Magic

**Any character magic concepts *must* be included in a bio for staff approval. Magic is used for storytelling purposes—not to take over the world.**

Marin is one of the only few servers we’ve come across that has a low-magic system. One of the most notable low-magic systems is G.R.R. Martin’s *Game of Thrones*. While most servers and fantasy settings are high-magic, involving multiple races, magical systems, and landscapes that hardly resemble anything that we have on Earth, low-magic universes tend to be more grounded in reality.

The best way to understand the fantastical elements of Marin is to put yourself in the headspace of a medieval peasant. Take, for example, a popular fantasy trope: dragons.

You are a turnip farmer in a long line of turnip farmers. You were told from a young age that the mountain range to the north of your kingdom has dragons in it, and that, in times long past, they carved grand sepulchers into the sides of their mountainous caves. Large bones were brought down from those graves and reside in your nation’s capital. Your grandfather attests to it; he remembers his cousin who had gone missing in the mountain ranges long before you were born. All that they found of him were charred remains. The story scared you then, and it scares you now. You watched as a caravan moved cattle to the mountaintops, and weeks later, only one man returned. He died shortly after his arrival, but you heard that he was raving of blood, death, and fire, a clear dragon attack. It stuck with you. You stay up at night wondering if there are dragons, but you won’t go and check. You’re just a turnip farmer.

Before you can consider magic, you have to consider mythology and skepticism. Most of the time, magic in Marin isn’t real. Chicanery, the same “magic” used in our world, is the most common form of magic in Marin and is one hundred percent trickery. Blood magic and witchcraft are tricky and specific arts, and while their misuse can sometimes go terribly wrong, most of the time, nothing ever happens at all. The path to becoming a mage is arduous and incredibly specific, and without the proper training, most of those looking to seek magical abilities die in the process. The result is a world mostly devoid of magic. When writing magic in Marin, write it as if you’re seeing magic for the first time in your life. It is incredible, awesome, and unbelievable. Long story short: Magic in Marin is akin to palm reading and fortune telling, not lightning bolts and fireballs.

## A Brief Explanation of Magic

Magic is an invisible energy that surrounds Marin—it is a real, but rare and elusive, force. Some people are born able to harness magical energy and utilize it for their own purposes; these people have magical bloodlines, which are mostly inherited. Very rarely, they can occur spontaneously in an individual. To the average Marinese person, however, magic has little to no bearing on daily life. From a writing standpoint, magical characters are rare, and most people in Marin are non-magical, realistic humans. Additionally, while some Marinese people do not believe magic exists at all, many others simply do not understand it or are frightened of it. Most kingdoms either shun, fear, or persecute magic and magic-users.
A long time ago, magic was more prevalent on the continent. Ancient people learned how to utilize the innate magical energy in the universe to their advantage, imbuing certain sayings (sometimes called spells, sometimes called prayers) and runes with magical properties. Over time, however, magic-based societies disappeared, and their ways faded into obscurity. Azarya is the one exception to this, as magic is fundamental to Azaryan society.

Much of the scientific knowledge about the origins of magic have been lost to time. All that remains of the magical knowledge of these older civilizations are hidden, obscure magical relics. They go by many names, including grimoires, tomes, and spellbooks. However, they are very difficult to find, let alone decipher and read correctly. The majority of grimoires have been lost or forgotten. Centuries-old markings have worn away, their parchments rotten. Those that are still around have either been moved to royal estates for court mages or are destroyed by any variety of magical orders, who believe that these secrets belong only to those with the know-how to do it safely.

## Types of Magic

### Blood Magic, or Witchcraft

Magical bloodlines are rare. This is not to say, however, that an average and mundane person is incapable of accessing magic. Mundane people who use magic typically go by the title of “witch” but are also called occultists, druids, bedlams, and warlocks. Through the use of aforementioned grimoires, a mundane person has the opportunity to access blood magic, or informally, witchcraft. Grimoires can be kept as family heirlooms, or, much more frequently, sections of the grimoires can be passed down orally. Oral transference, however, is not an exact science, as the slightest mispronunciation renders the spell moot.

The use of blood magic can vary wildly in approach, but all witchcraft is completed by the use of ritual. Rituals are just as unique as their potential results, but they require a few select things for success:

1. Runes are an important part of rituals, as they very frequently contain the innate magical energy required for success. They can be carved anywhere around the area that the ritual is taking place, and into any surface.  Many ancient ritual zones (such as ancient graves, monuments, and tablets) already have runes pre-carved. Flesh is an equally viable carving surface.
2. As the moniker of “blood magic” may suggest, blood is required for all rituals. The power of blood has been hypothesized about endlessly, but it is generally agreed upon that human blood is best for rituals. Organs or body parts, as well, can be used. Of course, this is to be determined on a case by case basis. The sacrifice is enhanced when the subject uses their own blood.
3. It is often assumed that some places are more magical than others. Fairy rings, ancient ruins, full moon nights, and crypts are all places that might have some innate magical energy. Others find it easier to summon blood magic from a vessel, which is any circular object carved with runes. A cauldron or bowl, for example, is viable for most blood magic rituals, if a runic circle cannot be carved.

Regardless, the ritual may not go as the caster intended. Witchcraft is notoriously very hit-or-miss. A great majority of the time, nothing happens at all. Blood magic is an incredibly costly and extravagant way to use magic; overall, the process is very intense. One small slip-up could result in a terrible magical consequence, but more often than not, the entire process is rendered moot.

Despite its supposed ineffectiveness, blood magic is extremely dangerous and should not be taken lightly due to the sacrifice involved. It is the most common reason behind the sale of corpses and organs. It is also very highly persecuted, and a person caught utilizing blood magic can, in many cases, very easily be put to death.

### Pure Magic, or Sorcery

As previously mentioned, a person can be born from either a magical or mundane bloodline. Most bloodlines are mundane, and so most people can only hope to use magic by utilizing blood magic or witchcraft, as explained above.
However, even a person who stems from a magical bloodline (or has magical blood themselves) does not automatically receive the ability to use magic. Magic, as a chaotic energy inherent in the universe, requires a “trigger” to be activated in an individual. This trigger typically comes in the form of powerful, raw emotion, most often trauma. A person can be considered lucky by unknowingly developing a sort of physical trauma (e.g., consuming a twin in the womb of an already magically potent mother) and activating their magical abilities in that way. However, most of the time, the traumatic trigger for magic is something that occurs during a person’s lifetime; in some cases, trauma is purposely coaxed out of an individual, such as the young boys undergoing harrowing trials in Azarya’s Academy of Magic. Other times, it may just occur due to the unfortunate events in a person’s lifetime, which is why most elves, who are regularly captured from their homeland and made into slaves, have proportionately higher instances of magic-wielding. Some people believe that the more severe the trauma, the more powerful the magic. Of course, other emotions are also able to spur on magic in a bloodline, such as rage, bloodlust, and, very rarely, more positive emotions, such as pure ecstasy. The source of magic is unique in every person lucky enough to have the blood for it.
The people who activate and utilize the magic innately found within themselves (and their magical bloodlines) are known as sorcerers, although they can go by multiple names. Mages, wizards, and casters are all alternate titles for sorcerers.
Sorcerers generate magical power within themselves, though they must use an object (often a signet ring, though it can be anything) as a catalyst for their powers. A sorcerer’s power stems not only from the potency of their magical bloodline but also through the strength of the way in which they activated (and continue to hone) their magic, as well as, undoubtedly, the amount of time they spend learning and studying magic. The kingdom of Azarya differs from most other kingdoms because it cultivates and encourages magic, particularly in its nobility, when most other kingdoms in Marin shun and fear it or, otherwise, don’t believe in its existence at all.
There are many different branches of sorcery, although all are specific to its caster.  There are no “schools” of sorcery, although the way by which a sorcerer may come by their powers may be in some way related to their trauma. Most are best suited for one thing and find their powers weaker in other areas. Like blood magic, all sorcery is a give-and-take; however, due to most branches of sorcery being already destructive in nature, most of the time all that is required is a focus, like a ring, wand or staff for the sorcerer to cast through, and the physical strength of the caster. Remember, magic requires exhaustive emotions to manifest, and these emotions more than likely reappear at the time of casting.
However, for a branch such as healing magic, which is an ordered, beneficial force at odds with the chaotic nature of magical energy, a sorcerer must make equivalent sacrifices. For example, one looking to heal a cut on a person’s arm may have to make a cut of a similar nature on another individual, or otherwise destroy a precious or productive object or life-force. For that reason, most sorcerers do not perform healing magic and instead may utilize alchemy or other, more mundane, methods of medicine. Reviving someone by pure sorcery (without equivalent blood magic usage) is impossible, as it would kill the caster before their subject was able to come back from the dead.
There are ways in which a sorcerer can make their magic more powerful, but as previously noted, the most powerful catalyst and source of power for all forms of magic is blood. This is why sorcerers may choose to use blood magic despite it not being always necessary; the inherent power of blood amplifies magic to a great degree.

### False Magic, or Chicanery

Chicanery is magic that anyone can use! Of course, it’s important to mention that chicanery isn’t magic, and that its primary “casters” are ordinary people who have a very rudimentary understanding of what magic is. They understand magic just as well as you may understand magic. If someone came up to you and offered you time to speak to a dead relative, wouldn’t you take them up on it?

Users of chicanery are the same in Marin as they are in the real world, and they go by multiple different titles: soothsayers, fortune tellers, palm readers, psychics, clairvoyants, magicians, charlatans, street performers, and (some would say) priests.

Someone telling you that you’re going to die in a terrible accident after running their fingers over your palm? Chicanery. An old woman rattling off a hex on you after you don’t follow her advice? Chicanery. A friar blessing you in the name of his god? You be the judge of that.

That isn’t to say that chicanery never works, as it functions on perhaps the most unpredictable element in our lives: pure luck. Any guess is a good one, and even broken clocks are right twice a day. Many important choices have been made based off of the friendly advice of chicaners.

## In Closing, or tl;dr

Marin is a low-magic universe. Magic does play a part in the world, but for most characters, its role is very small. Many people in the universe do not believe in magic at all, and for those that do, it often elicits a feeling of superstitious fear. Though we do have a soft magic system, keep in mind that magic is absolutely a give-and-take. Make sure to keep everything reasonable and within check.