Magic

Atheirdin's primary magic system is broken up into different sections.

## History of Magic

When the European humans initially set foot on the continent of Atheirdin in 1000, they did not have any kind of magical abilities yet. This remained the case until the 1400s, during the Age of Magic, when magic schools were introduced & people began learning how to tap into their natural powers.

Despite magic not being widely used by the general population before 1400, there were some humanesque species and closed human civilisations, such as the Sorei-Soreis, that had the ability to use enchantments already. Through a combination of these naturally talented groups and a mysterious human named Deith, the other humans of Atheirdin began to be taught how to tap into their capabilities.

From 1400 onwards, magic became a staple part of the world's culture. The majority of people have some kind of powers in the present day.

## Emotional Spellwork

Emotional spellwork is the most common form of magic used within Atheirdin. It is also sometimes referred to as 'bodily magic', 'hand magic', or 'Afavaan magic'. It involves the use of the hands and a long rock known as an Afavaan.

The premise of emotional magic is that it is unlocked using neurons in the brain. When magic was first introduced to the human population, they realised that people had always had the ability to use these powers, but were unable due to being untrained. Emotional magic taps into these neurons and creates a sensory link between physical touch and thought using the nervous system.

Each of the fingers represents and connects to a different ability. This is taught at magic school. Both the left & right hands have assigned powers, however, as there are some humanesque species that have less fingers than humans, there are only 3 abilities on each hand.

##### Left Hand

The left hand is for powers that affect the physical body. There are laws preventing the general public from using these, however they are still a common practise by the Government and other important people.

* Index Finger - Healing
* Middle Finger - Teleportation
* Ring Finger - Shape Shifting

**Healing** - The ability to physically or emotionally heal yourself or someone else.

**Teleportation** - The ability to manipulate your physical cells to disappear from your current location an reappear in another one.

**Shape Shifting** - The ability to completely transform your cells to appear on the outside as someone or something else of your choosing. This does not affect your internal organs, brain, memories, or soul in most cases (if you're inexperienced/untrained, it could affect you negatively).

##### Right Hand

The right hand is for powers that affect the mind. These are used by the general human population.

* Index Finger - Telekinesis
* Middle Finger - Sensory & Animal Scrying OR Telepathy
* Ring Finger - Astral Projection

**Telekinesis** - The ability to move objects without physically touching them, simply through energy manipulation. Can be used to move people if you're an expert in the power, though this is rare.

**Sensory & Animal Scrying** - The ability to experience someone or something else's senses without harm to them. This is *not* possession and they remain in control of themselves; they generally won't even realise it is happening to them. You can experience their touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste, but not their thoughts.

**Telepathy** - The ability to listen to someone else's thoughts or send private messages via thought patterns.

**Astral Projection** - The ability to move your consciousness outside of your physical body and travel on the 'astral plain'. Used as a way of secretly viewing a situation or travelling into unsafe locations.

Note: As there are two types of ability on the middle finger, part of magic school training is to distinguish between Telepathy & Scrying. While they are similar in nature, they use different sections of the brain. Telepathy is known to be more difficult to master than Scrying.

## Physical Spellwork

Physical spellwork is another common magic type used in Atheirdin, but slightly less frequent than emotional due to it being more difficult to learn. It is also sometimes referred to as 'potion magic'. It involves the use of ingredients in the form of liquids, plant matter, and animal products to concoct potions of certain intents.

### Casting

Casting a physical spell can be quite a complex task as there is so much to learn & many rules to abide by. The steps to creating potions:

1. Decide and choose your ingredients. People tend to write a list of the things that they need based on a spellbook or memorised knowledge of each ingredient's properties. Selected items are picked based on their associations and required purposes in the potion - each one needs have similar uses when combined together (eg. for a basic, standard happiness potion, you'd pick things that are close to happiness purposes, such as satisfaction, ease, or relaxation. You wouldn't add any random, conflicting ingredients such as love, wealth, or protection).
2. Collect the ingredients. As all added items must be ethically sourced by law, people usually opt to purchase their ingredients from magic shops or Godde shops. Those who live in rural areas with more access to plants or animals can also harvest and farm their own supplies. Aside from the contents of the potion, you'll need to obtain a container to place it in as well.
3. Wait for a good time to cast. Based on backfiring rules, the best time to cast is during dark periods.

### Backfiring

Due to the nature of the spell (a lot of rules/regulations), potions have a very high chance of backfiring if they are cast incorrectly. There are many ways to cause a backfired spell:

* One of the main things that is taught in magic school is the associations and meanings of each potion base and ingredient. As you need to study all of these intensely, it can be very easy to mix up the items you're using and create conflicts within the spell. Certain inaccurate or incorrect combinations can create extremely different outcomes than what a person may have intended.
* The material of your potion's container also has a contribution to its success. The actual *type* of holder can be anything - bowl, cup, jar, bucket, or bottle are the most common choices. However, the material must either be pure glass (which can be bought from most magic or apothecary shops), or Faena rock - a type of stone that is farmed from the Faena cave systems. If the material is anything else, there is an 85% chance of the spell backfiring.
* Timing of your casting is another contributing factor to a good result. Spells work best when cast during dark periods, particularly if the desired outcome is positive (eg. happiness, success, good health, etc). Casting during light periods generally isn't done since its doesn't work well, however, if the desired outcome is negative (eg. destruction, death, endings, etc), then casting during light periods is a common practise (though it can still fail if the other backfiring factors are true).