How Magic Works

this page will be dedicated to how magic works in the New World (Elysia).

## Mana Signature

It has been revealed by Lourian Magician Yamirei that every living person native to Elysia is capable of producing a mana signature, and that skilled mages are capable of detecting such a signature. Those who are not native to Elysia such as Americans, Gra Valkans and possibly Muans tend to exhibit no such signature or one so weak that it's nearly impossible to detect, however this can be masked by carrying a magical charm on the individual.

By extension, most creatures native to Elysia also exhibit mana signatures of their own. According to Mister Paige of NASA's MDR department, the more adapt a person or creature is at magic, the more amplified the mana signature becomes. Some creatures like the Gramean Mammoth are also capable of detecting mana signatures and react accordingly to incoming threats.

This may also explain the absence of sonar on the Holy Mirishial Empire's warships, as despite the need to hunt down krakens and leviathans, they most likely rely on mages detecting the magical signatures of the sea monsters to determine where depth charges are to be dropped.

The advantage of Mana Signature is that they are invisible to conventional radars and sensors. As the result, Mana Communication Devices and Conductive Magnetic Radars are immune to conventional electronic countermeasures.

## Magic and its Practitioners

Most magic are exhibited through spells conjured by mages. Human mages are generally less efficient and possesses lower mana pools compared to magical races like Elves, Oni or Light-Winged People.

Magic itself is highly versatile and can be used to overcome scientific hurdles, or “cheat the system” as the Americans and 5e Gra Valkans called it. It’s what permitted civilizations like the Ravernal Empire to develop advanced techniques like quantum encryption. However, a drawback of magic is that using it to bypass scientific research is that it prevents its practitioners to gain a full understanding of science, thus preventing them from utilizing magic to its maximum potential. As demonstrated by the Americans, whom despite having no experience in magic, still managed to conjure an array of improved magical artifacts using scientific principles.

In the canon, magic is seen as ill-suited in modern combats due to the lengthy spell-casting procedure and the lack of accuracy of the spells. However in SA, it is shown that magic is extremely deadly and effectively in modern battlefields if is used correctly and creatively. The most notable example is the war between the GVE and the EDI, where a multitude of magic types were utilized by the latter to great effects, such as using earth magic to create quicksands and landslides to immobilize enemy tanks, using illusion spells to create decoys of troops and HVTs or even sneak troops underneath the Gra Valkan’s noses.

In fact, the usage of magic in SA is so effective that even a modern army like GVE has to prioritize eliminating mages so their forces can advance without taking severe casualties.

## Mana Detection Device (MADAR)

The most common early warning system used on Elysia is the Mana Detector the device is capable of detecting mana signatures over long distances, they are utilized by most civilizations from those beyond the Civilized Regions to the most advanced nations in the First Civilized Region, and has proven to be fairly effective as a large number of weapons on Elysia either rely on magic to function or are magical creatures outright like wyverns, land dragons, krakens or wind dragons.

It's common even for the hard science nation of Mu to use magic to enhance their technology, producing a less instance but still very notable magical signature that can be picked up by Mana Detectors.

It's possible to create decoys against MADAR, such as using a large concentration of magical gems to generate a notable magical signature as attempted by the Parpaldians in hopes to fool American "guided light arrows".

Certain nations such as the Holy Cryseilis Holy Kingdom, the Annonrial Empire or the Ravernal Empire are capable of producing and deploying the more advanced Conductive Magnetic Radar which can detect both physical presence and magical signatures, however it has been noted that they tend to have shorter detection ranges than normal hard science radars.

Hard science products created by the Gra Valkas Empire and the United States of America produce no magical signatures and thus are invisible to MADAR. This is an especially critical flaw against the American military due to their ability to strike from beyond visual range and without warning. However this is also a reason why Americans have refrained from applying magical enhancements to stealth weaponry such as the F-22 Raptor or the F-35 Lighting II as it will make them visible to MADAR.