Magic

Across the Ages of Ransera the presence of magic has always been felt. It is a force that has been used for both good and ill. With it, mortals have forged mighty empires and through it those same empires have been brought to ruin. To some, magic is a curse. To others, it is the only true path to power. Regardless of opinion, the truth remains simple: magic is ever present in every corner of Ransera and it always will be.

Magic is the broad term for describing any paranormal effect, no matter the source of its cause. The world of Ransera is best described as a high-magic world. While only a small minority of people tend to wield magic, the vast majority of the population have seen it used or are in some way affected by creations of magic. It is not uncommon for the simple farmer to have a trinket or two that is capable of rendering some very minor magical effect upon the world. Magic users in Ransera have always tended to gravitate toward an elitist mentality. It is no small feat to become a practitioner of magic and is not for the hobbyist as nearly every form of magic takes considerable study and practice to master. Magic grants power but that power comes with a price.

Overview

To the average person, there is no distinction between the different kinds of magic that exist in the world. Any practitioner of magic is viewed as a mage, regardless of the source of their powers. The truth of the matter is that “magic” is in fact a culmination of countless schools and disciplines that fall into a few different spheres.

All magic is fueled by Aether. In its formless state, aether is the essence of potential. It contains within it the possibility to become all ideas. Aether is in everything but on the Material Plane it exists with the highest degree of purity in the souls of the sentient beings who walk it. A person has far more aether than a mundane animal, an animal has more than an insect, an insect has more than a rock and so forth. Aether is what gives anything and everything the core of its identity, substance, sentience and willpower. It tells the story of precisely the thing it resides in. No two things are exactly the same with regard to their aether and when studied long enough, the differences can be found. Aether is neither created nor destroyed.

Rune of Magic

Runes are abound across cultures. Most of them are mundane and without any power to do anything but convey information in the form of writing. A Rune of Magic however, is a symbol imbued with power over aether. Whether that is aether drawn from the Self or aether drawn from the World, these symbols are the means by which most magic in Ransera is achieved. They have two different classifications.

Cardinal Rune

A Cardinal Rune is a rune that has dominion over very broad and often nebulous concepts. It is through these Cardinal Runes of Magic that the various Personal Disciplines of Magic are derived. More often than not, Cardinal Runes were first gifted to mortals from either a Dragon God or a Mistlord. The discovery of new Cardinal Runes is exceedingly rare and has far reaching consequences. The appearance of a Cardinal Rune is always unique to the individual. They are not something spoken, merely understood. Imbuing something with the power to manipulate the concept over which the Cardinal Rune presides requires that it be inscribed upon that which is to receive it. This can be done physically; tattooing a Rune upon a mage, drawing it in ink, inscribing it directly into the flesh by physical engraving... whatever the case, the symbol itself is magic. Upon completion of the drawing, the Rune will be permanently instilled upon the skin and flesh of the mage in question, perfectly formed regardless of the artistic skill of the inscriber. A wizard can only inscribe a Cardinal Rune that they themselves possess.

Regardless of method, instilling a sentient being with a Cardinal Rune of Magic will induce what is called Threshold Sickness. For mortals, who have sentience and willpower, this is a debilitating series of experiences that wrack the body. For those that survive the experience, and most do not, the soul weaves the Cardinal Rune into the very fabric of the individual’s being thus enabling them to perform magic.

Imbuing an object that lacks sentience and willpower with a Cardinal Rune of Magic is an invitation for disaster. Without willpower and thus the ability to focus and control the effects, the powers bestowed by the Cardinal Rune will rampage out of control. While there are methods to avert this catastrophe it is something that only very powerful and extremely well prepared wizards ever attempt. When successful however, wondrous and often weird things can be achieved.

Pictograph

The only difference between a mundane symbol from a mortal language and a pictograph is its ability to be imbued with the power to affect aether, and therefore be magical. The only prerequisite to empowering pictographs is that one possess the ability to awaken the symbols to the presence of aether in some way. If one possesses a Cardinal Rune of Magic, merely touching the symbols and willing a sliver of one's own aether to brush over them can achieve this. For those without a Cardinal Rune of Magic, utilizing dragonshard tools or concoctions is often the method by which this is achieved. This primes the symbols to affect aether in the manner that the wizard directs. Pictographs do not inherently possess aether, they merely possess the power to affect it. The basic study and utilization of Pictography is referred to as Scrivening. Once this prerequisite is met, any wizard can formulate their own grimoire of pictographs and are thus capable of practicing the theories behind World Magic.

Personal Magic

Personal Magic is that which is sustained by using aether from the Self. Drawing upon their own aether, the wizard transforms a piece of their own essence in order to generate a supernatural effect. The parameters for doing so are dependent upon the Cardinal Rune of Magic the wizard in question is utilizing in order to perform this feat in the first place. There are no universal spells or incantations in order to perform the various techniques in the disciplines of personal magic. The effects are achieved purely through an exertion of willpower and while gestures and incantations are indeed helpful to most, they are not required.

Personal magic carries with it great rewards but also great risks. Every time a wizard produces an effect through the use of their magic in this way, they are essentially chipping away at their own souls in order to achieve it. While the soul will recover and repair itself given time, the greater and more powerful the effect, the steeper the cost of achieving it, the more the soul is affected by the effort. Push oneself too much and too far and it will lead to overstepping. Depending on the circumstance, overstepping can be largely harmless ranging from headaches to muscle cramps to downright gruesome and fatal.

The various types of Personal Magic are referred to as Disciplines, as the wizard is required to exert their own willpower over the powers in play and thus require a disciplined mind.

Personal Magic is one of the major spheres of magic found in Ransera. It refers to those disciplines whose power is derived through the use of the wizard’s own aether as opposed to the aether borrowed through the use of tools or rituals. Some personal magics are more widespread than others but the unifying concept behind them is that the wizard themselves is the source of their own power. They rise and fall of their own merit, for better or worse.

Common Traits

While the powers conferred by the personal disciplines vary greatly and some have special conditions associated with them, they all follow a few general traits.

Initiation

Every practitioner of Personal Magic bears a Cardinal Rune of Magic for the discipline that they practice. Each discipline has its own unique Cardinal Rune that can only be conferred upon an initiate by one who already possesses it. Generally speaking, the ability to inscribe a Cardinal Rune of Magic safely comes as one achieves Journeyman status in the magic, though there are exceptions.

Threshold Sickness

Rune mages are tampering with powers that they were not naturally born with. Awakening oneself to the ability to do things they were not made to do exacts a toll upon the body and soul. This price is called threshold sickness. Exactly what the sickness entails varies from person to person but it is a harrowing experience that typically lasts a few days. Many do not survive it. Those that do are forever changed by it. Threshold sickness occurs every time an individual receives a new Cardinal Rune. The number of mages willing to undergo such an experience more than a few times in their lifetime is very small. It is because of threshold sickness that mages almost never receive more than one Cardinal Rune at a time. Typically the inscription process of multiple runes is spread out over the course of several months if not years.

Exertion

In order to perform a feat of magic utilizing a personal discipline, some level of concentration is required. At first, this concentration is considerable. As mastery and experience with the magic grows, this lessens. The use of gestures and incantations as foci is commonplace as they serve as mediums through which willpower is funneled. They are not required but can train the mind to enter the state necessary to cast spells.

Strain

Magic does not come easy. The practitioners of personal magic are exerting their willpower in order to rewrite a piece of themselves and then manifest it into existence in the physical world. This takes time, it takes power, and its takes control. Fatigue, the ability to concentrate, and the magnitude of the effect all play into the success of the spell. The more of these facets that are put under duress, the more difficult it is to achieve the desired result. This can and will lead to poorly executed spells that often will backfire on the caster.

Overstepping

Overstepping is the consequence of casting personal magic beyond the limits of one’s abilities. It is the result of overexerting the mage’s mind, body and soul. Its effects vary depending on the discipline through which one has overstepped. The length of time it lasts is dependent upon how far one has overstepped. Generally speaking, most effects are mild and serve as deterrents to further spellcasting. They will dissipate if the wizard is given enough time to rest and recuperate. Only the most severe forms of overstepping have lasting effects ranging from odd to horrific. As a rule, the effects of overstepping are always negative in some way.

Every person is unique. Not every character experiences the same situation, the same way. Across the various pages detailing the disciplines of personal magic there are examples of the varying stages of Overstepping. These are not absolutes and each character should be carefully considered before overstepping is assigned by a reviewer or a moderator. An Elementalist who uses their magic to sculpt the earth artistically or to assist in archaeological endeavors may find themselves immensely stressed when presented with a life or death combat situation. Whereas an Elementalist trained as a battlemage would likely be well equipped to excel in the same situation vices being an excavator where their lack of knowledge could be more of a detriment than helpful. Consider also the Elementalist who is an herbalist and apothecary. They use their magic to assist in gardening and have knowledge of neither archaeology or combat. Fundamentally, the three possess the same magic but their methods of applying it are vastly different.

Moderators and reviewers are advised to be judicious when considering the context of magic use. What may be difficult for one character may not necessarily be difficult for another.

Quirks

Wizards are, by their very nature, people that draw attention to themselves when performing their craft. Wizards who make use of personal magic are often impossible to mistake. Every mage who receives a Cardinal Rune of Magic is forever branded by that Rune. It becomes a mark that is tattooed upon the flesh in the place wherever it is inscribed. While their colors and appearance vary across the spectrum, it is impossible to mistake them for mundane symbols as even staring at them evokes feelings and sometimes sensations somehow related to their sphere of influence. In terms of appearance, Cardinal Runes tend to begin simple but gradually expand to become elaborate patterns as the wizard grows more powerful.

It is as this power grows that wizards acquire what are universally referred to as Quirks. These are residual effects brought about through the prolonged use of their magic over time. These effects are so profound that the Cardinal Rune has somehow produced a fundamental change to the very soul of the mage that manifests in a way related to the rune’s sphere of influence. Every practitioner of Personal Magic acquires a Quirk for every level of mastery they advance to beyond Novice.

A mage gains one Quirk at Apprentice, one at Journeyman, one at Expert and two at Master for every Rune of Magic they progress to these stages.

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. As stated previously, this can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The common practice is to use dragonshard tools.

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.

The various types of World Magic are referred to as Schools as they tend to be viewed as psuedosciences with more formal and structured approaches to their use.

Wild Magic

Wild Magic is magic that exists independent of focused intent or purpose as understood by Personal or World magics. These occurrences are found in nature across the world with varying degrees of frequency. Examples of Wild Magic include Dragonshards, Dread Mists and the Aetherborn Beasts.

Roleplaying Magic

• Magic is common enough to be seen by most in their lifetime, however it is not something that is commonly understood. Possessing magic is not the norm, and the character's surroundings will likely react to it with a variety of awe, confusion and fear, particularly as one develops in their art.

• Magic carries with it great risks and unless utterly insane, sorcerers are a cautious bunch. It takes a keen mind to command magic, lest one be consumed by it. The risk of threshold sickness is always high when learning new abilities, and an overly confident mage can quickly exhaust their resources.

• Consider carefully where your character’s magic came from. Who gave it to them? Why did they give it to them? What was your character taught?

• The various authorities of the world, while generally open to the services of sorcerers, tend to keep a very close eye on them. No government wants to be usurped by those with paranormal abilities that pose a threat to law and order, however loose. They will take steps to discourage the abuse of magic. If you are looking to cause trouble and you are not careful, you will quickly be made an example to dissuade others.

• Don’t assume your character knows everything about magic because it is explained in the lore pages. These pages are comprehensive to serve as reference material but the vast majority of the population know next to nothing about how magic works. Unless your character is an experienced sorcerer, they likely know very little as well. Even most sorcerers are knowledgeable only in that which they practice.

• Quirks can change the mage - and being a mage can change one's perception by society. Be aware that the deeper your character goes into the arcane, the more their personality and lifestyle - as well as society's treatment of them - will be altered.

• Do not assume that a sorcerer will be eager to teach your character magic. Most prospective students die during initiation. That is a heavy weight to carry on the soul. Even if the prospective student survives, it takes a considerable amount of time and energy to teach them. The taking on of any student is a large investment with only the slim hope of success. It is not done lightly or frivolously.