Sorcery

Sorcery is term that refers specifically to any supernatural power or ability gained through summoning, bargaining with, or extorting a non-living spirit.
=== Possibilities and Limitations ===
Since sorcery can grant the sorcerer all sort of abilities, it is considered a very useful tool and sometimes classified as a technology. The spirits who grant magic are a valuable resource, though a limited one. There are only a few spirits available, each granting different abilities, and there are a few limitations on what they can do. For example, no spirit has ever granted the ability to directly alter or affect the mind of a living being, and requesting this of a spirit will result in them telling you it is impossible. What they can do, however, is possess someone and act through them - which may drive the person mad, or at least make it appear as though they have gone mad.
In some cultures, sorcery is found in a more ambiguous form, often as part of local superstitions. One of these is the practice of "blood magic", a form of sorcery which involves summoning a spirit through the spilling of blood. The types of spirits who are drawn to bloodshed are explicitly malevolent creatures capable only of violence, destruction, and death.
Other forms of sorcery seem more benevolent. Necromancy can be spun in a positive light if a sorcerer uses it to bring back a dead loved one or an innocent who was wrongfully killed. But it is important to note that all sorcery is inherently sinful. Sorcery and miracles are not the same thing.
=== Locations and Cultures ===
The practice of sorcery is most commonly associated with the nation of Iskirra, where an elite class of sorcerers sit at the top of the social hierarchy. These sorcerers serve as political and military leaders and control the populace with an iron fist. They follow an ideology which favors progress, especially scientific progress, above all else.
While sorcery is practiced outside of Iskirra, often in the form of local superstitions, in some countries it is banned outright. In the theocracy of Zantium, sorcery was seen as a sin. The motivation of a person who uses magic - which could only be obtained through dealings with devils - was to obtain an extreme form of power over others, and thus it was a threat to society. The only way to counteract the power of magic was through exorcism of the spirits involved, or by slaying the magic user. Specially trained knights, called paladins, were taught how to fight against mages and spirits using special weapons. Any individual found to be using magic was put to death, although as the years wore on this penalty was softened in favor of banishment or imprisonment due to protests calling for religious freedoms.
On the other side, the desert land of Nykara is a lenient society where all practices are tolerated. Magic is equated with religion, and thus it is protected under religious freedoms. This has led to some rather interesting conflicts as paladins who survived the destruction of Zantium and witches/warlocks who settled in Nykara rather than Iskirra are forced to live together even as their ideologies clash.
Category:Religious Concepts