Magic

Magic has woven itself through the fabric of the universe, forming the foundation of Vazdimet itself and making its presence known to all living creatures. The many Factions of Vazdimet are defined in part by their relationship to and usage of magic, from the Space Defense Legion preference toward non-arcane technologies, to the Sparnell Confederation's reliance on magic to fulfill their every desire.
Even history has not escaped magic's omnipresent touch, nor has magic escaped history. Wars fought over clashing ideals of magic usage have in turn shaped very laws of magic itself, further dividing the beliefs and political alignments of those shaped by magic in turn.

Arcane History

Mentions of magic have been acknowledged in even the most ancient of texts still available to modern day arcanologists, predating even the most basic acknowledgements of more mundane mechanical technologies.
What still survives of the written records of Fillimet tell tales of fantastical spells, their awe-inspiring power now lost to time and war:

• Portal Travel between planets, with no need to venture into The Void.
• Ancient Majiik, unfathomable even to the most advanced mages of the era, capable of relocating entire planes or even freezing the relentless ravages of time.
• Magic capable of seeing into the very heart of its caster, and twisting its spells accordingly.
• Spells enabling a caster to bend the very nature of their planet to their will, or twisting the planet's geomagnetic field to protect the caster.

Modern theories of magic name these technologies not only the foundation of the universe, but of society itself. And also its downfall, on at least one occasion.

End of an Era

The War for Enlightenment

In 7 EFT (Era of Fillimet) the War for Enlightenment divided the known universe along moral lines, with the arcane knowledge of the day at its very core.
For eight years the ancient ancestors of the Sparnell Confederation and Space Defense Legion tore apart the now-lost plane of Fillimet in a violent and bloody conflict over the fate of the Golding Library, with the Legion joining the Order of Librarians' attempts to defend the Library's darkest secrets even as the Confederation demanded they be shared.
Those who did not share the convictions of the warring sides did their best to survive, with the largest such group eventually founding the modern-day Hydell Order.

The Enlightened Aftermath

The Confederation won, scattering the remnants of the Library's defenders just as effectively as they spread everything they'd salvaged of the Library's knowledge, guaranteeing the information could never be hidden again.
The technologies unleashed across Fillimet did indeed unleash a new Era, as once promised by those who fought with such conviction to fracture the hold of the Librarians on the knowledge they locked within their walls. But the truth of that change was more devastating than any had predicted.

Changing Magic

By 3 EVT (Era of Vazdimet) - two years after the Golding Library was breached, signaling the Dawn of Enlightenment and the end of the War - the signs could no longer be ignored.
Magic was changing. The laws of magic which had governed their operations since time immemorial no longer functioned as expected. Formerly reliable spells became erratic, and any use of magic risked potentially catastrophic consequences.
And yet still society persisted, with many attempting to pretend some semblance of normalcy while others concocted wild experiments with the newly-released knowledge, risking further imbalance.

The Great Separation

Magic's instability continued accelerating until The Great Separation in 5 EVT, when Portal Magic ranges snapped, severing all perpetual Portals and stranding thousands far from home. Despite the best efforts of Portal mages and scientists alike, interplanetary Portal travel had ceased, the spells now limited to planetside Portals only.
And yet with the Separation, the strains on Magic began to settle and stabilize, finally achieving their new equilibrium within the year.
All that was left now was to learn the new rules, and move on.

Magic of Vazdimet by Timepool

Children Technologies

• Asterarcana
• Endoarcana
• Exoarcana
• Metamagic
• Technoarcana
• Thaumadynamics

Related Items

• runic capacitor
• tackbread
• tyrellium shielding

Related Materials

• arbitrium
• Imperium

Before the Dawn

The War for Enlightenment changed everything about Fillimet, with magic bearing the brunt of that change. Labeled the Dawn of Enlightenment, largely in anticipation of the outflow of knowledge from the charred remains of the Golding Library, the aftermath of the war also witnessed rapid changes in the workings of Magic itself.
While the Factions were quick to point the figure at each other, blaming others for the shifts in Magic due to spite over the final outcome of the war, arcanologists today acknowledge a history of change to the rules of Magic, likely after catastrophic Magic-involved events such as the War.
While the exact details of Magic of the Era of Fillimet are lost to time and unfortunate record keeping, enough has remained to allow historians a partial look at not only the Magic of the Era, but also their own lamentations of the ancient, more powerful Old Majiik which formed the baseline of the first Sophontic societies.

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The Shape of Magic

Magic's influence has shaped the modern day realities the universe, from the available technologies to the very culture of the many societies now spread throughout The Void of space. With each new fracture to magic's rules, life adapts, entering the new Era with a fearless drive to conquer this next iteration of existence.

Magic Fields

Doesn't matter how much you need it. Unless you can double the size of the hydroponics bay in the next five minutes, this is as fast as we go.

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— overworked healer

The magic fields weave throughout the very fabric of Vazdimet, drawing their strength and polarity from the facets of existence itself. These fields operate much like the magnetic fields often generated around planets. (In fact, ancient texts from the Era of Fillimet speak of a long-lost magic, Lithaelexy, capable of manipulating these fields, too.)
Each field is tied to its respective magic, and the portions of existence affected by that magic. Nature Magic requires living plants and creatures, Necromancy requires access to the Afterlife, Oramathea requires only the self. The more powerful the presence of the required element, the more powerful the spells.
The magic fields shape the spells to be cast, imbuing them with the traits required to achieve the desired results.

Imperium

Watch your Imperium reserves! You run out, you're dead. If you're lucky.

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— battle mage commander

While the magic fields shape the spell itself, Imperium allows the casting mage to not only influence those fields, but also determine the strength and duration of the spell itself.
Imperium is naturally created and metabolized by all living things regardless of their attunement level or aptitude, although most find it toxic at higher levels. Repeated practice of magic not only improves an individual's efficiency at creating and metabolizing Imperium, but also raises the mage's natural safe blood levels.
Enchanted items are often Runed to draw on the bearer's own Imperium in an effort to save space and grant more control to the user, although other options are available. Runes can also be imbued with a Runemage's power, forming a battery, while complex spells may even contain special runework to improve the efficiency of the programmed spells. Rumors claim the Space Defense Legion has found their own methods of powering spells and technology, although these remain unconfirmed.

The Void

The Void is the gestational parent of all creation, watching over our journey between the stars. The Void shapes our lives, wherever we go, until the day the Void calls us home.

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— Vardan parent

With society's expansion into The Void came the necessity to adapt further, adjusting not only to the requirements of traveling the Void of space, but also the differences in magic when casting during the journey. Some lucky few even discover they are Cosmically Attuned, able to borrow power from the stars themselves when casting in the Void, although as with all loans, this gift carries a heavy price for those who fail to respect its power.
The magic fields between the stars act differently than those planetside, with some failing to reach into the Void at all. Travelers learned to adapt, even bringing their own sources of magic fields to augment some of the weaker, necessary magics. And life moved on, ever questing to master the unknown.

Magic in the Everyday

Magic has found its way into everyday life across Vazdimet, even among the Space Defense Legion, where Magic is avoided in favor of alternative technologies. Communication, Void travel, electronics, and even the smallest of modern conveniences have embraced the advantages Magic provides, holding society tight to the capabilities and, often, the limitations Magic provides.

Beliefs on Magic

He thinks he's a Mage.

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— common Space Defense Legion insult

Each culture's relationship with magic is unique, rooted deeply in the values, beliefs, and available options of its people. The War for Enlightenment left its scars across these beliefs, further fracturing them along lines decided by the ancestors millennia before the modern age.
Of the three largest factions, the Sparnell Confederation has embraced Magic in its entirety - including the once-dangerous secrets learned from the Golding Library - with little care for the repercussions of their choices on others. The Hydell Order, by comparison, steers their citizens closer to the beliefs of Fillimet, preaching the avoidance of spells labeled as dangerous or blasphemous. Believing Magic to be a crutch and a stepping stone, rather than the final solution, the Space Defense Legion has instead chosen to avoid its use as much as possible.

Risks to Mages

While using Magic opens up a great many opportunities across Vazdimet, as with all things, arcana is not without its dangers.

Misattunement and Imperium Toxicity

Mages also run the risk of using too much Imperium at once, running out before their body can generate more. Since Imperium is required to create more Imperium, this often results in misattunment, severing the individual's connections with Magic until provided with another source of Imperium.
Apotheturgy alone can resolve recent mild cases, allowing the afflicted to pull Imperium from another to kickstart their own production. In more advanced cases, raw Imperium may be required, although treatment should be provided by a professional due to the high risk of Imperium Toxicity.
Prevention, of course, remains the most effective cure. Most professional mages consume a diet including alchemical yeast to provide a safe and easy source of Imperium in case of emergency, and any instructor worthy of the profession will provide their students with exercises to easily check their Imperium levels, even while channeling active spells.

Malady

Casters using Imperium in areas of unstable magic, or pushing to cast larger or more complex spells than the caster has mastered, run the risk of misaligning themselves with the magic fields, resulting in Malady.
The condition is not contagious by traditional means, although using Apotheturgy to cast spells with the afflicted is not recommended. While mild cases most often resolve with extended meditation in a safe, stable location, severe Malady requires specialized medical treatment.

Cosmic Burnout

The only permanent condition related to Magic-casting, cosmic burnout is a unique risk to Void mages and the cosmically attuned. Those who borrow more magic from the stars than they can repay run the risk of charring their soul's connection to magic. Despite intensive research, no cure has yet been discovered.

Magic and Technology

We'll Portal that Fareway when we get to it.

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— common saying in the Hydell Order

Throughout the universe, magic and technology are often synonymous. Arcana is merely another branch of technological advancement, after all, and often the most approachable and affordable option for those seeking the latest trends and newest best thing.
The metal tyrellium powers the modern Era, its magic-conductive properties allowing for magic-based circuitry and tyrellium shielding. Arthur Golding's notebooks, salvaged from the Golding Library after the Enlightenment, took these properties further by providing the keys to the space age. Arthur's detailed notes on the complicated construction process of tyrellium crystal - and its programmable qualities - lay the foundation for all modern technologies which followed.

Magic Classification

Modern Magic

In the modern Era of Vazdimet, Magic is now divided into six classifications, each representative of the sources of power required for their use. Some instructors choose to overcomplicate things by dividing them even further, labeling Endoarcana, Exoarcana, and Astroarcana as the magic field spells, with Thaumadynamics, Metamagic, and Technoarcana lumped into a second miscellaneous category.

Endoarcana

Endoarcana by Timepool

Endoarcana is the magic of the self, and as such, does not require external magic fields to manipulate in order to cast spells. This arcana classification includes both Oramathea. the magic of sight and concealment, and Psychometry, the magic of emotions.

Exoarcana

Exoarcana by Timepool

Exoarcana is the magic of the environment, of Nature and the Elements. These classifications of arcana are notably more powerful planetside, due to the required manipulation of localized magic fields as part of the casting requirements for the spells.

Asterarcana

Asterarcana by Timepool

Asterarcana are the branches of magic written into fabric of the universe itself. The mortal plane, the Afterlife, the laws of gravity, and the relentless forward march of time have all left their mark on Vazdimet and their magic fields across The Void of space itself.

Thaumadynamics

Thaumadynamics by Timepool

Thaumadynamics is the magic of transference, giving and taking and transforming in equal measure. This branch of arcana is best known for its spells to transfer, share, and defend against magic, as well as its importance in powering modern day Technoarcana.

Metamagic

Metamagic by Timepool

Metamagic is the magic of magic itself, allowing a mage to feel arcana at work. Unlike all other branches of arcana, practitioners must possess an innate aptitude in a spell before they can learn to intentionally cast it, making Metamagic the rarest skillset of any mage.

Technoarcana

Technoarcana by Timepool

Technoarcana merges other arcana with Runework and mechanical technologies, allowing even non-mages easy access to magic. The resultant products range from simple enchanted objects to modern electronics to the gravity-based telekinetic engines used in modern spacecraft.

• Magic of Vazdimet

  • Asterarcana

    • Portal Magic
      • Necromancy
        • Chronomancy
          • Divination
            • Telekinesis

  • Endoarcana

    • Oramathea

      • Illusion Magic
        • Thaumapista
          • Thaumathea
            • Chromamancy

    • Psychic Magic

      • Telepathy
        • Psychometry
          • Psychomorphation

  • Exoarcana

    • Elemental Magic

      • Anemancy
        • Hydromancy
          • Pyromancy
            • Geomancy

    • Nature Magic

      • Agrokinesis
        • Biomicrokinesis
          • Zokinesis

  • Thaumadynamics

    • Apotheturgy
      • Electromancy
        • Shielding Magic
          • Antimagic
            • Cosmokinesis
              • Transmutation
                • Amphikinetics

  • Metamagic

  • Technoarcana

    • Alchemy
      • Runework

Magic Research

The universe never stands still, constantly shifting and orbiting to find equilibrium among the gravity wells and momentums of its component parts. So, too, are the people of Vazdimet constantly pressing against their own understandings of the rules of their universe, discovering new things to learn, new fields to explore, and new ways to use what they already know.
The study of Magic is no different.

Recent Fields of Study

Recent research in the field of Magic includes:

Alchemical Enhancements

While Runework has proven effective at programming spells into scrolls and items to allow others not skilled in those spells to cast their effects, channeled spells still cause a drain upon the user's Imperium. Many believe Alchemy holds the key, and present research has yielded promising results.

Controlled Divination

Divination has long frustrated mages with its unpredictability, and its inability to provide straight answers on demand to direct questions. Perhaps the longest-standing field of study, current researchers are still struggling to answer the age old question: Will they be the first to finally master this fickle class of arcana?

Cosmic Attunement

While those born unattuned can easily become Attuned with Gene Therapy, the conditions causing cosmic attunement remain largely unknown. It is hoped that by identifying the source, a treatment can be developed, allowing the creation of more Void mages.

Geomancy

Pyromancy, Hydromancy, and Anemancy are the three magics of manipulating the Elements. Ancient texts tease of a fourth, now lost to time, permitting control over physical matter: Geomancy.

Neuromancy

The newest of the established classifications, Neuromancy research has exploded since its acceptance, with study topics ranging from brain surgeries and dementia treatments to replacement limbs and neuropathic therapy.

Soul Health

With the prevalence of Afterlife Intelligences across Vazdimet, souls are now often kept bound to the mortal plane, increasing their chances of incurring physical damage. Curative Magic researchers are now working to identify courses of treatment for these souls, ranging from correcting minor injuries, to someday curing cosmic burnout.

Telekinetic-Friendly Portals

One of the early discoveries in Vazdimet's race to travel the Void, it's long been known that Portal Magic and Telekinesis interact in dangerous and often fatal ways. More recent science has narrowed the cause to the differences in gravity wells on either side of the Portal, confusing gravity-based Telekinesis spells into unexpected behaviors.
Scientists and engineers have long been pushing on ways to resolve this incompatibility, allowing Portal Travel under the cheaper, more precise, and easier to fuel telekinetic engines rather than relying on the bulkier, momentum-prone portal drives currently required.

Zokinetic Necromancy

Inspired by Neuromancy's combination of Fibramancy with Curative Magic, researchers are attempting the same with Zokinesis and Necromancy to form a whole new branch of Magic: Zokinetic Necromancy. Only the souls of Sophont Species can be altered with Necromancy, but a rare few highly skilled zokinetic mages have admitted to sensing the spirits of animals they'd grown close to in their work.
The field has already received generous funding from wealthy donors, most seeking to resurrect the memory of a particularly beloved family pet. As can be expected, this generosity has also attracted its fair share of scammers, eager to make a quick credit through cloning or other even shadier means.

Mechanical Technology

Any exploration into magic would be remiss to omit the efforts of others attempting to avoid a reliance on magic. Most notable among these is the secretive Space Defense Legion.
Courtesy of the SDL's intense efforts to replace all forms of magic with alternative technologies, the citizens of Vazdimet have some ideas of what else is possible, sometimes leading to research projects of their own to emulate the positive results of those who have already succeeded. These projects include:

• More powerful portal drives, allowing faster travel through Portals, opening the way to the use of Portal travel for larger ships (and reducing the cost and need of Void necromancers)
• Mechanical weaponry, reducing the effectiveness of Shielding and allowing greater options for long-range combat situations
• Mechanical Shielding, permitting additional layers of protection for capital ships and potentially countering the Hydell Order's feared asteroid launchers
• Alternative power sources for Runework and Portal drives, preferably from renewable sources as easy to refuel as Imperium.

Magic may have proven itself the cheapest and easiest solution to most of life's complications, after all, but even the most zealous mage is forced to admit it's always good to have a backup.

Further Reading