Magic

Magic is a well studied phenomenon on Astyrea major and has been around for as long as the living have been breathing and wandering the planet. However, despite its omnipresence, not everyone can become a potent magic wielder. In order to wield magic one must be able to draw power from the chaos plane. This can be achieved by very hard work, if the person in question is lucky, yet very unlikely since it is practically impossible to cultivate magic from nothing. People are born with magical ability and magical ability can be traced in many bloodlines, which can be a reason to be crowned king or achieve a noble status, but it can also be a point of discrimination.

### The Chaos Plane

*For the chaos plane in a planes of existence context visit 'Planes of Existence'*

#### Naming

The chaos plane goes by various names in different cultures on Astyrea.

The Chaos Plane in different cultures
 Aksians
 Nishutu
 Suynese
 Xiancha
 Vagi

#### Channeling Magic

To affect the world around you by casting a spell, you need to channel energy from the chaos plane and morph it into a spell. Depending on the complexity, duration and many other factors, the amount of energy needed to use the spell can quickly become exhausting for the caster to channel. To mitigate some of the burden, mages often use an object through which they channel the energy required for the spell. Which object works best for which user depends heavily from person to person. Some have affinity with wooden objects, such as staves, and others have affinity with metal rings. It is believed this affinity is determined at birth, but the mechanism behind why some mages channel more proficiently with some objects is unknown.

Alternatively, mages often congregate to channel energy when the spell they are casting is particularly demanding. In order to achieve the best efficiency, the members should have an affinity to similar objects and be spiritually aligned. As such, mage circles are often focused around one type of channeling object and joining a circle is often preceded by many months of trials.

### Schools of Magic

Magic being as studied as it is on Astyrea, it is abundant with different schools and philosophies. It can be used for various different purposes, such as combat, healing, creation and therefor some distinctions are very important to make. While there is no physical difference between the different types of magic, the distinction help tremendously when studying all things arcane. Additionally, magic spells materialize differently for every person casting them, which is partially influenced by chance and partially influenced by the caster, meaning mages can be creative and develop their own aesthetic when casting spells. This does unfortunately mean that studying spells in a quantitative way is very difficult, as shown by the fact that the majority of research done on magic is either highly qualitative or very narrow in scope.

"All forms of magic follow the same rules. It is an ordered manifestation of chaos, in other words, it is a natural phenomenon that has been called upon by a living creature to manifest using energy from Vyrhai. As such one's connection to the plane directly correlates with one's magical proficiency. The transfer of energy from Vyrhai is however very straining on the environment, and thus, mages must be weary of overloading the environment when using magic", excerpt from *Magic and Me, Chapter 1* by Enni Chiveann