Sorcery

It started with a spark. Nobody knows where this spark came from. Sure, they know it comes from the Vortex – the colossal tower of pure magical energy that sprung up in the Siberian tundra, giving way for the Cataclysm to occur – but where did it come from before then?

Some say it was here all along. Only hidden. It existed
within the wind, the trees, the ocean depths and all elements that make up our
world. It was a latent energy that only needed the spark of the Vortex to awaken – like the ignition of tinder.

Other experts argue that magic, the Spark, came from another
world in the same manner as all the monsters and otherworldly beings. This world of magic is not a solid plane, like that of Earth, Olympia, the Norse worlds
or the countless other planes bleeding onto Earth, but a dimension of pure
energy – dripping said energy into our world like rain through a leak in the
roof.

Regardless of the true origins of the Spark and the magic it
enables, it is here now and humans need to understand it in order to use it.

**The Human Spark**

After the Vortex appeared, something started happening to
seemingly random humans of all ages and backgrounds. They began to feel a well
of power within themselves. A latent energy at their core. Through some cosmic
fate or pure arbitrariness, some humans now had magic.

“It all started with a spark. The Spark. The Cataclysm
didn’t start with monsters and demons. It started with humans. Glowing orbs
rising from the hands of office workers, fireballs being flung by homeless
people and an overwhelming arrogance by people who had gained immense power by
sheer luck.” – Kat Drummond, Part-Time Monster Hunter.

People with a spark are called **sorcerers**. Sorcery, the term used for their type of magic, involves
willpower and self-control to be able to harness their internal magic to do
their bidding. This takes the form of controlling elements, manipulating the
world around them or simply exerting pure power.

Not all sorcerers are created equally, however. Sorcerers
have affinities – certain acts of magic that they naturally prefer. Some may
feel an affinity to fire and become natural pyromancers. Others may be more
comfortable harnessing their natural power to channel into more refined
pursuits, like enchanting or divination.

Affinities aside, sorcerers also have varying levels of
power. Initially, power levels were random. Spark is semi-hereditary, however.
Strong sorcerers typically give birth to strong sorcerers and carry on a
powerful magical bloodline. But, as is the case with all things, this isn’t
always true. Some powerful sorcerer families will give birth to a weak sorcerer
or, rifts forbid, a husk!

“Husk – a derogatory term for a non-sorcerer.”

An easy way to think about sorcerers and their spark is like
a battery. They are their own battery and can harness their own magical energy
to use as they will. Willpower and power willing, of course.

Spark is exhausted as a sorcerer uses it, simultaneously
exhausting the user physically. After a rest, spark does replenish, in the same
manner as stamina. It has been known for sorcerers to turn themselves into
husks by over-exerting themselves on particularly harsh and powerful casts,
however.