A Tangle of Links/Basics of Magic 101

## Concepts

### Magical Cores & the Magic Particle System

Magical Cores are the centre of a very special organ system found only in native inhabitants of Magic-Rich dimensions; the Magic Particle System. Similar to the human's circulatory system, the Magic Particle System (MPS) consists of pale pink veins that coexist with the circulatory system's veins. Its job is to circulate Magic Particles throughout the Mage's body, if they have their Magical Cores activated. As such, the Magical Core is essentially the MPS' heart that produces Magic Particles that enables beings to use magic.

The MPS is essentially "grown" from the Magical Core, like vines growing from a central root. Most beings' cores grow without any obstacles, but in the case of humans there are times when their Cores remain inactive throughout their entire life. Those whose Cores are able to 'grow out' their MPS naturally are called *born mages* and are gifted with the ability to use magic. Beings with MPSes are identified by a silver ring around their irises.

The growth of the MPS depends on how much a mage exercises their Magical capabilities. Using magic essentially 'waters' the growing MPS until it has matched the size of the circulatory system, which is usually achieved at around 17 years of age when a mage is considered to have finished their primary training and are now free to pick their spheres of magic to specialise in. The record age for youngest to have fully grown their MPS was around 10 years old.

### Mages & Mage Types

**Mages** are the humans who were able to have fully grown MPSes and thus are able to harness Magic Particles and perform various feats of magic. They makeup roughly 20-30% of the human population in a given area and are thus considered the minority. Treatment of mages differ from area to area, some may revere them, some may hate them, some may even fear them. Some countries even forbid mages to hold high ranks and be part of a royal house, but some countries like Diamanterra, Quinaterum and the fallen Calibast welcome mages into their court and some are even ruled by mages themselves.

The general masses only identify born mages, but in reality, there are 3 types of mages, two of which are a highly kept secret due to the nature of their creation.

As stated above, **born mages** are those who were born with active Magic Cores that grew over time. They are the only publicly known type of mage and the most common. They are often described to be favoured, or cursed in case of areas where Fantastic Racism against mages exist, by the Goddess of Magic Suzy herself and it's said that when a born mage opens their eyes for the first time, revealing the silver ring around their iris, a spectre of a polecat would appear and leave a 'kiss' on the baby's forehead, a symbol of Suzy's blessing.

Meanwhile, the existence of **made mages** are known only by a select few. They are humans whose inactive Magical Cores were activated either through a lengthy ritual to call on Suzy and request her to bless the candidate with the gift of magic or through cutting open the candidate and injecting Magic Particles into their dormant Magical Core, forcefully awakening it. Those 'made' through the ritual are identified by a faint birthmark on their collarbone while those 'made' through the surgery have a distinct scar over their chest.

The last mage type isn't supposed to exist, considered the accidental creation of the Dauthi-type deities and Yeeun herself, the Chains of Love and Death, the **Kathalu** mages were resurrected born mages, sapped of magic and were bathed in the light of a god's true form only to survive. They were the result of an attempt to turn the tides on a divine civil war. Kathalus are only known as products of myths and legends, perhaps a story butchered way too much over the course of centuries being passed down from generation to generation. Only a handful know of the very real existence of the Kathalu, with the deities being very determined to hide what most of them consider as one of their biggest mistakes.

#### Special Born Mage Subtype: Priests & Priestesses

Priests and priestesses are a special class of born mages, descended from divine servants of the deities themselves. They act as the link and messenger between mortals and deities. They are bound by duty to only practice areas within their respective deity's sphere of influence and to devote their lives to serving their masters. Priests & priestesses are only ever born mages, never made mages nor Kathalu mages, and their titles and powers are acquired only through blood. They are inherently powerful than most mages, thanks to the blessing given upon their birth by their master deity.

Very powerful priests & priestesses are considered candidates to be their respective deity's **Mortal Vessel**. In other words, they can become their patron deity's vessel in the mortal world should the deity themselves wish to, usually to get a closer look at a prevailing issue that has caught the eyes of the deities. As a Mortal Vessel, the priest/priestess can tap deeper into their patron's power, but they must be careful as one small mistake can cost them their lives.

### Magic Types

Applications of magic are literally endless, with nearly a million individual types grouped into different categories. Some individual types are common all around the dimensions while some are exclusive to certain dimensions, even certain areas, thus having different systems of categorization. The most accepted and diverse category system is the Standardized System consisting of 5 different categories.

* **Nocturnal** — Deals with lunar, stellar, dark, shadow magic etc.
* **Diurnal** — Deals with light, solar, fire magic etc.
* **Libban** — Deals with magic concerning life, including but not limited to chlorokinesis and animancy.
* **Dauthi** — Deals with magic concerning death, including but not limited to curses and necromancy.
* **Reality** — Deals with magic that alters reality, like chronokinesis, teleportation, reality warping etc.

#### Spheres of Specialization

Once mages have stable MPSes and have finished their primary training, they can start on focusing on the training for their chosen focal points. Mages are free to choose as many areas of magic they want to practice in as long as they knew how to balance their chosen areas and maintain the proper practice. Most mages just choose to focus on two and have a minimal grasp on several more. The record for most areas of magic practised was 69. While mages are free to practice all over the spectrum, they are advised not to choose opposing areas as focal points as they will cancel out each other i.e. a mage with necromancy as their focal point can have a grasp at animancy but they can't make it their second focal point.

Mages are also sorted into subcategories based on the Standardized System depending on which area of magic they chose to be their focal point. Thus, a born mage with chronokinesis and teleportation as their focal points are considered to be Reality type born mages.