The Kalarain Guide to Magic

Magic runs through the world of Kalarain as blood runs through mortal veins.

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## **Arcane Kalarain**

Kalarain’s magic can be briefly summarised like this: There are 6 types of magic, magic users can hold and ’swap’ spells via their handmade magical Talismans, mages go a bit crazy after they learn their first spell, the crazy goes away when they make their Talisman, and leyline junctions are called sigilsites and let mages pull some crazy business.

Now, to go into more detail-

## The Six Types of Magic

There are as many theories of magic as there are stars in the sky, because getting arcanists to agree on anything is impossible.

Nevertheless, the most widespread theoretical framework for magic holds that there are six distinct schools or types of magic. Or there is one type of magic, and six different ways of expressing it.

These are the six types. They were discovered at different points in history.

**The Magic of Memory, Thoughts and Emotions (aka mind magic)**

Mind magic is magic which affects, controls, or influences the mind. It can be used to alter memories, to dictate behavior, to form mental bridges and to peruse the thoughts of another.

It was first discovered by the elven nation of Escaro, some time before the Shattering of the World. It was used to conquer all.

The use of mind magic is a taboo in many places. To the people of Sarea especially, it is reviled.

**The Magic of Elemental Power (aka elemental magic)**

Elemental magic grants control of heat, energy, and air. It allows the user to create fire, lightning, wind, and shift temperature. Skilled elemental mages can draw the heat out of the air to create freezing conditions, batter their foes with blasts of air and hold a roaring inferno in the palm of their hand.

Elemental magic was discovered in the second century AS and was the catalyst for the Inquisition and the War of Words.

The use of elemental magic grants no particular control over earth or water, despite those being elements. Elemental magic is primarily the magic of energy.

**The Magic of Shape, Space, Form, and Structure (aka spatial magic)**

Spatial magic revolves around the manipulation of materials in space. It could be used to raise a spire of earth out of the ground, turn a pair of manacles into metal gloop or hone a blade to an impossible level of sharpness. Pure spatial magic only works on nonliving material, however, manipulation of living things requires spirit magic be applied as well.

Spatial magic can also be used to teleport, though this is very difficult to pull off, especially over large distances. The grouping of these two branches of use as one school of magic has been one of the biggest sources of academic disagreement; many arcanists feel that the ability to warp form has almost nothing to do with the ability to instantly transport things. Nevertheless, both applications of magic use very similar sigils and methods of casting so both are generally felt to fall within the same school.

Spatial magic was discovered in the fifth century by the toymaker, who used it to make toys and distribute offensive fanfiction about dictators.

**The Magic of Light, Illusion, and Refraction (aka illusion magic)**

Illusion magic is the magic of visual illusions, the bending, twisting, and refraction of light. It does not allow for the creation of sounds, making someone believe they heard something that is not there is the domain of mind magic.

Illusion magic was discovered during the Grimm Hecatombe of Queen Melitta of Methusia in the 6th century, and used to hide away from her murderous soldiers.

**The Magic of Force (aka force magic)**

Force magic is, surprisingly, the magic of magical force. It can be used to put up magical barriers, and telekinetically move objects or creatures around without touching them.

Force magic is similar to spatial magic in a lot of ways. The differences are in what you can do with them.

Spatial magic allows for a much greater degree of control and manipulation. You could repair a torn garment by mending the fabric with spatial magic, but not with force magic.

Force magic is a blunt hammer of a tool, but it allows for much more powerful and dramatic uses. You could fling a dagger at someone using force magic, but not with spatial magic.

Force magic was discovered less than 100 years ago by socially awkward orc Mogg, who went on to lead the alliance that beat the Sorrow.

**The Magic of Spirits, Souls and Life Energy (aka spirit magic)**

Spirit magic is the magic of life. It allows the user to manipulate the life energies of living things, and to interact with spirits. It is somewhat universal among mages; every spell involves the manipulation of life energy to control the spell, and every spell has at least a hint of spirit magic. The ‘school’ of spirit magic, however, is one of the hardest to master; spells which predominantly or exclusively utilize spirit magic are very difficult to use properly.

Spirit magic can be used to project a mage’s consciousness across distances, alter the flow of life energy to encourage a plant to grow a certain way, draw tier 1 spirits to a location (sometimes), or rip all of the energy out of another living thing. Mages practised in spirit magic sometimes develop a capacity to perceive the future, albeit a fallible and imprecise one.

Spirit magic sigils were discovered in the seventh century, by the dwarves of Thur Farim. Unlike the other schools of magic, however, the use of spirit magic itself predates the invention of writing (though the discovery of symbols of power has certainly strengthened its use). Dwarves use spirit magic in their secret rituals to breathe life into dwarven children, the elves of East Mosshaven sing to trees to shape their growth, and both of these predate recorded history.

**Unusual uses**

All magical spells and effects draw on one of these types of magic. Some draw on multiple. A few examples are:

* Turning water into a dagger of ice - Elemental magic for the cold, spatial magic for the form

* Physically altering living things - Spatial magic combined with spirit magic

* Creating an illusion with sound - Illusion magic for the visuals; for the sound, mind magic (making people think they hear something), spirit magic (if it’s your voice being projected), or spatial magic (creating vibrations which then create sound, absurdly difficult and imprecise)

Powerful rituals and spellcasting can also leave behind magical residue. This residue can have its own effects; Anids, for example, appear in locations that had powerful spirit and spatial magic rituals cast in them decades before.

The last millennia of spellcasting has created a lot of atmospheric magical residue.

## ‘Dark’ magic

When people refer to dark magic, they are usually referring to a technique of spellcasting which uses another living thing as the source. This is also known as parasite magic. Typically, when a mage casts a spell, they use energy from within themselves to supplement the flow of magic. Dark mages can power their spells by drawing magic out of someone else.

Dark magic is a subschool of spirit magic, and it is not inherently evil or corruptive. In fact, it can be used for positive ends; by drawing a little magic out of a lot of people, a dark mage might complete a powerful restorative ritual they would otherwise have been unable to complete. The more powerful dark magic spells, however, definitely harm the people the magic is taken from. Dark magic also provides a pathway to some very powerful abilities, and there have been some very evil dark mages, so it comes with a major stigma.

Some cultures also consider mind magic to be dark magic, in the sense that they find it very evil.

## Sigils

Sigils are what allow mages to cast spells. They are symbols of power; by studying the sigil for Belief, combined with the appropriate practice, a mage can learn and memorise the Belief spell (and some associated minor manifestations of similar magic).

This is all the average mage need to know about sigils.

For those looking to go a little deeper, the reality is more complex. The conventional understanding is that you memorise a spell by studying the associated sigil. In actuality, the study and attempted use of that sigil physically alters the mage to allow them to channel that particular strain of magic. When a mage ‘memorises’ a spell, the process reorders their magical essence, bringing them in line with the magic they are trying to channel.

## Talismans and the Obsession

When a mage memorises their first spell, they open themselves up to magic. Their essence shifts, and they tap into the currents of magical energy that flow through the entire world. And once this gate is open, it cannot easily be closed.

So, shortly after the mage learns the spell, two things will happen. First, unchecked currents of magical energy will start to flow into the mage. This will just be a minor tingling sensation at first, but if left unchecked, any manner of symptoms can start to pop up (numbness, fluctuating body temperature, bizarre cravings, delusions), and it will eventually put the mage into a coma.

And second, they will fall under the Obsession.
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A mage under the effects of the Obsession has one goal: make themselves a Talisman. Everything else, including sleeping, eating and loved ones, become secondary. Talismans are small objects that could be made of just about anything, and look like just about anything, but somehow reflect the personality or nature of the mage. Once the Talisman has been made, it acts as a place of the magic currents to flow into. The Obsession will fade and the mage will suffer no more ill effects.

They also get a spell. To put it in layman’s terms, Talismans contained sigils. When one is created, it picks up a sigil from the world around it; a fledgling mage who has just learned how to control fire may be astonished that they can now turn invisible as well. Moreover, sigils can be traded or even stolen from the Talisman of other mages, though this is always an equal exchange; one taken, one given in return. The actual mechanics revolve around a simultaneous shifting of the magical fields of each talisman, but are too complicated to include here.

Talismans are also referred to as Arcane Foci, Anchors, Totems and Sigilstones. They are bizarre things, removing them from the mage does not sever the connection no matter what the distance. If completed destroyed, the sigils ‘flow’ back into the mage. Unchecked currents of magic will start to flow into the mage again, but only until the mage replaces the Talisman, and the requirements for doing so are much lower than for creating the original Talisman. Mages in a hurry have been known to replace Talismans by spending 10 seconds shaping a simulacrum out of mud or dust, and these work perfectly fine.

Mages usually replace these hasty Talismans with more refined versions later, but this is a matter of personal preference.

## Sigilsites

Leylines are invisible lines of magic that stretch and criss-cross the world of Kalarain. The places where they intersect, leyline ‘junctions’, are known as sigilsites, and they can grant incredible powers.

The discovery of a sigilsite usually happens by accident, there is no real method of detecting the ones that lie hidden. Every sigilsite is coded to one of the six types of magic, and what usually happens is that a mage skilled in that magic accidentally stumbles across it while casting a spell. They feel the presence of something greater.

And when a mage does this, successfully aligning with the sigilsite, they tap into a source of power that achieve feats of magic far, far beyond what any normal mage is able to do. To give some examples:

* **The Sarean Sigilsite (mind magic)** - Tapped into by Dancel-Praise of the Talons. Used to mentally enslave the entire nation of Sarea.

* **The Vale of Ghosts Sigilsite (spirit magic)** – A misfire turned the entire region into a ghost vacuum, where anyone who tries to cross it gets possessed.

* **The Traansadooran Sigilsite (spirit magic)** - Tapped into by Traansadooran government mages. Used to bind T1 and T2 spirits into objects, where they are now used as fuel.

* **The Toymaker Sigilsite (spatial magic - theorised)** – Hypothetical sigilsite tapped into by the toymaker. Used to teleport items across the world.

Not all sigilsites are created equal, some are more powerful than others, and sit atop larger ley lines. The complex network of leylines also affects what you can do at a sigilsite; what is possible at one spirit magic sigilsite may not be possible at another.

Sigilsites can be deactivated using complex alchemical procedures.

## Magical Mysteries

Over the past centuries, magic seems to have been growing in strength and potency. Mages can do things they weren’t able to do before. Part of this can be attributed to the discovery of sigils - only spirit magic is possible without knowing the symbols of power.

But this cannot explain everything. Because magical beasts can also do things they weren’t able to do before. Spirits are a lot more active and powerful than they used to be. Everything seems to have become more magical, and no one is quite sure why.

## Puzzlelocking and Thoughtlocking

Puzzlelocking and thoughtlocking are methods of placing activation requirements on magical items, locks and other such things people want to block usage access to. Initially invented in Lenore, they have spread worldwide over the centuries, and are especially popular among the wizards of the Isle of Puck.

Puzzlelocking an object involve locking its use until a puzzle of some kind is completed. This could involve physically completing a mechanical puzzle in front of the object, or speaking aloud the answer to a riddle or question. Puzzlelooking can be used to put password requirements and security measures on important magical items, but is also popular among jerky wizards who want to show off their skills.

Thoughtlocking something involves locking its use until some physical, emotional or psychological requirement is met. Examples range from ‘is currently happy’ and ‘clucked like a chicken in front of someone in the last hour’ to ‘killed a living thing today’. The thoughtlocking enchantment reads the mind of the prospective user, and compares this against the requirement. Whether trickery (false memories, falling a person into thinking they have killed someone via a elaborate ruse) is possible depends on the quality of thoughtlock; the most refined thoughtlocks will detect the tiniest discrepancies. Higher quality thoughtlocks also allow for more specific activation requirements

Puzzlelooking and thoughtlocking are very difficult and time-consuming, especially if you want them done well. They are also not infallible; both techniques may be overcome by various other methods, including brute force.