The Mythos

Kronis' stories and articles are typically written in a way that there is no need to understand a complex magic system to understand what is going on. However, in most TTRPG systems using Kronis, there is an inherent use of magic - this article will tell you where that magic comes from and how it is used.

The heart of Kronis' Mythos lies in the concept of a finite source of universal energy.

The gods of Kronis—dozens of them, worshipped across pantheons and continents—are believed to each hold a share of this energy. They assumably expend it when shaping the world: conjuring storms, shifting the earth, guiding the birth of life itself. Every divine act consumes energy from their portion of the universal pool.

Using Magic

It is believed that every time a god exerts their will on the world, they use energy. A god's share of the universal energy typically reflects how many followers they have. When a mortal gains access to this divine energy, they too can manipulate the world around them. They may use it to similar effects as the gods but on a much smaller scale. This involves manipulation of the natural elements: air, earth, fire, water, aether, void, and life. Examples of each:

Air: Pushing the sails of a ship with billowing winds, stealing the air from one's lungs, whispered words riding the wind to carry a secret message or influence one's mind
Earth: Breaking the ground to create a shield barrier or sinkhole, feeling vibrations in the earth, creating a dust-cloud of sand
Fire: Igniting oxygen in a given space, setting one's sword aflame, redirecting lightning and electrical energy
Water: Freezing water or liquifying ice, creating a dense mist, using water to heal wounds, manipulating one's body using the water inside them, osmosis in general
Aether: Manipulating light waves to create an illusion, electrical manipulation of electrons
Void: Creating a vacuum of sound, blotting out light, [Redacted]
Life: Restarting a heart, accelerating growth via mitosis (typically in plants), creation or destruction of viral cells
Using the universe's energy requires an understanding of how the elements work in the first place, which is typically through honing vibrations at very specific frequencies. In other words, it takes years of practice to master magical abilities. Some practitioners prefer tools such as staffs or weapons to help channel the vibrations to manipulate the elements; others use their voice or use practiced movements resembling martial arts with their body. Naturally, rivalries and elitism have arisen between different disciplines.

Gaining and Losing Magic

Understanding magic is one thing—obtaining it is another.
Across the world of Kronis, cultures and religions have developed their own methods of drawing down the gods’ energy. Yet most agree that there are only two true ways to acquire it: by praying and receiving it as a gift or by finding it out in the wild. Receiving magic as a gift through worship is seen as the only legitimate way to obtain magical energy in most societies of Kronis. "Finding" the energy typically implies stealing it from the gods and is therefore seen as a very illegitimate way of obtaining magic.
Note: In TTRPG terms, faithful or spiritual classes such as clerics, paladins, druids, and rangers have legitimate magic while wizards, sorcerers, and others have illegitimate magic and are viewed with distrust. In terms of other magical classes like Bards, that would be up to the player to decide how their bard obtains magical energy. D&D's concept of Warlocks would also be handled on an individual basis but may reflect instances of using heretical religious practices to gain magic.

Legitimate Magic

Legitimate energy is gathered through various worship practices and differ between religions and deities. These will often include classic reciting of prayers and scripture as well as acts of devotion. Acts of devotion are expected to vary by god, for example: a god of healing would bestow magical energy on a devotee who heals the sick and a god of war bestows energy on those who fight in their name. Gods and deities tend to be known for more than one phenomena or aspect of life. Notably, the gods rarely grant vast quantities of power to any one individual. Their gifts are modest, reinforcing the idea that magic is sacred and finite.

Illegitimate Magic

Illegitimate magic, while often more powerful in the short term, is gained by intercepting raw energy released during large-scale natural events.
To harness this ambient energy, a practitioner must typically be present at the epicenter of a large-scale natural event and must actively attune themselves—often through meditation or form-based rituals. Large scale natural events include phenomena such as a storm, earthquake, aurora, volcanic eruption, or celestial convergence. The risk is great, but so is the reward. However, these events tend to draw many would-be mages, leading to conflict, competition, or even violence. What looks like serene meditation under an aurora can quickly turn into a battle of wills—or worse.
Note: An animal or human giving birth is also considered a large-scale natural event, but people have found that they only obtain magic from it when it is done in a religious context, and therefore a legitimate form of obtaining the universal energy.

Losing Magic

Magic, once used, is gone. The energy is expended and released back into the universe.
Typically, the extent of magical ability that a mortal can use qualifies as only small-scale events and thus cannot be obtained or retained by other mortals.
All magic users are aware of the energy within them, but its quantity is imprecise and hard to measure. A single spell or act may drain only a drop—or far more than intended. Likewise, it’s impossible to know exactly how much energy one gains from a divine gift or natural event.
Because of this uncertainty, most mages use their powers sparingly, saving their strength for when it truly matters.

The Extent of Magic

It is believed that if a being held half of all the universe's energy, they would be able to reshape the world as they see fit without a second thought. Not even the gods hold such a share of the universe's energy.
Deities are believed to be in a constant, if not passive, struggle to obtain more energy over others. They ally, conspire, and fight one another for dominance in a never-ending war across the cosmos, probably. To the gods, their followers are their most powerful tool. It is believed a deity holds energy relative to how many worshippers they have, and when no one believes in the mere existence of a deity, it dies.
For reference, Kronis is home to no less than twenty four organized and folk religions. Some are monotheistic and duotheistic but most are polytheistic pantheons. Across almost 200 deities worshipped in countless different ways, no god is likely to hold more than a single percentage of the universal energy. The most powerful mortals hold an infinitesimally small a fraction of a god's energy.

Magic in Objects

Talented mortals can imbue their energy into objects to consistently achieve certain magical effects.
Magical objects exhibit a low subsurface hum with stored energy and can only enact magical force when used like the tools they are. Magical objects can usually be attuned to only a single magical effect.