Originally, I had stuck with the traditional "magic" within the world, but more and more I was having issues with the traditional ideals within the setting itself. The deeper I delved into the stories that I was developing in the world, the more I realized that I needed a more defined line between the various "systems" of magic within the world. And so, in the end, I divided magic into three greater categories and two lesser ones. So, for those interested, here they are in the "Hey, this looks good" order of my choosing: Elemental, Terrestrial, Celestial, Divination and Enchantment.
Elemental, or "high" magic, is what normally comes to mind when one thinks of wizards and warlocks. Generally, within the world, if someone says "magic," this is what they're referring. Although it's called elemental, it actually covers much more than just the "elements" so to speak, although many wizards would simply argue that there are more elements than a non-practioner realizes. Most of high magic revolves around calling something into being, removing something that was already there, or changing the make-up of something. For instance, a powerful wizard can remove water from a plant, turn it into ash or turn it into a raccoon, although they cannot directly kill or grow one.
Terrestrial, or "natural" magic, is often considered the opposite of high-magic; practitioners are often called mages. In truth, it is more a practice that is a sort of tangential to high magic, related but not directly, a yin to Elemental magic's more aggressive yang. Terrestrial magic is the ability to "coerce" something in one's surrounding: calling up the rock in the earth, forcing a plant to grow, removing the air from an area, etc. In a way, it's both more restricting and much more freeing than high magic. Whereas you cannot call a fire into being where there was not one before, you can cause a fire to smolder, erupt or flash brightly, or even go out completely, effects that a wizard could only do by adding something else to the equation. Where a high wizard can attempt to add a memory to one's mind in order to approach them as a friend (a very delicate process), a natural mage can simply adjust the person's feelings directly, allowing for a friendly approach regardless of predisposition. And although a wizard can create a new organ for injured person, only a mage can cause a person's wounds to heal; it takes them both working together to heal the most grievous of injuries.
Celestial, or "divine" magic, is the most practiced of the various magics but the least mastered. There are huge numbers of various priests and miracle-workers, but very few can really claim "mastery" over the magic due to its naturally restrictive nature. Celestial magic, as a force on its own, is capable of most anything elemental or terrestial magic can do, with few exceptions; however, the magic itself is considered a gift from the Thrones themselves, and the "gifts" given can be very restrictive. This particular practitioner may have gained the favor of a throne of health, and thus can only use his powers to heal the sick, while another who worships the Throne of Domination can control the minds of the faithful (or the unfaithful, depending on how much favor he has gained). In order to truly master divine magic, one must gain favor from many thrones, which of itself can come with a steep price.
Each of the three countries tends more towards one type of greater magic or another, but there is a "presence" at each. Still, most practitioners of one type of magic tend to have their own stereotypes about the others, and for the most part they do not get along. For instance, many natural mages think that celestial magic does not actually exist, and most miracle workers are just weak spell-casters who don't realize what they're doing. Elemental wizards tend towards the belief that terrestrial magic is child's play, and is best left for those too lazy to actually invest into the "real" practice of wizardry. Most of the high priests of Hydranatos believe that high magic goes against the natural order of the universe; as such, wizards aren't allowed entrance to most of the holy temples within the city.
As one can expect, this rivalry tends to ensure that practitioners more than one of the greater magics is a very rare occurrence. In fact, there are some that believe that much of the rivalry was intentional, that some great tragedy had happened long ago when someone had mastered all three of the greater magic arts and destroyed the world. The argument usually doesn't go very far, however, as eventually some smartass will mention they're still standing on the world or ask what hallucinogens they're working with in the lab that are making the theorists that paranoid.
The two lesser magics, called so because no one is sure they are actually related to magic or something else entirely, are Divination and Enchantment. Divination, also called the Second Sight, tends to be an almost uncontrollable series of visions that often tell about the past or possible future, but also can simply allow one to become aware of a distant place. Most diviners are unable to control their gift; however, many diviners who also practice terrestrial or celestial magic often can teach themselves to control their gift, giving them a range of power that can affect the future, distant places and sometimes even the dead.
Enchantment is the ability to take items and invest them with power, whether it's to make a blade more deadly, a vial that can erupt with fire or ship able to float through the Nebula with the crew intact. Normally, this type of magic lies solely within the purview of a few, gifted Elemental wizards; however, the "gift" has been shown to appear more and more often amongst the "common crafters," especially in Aracanoc. Most discover accidentally that they have the ability to forge latent magic into an item as they pursue their craft, although a few, most notably the Lightsmith family, have the techniques passed down through the generations. Although many wizards first thought this was a sign of the high-magic gift within the individual, this was unfortunately (and quickly) proven false, forcing them to classify enchantment as its own type of magic.
No comments:
Post a Comment