Magic

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This topic is closely tied to several other articles. Readers are encouraged to review the following pages for additional context:

• Souls

(Observation excerpts from "What Could Have Been" by Lagoran Mage Erenville, "The Invisible Side" by Gelum Researcher Flubber, and “Looking Inside” by Canari Druid Beau’min)

"The leading theory of Magic is that they're thin invisible threads that meticulously craft the universe around us. It is an age old practice full of unknowns but what is known is we are able to manipulate it. There is no exact point in which we as a species nor our neighbors began to use it but at some point, the universe became malleable via these threads…"

“The extent of what magic can do is near impossible to know. Those of Chitara have used it as an energy source while Lagoran society has become dependent on it as a practice. This doesn’t answer the question of how far can we go with it? It’s been used by the Canari to promote growth of their forest while the Aurelians have made their living machines with it. None of these species are better than the other at the utilization of it and each have faced their detrimental downfalls from their use. Magic has simply proven itself an unending climb out of the bottom of a slippery well. How many breakthroughs will be needed til we can answer the question?”

“... My colleague now suffers an injury to his hands due to a new spell. He had planned for an outcome that has worked several times before. Imbueding a talisman with the ability to keep a person warm. It must have been the pulling at the wrong thread or the wrong timing of it. Despite a man his age being so intimate with magic, he had still injured himself. On one hand, it is quite aggravating to have such an incident occur but on the other hand, it is a more favorable outcome than flame resulting in the burning down of his home.”

Magic Is...

Energy to Power Our Lives

> “Flare has powered our machines since the Final Sunset. It has warmed our homes and kept our food cold. The towering crystals connected to our machines have been described by visiting tourists as magic incarnate. I am not quite sure what they mean by ‘magic’. It’s impractical to our walls of steel and steam. Not many around here use magic. Cutting corners is really encouraged.” -  Carcid Engineer Guzma

> “Oh Flare is just so pretty isn't it! Not quite sure where we would be without it. Just about everything around here uses Flare. The communicator you contacted me with has it installed see! [There is a small refined piece of a crystal embedded into a communicator with wires strewn about up and bored into it.] Not many actually really manipulate Flare of course. Typically only those higher up in the guilds do that. That's because too much for too long can be pretty bad for your health. I have my workers take hour-long breaks and weekly medical check-ins to stay safe.” -  Lepteran Site Overseer Atropos

> “What you call magic, our community calls Flow. The nectar of life has always flowed all around us and inside us. Gently guiding flow allows us to bond with flowers and grow crops: a beautiful gift from Elyndra. Following the flow of life in turn makes life easier, so all young saplings are watered with this knowledge, and grasp it just as naturally. Do be careful though – too much magic, being too close to the soil, threatens to bring you down with it. The landscape around my hometown is scattered with a few of my own friends, unable to sense the flow as it naturally shifts, and now part of the very thing that took them: the trees.

Even still, I don’t know if I’ve even heard of anyone going against it — it’s not something you can really explain, only feel, and once you do it’s impossible to follow another way.” - A Sylthae named Elder Oak XXV, Honeycome, who volunteered to help

> “It’s just numbers and calculations these days. Well, in the past I know we had a more intricate relationship with the Current. Called it something like the Storm I think? Not many Thalassans really care to follow the past like that. We modernized and monopolized it now. I know some other species have more going on but really it’s just simple stuff. I mean the bike I ride to class is upgraded by yours truly. It goes pretty fast and I don’t even need to pedal.” - Thalassan Nurse Saphira

> "Magic? Look! [They point at a weirdly shaped organ inside their stomach] This little guy is basically magic I guess. It's a part of our lives technically but it's basically such a unconscious part of it. Almost like how you blink but don't think about it. It's not such a highly thought about thing though, we get around just fine without magic being so high priority. We have some thing in our technology to powers it but really, it's no big deal. Ah but I guess we could get pretty far with it huh? Oh well." - Random Gelum on the Street named Lardo

Patterns in our World and Symbols on our Paper

> “Our first use of Wai’koli is retold through a fairytale of two people finding a moment of silence and peace together. Meditating and listening to the sounds of the forest, they took notice of Tal'tovak [“The Patterns”]  in the nature that exists all around. Swirls in the water, shapes created by the stars in the sky, rough tracks of tree bark. They were overcome with a sense of passion and joy, and decided to draw these patterns in the ground together, resulting in the first spell for our people. It is said this spell was so compelling and so moving that it motivated them to understand and learn to harness these spells to benefit those around them.

The most common form of our Wai’koli is through our many different types of rituals. With our pigments and athames, we encourage the growth of plants and push the weather in a direction beneficial to the life of our forests. It’s important to be careful though, as it can not only lead to storms, droughts, and crop failure. Many casters push themselves too far and exhaust themselves. A handful of times a pup has done so. Unlike our Felari counterpart, communing with the dead is a touchy topic. I advise you to avoid such things when visiting our towns.

The natural world is meant to be respected. Do not take without compensation. The highest practitioners are called Dru’til but of course for the sake of conversation, they are commonly referred to as Druids. We are professionals in our field despite many others communicating with Nat’kalak [“Nature”]. We are healers, herbalists, and often spiritual advisors. Further up the hierarchy are Dru’yovil, also known as High Druids. The final step would be a Dru’zuvaki. An Elder Druid.” - Canari Dru’til Relitov

> “Umbra is as old as you could imagine. We didn’t even call it that back then. There were a bunch of names like Stormweaving and the Current. It was essentially trial and error until we found a way to use it the way we do now. Old Abyssals would replicate the patterns and sigils of the flora and fauna around us, leading to some of the first few archaic spells. Special to us though, we copied the beautiful patterns on our bodies. But yeah, trial and error. Sure we may use some of it in our tech like the Thalassans but Abyssals are more connected to our roots. [They open their satchel to reveal several bottles and brushes.] We still use these bad boys. Special inks and brushes. A buddy of mine sticks to his hands but I found a brush easier to use.

It’s primarily a hobby around here to use Umbra. But a very intricate hobby in our lives. Almost everyone uses it to mess with the current and temperature of the area. Gotta know the thermodynamic laws well to get what you want. Why is it popular? Well it’s one of the very rare ways we can see more or less. The glowing from the colored lights in our patterns allow us to enjoy the colors of the ocean and life without getting overwhelmed. The guy I learned all this from is pretty cool, I should introduce you. He’s been doing this for lifetimes. The old man has the scars to show it too. Burns all along his arms, they almost look like a secondary collection of patterns on him. Don't tell him I told you this but he’s definitely exploded a few buildings in his youth.” - An Abyssal named Onyx, a passerby in the streets of Kataphos

> “Our people used to create massive scrolls painted with runes and patterns of the highest quality ink: an artform lost alongside many other things from the great famine. Magic itself is not lost, however, and many of our people practice incantations. Only the highest of us know the noblest of spells. In the past we lived bountifully with the ink we produced. Able to catalogue and store saved scriptures for immediate use when needed. The ink was produced from a beautiful plant that we have lost due to the famine.

While among the higher ups may only get to see this magic practice, the general populace on the other hand typically use simplified forms more for when they glide, taking the breath of the wind into their feathers to guide them to their destination. Some may even sell these feathers that are attuned to the winds if they’re beautiful enough. Farmers are extensive practitioners of it as well as they grow our food. Since the Famine, they’ve been a highly monitored group. The ones that are most respected are those who practice spirituality.

Due to our past, how we use our scriptures is governed by rules. One must take up an education to learn how to participate in magic. We are to never allow another famine from one mishap of a learning sparrow. Yes, even when using magic to glide along the wind. You must receive an education. Utilizing technology and delving into magic to do with such is not allowed. Prison time and banishment will be allotted based on the crime. The same goes for some medicinal practices as well.

Following such rules allows us to safely live and thrive from our past but also keep our flock safe. Overuse is closely monitored and could result in fines or jailtime. This is simply to deter casters from harming themselves and the crops. For those spiritually inclined however are encouraged to exceed one’s natural limits. A ‘mind fracturing’ means one is closer to the Nullstar. Those that experience this are safely housed and aided in ways to avoid hurting themselves and others.” - Caelune Priest Apollo

The Law of Giving and Taking

“Well I guess you could call it a bargain of sorts. We provide a sacrifice to get what we want in return, that way we don’t get injured as much when doing our work. Crafting a soul is a tough job I say. Even the magic focus I use doesn’t do much to craft something so intricate. The new regulations have helped somewhat but just being a nanosecond off usually hurts my hands. I’ll tell ya a secret though, some new guys the company hired have been practicing without the focus for their own amusement. They’re a bit reckless, just calculating the risks and taking the chance. I doubt it’ll get them anything beneficial. Either a reprimand from higher up or a body bag sent home. I personally see it a well deserved punishment for messing with the force of chaos.

Overall, we communicate with the Binary. The heart and soul of our home. Technology has advanced us this far and the technomancy that aided us has been a life line. The Binary? Well it's the soul of a machine. All around you is life don’t you see it? We craft that life.” - Android Manufacturer Ifri

> “Not many of us use magic like our Aurelian kin do. Despite already being considered magic advancements, a good handful of us don’t actually practice it. Born of Aurelian technomancy, we are inherently able to use it but mastering it is a whole different thing. We are simply aids in using it, either to help with the focus or contain the magic. I try to teach the young ones about it when possible since many are always interested in pursuing a career as a priest.” - Classroom Teacher C1D, an Android programmed to teach mathematics

> “Oh! Magic is wonderful! It is all a part of our sphere and home and quite everything we do. Around here, we call it O Dom do Tecelão – ‘The Weaver's Gift.’ Like all gifts, we cherish it and only take what we can give back as well.

Oh, you must be wondering how our tunnels were made. I use them so often I forget that foreigners are always so so giddy when they see our systems! We let all of the critters that live around here use our tunnel systems as a way of giving back to our home. They’re like mini warp gates – the first warp gates actually! Our homeworld sometimes creates these weird rifts from place to place. Apparently it moved a whole person from one side of the city to the other once! It was like a sign from the ground itself.

Sometimes when trades are slow, I glance around and hum a little song and next thing I know I hear the same hum calling back to me! I think magic is similar, the spells and creations happen in a way that echoes back to you. I mostly use rather than create magicitech, and I give back through my physical goods, but if you sit around and watch, it’s not hard to see it happening all around. Our sphere is very alive with new discoveries all the time! - Lagoran Trader Rava Ymir

How We Move and Dance

> “Our Soul Resonance is life! Dance, music, performances. With it we can put on fantastical shows. I use it almost daily for my shows. Slipping into the music and pulling at the bits of Resonance around me, I like to make it look like I have an entourage of dancers around me as I sing. I guess it may be a bit odd to do it the way we do. Echolocation is what it’s called. With it I know just the movements I need to do to cause the illusion of a group of background dancers. Of course a girl can’t use it all day. I’m always getting headaches and itches so when they start to occur, it’s time to stop.

That’s just how it is around here. We dance and move to show off our skills with Soul Resonance. I had a former friend that used it all the time to change his looks. Gosh he was such a lazy bum, no effort to do up his hair ever. Trust me when I say, you could smell him a mile away if he didn’t mask it with Resonance. Unlike him though, most others actually have a very good use with it. Technically to some people they can’t actually hear the frequencies we use. We just sound like a silent show to them.

Oh I should tell you. There’s been an increase of injuries lately with such high competition in the performance industry. I knew a showgirl that had to retire early due to her body not being able to keep up anymore. The doctor said her bones were on the brink of snapping. Not to mention the constant pain in her shoulders. Poor girl, I visit when I can and she’s not looking the greatest. Don't let that stop you from enjoying the shows at least.” - Sonyx Performer Xenon

> “You’re curious about EVO Tech? I mean Evolutionary Techniques is what we call it. Not many really touch it. Mostly just utilized when convenient, otherwise it’s useless for problems we already solved in all honesty. When it was first discovered it was a hot ticket and thought to be the next evolution in Sauran life. Instead we mostly realized it has little effect in comparison to our technological advancements. It's mostly a secondary tool. For example restaurants use it as a dining experience to cook their meat and make a spectacle out of it. Some Sylvan young take advantage of it to lessen the impact of their falls while climbing.

Sage Hermelin was our pioneer of course! We have a school named after him! There we’re teaching our students how to manipulate with our hands. Our claws have become amazing tools in manipulating EVO. If you look into a classroom you can expect a student to be doing strange movements but they're just prepping a spell! We do have to unfortunately limit our use simply due to recent studies attributing the difference in the tails of our young students in comparison to their peers outside the field. There are also the implications of a shorter lifespan due to its use. Doesn’t stop the young from being curious though.” - Sauran Sage Sapphire C’eel

What Grants us a Reward for Our Offerings

> “Our ancients used to refer to ‘magic’ as ‘Vaki’, but I’ve only heard the royals and a priest or two use that term nowadays. After all, I guess it truly is the greatest way to connect with the Nullstar. Magic is unseeable but not unknowable: if you concentrate on grounding yourself, your antlers, to your surroundings, you can feel the push and pull of the Nullstar’s power stretching over it all.

Changing one thing actually changes a lot of other things — from the air we breathe to a falling branch a mountain away. It’s less of a hard study and more of figuring out what our past kingdoms knew about it. Like the word itself, magic has changed so much that it is kind of a lost language…” - Cervari Gale Khorren, a researcher of the arcane.

> “Due to living in environments filled with vegetation, we often practice Vidya to allow the manipulation of plant life. This of course leads to our massive agricultural advancements to handle the Mahavana. Ah but due to the necessity for stealth, you could say we’re experts at cloaking ourselves. Enchantments are inscribed onto spacecraft and equipment in order to slip away unseen. It is also inscribed on the boundaries of our cities so they're harder to find. Keeps us safer.

Some of our Vidyari have been known to work with the dead, to commune with and ask for advice from our ancestors. That is the purpose of our rituals. I apologize but I can not share too much about them but they do often require Vidyarim, higher level practitioners. The toll this takes on the caster is quite heavy the longer it is kept up. It’s a tedious set up, needing just the right caster and correct specific circumstances.

Vidya is as much a tool for survival in the Mahavana as our claws. Meanwhile some warriors are able to use enhancement enchantments for temporary boosts but this is still costly to keep up for long, and overly relying on this mechanism can lead to permanent weakening of the body. Despite this, we try to improve ourselves and control forces of nature by utilizing our mastery of the arcane.” - Felari Vidyari Lakshmi

> “Anyone would tell you that it’s a curse, a blessing, both… It consumes you, you know? We’re still sorting the differences between the effects of magic versus the consequences of living in a sphere, but the studies currently point to a mix of both…

As we age, we get ‘Serglige’ – we naturally grow membranes in the cracks of our joints and limbs, but this is an overproduction of it. Holding too much magic like that ruins us. The membranes I mean – they store magic. It sounds great for huge spellcasters until you realize it comes at the cost of your mind… And unless your skills become habit, like singing or humming a catchy tune, even that becomes difficult. Magic is a careful process, like weaving silk, but in specific patterns often like the ones on our wings already. See those little swirls at the edges of mine? Usually those patterns give a hint to what kind of magic ‘calls to you’ the most, but weaving is weaving regardless. No mind, no magic. Even studying magic too closely tends to trigger Serglige – my wings consume almost all of my arms by this point. If I’m not careful, I could probably tug at the wrong string and uh, well that tends to not end great when you’re messing with large magic bursts like that.

Alas, most of us tend to push on despite it, and some remedies are really close to becoming a real cure… Using less magic or limiting ourselves is not an option, not by most standards. I suppose the brightest flames burn out the quickest, don’t they?” - Nythera Researcher Aisne Bane

> “The first records of Thaumaturgy among Ferrans were rituals meant to appease or please the spirits of statues and objects within the local community. The animation of these objects was initially accidental, though replication, documentation, and extensive experimentation led to a consistent ability to replicate their effects. These initial discoveries have paved the way for our development with The Meld. It’s not a popular name to use nowadays, same with The Art and The Sun Kiss but it’s good to remember one’s roots. We’ve standardized Thaumaturgy but it’s taught to those with wealth, as it’s meant to be wielded by a select few but with benefits that can affect an entire society. Thaumaturgy is regulated depending on the Kin and those not under the employment of one nor is a Nomad are quickly swept into the ranks of their local L.P.O.s.

Ah what do we use it for? Well it builds our roads. Crafts our golems. We have crafted large structures with carved crystals made of quartz and lapis while we decorate it in specialized runes and polished gemstones. With this we can place materials in a carved rune circle to cast. This is how golems can be produced at a mass scale and infuse magic into our tools and items. It’s best to be careful with such a large amount of casting. There’s been reports of flesh melting into frames. We have some procedures to avoid it but some embrace this fate put upon them.” - Ferran Kin Mage Lithia

Branches and Constellations of Magic

“The difference between Branches and Constellations is that Branches are a defined and separated system used to differentiate the strings. Constellations are more blended in the differences to help high level researchers expand their knowledge and skill. No magic user is locked to one Branch nor Constellation and often encouraged to look to other Constellations to expand their studies.”

Branches

The two main Branches of magic are split between the visible and invisible.

The Visible branch is everything around the caster that you can see. Things that have a physical appearance to the common person.

• Nature
• People
• Spheres
• Planets
• Weather

The Invisible branch concerns things that are not easily seen to the average person. Things that are mental or spiritual.

• Souls
• Mental states
• Reality
• Gravity
• Light/Shadow

Constellations

Constellations are loosely made groups of magic techniques, spells, and studies that are common with each other. They are not perfectly defined and instead viewed as overlapping circles of studies.

Commonly used Constellations and the fields of study they cover.

• Constellation of the Spirit
  • Soul
  • Spirituality
• Constellation of Song
  • Energy
  • Music
  • Soundwaves
  • “Seeing” the invisible
• Constellation of Exchange
  • Alchemy (equivalent exchange)
  • Studies the effects of magic on users
• Constellation of Entropy
  • Chaos/Entropy
  • Nullstar studies
  • Studies of the Great Empty
• Constellation of the Natural World
  • Elements
  • Nature
  • Weather
• Constellation of the Body
  • Health
  • Animals
  • People
  • Self-altercation (positive and negative)
• Constellation of the Artificial
  • Technomancy
  • Artificial life/soul
  • Constructs

Mana

“Mana is the energy within the strings of a person’s soul. There is no set amount of mana someone has. Simply if someone uses all their mana, they will feel weak and sluggish. All expenditure of their mana could lead to death. Regaining mana takes time and rest so some species have taken to using machines to do their work for them.”

"Cursed"

“Albeit rare, what some have come to call curses are best described as an ailment that affects a magic user due to their use of something so dangerous. They’re not entirely common as most of those who are “cursed” typically don’t live long. Common ailments include a mana sickness that permanently affects their ability to cast magic or a body altercation to a degree that is unintended and harmful. There is unfortunately very little on this subject due to the low rate at which those become afflicted and even lower survival rate among them.”

Crystals

“An odd appearance of Crystals have been found to coincide with magic. Most commonly seen on Chitara, crystals are best described as physical manifestations of the strings combined into a densely packed thing. They typically sprout from high volumes of mana in the area which often results from “events” of waves of energy sweeping an area or the collection of high volumes of energy in one location…”

“....of what people typically call “Experience”. These are much smaller and more malleable in comparison to crystals although crushing and consuming crystal is highly advised against.”