Magic

# Magic Usage

## Ancient

Magic started being used widely by individuals a thousand or so years ago. Prior to that, individuals did not have personal access to magic. Objects on earth were the only conduits for magic (i.e. elementals).

Magic started being used widely by individuals a few thousand years ago. Before that, not many were able to access magic for personal use. Objects engraved with sigils to direct magic from elementals were the main conduit of magic for most. This commonly took the form of energy producing systems like geothermal systems or solar power.

More uncommon was when people would bond with elementals and become hosts for them. In this way, they could direct the elemental's wild magic by creating sigils to guide the elemental’s magic in meaningful ways. The goal was not to control the elemental magic. If a user tried to do this, their bond would be broken by the elemental and that user would lose their ability to do magic.

The king of the Republic of Shade desired to access the magic of the elementals, and directly control it. He created a machine to do so. A being made of metal and magic who could not only harness the planet’s power, but the entire cosmos. This being became somewhat of a deity and was known as the Child of the Cosmos, or the Goddess’s Daughter.

To the king’s dismay, though he created her, the king could not control her. His machine did not wish to use her power for the king. She loved the people of the planet and did not wish to see them suffer. The leaders of the countries who had previously been allied with the king joined the Daughter as she stood against the king and gave themselves the title of Speakers. They spread her word, that using magic greedily, like her king did, would ruin the balance of magic in the world. She believed no one person should hold the majority of magical power in the world.

She alone faced the king. He had been working on ways to draw magic into his own body, dissolving elementals to absorb the power into himself. In their confrontation, she bonded herself to the power of the king, and using the power of the cosmos, she released their combined magics, destroying both the king and herself in the process. However, she miscalculated the sheer amount of power the king had amassed. The release of their power had devastating effects. The power was thrust into all peoples around the planet, and many were unable to handle raw magic. 80% of the world’s population perished in that moment, dispersed to become parts of elementals. The few who survived were spread out, and the great civilization that had once covered the continents fell into ruin. The survivors were unable to keep up the systems that had taken an entire population to run and maintain. The grand ideas of their sciences and technology were soon forgotten, replaced by the simple desire to survive.

Eventually small coalitions of people were formed, which over thousands of years, formed into the kingdoms in the world today.

The Daughter, surprisingly, is not viewed as a bringer of ruin by most, but as a martyr who saved the world by giving people direct access to magic.  The fall of the ancient empires has largely been attributed to their technology, leading to Cadia’s full ban on magic.

## Modern

Magic is done using sigils, circles, and spells. There are stories of those who used only their intent to create their desired outcome, which produced more powerful but less reliable results. However, those who were said to have used this type of magic have been disappeared. Though it is mostly stories, the use of this Wild Magic has been outlawed in Cadia and Arsanaig, due to its unpredictable nature.

### Types of Magic Usage

#### Magic Sigils

Magic sigils are a controlled way to use magic. They provide a guaranteed, predictable and repeatable result, but are somewhat less powerful than magic done without sigils.

##### Weapon Summoning Tattoos

An uncommon practice, due to the amount of magic needed to summon the weapon. The weapons summoned are made of magic, and can only be used by magic users.

#### Wild Magic

Outlawed in Cadia and Arsanaig, due to its unpredictable nature. Wild Magic relies on your intent to get the desired outcome. It is more powerful than magic done with sigils, but provides less reliable results.

### Treatment of Magic Users

How a magic user is perceived depends greatly on the country to which they are born. In Cadia, magic is not looked down upon necessarily, especially now that it’s become more common the longer it’s been around. However, people still do hold some reservations, especially in more populated areas where uncontrolled magic can cause serious danger. It is only seen as dangerous, if the user has not been properly educated on how to control it.

Children who show magical talent are generally sent to boarding schools, the most prestigious being Tenobia School for the Magically Gifted. Children of noble families can be taught by tutors in their own homes. There are requirements for the amount of schooling necessary to be able to use magic freely. Those who don’t wish to learn basic controls have the option to be gentled or to wear cuffs to seal their access magic permanently. Access to higher levels of magic education (i.e., impractical magic) is seen as an activity for the elite of society, though it is open to all who have the ability to spend time on it. Most users take practical courses relating to a craft or a trade.

Neian is less strict with this, having less actual boarding schools, and more often having traveling tutors who teach basics of control. It isn’t seen as abnormal, but skilled magic users are highly respected within communities. Seod Obagailbh is, predictably, the most powerful user in her kingdom. Seod, being the title of the sort of monarch of Neian, and Obagailbh, being a combination of obag, meaning magical spell, and alibi, meaning stone. Unlike those who draw their magic sigils in the air, the Seod etches hers into stone. To accomplish this, she has a stone pendant with a sigil inscribed, which, when activated, summons her giant spell stone, which she would then use to do magic.

The Free Cities of Kerecha haven’t been around long enough to have established traditions but are known to have older magic users in the community teach younger users. There is one established school, the Kerecha Community Magic School, which offers a variety of levels of magical learning, but focuses on teaching its students how to teach others to control their magic.

Arsanaig has the strictest policies, especially after the first location of their kingdom was utterly destroyed. Initially they dealt with magic within harsh guidelines, and magic users were required to demonstrate their control periodically afterwards. According to the Generals who presided over old Arsanaig, it was enacted to ensure the safety of their smaller, more densely populated kingdom. This was the jurisdiction of the Eighth General, who was also in charge of military and protection of the people.

Now, after the old Arsanaig was destroyed, they have an agreement where they send all magic users to the boarding schools along their border, located in Cadia. Cadia apprehended and holds in custody the one who was responsible for the destruction, as well as saving the lives of Arsanaig citizens while the first kingdom was being destroyed. They allowed some to settle down in the mountains, while most traveled all the way down the mountain range to where the new Arsanaig is.

#### Preachan

A group of agents who work for the Maighstir Cù, in the interest of the High King Marek Balliol. They act as one entity and do not speak about their training procedures. However, there are rumors that the highest leveled Preachan are magically enhanced in some way.

#### Cuibhrichte

The only magic users allowed in Arsanaig now are those who have been partnered up with a member of the General's Guard, those who agree to be gentled, wear permanent cuffs to seal their magic, or are in a position of influence. Those who are partnered up with the General's Guard, are known as the Cuibhrichte. The Cuibhrichte have given up control of their magic to selected members of the General's Guard. Their position is highly honored, but they have little rights. The Cuibhrichte are seen more as martyrs, giving up their magic for the greater good of Arsanaig.

#### Magic Elementals

Magic elementals are just concentrations of magic. They can either take a form, or stay in their natural state. Elementals can also be formed from ideas or feelings.

#### BàsBeò

BàsBeò are created by combining a mortal's spirit with that of a magic elemental. This creates extremely powerful magic beings, who, if done correctly, can be controlled quite easily. The process has a high mortality rate and has only been successfully completed in secret.

The elementals in the BàsBeò are sealed by binding ribbons on their necks, wrists and ankles. The skin beneath those ribbons can become permanently damaged due to any resistance between the person controlling the BàsBeò, the BàsBeò, and the elemental. Only BàsBeò that can regenerate or transform will be damaged physically by resisting control. When the BàsBeò regenerates, the wounds or damage caused by resistance to being controlled do not heal.

##### Known BàsBeò:

There are three tiers of known BàsBeò.

-The first tier, created by both the Maighstir and the Priomh, were a preliminary success, without the process being perfected. This caused the BàsBeò to not be able to regenerate, and caused the Maighstir and the Priomh to have less control over them. There are two known beings in this first tier of BàsBeò: thunder and lightning.

-The second tier was also created by the Maighstir and the Priomh, but with the process perfected. With the combined power of both of them, this tier is the most successful BàsBeò creation. These BàsBeò are able to fully regenerate their entire bodies and can be fully controlled by either the Maighstir or the Priomh. They are also able to, at least partially, take on the form of their elemental. There are three known BàsBeò in this tier: rot, water, and lava.

-The third tier was created by the Maighstir, without the help of the Priomh. Without the Priomh's powerful magic, the Maighstir was unable to capture as powerful of elementals as used in the first two tiers. These BàsBeò are unable to regenerate, but because the process had been perfected during the second tier, they are also able to be fully controlled by the Maighstir. There are three known BàsBeò in this tier: laughter/joy, depression, and silence.

### Magic Items

#### Teleportation Crystals

Teraat's doctoral thesis, which led to her being accepted as the Priomh's student.

A magic circle is linked to the crystal's structure. When broken, the circle is activated, and organic beings in a small area around the crystal are transported to the linked magic circle. When creating the magic circle to be linked, it is important to include the stipulations of only organic beings (to minimize damage to surrounding areas) and to not allow partial transportation of beings (to minimize risk of injury or loss of life).

The unique capability of crystal teleportation, as opposed to the traditional way of magic transportation (two linked magic circles), is that you don't need to be a magic user to use this tool, and the portability of the crystal, as opposed to a drawn, visible magic circle on the ground.

Crystals are now created by artisans, who either travel to locations to link magic circles to crystals or pay others to travel to those locations. The farther away the linked location is, the higher the quality of the crystal needs to be, and the more costly the crystal will be to purchase.

##### Transportation Circles

Used now by businesses who have permanent import sources around the continent. Since transporting people is an extremely hazardous endeavor, pairs of transportation circles are usually drawn using stencils so that the pair will match perfectly. The invention of teleportation crystals has lessened the need for transportation circles, but they are still heavily used today.

##### Cooling/Heating Implements

Cooling magic implements are used in the food industry to preserve food but are less common for households.

Heating magic implements are used by businesses and households for food preparation, as well as in fireplaces, clothing, etc. for cold weather.

##### Common Item Implements

It is extremely common for items of clothing or jewelry to be inscribed with a sigil. It is seen as a practicality, not frivolity.

##### Earrings

* Improved hearing
* Heavy earrings made weightless
* Ease fatigue
* *Necklaces*
* Voice modulation
* Ease digestion
* Prevent body odor/minimize sweating
* Ease fatigue

##### Circlets

* Hair health
* Hair growth/stop growth
* Hair color change
* Ease headaches
* Ease fatigue

##### Gloves

* Ease joint pain
* Heating implement
* Higher durability

##### Shoes

* Ease leg pain
* Ease foot pain
* Cooling/heating implements
* Higher durability

##### Cloth/Clothes

* Higher durability
* Resistant to colors fading
* Color changing
* Heating/Cooling implements

##### Bags

* Increased capacity
* Higher durability

##### Skin/Body creams

* Skin health
* Sunblock
* Ease pain

##### Candies

* Tooth health (children can purchase)
* Calming (children can purchase)
* Fill stomach
* Ease digestion
* Ease headache
* Sleep aide
* General pain reliever

##### Miscellaneous

* Lights in restaurant that alert staff to customers
* Bread boxes to keep bread fresh
* Self-stirring spoons
* Knives that never need sharpening
* Magic powered lights