The Nexus and Magic in Ultheles

In Ultheles there are multiple ways that mortals have found to acquire power beyond their ordinary means that allow them to do wondrous things. Things that, perhaps, should remain beyond the grasp of men. In a word, these abilities are referred to as magic.

The magical powers flows through all living things in Ultheles and connects them to one another. This flow of power binds the world together and gives the world stability and lifegiving power. This power, in turn, flows from the Nexus, a central node of immense power at the center of the world. The ebbs and flows of this net that the Nexus creates dictates the conditions of life on Ultheles, and the Nexus is so essential that its erratic nature even informs the actions of living beings. Some creatures have a stronger connection or perhaps more control over their connection to the Nexus, such as the Meredar. These creatures have, through this connection, acquired the power to influence the Nexus and its interaction on Ultheles to cause magic to happen. Such usage does draw upon the powers of the Nexus, and uses up parts of the Nexus inherent power. While the Nexus will regenerate the power used over time, this process can sometimes take decades. It is therefore important to constantly monitor the development of the Nexus and to be careful about how its power is applied. Should the powers of the Nexus get strained due to the weight of magic being cast, spots of Dead Magic will start to appear over the surface of Ultheles. At first, these spots will be small, but over time more spots will appear and they will grow. As these spots will deny life to subsist, such zones are extremely dangerous and large enough zones will slowly kill whoever finds themselves lost therein.

It is due to this danger that The Veiled Masters of the Whispering Halls traditionally have held a monopoly on magical education, and violently protected their control. The only casters to not submit to the dictates of the Veiled Masters are the elves, who have managed to stay hidden from the peering eyes of the Masters. Even Sorcerers and Druids have been brought to heel by the Masters, as they have behind them the combined might of virtually all the strongest casters in Ultheles.

As the scholars at the Whispering Halls categorize it, those who utilize the powers of the Nexus are called Weavers, but they usually only use this term when discussing spellcasters taught at the Whispering Halls. There is said to be a natural barrier for mortals when weaving these weaves that limit the power that they are capable of using. At the Whispering Halls, the weaves one can learn naturally are referred to as the Weaves of Bending, wherein the laws of nature are not broken or suspended, but merely altered in some way to benefit the caster. These, therefore, do not go entirely against the natural will of the Nexus. The Weaves beyond this point are referred to as the Weaves of Breaking, which suspend the natural order. It is said that only those casters taught at the Whispering Halls can master these Weaves, and that casters who try to oppose this are slain or brought to heel by the Masters. This practice persist even after Kullervo Half-Elven has allowed Weaves of Bending to be taught outside of the Whispering Halls.

While all spellcasters may be referred to as Weavers, the Whispering Halls also has developed the categories inherited by the Elves. As the Veiled Masters see it, there is Weaving, Pacting and Calling, where weaving draws upon the powers of the Nexus in some way, whether this ability comes from natural heritage such as Sorcerers and to some extent Druids and Rangers or study, such as Wizards and Bards. Pacting, meanwhile, involves making a pact with a stronger creature to use that creatures contact with the Nexus to harness its power. Pacting is primarily performed by Warlocks, and to some extent Druids, Rangers, Clerics and Paladins. Calling involves calling upon powers from outside Ultheles to interact with the Nexus on your behalf. This includes Paladins and Clerics, and to some extent Warlocks. As such, there is an overlap on a few of them, which can be explained by the fact that the Veiled Masters are attempting to understand the Nexus through their own narrow eyes. Many at the Whispering Halls higher echelons remain agnostic, rather than theistic, and this makes it more difficult for them to categorize, as there is a great deal of disagreement concerning the divine.