Crystal Magic

**Crystal Magic** is a form of elemental magic that serves as the primary system of magic within the Idylis world. Idylisians first discovered Crystal Magic through the large subterrainian geodes, upon which they constructed their first cities. It has since influenced most of Idylisian history, art, culture, religion, amongst many other areas of life.

## Origin

It is unclear where the crystals came from. There are many mythologies that depict the origin of the crystals, almost all of which claim they are non-terrestrial. The Aevumites posit that the crystals descended from the heavens, holding the spirit of the Gods within them, and giving birth to a being that embodies the will of the Gods (Aevum). Drathari religion holds that each crystal geode, apart from the Pozhira geode, is a "fallen" God which betrayed Drathar, and that their arrival on Idylis came from them being cast out of heaven. Drathar then followed to vanquish them, but became trapped. Folk religions like Aether Wisdom and Merratema believe the geodes are the remnents of the people who lived "before the world", but they do not consider them sentient, rather they regard them as akin to books that were left behind (in the same way "ancient knowledge" is passed down in the collective mythos).

## Magic System

### Usage

The magic system is elemental, consisting of the typical four elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Air. Magic users possess a 'prime affinity' - which describes the elemental magic type they possess innate potential in. This potential is determined by the individuals geographic proximity to a magic geode at the time of their birth. Proximity also determines the amount of magic current an individual will be capable of channeling. For individuals born equidistant between two geodes of differing affinities, they will possess the affinity of both geodes magic types, although the power they are capable of harnessing will be halved for both.

Utilisation of the magic requires the use of a crystal, either taken directly from one of the crystal geodes or from the surrounding geological area. This makes crystal magic a non-renewable resource. The affinity of a crystal will be depicted by its coloration (e.g. Air crystals are clear/white; Earth crystals are green; Water crystals are blue; Fire crystals are red/pink/orange). Other forms of crystal coloration exist, such as yellow, purple and black, which are considered to be 'arcane' affinity types.

Individuals do not possess any magical power of their own. Instead they possess a form of attractive field which allows them to draw on the innate magical current present in a crystal. The ability to manifest this field is something that requires training and whilst almost everyone in Idylis is capable of magic in some form, a highly limited supply of training means that only a select few are actually capable of crystal magic. Magic crystals have a limited supply of magical current which is directly proportional to their weight. When magical crystals are completely depleted they will become light (similar to coal) and turn into a non-reflective grey gemstone called a 'null crystal'. The size of magical crystals will not change during use, but the glowing light emitted from crystals during utilisation will become dimmer as the current is depleted. These crystals are rare, but hold unusual properties, such as the ability to absorb and nulify magical current.

#### Effects of the User

For individuals using crystal magic, use of minor magical techniques causes a glowing of the iris. For more powerful magical techniques, users will appear to "glow", usually in the color of the crystal that they are utilizing.

In instances where users have over-exerted their capacity for channeling magical current, third-degree burns, bleeding from the nose, mouth and eyes, and spontaneous combustion have all been observed to occur. However, in some cases, users will simply lose consciousness or suffer instantaneous organ failure. The causes of these differing reactions is unknown, but may be linked to the environmental state in which the crystal magic is been attempted in.

### Limitations

The effectiveness of crystal magic is heavily influenced by environment. The optimal environmental temperatures for most forms of crystal magic lie between 10-30°C. Fire magic possesses a slightly different temperature range of -10°C-30°C. Using magic above or below this range is not impossible, but faces greater difficulty the more the temperature moves away from this optimal range. Areas such as The Northern Blanket and Scarlet Desolation are such regions where temperatures exceed these ranges regularly, making magic usage extremely limited and sometimes impossible in these areas. Air magic is influenced by weather patterns and Earth magic by geological factors.

#### Effects

Fire and water magic are influenced directly by climate temperature. In temperatures greater than 30°C, fire magic become increasingly difficult to control, as does water magic above 40°C. Below -10°, fire magic becomes increasingly weaker and will be rendered completely unusable below -20°C. Water magic on the other hand converts into Ice magic below 0°C, though the use of this magic is fundamentally different to water magic and so water mages are unable to actually utilize it. Some groups who have experience with Earth magic, such as the Mobella, are capable of utilizing Ice magic in climates below 0°C.

Air magic is influenced primarily by weather and has an optimal usage in environments with low-moderate wind speeds (from 0-25mph). Above moderate wind speeds (from 25-40mph) decrease the controlability of air magic, though Aether Masters are more than capable of maintaing control at these levels. Strong-very strong winds (from 40-65mph) render air magic extremely weak, the effect of which can be imagined as being drowned out by the background wind currents. Above 65mph, air magic is effectively unusable.

Earth magic is influenced by a range of environmental factors, primarily geothermal and tectonic activity, soil nutrient level, abundance of wildlife in surrounding environment, and level of precipitation. This causes Earth magic to be potentially the most stable of the magical affinities as its controlability and consistency relies on factors that are not prone to rapid or frequent change. Earth magic will maintain a usable level of power in environments which lack up to four of these factors, provided at least one of them is present. If none of these factors are present however, Earth magic becomes unusable, or otherwise extremely weak. One such place is the Scarlet Desolation where there is no wildlife, soil nutrients or precipitation, and highly neglible geological and tectonic activity.

### Object Binding

Object binding refers to the process of binding crystals with objects to grant said object magical abilities which correspond with that crystal. There are no inherent abilities which are transfered to objects, rather objects that undergo binding act as conduits for abilities. Their advantage is that it can make otherwise depleting or difficult abilities easier to produce with an increased range. The major drawback is that the number of abilities the binded object is capable of harnessing it significantly reduced.

For example, Dawnbringer swords are katana-like weapons binded to spatial magic crystals. Standard spatial magic crystals would be capable of numerous feats, including opening short-range portals, producing interstitial shockwaves and gravity manipulation. When binded to the sword, only interstitial shockwaves are producable, however their effectiveness and range are greatly increased (particularly effectiveness as the shockwaves can be launched as a horizontal blade-like shape, rather than a pin point projectile-like attack). The weapon also takes on an ability which would not be possible with the crystal alone - the altering the structure of the blade so it is capable of cutting through any object with no resistance, though the weight of the blade does not change.

## Crystal Geodes

Crystal geodes are large caverns composed entirely of magical crystals of one of the four primary elemental affinities.

1. ↑ Using crystal alchemistry, null crystals can be converted into magic absorption devices.