Magic

In the Cityverse, magic is a well-established phenomenon, almost universally accepted as truth, though not everyone believes in all of it equally, or fully understands how it works. The development of modern magic was preceded by the settlement of Neveah, and the discovery of Faerie that followed. Magic, and it's various branches, can be studied in universities around the world, although Neveah remains a centre for magical research to this day.

### Overview

How, then, does magic work, if humanity has supposedly refined it to both the hardest of sciences and the purest of art forms? For something to be studied, afterall, surely it needs some kind of internal consistency, some physicality behind it, something that can be falsified and quantified and all other kinds of -ied, or at least some vague guidelines.

What are the rules of this game, and how best might you play?

Well, it’s a little bit complicated, with all kinds of nonsense about electromagnetic fields and sympathetic symbolic whatnot; a good mage is fantastic at pattern recognition and outside the box thinking; weaponized metaphor and applied folklore and rather a lot of candles, sometimes, because it’s no fun if you don’t get into the *aesthetic* of the whole thing.

The most important thing, though, is intent. At its core, magic is essentially changing the world through force of will. Some are better at it than others.

You need clarity of purpose, of course. Spells often manifest the unconscious will of their casters, if their conscious intent wasn’t strong or genuine enough. Magic can tell when you’re trying to bullshit yourself, and it will have none of it.

Magic is still a force, though, a form of energy, and one that exists in tandem with the other elements at play, not one that overrides them. You can’t, for example, magic away gravity, at least not with ease. Strong enough magnetic force can interfere with magic, causing the signals to get jammed and confused; causing it to either not react at all, react far too much, or do something entirely different to the caster’s intention. For this reason, using iron in spellwork tends to be frowned upon, and fae, being mostly made of magic, can barely stand to be around the stuff.

Attempts to combine magic with modern technology do exist, however, but it’s still a very young field, if quite an exciting one.

Magic is at its strongest when it has a powerful, clean source to draw from. Magic can be amplified by multiple people giving off compatible energies, whether knowingly or not. For this reason, when would-be mages take their practical exams, they do so in isolation.

Anger isn't as strong a source for magic as one might imagine, as it tends to be somewhat confused and tainted with other feelings; regret and sorrow and lust. Righteous indignation and perceived injustice, however, often work quite well.

All magic works in accordance with the law of equivalent exchange, and attempts to use magic without offering a decent source or sacrifice are very dangerous, as in that case, the magic chooses on what it wants to feed., with payment ranging from happiness to wealth to limbs.

The main contemporary branches of magic are as follows:

### Spellwork

Arguably the most pure form of magic, spellwork seeks to change reality in some way in accordance with the caster's will, drawing power either from their emotional or mental energy, their will, or in the case of larger spells from a sacrificial item, such as by draining the life force of a flower. Spellwork has probably the widest range of applications of any type of magic, ranging from charms to make conversation inaudible to onlookers to just straight up setting things on fire. The latter sounds impressive, but is actually rather impractical. Spellwork also includes ongoing charms for things such as luck or protection, which are commonly applied to important buildings, particularly in Neveah.

### Transfiguration

The transformation of matter from one state to another is known as transfiguration, and works by altering the molecular structure of the object in question. In its most basic form, transfiguration involves simple substitution of inanimate objects, such as by turning a fork into a paintbrush, all the way through to altering one's own physical form. Transfiguration of living beings other than oneself is banned except for in research applications. A particularly advanced version of transfiguration involves the creation of pocket dimensions, via a kind of folding of the material of the universe, which can be used for matters as simple as giving a house extra rooms or as complicated as hiding an entire nation.

### Alchemy

A fusion of magic and science, alchemy is at least half chemistry, but with more emphasis placed on the symbolic and magical meanings of substances to create potions, objects, and reactions that can be considered, in some sense, the sum of their parts.

### Sympathetic Magic

A form of magic often described as being derived from a state of "oneness" with nature, and which relies on seeing the essential balance of the universe and the symbolic connections between things, and drawing connections between disparate entities so that what is done to one might affect the other. Notoriously finicky and unreliable, or maybe just hard, and sometimes shunned by other, more established branches of magical theory, nonetheless it is perhaps the oldest as many traditional spiritual practices, including witchcraft and vodun, rely on a form of sympathetic magic.

### Glamour

Glamour, of course, refers to the creation of illusions, and is often recommended over transfiguration due to the relatively lower psychic costs it enacts on it's users, and it's higher precision. Those with the sight can see through glamour, but this is a rare trait among full-blooded humans, although it can be learnt if one tries hard enough, as well as induced through the consumption of certain drugs. Faeries and those with fae blood are abnormally gifted at glamour.

### Summoning

Sort of what it says on the tin, summoning allows one to summon things. This is, as one might imagine, very useful for finding lost keys, and has also proven to have it's uses on archaeological expeditions, but can be rather dangerous when it comes to the summoning of living beings, particularly those who do not want to be found. Summoning is, therefore, forbidden to be used in the process of law enforcement, due to concerns over personal liberty. Summoning is one of the few ways to create something entirely new - many have tried to use it to get free money over the centuries, usually without success - but always at a cost, and one which may not be apparent to the caster at the time. Summoning can also be used to create semi-living animations such as golems to work on their creators behalf, though such beings tend to be difficult to bring about and have short lifespans if not properly cast.

### Psychokinesis

The use of magic to control the thoughts, actions, and emotions of another is known as psychokinesis, but it has a rather low success rate - magic is, afterall, intent, and often just as strong as the intent to make others love you (for example), if not stronger, is the victim’s intent to retain control of their own mind, and as a result, psychokinesis requires a particularly determined, skilled, and assured wielder, even in comparison to other forms of magic. At any rate, psychokinesis is almost globally very illegal.

### Technokinesis

Attempts to combine magic with modern technology, including attempts to create electricity from magic, which is in some places being considered a potentially viable alternative to fossil fuels. Nonetheless, as noted above, magnetism and electricity tend to interfere with the functioning of magic, meaning that this is still a very young field, and one which, perhaps, tends to blow up at a higher than average rate.

### Mimetokinesis

Mimetokinesis is the ability to sense, manipulate, and communicate with the energies that have been left in a place over time. This includes reading people's memories and talking to ghosts, which unfortunately are the only bits most people really care about.

### See Also

Sygaldry

Xenoanthropology