Magic

In this universe, there is ‘magic’. It is the ability to manipulate and create new weaves of reality.
Magic users (also known as Magicians, Wizards, Spell-casters, Mages, Warlocks, etc…) are any creature of a sentient race that has the ‘Spark’ (the ability to perform magic.
Sparks have two properties: Strength and Brightness.
Strength determines how powerful the magic a magic user can use can be, while Brightness determines their capacity for magic (how much magic they can do before they collapse). These properties can grow and develop over time, but most magic users have a low Limit. Limit is the maximum Strength and Brightness a magic user’s body can handle, and is determined at birth.).  Whether or not a being has the Spark or not is decided at birth, and is (to current knowledge) unchangeable. Rare as they are, a notable number of Magic users never actually use the Spark or cast any magic, and live ordinary lives.

Casting magic is an interesting thing. Magic relies on what are referred to as ‘The Primordial Branches’, or just The Branches for short. These branches are different generalized elements that can be manipulated. They are as follows: Air (or Wind as it is sometimes called), Earth, Water, Fire, Ether, Light, Shadow (it is a common argument that instead of Light and Shadow, it is Spirit, which encompasses them both.). Most of the Branches are self explanatory (Earth controls earth, Air controls air…), but Ether, Light and Shadow are a bit more complex. The Ether Branch controls spatial manipulation, such as the theoretical teleportation spell, and Ether Vaults (folded space where things can be stored for short periods of time). The Light Branch controls growth, but also fortune to some extent, forming spells of healing and blessings which grant protection from certain things. The Shadow Branch controls illusions, curses and necromancy, with spells such as cloning, weakness and (though apparently only theoretical) raising and controlling the dead. For all of this, magic is quite little understood, and all except the 7 Masters are quite weak and limited in their use. The 7 Masters are seven magic users who have each devoted themselves to the control of a single Branch. They are powerful, and supposedly know secrets about their Branches that no others do. Their exact locations are secret, although most of their identities are known and they are sought after throughout the Universe.
The Air Master is an Aarakocra by the name of Pakaa. He was allegedly born on the planet Ventus.
The Earth Master is a Serpan by the name Asp-Naga. He was supposedly born on Aullin.
The Water Master is a High Elf named Oikawa. His birth planet has been publicly confirmed as the planet of Drakyn, Naurus.
The Fire Master is a Tiefling by the name of Promethea. She was supposedly born on the planet of Xothara.
The Ether Master is a chorus Elf by the name Selene. She was apparently born on the planet of Urana.
The Light Master is a Hybrid. Half Felain, and half Angila. Their birth planet has been confirmed as Gera.
The Shadow Master is a Drow, a subspecies of Dark Elf, who's identity is unknown. Her birth planet is also unknown, but some speculate she was born on the planet of Aullin.

Spells are complex. They are more than just a string of words and gestures as fiction claims, and rely instead more on the thought patterns and weaving of the magic user. While some do use certain gestures and words for their weaves (another way to say spell, and more accurate to what spells do), others can use thoughts and focus instead to manipulate the Branches. A large majority of spells require multiple Branches combined in certain ways to cast them. Cross-weaving, as it is called, turns the different flows of branches into specific woven patterns that, when complete, cast (often more powerful) spells. This is a complicated process, and few have the talent or knowledge to attempt it successfully. Most magic users use the ‘short-cut’ method known as Binding. This is done by taking two separate spells, and while casting them binding them together with one of the flows. While not as powerful or effective as Cross-weaving, Binding is much safer.

There is more to casting magic though. A magic user cannot just do whatever they please. Limiting factors, such as Elemental Disposition, Brightness Limits and Strength Limits all restrict the abilities of the caster. Elemental Disposition is a natural barrier that determines which Branches a magic user can use. Some magic users might be able to only use Water, while others might be able to use Air, Fire and Ether. Why and how these barriers form is unknown, but they are unchangeable. Next, a magic user’s Brightness is how many spells they can cast before they collapse. This is also known as their Mana (Mana is a special form of energy that is found in a magic user’s body. Without it they couldn’t cast a spell). As a magic user casts spells, their mana reduces until it is completely empty, causing the magic user to fall unconscious. Mana replenishes while a magic user is resting, until it reaches the magic user’s capacity. Different weaves drain different amounts of mana, and the amount of mana a spell drains determines the strength/power of the spell. This leads into Strength Limits. A magic user’s Strength Limit is the natural restriction of how powerful the spells the magic user can cast. Something such as a Fireball (depending on the weave usually around 4 in power level, where the power level is out of 10. Out of 10 or sometimes 100 is the usual way strength for spells and magic users is measured) would be simple and cast with little issue by a magic user with a strength of 8, but would be a struggle and perhaps the most powerful spell weaveable by a magic user with strength of 4.

The number of beings with the Spark in a race, usually referred to as a race’s Sparkage, is variable. Races such as Eloceans almost always have the Spark, but using that example, those that have it are limited to lightning magic (Bindings of Water, Fire and Air). On the other hand, races such as Draykns rarely have the Spark, but those that do have very high Brightness and Strength.

Humans are an interesting case. While in the past, the Spark was not too uncommon and those that had it were powerful, due to an unrecorded accident, the Spark has mostly disappeared from them, and those that have it have low Brightness and Strength.

Magic has many more intricacies though. Runes and Enchanting are special forms of magic that instead of casting a spell immediately, they leave longer lasting effects. First, Runes are special symbols that, when drawn/carved/engraved into objects in certain orders and places, can have magic channeled into them to activate long lasting effects (such as slowing decay or creating a shield of air around the runed spot). Runes, while quite powerful and useful, are little used, because many of the symbols and their meanings have been lost to time, and testing them is a dangerous task. Enchanting is similar, but instead of drawing/carving/engraving runes on an object, they are engraved onto the object’s form (its soul, if you will). It isn’t a physical thing, and requires use of Light or Dark Branches to do, but their effect can be much stronger. Enchanted Objects, also referred to as Objects of Power, are usually difficult to damage and require ‘bonding’ to the object to work properly. Bonding is a simple process, only possible with Enchanted Objects, that connects the magic in them to your own ‘form’ (this is different to a soul, more like the ghost-y metaphysical form Doctor Strange can enter). Once again, the ability to Enchant has been lost to time, and while there have been attempts to re-learn it, when the best result was having someone’s soul trapped forever in a lantern, it was abandoned.

Magic is often confused for the Mystic Arts, due to their natural similarities. In reality, the two are very different. Magic is the manipulation of reality through control of Element Threads (strings of energy invisible to normal people, but able to be seen and interacted with by Magic-users with control of the corresponding Branch. They make up everything that exists), whereas the Mystic Arts draws power from other dimensions to manipulate reality. Magic and the Mystic Arts are naturally separate, no one who can use the Mystic Arts is able to perform magic (no matter if they have the spark or not, they just can’t), and no Magic-user is able to use the Mystic Arts (no matter how weak their magic is, if they cast a spell once with magic, or use the Mystic Arts once, they will be unable to use the other). There have been many attempts to combine the Mystic Arts and Magic in spells or Objects of Power, but very (very very very very…) few have succeeded. In fact, there are only 5 (known) Objects of Power that use both Magic and the Mystic Arts.