Magic and Essence

Magic and the ability to cast is different in each of the worlds of legacy.

Essence is a somewhat off-time referred to aspect of the world of Legacy. Essence is everything physical, the touch, smell, sight, taste and sound. Everything in the world is made up of Essence, and that Essence is recycled and reused to create other things. But Essence in itself is only the basis of matter, matter is Essence that has been told what to be, it is because of this, that magic has the potential it does.

Essentia is the resource that mages find themselves pulling from.

Magic on the other hand is a part of the world of Legacy that holds its own. Magic is omnipresent, always has been and always will, but it is like a resource, one that depletes and must regenerate as well. Magic is energy, a force, that is nothing by itself but has infinite possibility. Magic needs to be refined, often done subconsciously by the caster of a spell, to be useful, although refined Magic does appear naturally.

Essentia can be found in various places, to where it can be pulled and used by practitioners. Commonly magic is found in:

* Essentian Lines

Essentian Lines are the most common place for mages to pull their magic from, as they run deep beneath the surface and trace practically everywhere. Magic from Essentian Lines is semi-refined, and therefore requires less effort from the caster to use. The downside is only trickles of real magic can be pulled at any given time.

* Arcane Reservoirs

Arcane Reservoirs are few and scarce, but they hold vast amounts of unrefined magic. Common locals for such reservoirs are obvious. Lightwood Trees being the most spread out across Dratoonya. But lakes such as The Lake of Spirits in the Capital Forest and Ilya’s Bounty in the Khantenian Rainforest are also locals of Reservoirs. The entire island of Astra beams with arcane energy as is often referred to a Reservoir as well, although few dare trek there.

* All Things Living

All living things are bodies of magic as well. The magic in the living is unrefined and pure magic, unpolluted by the outside world, for the most part. Gifted magicians known as Magicia pull magic from their own bodies, as they have the gift of producing vastly more amounts of energy than other people. The thought of using other peoples’ magic from their bodies is frowned upon and left to the lost.

### Casting Magic

The ability to cast magic is a gift to many, although few do consider it a curse. While often it is supposed that the ability to cast is given at birth, there are instances in which people without the innate trait have been able to develop the ability.

All people are able to have some sort of resonance with Essentia, and thus are able to cast. But many can not do much more than light a single candle, and it is only a very select few that can reach the capabilities of the mages of old.

Anyone interested in casting magic is first made to test their ability come their tenth birthday, in where a bowl of enchanted water, a necklace of beads and a pile of fine powder are laid in front of them, and their reaction to the attendee’s touch often displays their magic potential. The previously mentioned Ascenta tend to have more chaotic tests than others. After that, they are expected to perform the Wizard’s Oath, more on that later.

Actually casting magic is different to each individual. But all reports from mages share a common theme, they tend to think of it as whatever they are most comfortable with. Some have reported that it is like weaving threads of energy between one another to get the desired outcome, while others report it like painting or even melting bars of pure magic and reforging them into a spell. Often, chanting, singing, humming or simply saying something to help the mind focus on the spell helps as well.

Once magic is cast, the caster is expected to have intertwined their target with the spell at cast, oftentimes simply superheating Essence in the air around them to produce a ball of flames, or expediting the creation cells of skin together to patch up a womb.

### Wizard’s Oath

The Wizard’s Oath could be seen as a trial that all mages have to go through. It is experienced differently for everyone, but often times it tests the limits of any person, their willpower, their emotions, and their control of themselves. Nothing is more dangerous than not being able to control magic.

Originally a process created by Magnun Salcretor,

Upon completion of the oath, the victim’s body adjusts to what it had learned is often is able to handle more magic and with better accuracy, but not always.

### The Conduits

The Conduits were an order of gifted individuals during the Cetian Era / Ancient Era / Pre Era. They held a special ability in the way they cast magic. Their bodies were unable to refine magic on their own, but they could purify refined magic and amplify to standards that no other mage was capable of. Their magic was special in that, unlike regular Essentia manipulation, they could channel raw Essentia in their casts, as well as creating and destroying their creations. There are stories that they found a way around their limitations, but those, as with their order and the Ancient Civilization / Cetians, have long vanished.

Perhaps one of the most famous instances of the power of the conduits was the creation of essentian blades. Which were weapons made of pure essentia and energy, that conduits were able to call and disperse at will.

### Kunou

For centuries magic in Kunou had been persecuted, as such very little development in the art had been made. However, before being hunted, the magicians in Kunou practiced a magic that bound themselves to the world around them.

In Kunou, magic was the manipulation of the world, first Air, then Water, then Fire, and finally Earth. In this order people learned to control the elements of the world, but to control an element one had to share its mind, it was not an easy task. People could spend decades and barely pass Air. So often, people took to one and memorized it, understood it, became it.

In what little records are left, there is a short and simple way to understand how it worked.

For Air, be like chaos, be open, free, sent to the sky and back down again, never stand your ground for you are meant to leave.

For Water, be fluid, changeable, change your shape and mind as it is needed, let yourself flow like the rivers, be vast like the oceans, and have the rhythm of the rain.

For Fire, feel anger, rage, love and comfort, let the flame burn inside and control it so that it may never leave, be like the candle who holds the flame but never let it melt you.

And For Earth, you are the stone. Be emotionless, never feeling, and never falter. The world around can fall, but you will remain. For you are Earth, you are stone.

As you can see, a lot of these contradict each other in some way, so to truly be able to cast all four requires true mastery of one’s mind and body. And even once that’s achieved, to be able to understand the lessers like Ice, or Lightning, even Metal… one would have to train without sleep, and extend the day beyond what it is.