Overview of Magic

The class begins in a lecture hall in the esteemed Kersar Academy of Magical Arts. Students from across the galaxy are gathered here to take this course, General Magical Theory, taught by Professor Yeliah Grange. General Magical Theory is a required course for any who wish to become experts in studying magic. Many of the course takers are attendees of the Academy and some are from other institutions.

Good morning everyone. Welcome to your first class of General Magical Theory! I am your professor, Ms. Yeliah Grange. I am certified in dozens of magic-affiliated fields and have the highest possible degrees in both History of Magical Arts and Magical Theory. In short, there is no one more qualified to teach this course to you than me.

Professor Yeliah's slides (cropped) by Lilliana Casper

I can see that some of you have raised eyebrows. Do not believe my confidence to be arrogant. I am well aware that there are many people who have more experience handling, using, and controlling magic than me. I am also aware that there may be people who have far more knowledge of magic than I do and have simply not revealed it to the galaxy. Unlike many of my peers, I do not discount the existence of Eternals and Celestials, and should one appear here suddenly and reveal concepts I have not heard of, they will clearly be more suited to this task.

As no Celestials have appeared, I do believe it is time to begin. If you have any questions, feel free to raise your hand, and I will point you out and answer you. Please be aware that I will not tolerate rudeness or contradictions. If you don't believe magic is real, you should not be taking this class, and if you believe your magic is better than someone else's, you would do well not to mention your opinions in this class.

Introduction

I'll begin with an overview of this course and specifically what this class will involve. Over the next twelve weeks, you and your fellow students will learn about the various ways magic manifests in people and what forms it has taken over the years. By the end of the course, you will be able to identify various types of magic and how much effort was required to use them. We will start with a basic overview, which is class one. Class two will dive further into auras and manifestations, class three is about bloodlines and inheritance, class four will focus on magics that are unique to certain planets or species, class five will introduce spells and other methods of using magic, and class six will involve studying and identifying the magic that faculty of the academy use.
Classes seven through twelve will be more focused. Rather than simply learning about magic in general, we will study and compare various texts, legends, and other discoveries. One of these classes will focus on natural restrictions to magic, such as Jaque's Law of Innocence, the Mind-Body Link, and magic exhaustion. We will also learn about unnatural restrictions to magic, including laws against its use, Suppression Metal, and unique situations. Ah, I see you have a question. Go on.

"What sort of unique situations do you mean, professor? I've heard of Suppression Metal, but not those."
"Good question! Unique situations are times when magic fails in a way that cannot be explained. These occurrences are rare and aren't well recorded. Usually, they are either seen in legends or only happen once."

Moving on, these are the things I will expect of you during this course. I will start class exactly at the posted time, so do not be late. If you have to miss a class due to unforeseen circumstances, I expect you to message me as soon as possible and explain your reasons. If you arrive late, I will not mark you but you will not be filled in on anything you have missed. You have one assigned textbook, and you will read two chapters a week after the class. Papers will be assigned at the end of class to be done over the next week and tests are handed out at the end of each class. I expect you to complete all of your work by the start of the next class.
Does anyone have any questions relating to coursework or logistics? No? Alright then, let's get started.

What is Magic?

Ah yes, the age-old question. What exactly is magic and why is it so important? Since many of you have been exposed to it before, whether from using it or from seeing others use it, I won't ask you directly. Magic is the use of energy to manipulate forces that exist in the world. The question of where exactly magic originated and why it exists has never been answered. Why is it important? Because with the application of magic, every rule of science becomes null and void. Physics is suspended, chemistry disappears, and nature itself changes. In the words of a magic user I once knew: when magic is involved, science goes out the window.

Let's use the example of fire magic. Natural fire requires three things: heat, fuel, and oxygen. If any of these three is not present, the fire will go out. What are ways to counter fire? We can cool it down, we can remove its fuel source, and we can remove its access to oxygen. There are many ways to do this. Now, what about magical fire? Magical fire does not require fuel, heat, or even oxygen to create. Nor does it need those to continue burning, although it will consume anything it is lit with. A skilled and powerful fire mage can keep a fire burning by themselves for a long time. If the mage runs out of power, the fire will become normal and eventually die. With magic, the laws of science governing fire vanish.
The same is true for any type of magic, not just the elemental ones. While there are types of magic that simply amplify or disguise the

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effects of science, many also completely change them. Think of creation magic, which creates various things out of nothing. Or blood magic, which is forbidden but powerful and links conditions of magic to one's blood. You likely haven't heard much of these types, but I will touch on them as we continue. This should be your takeaway: Magic manipulates forces that exist and often overturns the rules of nature.

Auras

Now, let's move on to the way magic manifests and how it can be manipulated. Forget what you have read in novels and fairytales. Not everyone can use magic the same way or even at all and there is no cheating the system. The only way someone without magic can get it is by becoming a Celestial. I won't delve too far into bloodlines and inheritance because as I said earlier, that is the focus of class three. This section is about auras, which is how magic connects to our bodies in a usable way.

Professor Yeliah's slides by Lilliana Casper

What are auras? First, let's go over the ways experts have decided magic does not connect to us. One theory, presented many years ago, is that humans had an organ or bone in their body that allowed them to create and manipulate the energy of magic. This was a scientific theory that was quickly disproved once technology advanced and doctors determined such a thing did not exist. It also did not explain how other species, such as the Ditos and the Rhyhendra, could manipulate magic, some even more skillfully than humans. A theory that actually predates that is that some people were linked to magic through their souls and could control it as easily as breathing, without any consequence. Magic exhaustion disproved that theory over time and was supported by the difficulty many magic wielders faced when first attempting magic.

Various other theories have been tossed away, but we won't go into them. Oh, hold on. You in the back, maroon sweatshirt. Do you have a question? Ask away.

"This isn't specifically about the magic, but what are the Rhyhendra? I've never heard of them."
"Oh. I won't speak much on the topic, but the Rhyhendra were a species that once ruled over several planets in our galaxy. They were killed when humans began exploring the galaxy and started a war with them. Their genocide is considered one of the worst events in history now. An entire species was wiped out for no particular reason. If you wish to learn more, please ask a history professor."

As I was saying, there are many other theories about magic that have been discarded over the years. The most prevalent, long-lasting, and

finally proven theory is that of auras. Quite simply, an aura is a field of magic that hovers around a person, sticking to their skin, and giving them the ability to use magic. These auras are invisible to the naked eye, but can become visible in certain situations or if you have magical eyesight. According to the few who have seen auras firsthand, each one is tinted a unique color. Users of Jaquean Magic have blue auras, fire mages have orange auras, wind mages have gray, and so on. Celestials and Eternals have the widest spectrum of aura color, ranging from brilliant yellow and soft green to deep violet and even black.
The size, thickness, nature, and shade of one's aura depend on one's power level. Powerful mages have large and deeply colored auras that shift and move in harmony with the person they belong to. No

Professor Yeliah's slides by Lilliana Casper

matter how strong one's power is, there is always a limit to how much magic can be used at once. Over time, someone could increase their magic level or decrease the amount of magic needed for certain tasks, but their aura would change only slightly. Auras can be sensed by many people, but can only be seen in special circumstances.

How Common is Magic?

I won't make a big introduction or buildup to this section. About 50% of people in the galaxy have an affinity for magic while about 30% have significant magical abilities. If we were to go by species, the statistics change slightly. 100% of Nir Tivarenul on Stelsa have magic, 40% of humans have magic, 20% of Dito have magic, and other species range from 100% to 50% of magical affinity. Among these other species are the Crestantos, who are currently believed to be extinct. Crestantos had a 100% magic rate. Denironians have one of the lowest numbers with only 10% of their population showing any affinity for magic.
It has been proved that most magic is hereditary, and should parents have magic, their children likely will as well. However, it is possible for someone whose parents have only a small amount of magical heritage to have significant powers. There are also cases of magic being gifted or stolen, all involving either Eternals or forbidden magic. Yes, your question?

"So it is possible for someone to steal magic? I thought you said the only way to get magic if you don't have it is by becoming a Celestial."
"Good, you were paying attention. Yes, it is possible to steal magic. However, one can only use that stolen magic for a short period of time and it will cost a great deal. The only way to get magic when you do not have it is with forbidden magic, likely either blood or life magic. I will explain those later. While it is possible, you will never reach the level of someone with natural abilities."

Since magical affinity stats are mostly numbers that can be easily researched, I'll move on now. There is a section in your textbook about the statistics for each species and inheritance rules will be discussed more thoroughly in class 3.

Types of Magic

There are many types of magic in the world, so many that some haven't even been named. I'll do my best to go over the main ones with some explanation before discussing the forbidden types in the next section.

Professor Yeliah's slideshow by Lilliana Casper

There are six general types of magic, also called categories. These categories are elemental, mental, animalistic, kinetic, arcane, and life. Elemental magic covers fire, water, ice, ground, plant, wind, and lightning. Mental covers telepathy, empathy, illusions, and knowledge. Animalistic magic covers all forms of transformation and control of animals and monsters. Kinetic magic deals with objects and items, so anything that creates or controls an object falls under kinetic magic. This includes telekinesis and repair. Arcane is the broadest type and refers to anything that doesn't fall into the other five categories. Jaquean magic, prophetic visions, teleportation, and others are covered by this type. Life magic is the final category and every single type of magic that falls under this is forbidden except for one.

Let's go over elemental magic first. Fire is one of the most common elemental magics. It is incredibly powerful, but also incredibly hard to control. Fire is often used as an example in magic classes and is surprisingly broad in its abilities. However, the sheer amount of both power and control required to unlock fire's secrets is impossible to attain. Water and ice are similar but different. For years, ice was classified under water, but it has gradually separated due to this reason: water mages cannot control ice. Once water changes into solid form, it falls under ice magic. We still don't entirely understand why. Ground magic relates to the dirt, rocks, soil, and minerals of most planets. Only fantasy-class planets are immune to this magic. Plant magic controls... plants. Trees, flowers, bushes, grass, the like. Wind influences the air and lightning can create storms. There are a few mages who can control both and are known as storm mages.

Mental powers are quite broad and range widely in strength. Telepathy is the ability to read minds—more accurately, it's the ability to hear the thoughts of others. The stronger the telepath, the more they can do, even going so far as to control minds. We'll learn more about mind control later, don't worry too much about it. Empathy is the ability to sense feelings and even manipulate them to an extent. Some have argued that it belongs under life magic and should be forbidden, but it's usually weak and harmless. Illusion creation is a very rare power and allows the user to bend the appearance of reality. Most illusionists are weak, but that does not mean they cannot trick you. Knowledge powers are tricky. Knowledge mages can take in huge amounts of information and remember it all, as well as use skills like psychometry, the ability to read the history of an object.

Professor Yeliah's slides by Lilliana Casper

Animalistic magic covers the control of animals and monsters as well as transformation abilities. Powers that fall under this are varied but specific. Animal mages can usually only control one or two types of creatures. Monster mages can summon creatures that do not fall under the classification of an animal. I see your hand over there, just a moment. Transformation is the ability to turn into an animal or other creature. It's a rare skill that is completely genetic. Your question?

"What defines a monster versus an animal or sentient being?"
"Monsters are animals that are unique to a specific planet but have a degree of magic that normal animals do not. The difference between unicorns and horses, for instance. Horses do not have any magical connection, but unicorns have supernatural healing and the ability to sense intentions."

Kinetic magic is... interesting to say the least. It controls materials that have been tampered with until they are no longer elemental. A table, for instance, can no longer be controlled with plant magic. Jewelry can no longer be controlled with ground magic. However, kinetic magic can also create objects. The main ability of this category is movement, as kinetic magic can move anything by force, including people's bodies, which is normally not possible except with mind control. It is the only magic that can slightly bypass the mind-body link. Don't worry, though, it's limited to lifting and moving.
Arcane magic, as I mentioned before, covers all the magic that cannot fit into one of the other categories. It especially includes any magic that can influence or manipulate multiple types of magic. Jaquean magic, for instance, can influence minds, control objects, cast spells, and gain knowledge. Prophetic visions, the ability to have glimpses of the future, fall under arcane magic, as well as the general kind of magic that allows one to cast spells.

Professor Yeliah's slideshow by Lilliana Casper

The sixth and final category of magic is life magic. Only one type of magic that falls under this category is not forbidden and that is death magic. Some of you may be wondering why something dealing with death is allowed. Let me explain. Death magic requires a sacrifice but is a controlled sacrifice. There are also numerous restrictions on it, not to mention the rarity and moral concerns associated with this magic. As you can see on the slide, this is what is allowed of death magic: the temporary reanimation and control of the deceased bodies of animals, monsters, and up to twenty sentient beings for emergency purposes with either the mage using only their power or a sacrifice of animals and monsters. These are the restrictions placed on death magic, which prevent it from being used for any other reason than "emergency purposes".

I've prepared an entire section to discuss the forbidden magics under life magic, so let's move on.

Forbidden Magic

Life magic covers these types of magic: death, life, blood, and love. Out of these four, only death magic is allowed, and only under the circumstances discussed previously. The other three are forbidden. Make no mistake, while all types of life magic are incredibly powerful, they are not forbidden because of their power. They are forbidden because of the cost. All of them are either permanent or deadly, sometimes both.

Death magic, despite its name, is temporary and the cost is relatively low compared to love or blood magic. A death mage can use their own power rather than sacrificing lives and once they stop using their power, their reanimations will return to death. Blood magic, meanwhile, ties a spell directly to one's blood rather than power, meaning that as long as one is alive, the spell will be active.

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Blood magic is the least dangerous of the other three. Its effects can be made to be temporary rather than permanent if one is practiced in the art of spellcasting. However, the cost is still incredibly high. Mages who attempt blood magic can bleed out if they are not careful and even if they are careful, blood magic has a far higher exhaustion rate than any other magic besides love or life magic. Questions? Ask away.

"If blood magic isn't as dangerous, why is it still forbidden? If it can be made temporary, why isn't it allowed with restrictions?"
"Many, many people have asked this question before you. The short answer is that blood magic is only temporary if you are incredibly good at wording spells and ensuring they have no loopholes. Blood magic is specific. The long answer is that on top of that, blood magic demands a heavy price, taking health, exhaustion, and blood from the caster. You must spill blood to use blood magic. Additionally, using blood magic taints all other forms of magic and can prevent you from using some abilities."

Now that I've explained blood magic, let's move on to life magic. It's more accurate to call life magic impossible rather than forbidden, as the only people capable of using life magic are the strongest of Celestials. Life magic is the manipulation of magic in life. Using life magic, one can give others magic even if they do not have any affinity for it. Life magic can also create life. The Crestantos were supposedly created with this magic by a Celestial. The few stories of true resurrection from death were brought about with a mix of life and death magic. Life magic is, very simply, the aura of the world, and to meddle in it is impossible.

From the name, you may think that love magic is harmless or silly. What's wrong with manipulating love? Doesn't it fall under empathy or mental magic? No. Love magic is the most powerful and the most dangerous of all forbidden magic. It is not simply the manipulation of feelings, but the true and irreversible rewiring of how someone connects to the world. Love magic is permanent. Breaking free of a love magic spell is impossible. Love magic is not a silly potion that inspires someone to care for you, notice you, or like you. It causes that person to truly and completely love whatever you want them to and it is something you should never attempt. It is permanent, irreversible, and unpredictable because love is unpredictable. The only person who could control love magic was the Celestial of love, and I personally believe it was a good thing that she died in the Celestial War. I don't know why anyone thinks she's good. Love magic is forbidden for a reason. No one should have such power.

by Lilliana Casper

So to recap the magic types under life magic: Death magic is dangerous but allowed in specific situations, blood magic is dangerous and near-permanent, life magic is impossible and permanent, and love magic is permanent, irreversible, and uncontrollable. I hope I don't have to warn you again that you should never attempt any of these.

Spells

Spells are not a type of magic, nor are they the only form of magic. While magic is used to perform spells, not all types of magic require spells. Spells are a way to limit and control magic as well as perform specific tasks. Arcane magic in particular uses spells as a way to prevent the user from accomplishing the wrong thing.
Every spell is different, but they all require an incantation. The incantation required for each spell is specific to the spell. Some spells require gestures or movements, some require intense focus or preparation, and some simply need the caster to speak the words. Any spell that requires blood is classified as blood magic. Most common or intricate spells can be found in books, especially here in the Kersar Library. Do not attempt to create your own spell before first ensuring one does not exist. There are many spells that have been created over the years and I would be very surprised if you did not find one for whatever you are planning on doing.

Professor Yeliah's slides by Lilliana Casper

The most common spells are barrier, protection, binding, enchantment, and summoning spells. Barrier spells are used for detecting people within a certain area and can also become shields to protect that area. Protection spells are not simply shields to protect against attacks, they are immunity from harm, illness, and spells. The stronger the mage casting the protection spell, the stronger the protection is. Binding spells are used to keep things in place or to hold things in a certain state, either a state of stillness, attachment, or obedience. Binding spells can be used on living things. Enchantment spells relate to objects. An enchantment spell can give an object such as a sword or book special abilities. Enchanted bows will be stronger, enchanted swords will be sharper, enchanted books will flip pages on their own, and enchanted boxes will stay closed. Lastly, summoning spells can teleport objects,

creatures, and people to the location of the caster. Summoning spells are also how mages will teleport themselves.
Are there any questions? I know we jumped over the spells really quickly, but we'll go into them more during class five. Nothing? Good, I'll just touch on blood magic spells and we'll move on. We're starting to run out of time and I have three more sections after this.
Blood magic is one of the only types of magic that requires a spell. That is because blood magic, above all else, requires both specificity and sacrifice. We've touched on it slightly already, and we'll touch on it again in class five, but this is very important to remember: any spell that requires blood is blood magic and is extremely dangerous. The reason I am reminding you of this so often is that blood magic is the most attempted forbidden magic and it has caused the deaths of 70% of the mages who attempted it. Blood magic spells are dangerous and deadly and even if you survive, you may never be able to use other types of magic again.

Magic Exhaustion

This is actually a rather short section, as I'm certain most of you have heard of magic exhaustion. We'll also be learning more about it during one of our later classes. For any of you who don't know exactly what it is, magic exhaustion is not simply getting tired after using a little too much magic. It is when a mage uses up almost all of the magic they have, leaving them incredibly weakened and confined to bed for several weeks while they recover.

To explain, let's use the example of a cup of water with a straw an inch from the surface. Using magic drains the water (your power) until the water dips beneath the straw. You can only use as much magic as your straw can reach. With training, you can lower the straw (your ability to access your power) to access more power at any one time. Once you use up the amount you can reach, you have to wait for the water level to rise again, which happens over time. This is waiting for your power to regenerate. Now, say you somehow managed to drain more water than you should have, going even lower than your limit. When you've stopped, you will pass out, and you will have to wait even longer for your power to rise again. If you surpass your limit like this, you must wait for your power to fully regenerate before you can use it again.

Professor Yeliah's slides by Lilliana Casper

Did any of you misunderstand that? I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I could explain it the same way one of my students last year did. I struggled to explain how it worked and he came up with this example. I think it's a great comparison, but could you all visualize it? Oh, yes, I suppose the slide helps.

The Mind-Body Link

Now that we're on the topic of things that are hard for me to explain, let's talk quickly about the Mind-Body Link. We'll discuss it later in the course, so I don't want to talk too much about it. The Mind-Body Link refers to the connection between the mind, the soul, and the body of all sentient beings. This link protects our whole person and prevents us from being controlled contrary to natural laws.

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As you know, magic suspends all laws of science, but the Mind-Body Link prevents magic from suspending certain laws that relate to the body and mind. There is a reason why we call it "mind" control, not something like "physical control of a being". That is because, in order to take control of someone's body and powers, one must first control their mind. I have seen many books, movies, and shows in which the Mind-Body Link does not exist, and I'll use one as an example. In some forms of media, skilled water mages (or whatever they are called) can control a person's body using the liquid in their blood, stomach acid, sweat, saliva, and so on. That is not possible with the Mind-Body Link, which ties a person's body to their mind. Very simply, your body is yours and no magic can separate it from your mind and soul.
Trying to explain exactly how the Mind-Body Link works and how it was discovered is very difficult and takes a lot of time. In fact, it is so difficult to explain that one of the last classes of the course will be dedicated to talking about it. Understanding it is very important to magical theory, as it is one of the undeniable and unchangeable truths of magic. One cannot separate another's mind from their body, even after death. You cannot control another sentient being

without first subduing their mind and preventing it from resisting your control of their body.
One last section now before I pass out today's test and assign homework, and it's about one of the most controversial topics related to magic.

Eternals and Celestials

Are Eternals real? That is the question that has plagued many historians, magic theorists, and mages for hundreds of years. Are these beings with incredible power, many said to have powers beyond that of many mages combined, truly something that exists? I would say they do. There are too many stories of them, spread too far across the galaxy with too many similarities for them to be fictional. There is too much proof to be thrown away, and for the purposes of this course and my peace of mind, we will assume they are real.

Now, what is the difference between Eternals and Celestials? Celestials are all Eternals, but not all Eternals are Celestials. Eternals are beings with incredible magic who cannot die from illness or old age. They can be killed, but not without magic or near-impossible strength. Celestials are Eternals whose powers reflect an aspect of existence, such as the Celesital of ice or the Celestial of compassion. There are many Celestials and even more Eternals. Celestials are generally more powerful than other Eternals and are more well-known, so we'll learn a little more about them.
Celestials are classified with the "generation" system to help determine age. There are five generations: Pre-generation, first generation, second generation, third generation, and fourth generation. The most powerful Celestials are the pre-generation

Professor Yeliah's slides by Lilliana Casper

Celestials, who came into being under mysterious circumstances. First generation Celestials are also incredibly powerful. There are two special sets of Celestials in mythology: the Elementals and the Emotionals. All of the Elementals died before or during the legendary Celestial War. The Elementals had the powers of fire, water, air, and nature. They were the only magic users who could control the elements on such a scale. The Emotional Celestials were ten in number and represented the emotions of anger, rage, sadness, sorrow, joy, happiness, fear, terror, confusion, and uncertainty. Half of the Emotionals died in the Celestial War.

"I was wondering, how many Celestials are there? Not just the ones that are alive now, but how many have there been total?"
"That's a good question. Unfortunately, we're not very sure exactly how many Celestials there have been. I would guess, hmm, about ninety to a hundred? We know that at least fifteen died during or prior to the Celestial War and they numbered at least sixty or seventy before the war began."

Ah yes, the Celestial War. You will hear about the Celestial War in many myths and legends. That is because it is the only time in history that the Celestials fought each other in such numbers. Not only did the Celestials fight, but many of them brought armies of people who followed and praised them. The Celestial War is possibly the worst conflict in the history of our galaxy. Almost all of the Celestials who have ever died were killed during this war, and many of them were some of the most powerful to exist.

Conclusion

And on that note, that's the end of the lecture! We've covered a lot of topics and concepts today, many of which we will expand upon in the future. As I mentioned a moment ago, we'll discuss the Mind-Body Link in greater detail later in the course, we'll talk about spells in a few weeks, and we'll eventually learn about magic that is unique to certain species and planets. For now though, it's time to end the presentation and talk about homework!

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