Grey Magic

Origins

Grey magic is the magic of machines. It is a dead thing, the thing from which Ancillaries and The Degraded are made. It is what gives an unliving animation to The Grey Wardens, that has nothing to do with the malice of undeath. Grey magic is a pragmatic thing of, fully of mind, with not even the barest whisper of heart. It is the mathematical representation to the things and properties of the universe that do not care about living souls, and work not in spite of them, but completely detached from their existence.

Rules and Properties

Grey magic in Everfall can be induce to do anything that the world systems are capable of making happen. It requires machines, and an understanding of how to work them. The rules inherent to using grey magic are dictated by whatever machine is used to channel it. The most common focus for grey magic is a minor terminus (a machine with the ability to obey simple instructions if they are laid out logically in the correct coded incantations) The Terminus in Opus is the greatest of these.

Though grey magic is rooted in universal laws independent of living things, the perception of the peoples of Everfall that complex machines are inherently magical has weakened the sway of natural laws somewhat. The machines minds of the world have been given the ability to manifest physically by the conceptual link between them and infernal creatures such as demons and devils. The rules of arcane heart magic have begun to effect the use of Grey magic because of the perceived link between the two practices. However, the destinctions between grey and Heart magic remain strong, grey magic runes, for example, resemble engineering schematics much more than the runes of arcane heart magic.

One way to harness the power of Grey magic by begging the assistance of a construct such as a powerful machine mind like an ancillary, or one of The Degraded. Grey magic warlocks and clerics often go this rout. Another very common means of harnessing Grey magic is through the use of machines. Grey bards and wizards will often posses devices that produce effects, or allow them to tap into greater machines with their own effects. A very few grey magic users posses enough of an understanding of the properties of grey magic to know how to use various compensates to produce effects. Finally, some individuals (such as tieflings) have an innate ability to access and interact with machines, and can use this in the practice of grey magic. These grey sorcerers are often part machine themselves.

Occurrences

Most of Everfall is built on principals of grey magic, from the weather, to the air, to how powerfully something is pulled downward. Everfall also contains many grey magic constructs such as The Grey Wardens and ancillaries. There have also been occurrences of Grey magic being used to animate corpses, and puppet them into battle.

The System Seers of Opus are some of the most powerful grey mages in the world. Their control over The Terminus is the source of much of Opus' political power.

The Rite of Freezing is a grey magic ritual that is said to be the only proper way to put the spirits of the longer lived races to rest upon their death. It is practiced all across Everfall, and the frozen bodies in their enchanted coffins are taken to The Frozen Crypts in Koroshold.