The Eight Laws of Magic

**The Eight Laws of Magic** are the rules which establish exactly what magic is and isn't capable of doing.

Magic is a force many are capable of using in the 3WSR Universe.  And yet; it is also something that is hard to understand.  It is intangible, it is abstract.  It cannot be seen, heard, smelt or touched.  There is no one singular form, and yet all magic regardless of origin seem to share common elements.

It is human nature to fear what cannot be understood, and hate that which does not seem to conform to "the norm."  A breakthrough was achieved in 1210 however, when renowned Colorman Scholar Blake Erdagovern, the Man In Blue responsible for the Colormen's magic classification system, wrote a manuscript detailing exactly how magic works in such a way that even non-users could understand it.  Translated into Modern English, the title of the work is "Understanding the Intangible: The Eight Laws of Magic."  Using straightforward explanations, Blake detailed exactly how magic could be used, and explained its limitations.  The manuscript was universally acclaimed for its unbiased, objective approach to understanding something which so many used, in so many different ways.  Even today, the magic factions that survive still refer to The Eight Laws as a reference for what exactly magic is capable of and how it works.

THE EIGHT LAWS:

*First Law of Magic: One's ability to use magic is not dependent on strength of one's body, but strength of one's mind*

In the earliest years of magic's existence, it was believed that strength of the body was directly correlated to the strength of one's ability to use magic.  This is not the case- if all other factors are kept equal, a man of frail, small build has the capacity to cast spells just as powerful as someone with a large, muscular build.  Unlike physical strength, magic strength is not limited by muscle mass, because magic is not directly linked to anything physical in the body.  Rather, one's mind is the reason the user can harness magic

*Second Law of Magic: Magic can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be harnessed or blocked*

Magic, like matter and energy, exists in a finite amount in the universe.  When spells are cast, magic is harnessed from one's "pool" of magic, and when the spell is cast, the magic then dissipates back into the world.  Though it is possible to enlarge one's "pool," the amount of time needed to refill it is directly proportional to the size of one's pool.  Barring the use of an artifact, when one is left to his own accord, someone with a smaller pool of magic will re-accumulate his/her magic quicker than someone with a larger pool.  However, said pool, being limited in size, will run out more quickly than a larger pool.  Likewise, it is possible to block one from using magic, by preventing them from harnessing it.  This is commonly done with a hex, or the Colorman Alloy Vallerium

*Third Law of Magic: Magic is learned, not inherited*

This law can be tricky to understand because of the existence of Colormen bloodlines.  Put simply- the strength of one's ability to use magic is not dependent on hereditary characteristics, but on the individual.  If a powerful sorcerer and sorceress had children, this does not mean that their children are guaranteed to be powerful mages.  Rather, it depends on the individual's ability; so it is very much possible that children of powerful sorcerers can have little, or even no talent for magic at all.

*Fourth Law of Magic: Magic can heal, but it cannot cure*

Even in the early days of magic, it was understood that healers could only do so much.  Physical injuries, such as burns, gashes, even amputations to an extent, can be healed with magic.  Diseases however, cannot be cured with magic alone.  Magic is capable of many great things, but it cannot cure disease.  (Believed to be foresight into the inability to of magic to prevent many of the worst epidemics in history, such as the Black Death or Spanish Flu)

*Fifth Law of Magic: Magic can restore life, but it cannot create or return life*

Building off of the fourth law, this law explains that while magic can conjure nonliving things, such as fire, rock or even metal or food, it cannot create "life" as we know it.  Rather, magic allows one to become a "puppeteer" and control that which would otherwise not be alive.  For instance- golems are magma, ice or stone that has been brought to life because a mage used magic to animate said material; but the material itself has no intelligence.  It is only as "intelligent" as the mage who controls it.  Likewise, when someone dies, magic cannot bring them back to life because the soul has already moved on to its final destination.  A necromancer controls dead bodies the same way a puppeteer controls a marionette; the body itself is not alive.

In other words- magic cannot create souls; and therefore, cannot create life.  While the Spirit of the Prism may sound like an exception to the rule, remember- it is a being of pure magic, and does not possess a soul.  Therefore, the Spirit is technically not a "life" in the typical sense of the word.

*Sixth Law of Magic: Magic itself possesses no morality, but can be influenced*

Magic in and of itself is morally neutral; however there are ways to make magic good or evil, such as an artifact, or the way it is used by the individual.  The topic of what makes something good or evil is not what is being discussed in this manuscript, but rather, the good and evil magic itself.  Although evil magic is not more powerful than good magic, and vice versa, the moral influence of magic can still have an effect on the user.  For example- The Prism only contains good magic, because evil magic is not compatible with prism magic (Author's note: for more on Prism Magic, refer to the discussion Types of Magic in the 3WSR Universe).  Because this is so, nobody evil can access the Prism's power because, put simply, they are not able to harness the proper magic to be able to use it.  On the other side of the coin, there are some artifacts that can only be used by those who use evil magic.  Fortunately, they are rare and hard to come by; most often, such artifacts are destroyed or purified before they can do more harm.

*Seventh Law of Magic: Magic is limited by the knowledge of the user*

It is often said that magic can "do anything" but really- it is limited by the user's ability to use magic.  For example- many spells in the early years of magic were based around the classical elements of earth, air, water and fire, because they were what made the most sense to magic casters at the time.  But then as magic was researched and humanity's understanding of it expanded, different kinds of spells emerged.  The Colormen's ability to use spells no one had seen before when the Prism first arrived was directly due to the knowledge granted by the Prism to those who were worthy.

For example- the Colormen Alloys, Vallerium, radmiium, viktrium, etc. did not exist prior to the Prism's appearance.  But when the knowledge was granted to the Colormen of how to use magic to forge alloys with special properties, these were able to exist because the Prism granted the knowledge of how to do so.

In principle, magic can accomplish "anything" but only if the user pretty much knows "everything" which of course, is not possible.

*Eighth Law of Magic: It is impossible to completely master magic*

Magic comes in many forms, regardless of morality.  Even if one devoted his life to studying magic, and absolutely nothing else, he would still be unable to travel the world, and learn and master every single discipline of magic, because it often takes a lifetime to master just one type of magic.  (i.e. black magic, golem magic, prism magic, etc)

Then factor in that good people cannot use evil magic, evil people cannot use good magic, and that many kinds of magic were lost following "The Dark Times" (NOTE: Believed to refer to the fall of the Roman Empire and the coming of the Dark Ages)- it is clear that it is impossible to master magic.

IMPACT:

Naturally, mages did try to find exceptions or loopholes to these rules. But even after centuries of research, not one faction was able to find flaw with The Eight Laws. Centuries on, all magic factions, from the Colormen, to VEC, GOD to SOM and everyone in between, understands The Eight Laws and the limitations of magic. Rumor even has it the leaders of each respective faction keep a copy of the Eight Laws somewhere in their possession.