Magick

*"The Magicka has no color, no hue, no shade. Its iridescent gleam, its all-color shine, is a round bit of flesh making a fool's attempt to perceive what it simply cannot." - Sage Unknown*

Magick within Vakasi-Ya is difficult to define with any measure of real precision. Broadly, manifestations of supernatural power are attributed by the individual more than any clear catalogue. Many will tell you all of it is Wytching, pulled from the dark places at which the Kind were never meant to reach. It is a thing to be feared, and reasons all too evident.

This is not as simple a prejudice as it might seem, whether or not it holds any grain of truth. The Workings of Magick are dangerous, and despite its source, those who dare wield unnatural power must inevitably pay a price. The prices vary, and in some ways it is these prices that are often used to organize the concept and origin of a Working.

Magick is often divided in two, though there is no known way to conclusively identify upon which side of this divide a Working falls.

## Divine

Magicka thought to be derived from the known gods of Vakasi-Ya is generally dubbed "divine." In contrast to the Arcane, Divine magicks are often conceptualized as gifts from the gods to favored servants. The problem with this concept is the nature of this supposed favor. The blessings of gods-borne power lack any discernible pattern. Some claim to have been somehow chosen in an encounter with a supernatural being, while another may leave the womb already invested with abilities that exceed any mortal strength.

And while there are countless priests to the many gods of Vakasi-Ya, very few of them are of the Blessed. In simpler terms: Many "clerics" become priests, but relatively few priests are clerics. Your service and devotion to a god are no guarantee of supernatural reward -- much to the dismay of countless zealots.

Moreover, divine magick carries with it a cost. The only real signifier of a difference between this and the Arcana is the consequence. Wielders of gods-borne power often experience changes reflecting the nature of their god in some way -- but most simply succumb to incoherent ravings; presumably finding ultimate communion with their god for the mere price of their minds.

## Arcane

The Arcana is a Gnomish term -- which is true of nearly all terminology associated with this form of Magick. This is supernatural power drawn from an unknown source, and what is commonly referred to as Wytching, or Wytchcraft. Many laymen believe this form of Magick was brought to Mavarin by the Gnoma, but records suggest that the human-Kind were Working these powers long before the Gnoma Accord bestowed upon the immigrant race.

It is clear, however, that the Gnoma have always possessed a far deeper mastery of this power. Indeed, the Gnomish language and the limited written forms of Arcana are so similar they could be dialects of the same language. This refinement of magickal formulae into script may very well be an ancient invention within the lost history of this people.

Yet despite its study, there has never been a refinement that has undone the cost of wielding this power. Arcane magick affects human beings in ways very similar to radiation exposure, and there seems to be a nearly direct correlation between the capacity to channel this power, and the brevity of the wielder's life. The effects are often pain and grotesque -- and usually irreversible, The only known mitigation is long, excruciating, and precise training in Arcana, the use of which seems to at least partially contain the dark radiance of the Arcana's wild power.