a calm day. Jagged shards of ice can pierce metal armour, or a village's well could be frozen solid.
Ice, for no clear reason, tends to be the element that most students of magic struggle the most with. In the arcana, ice is the only magic not studied in the first year of academia.

by 8moments

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Water

by Matt Hardy

Water magic is often underestimated, though it is no less powerful than the other four elements.
The purification of water, making it safe to drink, is an important use of water magic, though power levels dictate the difference between purifying a cup or a lake. Alongside fire magic, water magic is also used to alter the conditions in the Glass Gardens in Serukis to allow plants to thrive, changing the humidity level in the air. Powerful casters can draw rain from clouds, directing a downpour to where it is needed most. In Kaien, creating water animals that appear to be running and leaping across the surface of the water is a popular form of entertainment.
On the other hand, water magic can also be used for destruction, especially in matters of naval combat. Large waves are often used to overwhelm opposing ships, or maelstroms created to drag them down into the depths.
Unlike the other elements, which seem to be able to be conjured from nowhere (though many scholars will argue that this is not actually the case), water magic requires a source of water to cast. On particularly humid days, this includes the water in the air. The creation of water from nothing is a priority amongst the research taking place at the arcana. So far, none of their experiments have been successful.