Magic

**Magic** first came into existence during the creation of Enselonde, among the first stars that were created. Something in these stars caused the creation of raw and unstable magical power, which influenced the creation of many Divines. Ultimately, Lateos would become the God of Magic, reserving it to only the Divines. However, he granted magic to select mortals as a gift during the Second Human Rebellion. After Lateos was killed by Lyxis the Blind, magic became unregulated, and mortals have a chance to be born with an affiliation to a type of magic, which will usually be discovered at a young age.

## Types of Magic

Below is a list of the known types of magic in Enselonde. The list is sorted by rarity, becoming increasingly rarer and – usually – more powerful.

### Pyromancy

*Main Article: Pyromancy*

Pyromancy is the art of influencing heat and fire. Pyromancy is the most common type of magic, and also one of the most destructive in nature. There are few peaceful purposes for pyromancy, and pyromancers are usually trained to join countries' militaries. Pyromancy is mainly used as a form of bombardment, with these particular types of mages being deployed to battles with many static enemies, such as sieges.

### Hydromancy

*Main Article: Hydromancy*

Hydromancy is the art of influencing water. Although it is somewhat rarer than pyromancy, Hydromancy is still considered a common form of magic. Unlike its fiery counterpart, hydromancy has multiple civilian uses. Hydromancers can prevent droughts by summoning rainfall, provide clean drinking water, and — in the case of more experienced users – manipulate the oceans themselves to grant ships safe passage through treacherous waters.

Hydromancy is a largely pointless weapon when it comes to overland warfare, yet it is a treacherous tool when it comes to naval warfare. Experienced hydromancers can have ships sunk by manipulating waters beneath the bow, causing these unfortunate vessels to fall below the surface of the water, only to be swallowed whole by the ocean.

### Cryomancy

*Main Article: Cryomancy*

Cryomancy is the art of influencing the cold. Much like pyromancy, it is a form of magic that has very little civilian use and is used mostly for warfare. Cryomancers can significantly lower temperatures and even summon blizzards. They can freeze waters to have ships run aground against the ice, or they can cause crop failures by freezing the soil.

### Geomancy

*Main Article: Geomancy*

Geomancy is the art of influencing the very ground beneath people's feet. The effects of geomancy vary wildly on how experienced the user is. Geomancy does have some limited civilian use, as it can assist in flattening land for construction, excavating underground materials, or helping with digging canals. However, geomancy is a much more powerful tool on the battlefield.

Beginner geomancers can do simple things, such as launching rocks at people at deadly speeds. However, there is seemingly no limit to the power of geomancy, as its most powerful wielders can cause city-destroying earthquakes to occur and there have even been some instances where geomancers have created entire mountains out of nothing.

### Electromancy

*Main Article: Electromancy*

Electromancy is the art of influencing the power of thunder. Electromancy is another form of magic that sees little to no civilian use, although it has been theorized that it could be used for technological advancements. Yet, electromancy is often associated with great storms and thunderstrikes that can accurately wipe out entire formations on the battlefield.

### Kymelomancy

*Main Article: Kymelomancy*

Kymelomancy is the art of influencing the very power of life. It is named after the Goddess of Health, Kymelia. Unlike all other forms of magic, Kymelomancy is the only form that has no use in war at all. Instead, Kymelomancy is used to heal the sick and mend broken bones. This makes Kymelomancers generally well-liked and revered in many parts of Enselonde.

However, Kymelomancy has an extremely dark side to it. Invented by the Nytalyrian Sirens, Kymelomancy can make someone briefly immortal and unable to die, as long the healing spells remain applied. This allows an experienced Kymelomancer to indefinitely subject someone to horrific methods of torture without fear of the subject dying. Incidents of so-called enemies of the state being tortured for days, weeks, in some case even years straight without the ability to die have been recorded on multiple occasions.

Over the years, Kymelomancy has been pushed to its absolute limit by numerous magic users. It can be used to briefly revive the dead, and, in the most extreme case, create an entirely new sentient mortal race in the form of the Fhylnasi.

### Anemomancy

*Main Article: Anemomancy*

Anemomancy is the art of influencing the power of the sky. Unlike other forms of magic, Anemomancy is still a controlled form of magic, and can only be personally granted by the Goddess of the Sky, Adyana. Historically, she has only granted the use of Anemomancy to members of the Hexad Lotus, who have used it mostly as a defensive tool. Anemomancy can be used to knock back enemies, simply blow away incoming arrows, and, in some cases, summon powerful tornadoes.

### Trickster Magic

*Main Article: Trickster Magic*

Trickster Magic is the odd one out of all the forms of magic. It serves no real purpose except to deceive the senses. Trickster Magic can be used for anything from party tricks to creating entire fake armies in the case of the Empire of Nytalyria. While Trickster Magic is considered the "fun" type, it is also infrequent in its appearance.

### Phantomancy

*Main Article: Phantomancy*

Phantomancy is the art of summoning and influencing Phantoms. It is the rarest form of magic and is also banned in just about every country in the world. Phantomancers are born at a rate of roughly one every twenty or so years and are usually assassinated during their childhood. However, if one were to survive and hone their skills, they gain access to a truly terrifying set of powers.

Phantomancers can summon forth Phantoms from Onvion. Phantoms are shades of mortals that cling onto their past lives either through unfinished business, fears, or hatred. Once materialized in Enselonde, Phantoms become completely immortal and can only be sent back to Onvion through a long and complicated Kymelomantic ritual. This means that controlled Phantoms can be used as assassins or immortal meat shields.

Furthermore, Phantoms can also possess the bodies of the deceased, which could lead to an expert phantomancer creating their very own army of walking corpses that can fight but cannot die. Obviously, this has caused phantomancy to gain an awful reputation. Phantomancy is considered to be so dangerous that even Lyxis the Blind turned against it, locating and assassinating children that showed signs of possessing the magic. This program of child assassinations – while inhumane – has prevented a single phantomancer to rise up for over a thousand years. That was until one slipped through: Shalyah Lodu, born in 1199 AW, while not an evil person, has served as a grim reminder of why phantomancy was banned in the first place, as she singlehandedly turned the tide of war during the Second Sallanthian-Da'al Moni War.

### Blood Magic

*Main Article: Blood Magic*

Blood Magic is one of the easiest forms of magic to master, yet also one of the most dangerous. Blood Magic requires its wielder to quite literally cut or stab themselves to even use it in the first place, leading to many bleeding to death shortly after. Due to this destructive nature for the wielder itself, Blood Magic is quite often viewed as an absolute last resort.

## Magical Practices

### Blindfolds

Most mages will never be seen in public without wearing a blindfold. While this practice seems odd initially, it is good to remember that the most powerful mages can kill a mortal with just a gaze. However, while this is part of the reason, another reason is that it is simply tradition. Starting with Lyxis the Blind – who earned the name "the Blind" by being the one who started this practice – who set out to prove that her magical abilities had grown strong enough to reach a point where she could rely completely on her magical senses and didn't need her eyesight to navigate around. Sure enough, Lyxis the Blind was never seen again in public without being blindfolded.

The use of blindfolds spread once Lyxis became the Empress of Nytalyria. While it was partially for the protection of regular mortals, it also became something of a way to show off. The usage of blindfolds spread outside of the Nytalyrian Islands after Lyxis the Blind invaded Vachstadt during the Third Human Rebellion, spreading through other magic-using groups in the North and, later on, in the South and Eastland too. The practice was established as a proper tradition, which is why it remains in use today.

However, there is one lesser-known fact about blindfolds. The mages that choose to wear them will take them off quite frequently. While they would like to convince the common people that they wear them at all times – and a tiny group does – most take them off when they're alone or with friends and family.