Aether
Aether comes from the Aetherium. It is the essence of potential and is the cosmic force that determines what something is and what its natural capabilities are. Aether exists in all things whether in the material realm, the divine realms, the shrouded realms of the Mistlords and of course in the Aethereal Sea. Within the Aetherium, aether exists as the beginning and end of all possibilities, all ideas, all outcomes and all things simultaneously and not at all. The Aetherium is incapable of sustaining life as a mortal would understand it. It is a realm made purely of ideas that is inaccessible to them except under the most extreme circumstances. Aether cannot be destroyed but it can be transformed from one state to another. In scholarly circles, there is much debate as to what constitutes the definition of “pure” aether versus “impure” aether. However, in the context of this conversation the debate is not about what is contained within the substance of the aether itself (i.e. a plant vs. a person) but rather the mutability of the aether to enable it to become something else. In other words, the purity of aether is based on how much agency the aether has in being mutable.
A living, breathing, sentient person has high amounts of aetheric purity compared to a cow. A cow is livestock, has limited intelligence, and its aether isn’t as comparatively mutable as that of a person’s. The cow has neither the agency or ability to choose to be or do much of anything beyond its basic instincts. While this can be augmented through outside influence, the steps to get a cow to a point where it has this agency takes far more effort compared to a person. People already exist with the inherent ability to shape themselves by merit of their choices throughout their lives. Conversely, a pure aetherite dragonshard has far more mutable aether than a specialized dragonshard such as a pyrolyth stone. A pyrolyth stone’s aether is devoted almost wholly to fiery effects whereas an aetherite stone is capable of being put to literally any task the user can think of provided they have the wherewithal to use it.
The definition of aetheric purity is not a straightforward one and encompasses many factors that are not always clear and precise. It is a subject that is heavily debated and likely will continue to be well into the future.
The Manipulation of Aether
The ability to manipulate aether to bring about a paranormal effect outside of what would naturally occur is referred to as magic. Magic itself exists in various forms. An individual's potential and ability to manipulate aether is measured on the Aetheric Potential Scale.
The aetheric potential scale is the measurement of the degree of control an individual entity, whether mortal or immortal, possesses over the ability to perceive and manipulate the Aetherium. The highest echelons of this scale are capable of existing in the abstract realm of the Aetherium unharmed and are completely capable of manipulating it on a whim. The lowest tiers are incapable of withstanding the forces of the Aetherium unaided, if at all and exert the most limited degree over the ability to perceive and manipulate the aetherium.
The highest degree of potential is measured at Tier 1 as beings capable of rewriting the laws of reality on a whim with minimal effort on their part. The lowest degree of potential is measured at Tier 10 and beyond. The further away from Tier 1 an individual is, the less they are able to manipulate aether or even truly understand what it is and how to perceive it.
Archmagic
Archmagic is the most raw and pure form of magic that is possible. It is performed by projecting one’s consciousness directly into the Aetherium and constructing the desired outcome in the realm of ideas. The individual then pulls the outcome from the abstract realm and manifests it into the material realms. Archmagic does not merely cause effects or affect things in the world. It is the rewriting of reality to suit the will of the individual who performs it. Those beings who exist in the higher tiers of the aetheric scale are capable of performing archmagic innately. This is due to their ability to naturally perceive, understand and manipulate the Aetherium directly. Beings on the lower end of the aetheric scale are incapable of performing feats of archmagic unaided, if at all. Performing archmagic requires a few steps.
Firstly, the individual must either exist within the spectrum of the aetheric scale where they can naturally perceive, exist in and manipulate the Aetherium or they must amplify their ability to do so. For those who do not exist within this scale naturally, it requires that they amass enough aetheric power to place them within this spectrum. This can be achieved through the harvesting of immense amounts of powerful dragonshards, the mass ritual sacrifice of sentient beings and even aetherborn spirits, or possessing an artifact that imbues them with the power to do so.
For those requiring the amassing of power to amplify their ability to perceive and manipulate the Aetherium, they must be able to properly harness and control that power. To this end, the utilization of carefully designed ritual circles, the joining of many mages all focusing their will and aether toward a single purpose, or the harvesting of souls and sacrificing them in ritual fashion with tools specifically forged to assist in the endeavor are all methods employed. Beings who naturally exist within the spectrum to be able to perform archmagic innately, require no such methods but are just as capable of utilizing them. One the power has both been amassed and harnessed, it must then be used to pierce the veils between the material realms and the Aetherium. Upon doing this, the individual must project their consciousness into the Aetherium and in doing so, will bear witness to it in full.
Two outcomes will occur in this moment; either the individual will be destroyed or they will not. Exposing oneself to the vastness of the Aetherium, the realm where all ideas, concepts, possibilities, impossibilities, energies and states of being exist simultaneously and not at all requires that one possess the force of will to retain the sense of self. Being who naturally exist within the spectrum that enables them to perceive and manipulate the Aetherium innately do not face the risk of losing themselves to the degree that mere mortals do. This is due to the fact that these beings are on some level always partially plugged into the Aetherium by virtue of their mere existence. Those who cannot perceive the Aetherium innately but rather amassed the power and resources to enable them to do so are far more likely to be destroyed by the effort than successful at achieving their desired outcome.
After projecting their consciousness into the Aetherium and successfully retaining their sense of self allowing them to continue with their chosen objective, the individual must then commit their amassed power toward manipulating the Aetherium toward their desired outcome. This is achieved by establishing a foothold within the Aetherium, using one’s force of will to construct a facsimile of the event they desire to occur in a small realm of their own making. Upon the completion of this act, the individual must then pull that outcome across the veils of creation and manifest it into the material realm seamlessly and without loss of concentration.
Finally, the individual must then seal the rift created by their intrusion into the Aetherium. Failure to do so can have disastrous results depending on the scale to which the individual performed Archmagic. Feats of archmagic do indeed exist on a scale. The amount of power required to perform archmagic aside, there are varying degrees to which it is used and the rippling consequences of its effects on the material world. Attempting to use archmagic to change an individual person has far less rippling effects than what would be caused by attempting to shift the fate, fabric and makeup of the entire cosmos. The greatest examples of this are the comparison between what the Hytori did in creating the Rift Gates versus what Kaitos Diraegon attempted in the creation of the Godspire. The Rift Gates were products of archmagic that enabled the ancient Hytori to bridge the journey between different worlds and even planes of existence. The fundamental purpose of the gates was singular, to enable travel albeit they were achieving things not normally possible through other means at the time. Their destruction and destabilization ripped the veils between the material realms and the various realms of the Mistlords and other eldritch entities. While this had disastrous results and backlash, the Hytori were not attempting to change anything beyond the ability to traverse the planes through their use. The consequence for misusing and mishandling the gates permanently introduced entities not originally native to Ransera to the world.
The Clockwork Emperor, Kaitos Diraegon, sought to change the very fabric of creation in order to propel himself to astronomical levels of divinity making him the undisputed master of all of existence. The backlash for his failure nearly destroyed the world, the many planes of existence, and forced not only the Dragon Gods to intervene but for Mistlords and other aetheric entities to step in across the spectrum. The point here is to illustrate that the consequences of archmagic are equal to the effect one is attempting to produce, if one can produce the effect at all.
Archmagic neither requires nor is it limited to the rules associated with using Cardinal Runes of Magic or World Magic. However, understanding how to achieve it and possessing the power to do so are two very different things.
It should be noted that archmagic is unknown to even the majority of even the most learned scholars. It is an obscure form of magic that only truly devoted mages or those ancient enough to have heard of it or have born witness to its use are even aware of as a possibility. Pursuit of or connection to archmagic must be granted by the Ransera Site Administrator or a Regional Moderator.
Personal Magic
Personal Magic largely refers to those abilities conferred upon mortals by the Cardinal Runes of Magic. The practice of personal magic is that of drawing aether from the self, rewriting it according to the filter afforded by the Rune of Magic and then pushing it out of the body into the physical world to manifest the desired effect. The Rune of Magic both enables the individual to perform this feat and restricts the feats to that which the Rune has the ability to confer. It should be noted that all individuals bearing a Rune of Magic possess the ability to stir their own aether into motion in a general sense once they receive a Rune of Magic. However, attempting to put that aether to a purpose outside the restrictions of the Rune is extremely limited. Either they can simply open themselves up to bridging their aether with things capable of receiving that bridge (i.e. a dragonshard, a magical artifact etc.), join in the casting of an effect by those bearing the same Rune of Magic or merely brush a sliver of their aether over a pictoraph to awaken it.
However, personal magic can also be defined as abilities that manifest within an individual that can be considered paranormal in effect. These abilities may be granted to individuals by gods, small traits inherent to their race, or are things like a dragon’s ability to manifest an elemental breath weapon. The core concept of personal magic is that the power to use the ability comes from the self and not an external source. Personal magic is very versatile and is often augmented in many ways.
World Magic
World Magic is the magic of crafting and lore. It requires a considerable amount of skill, creativity and often technical expertise in order to perform. While no two wizards of world magic practice in exactly the same way, there are universal theories and techniques that all of them prescribe to. On a fundamental level, World Magic utilizes the aether inherent in the tools used to achieve its effects. However, as every school of World Magic utilizes the art of Pictography it is necessary for every practitioner of World Magic to be able to awaken their pictographs to the presence of aether in some way. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The common practice is to use dragonshard tools. Pictographs are typically inscribed upon the tools that the wizard is using or upon the object that is being utilized. The utilization of pictography specific to the theories of manipulating aether in the ways necessary to achieve the outcomes of that particular school, while being unique to the wizard, follow the general principles described in each of the lore pages of the respective fields.
The difference between an Artificer and a Necromancer is as the difference between an engineer and a physician. While both are rationally capable of understanding the works each other does, the techniques, tools and knowledge required to practice effectively are wholly different.
Despite World Magic not carrying the same risks as Personal Magic, there are still risks. While the wizard is not utilizing their own aether, the aether in the objects they are practicing with must be carefully redirected and applied to various tasks. Done improperly or carelessly, the tools can backfire with varying degrees of severity depending on the task. Additionally, World Magic often requires the use of materials that are not commonplace. Some of these materials are acquired from places that are inherently dangerous and others must be drawn from living beings, sometimes unwillingly.
Wild Magic
Wild Magic is magic that exists independent of focused intent or purpose as understood by the other spheres of magic. These occurrences are found in nature across the world with varying degrees of frequency. They occur seemingly at random. Examples of Wild Magic include dragonshards, Dread Mists and the Mistspawn Hordes.
