Magical Energies of Quel

Quelian scholars and spellcasters have long sought to understand the nature of magic. Their current understanding can be described through analogy with a set of Borromean Rings. The three interlocking rings represent the energies used by the three primary types of magic: Arcane, Natural, and Divine. Spellcasters use the primary magics to draw upon an energy source unique to that magic type. Additionally, the primary magics can draw upon the inverse form of each energy represented by the dark areas within each ring and resulting in the three magic sub-types: Chaotic, Abyssal, and Necrotic.
If one ring in a set of Borromean Rings is cut, the remaining two rings become independent of each other. Similarly, the energies are interconnected and create a synergy that maintains the universe in which Quel resides. If any of these magical energies were to disappear (i.e., the ring cut), scholars believe that the other two would become independent and the fundamental connections between life, the gods, and matter would be severed.

Primary Magics

Arcane

The purview of wizards, bards, and some sorcerers, Arcane Magic manipulates the binding energy of matter. The orderly bonds that hold matter together contain vast quantities of energy; practitioners of the arcane learn to rearrange those bonds into more efficient structures thereby releasing excess energy they can harness to power their spells. For each increment of power needed, there are known formulas for rearranging the bonds, the Patterns of Restructuring. Following the Patterns, skilled arcanists carefully regulate the magnitude of energy released and, thus, the power of each spell they cast. Releasing larger quantities of power requires rearranging matter into increasingly intricate patterns and structures that, for most magic users, can only be learned through years of study. Yet, in every generation there are a few savants (i.e., sorcerers) who instinctively know these patterns and gain in power as their innate understanding matures through the use of magic. Scholars know of no verifiable natural release of matter energy on Quel, but some arcanists theorize that the light and heat of the stars may be related.

Divine

Divine magics use the power of the gods to achieve spell-like effects. Access to this power is mediated by divine beings who grant this boon to their most devout followers (commonly clerics and paladins). However, the ebb and flow of divine power has led to the belief that only a fraction of a divine being's power is innate. A breakthrough in the Quelian understanding of Divine Magic came with the release of a study by the renowned religious scholar, Fari ibn Ossan, who analyzed changes in the dominance of certain gods and  the power unleashed by their followers over time. Ossan concludes that most divine power stems from the energy funneled to the gods by denizens of the material plane. When creatures express their devotion, through worship and prayer or simply through harmonious thought and intention, they gift a fraction of their spiritual energy to the gods. In fact, Ossan even went so far as to hypothesize that the gods existence depends on their followers participating in worship and maintaining intentional thoughts of the gods.

Nature

Every living being (flora and fauna) on Quel uses life energy to survive. Life energy makes hearts beat, muscles contract, and flower petals unfurl. To replenish their life energy, all beings take in nutrients or other external energy sources (e.g., the sun) and convert it to life energy. Part of this energy extends outward as an aura of life. The strength of the aura waxes and wanes depending upon the health and nutritional state of the being. For example, the life energy aura of a wolf after a long-hard winter will be diminished relative to a lion who recently gorged itself on a large kill. Despite the variability of life energy being emitted by living beings, there is nearly always sufficient available energy in an area to be manipulated by monks, druids, and rangers to unleash spells and spell-like effects.

Inverse Magics

Chaotic

Instead of rearranging the bonds of matter into increasingly efficient structures and reaping the excess energy, arcane practitioners can choose alternatively to tap into the immense, but difficult to control, power released by breaking matter's bonds. The act of severing a bond increases the entropy or disorder of the world and the wild release of power gives this energy its moniker of chaotic energy and the practice of this form of Arcane Magic the name Chaos Magic. Those spellcasters who focus on the use of Chaos Magic tend to be Warlocks with certain patrons and the rare Sorcerer born into the world with the natural ability to deconstruct the structure of matter itself. Spells cast with Chaos Magic can be unpredictable, often causing magical mishaps of variable severity. A well known example of chaos energy in nature is that energy released from Chaos Stone, a rare mineral that is warm to the touch and has deleterious effects on living beings remaining in close contact with the mineral for extended periods of time. Despite the risk, chips of Chaos Stone are often used to enhance the focus of those utilizing Chaos energies.

Abyssal

Just as worship, prayer, and harmonious thought supplies energy to the gods, worship, dark rites, and supplication to demon lords, and obsession with discord, grudges, and conflict deliver energy to the Abyss. Powerful demonic beings grant access to Abyssal energy to those who forward their aims. Generally, this is cult leaders or especially powerful worshipers of a demon lord. In addition, warlocks who take on a demon lord as a patron use Divine Magic to cast spells using the Abyssal energy supplied by their patron. Energy delivered to the demonic plane is filtered through the Abyss itself, causing it to gain a taint that quickly corrupts those who interact with it. Indeed, many who use Divine Magic to access Abyssal energy begin to look sickly and can end up insane or transformed into a lesser demon themselves if the taint is allowed to spread. To some, however, the immense rush of power felt with each spell cast using Abyssal energy outweighs the potential risks.

Necrotic

Necrotic or death energy comes from extinguishing life. There are two sources of the inverse to life energy: 1) at any moment untold numbers of creatures perish across the world of Quel, releasing their life force that inverts at the moment life is extinguished to death energy, and 2) using special rites or spells to forcefully invert the life energy within a living creature and then extracting the resulting necrotic energy from the subject, often killing it at the same time. The most common uses of necrotic energy are spells that animate dead, syphon away the life force of living creatures, or inflict harm through inversion of a creature's life energy. The use of necrotic energy to cast spells is the domain of necromancers. Many societies across Quel abhor the use of necromancy, but not all.

Magical Interactions and the Vergences

Primary Magical Interactions

As represented in the Borromean Rings diagram, magical theory indicates that the primary energies do not connect or interact and, thus, it is believed that they cannot be combined. Although they do not interact directly, the primary energies guide the inverse magics. By containing the inverse energies, the primary energies limit the strength (represented by their size on the diagram) of inverse energy overlaps. Despite the separateness of the primary energy rings, the primary energies are part of the fabric of the universe and cannot be broken apart without dire consequences.

Inverse Magical Interactions and The Vergences

In contrast to the primary magics, careful examination of the Borromean Rings diagram reveals four areas of possible interaction between the inverse energies, The Vergences. At each of the Outer Vergences (C-A, A-N, and N-C), two inverse energies can be linked together to enact powerful spells, a act accomplished a handful of times in recorded history. Indeed, theory suggests that three powerful spellcasters (or more likely three specialized groups of spellcasters) could unify the inverse energies in the Central Vergence to undertake world-altering incantations and rituals. Based upon existing records and available texts, historical scholars of the University of Hyton suggest that no intelligent race has ever achieved use of the Central Vergence, but that the Blightsource Crater Explosion  may have been the result of inverse energy unification enacted by the conflict of the gods.

Type

Natural

Primary Magics

Arcane

Divine

Nature

Inverse Magics

Chaos

Abyssal

Necrotic