Magic in the World of Tertara

Origins of the Arcane

Magic is a fickle thing. Magic as historians all know came form the World Spear, the strange super massive arcane artifact that pierced the world from pole to pole. This superstructure would burst with magical power and from it magic infused itself with the very earth and every lifeform on the world. This would help advance the evolution of many of the lifeforms on the world, but most importantly, many lifeforms learned to tap into the magical energies around them, and thus spellcasters came to be in this world. However, though the Church of the Flame for example says that the World Spear was originally a gift to the world, it was corrupted by the Arch-Devils of the Hells into being a terrifying and corrupting force in the world. Many species would start to develop magic abilities, and would frequently lose control, mutating into horrible monsters or causing massive arcane explosions. It was only when the few that managed to keep their sanity in the rolling tides of demonic voices speaking to them in their minds, that the first schools of magic were made to help keep spellcasters stable and not prone to losing control. Magic is understood as a natural but dangerous and horrifying fact of life.

The Chaotic Waves of Magic

Magic by its nature is pure chaos. It cannot be fully controlled, only tapped into and bent to the whims of those who have the ability to cast said magics. Even the greatest spellcasters can have spells go out of control, either to their benefit or determinate. Due to this, many nations institute required magical schools to learn how to safely tap into their powers. However many spellcasters avoid the forced educations of the nations who do institute this system, and so they live a life of adventure but also of danger. Many aren't sure when their magic will go out of control and hurt there loved ones, and in some places, unregistered magic users are hunted down by Witch Hunters. These unregistered magic users being deemed "too dangerous to be allowed to continue". Those without training to become licensed spell casters can be broken down into two groups: Hedge Wizards, and Warlocks. Hedge Wizard/Witch is simply a title the academies of magic give out to those not under their direct tutelage, and so are considered a danger to wider society. These spellcasters typically hide their magical ability under more mundane jobs such as healers or soothsayers. Witch Hunters typically work with the magical academies or religious authorities to either try to convince or coerce the person into joining the magical academies, or if that fails, have them executed before they pose a risk to wider society. Some scenarios call for special cases, but by and large that is how Hedge Wizards/Witches are handled.
Then comes the Warlocks. Warlocks are mostly treated with one attitude: an abomination. Warlocks while not always answering to an evil entity, by and large most of them do serve strange eldritch or demonic entities. For this reason, warlocks are almost always killed on sight unless it can be proven in a court that the entity they serve is not what could be considered "evil". Due to how simply trying to determine what is "evil" can be a complicated affair, one can imagine how these court cases usually end with the Warlock burning on a witch's pyre. Warlocks of course can be identified by the fact that ussually they themselves are not magical and instead channel their magic from a powerful being. While this does mean that Warlock style magic is actually incredibly stable, much like divine magic, the idea of power corrupting absolutely is very real for Warlocks, and far too many turn out to be very vile individuals, or are serving very malicious forces.

The Ebb and Flow of the Arcane

Magic is ever changing in the world. While Divine magic is very stable due to being gifted by a deity to their followers, arcane magic is at the wims of the current day and where their location is in the world. Some days can bring strong, chaotic waves of arcane energy, making spells more risky, while other days can bring calm and quiet waves that let spells be cast more easily. It is entirely random and so magic users must be very careful each and every day.
Location also matters, as some places are weaker or stronger with magic than others. Places like Ashenfeld, Avaro, The Deadlands, Neundorf, Ardita, and most areas of Rusilvaynia and Aldinnheimer have rather natural arcane wave concurrence, neither being overbearing or weak. Vebastonne, Praelia, Seon, and Aravec are places where magical waves read weaker there, and though magic is not impossible to cast the arcanely gifted must be more cautious with the ways they cast their spells, lest their spells fail violently. Iadith, Red Ravens Rock, Carall, and most of Orliea are incredibly strong with magic, as the waves of arcane energy crash more strongly in this area. Some localized phenomena can also cause changes in the ability for one to cast magic, with the most terrifying phenomena being the "blind zones" which can happen by some strange dark arcane methods or weird supernatural events in where magic is impossible to cast. Thankfully, blind zones are incredibly rare occurrences, and so most magic users will never run into such terrifying zones.

The Difference of Holy and Arcane Magic

Some have pointed out that holy magic is still, in essence magic. It has also been shown that holy magic can go awry as well, despite the claims that divine magic is more stable. This is due to a disagreement most hold that holy magic is simply just different from normal arcane magic. When holy magic goes awry it is not due to the ebb and flow of magic turning the horrid tides against the caster, but rather the gods being fickle and perhaps some sin the caster has cost causing their spell to go awry. Whether there is an actual difference or just a simple philosophical disagreement is unkown.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane