MAGIC FUNDAMENTALS
Magic, though incredibly rare, is a powerful source of indescribable energy that can be manipulated and controlled in both precise and chaotic ways. Its natural, raw, unrefined state takes the form of intangible plasma, harmless and weightless, often tinted a translucent blue or purple.
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There is common talk of magic originating from The Astral Sea and Beyond The Halls before the Creation periods began, though theorists are still exploring the connections and origins with little facts or source material to investigate.
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LINGERING AND AWAKENING MAGIC
Magical essence is said to linger within everything. Anything, big or small, has a force hidden inside of it that can be accessed and tapped into by those who know how. This interal magic is infinite and regenerative, though the source can be drained entirely if used as a catalyst too vigorously or carelessly, or if it is consumed in the process of awakening, should it be too structurally weak. Every subjected material also has a unique density of magic stored within it, sometimes boasting a great quantity of essense compacted within a small volume, or in other cases a dry and thin amount comparatively to it's size. The quality and reliability of the essense also varies, as well as the rejuvenation time a source may take to fully restore or return to it's full state. What remains the same however is the flexibility of the essense once awoken.
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The awakening process was the first mortal-discovered access to magic and is the most common way to cast spells and generate weavable essence. Much of it is intuitive, attuning to the material and finding the sweet spots that vibrate and stir the internal magic into activity.
In extreme cases, a material can be awoken, transmogrified and compiled differently, altering it atomically. This is taxing to both the material and caster, usually resulting in a permanent nulification of magical essense stored within, or a reduction in total capacity the material can habour.
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PLANE PULLING
The concept of instant access magic within Entrellia is still fresh in many a mind. Availability to such power, let alone the theory behind it all is still very new, even to the astute and dedicated. Much of what is known about Plane Pulling is from those that have studied it and practiced the art extensively. Philosophers, theorists and mathematicians and many within the Apex Sanctuary are still only at the beginning of untangling the mysteries, optimisation and true nature of this new technique.
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The process of Plane Pulling is both internally and externally reaching out in order to access a desired plane, using the encompassing Astral Sea as a unifying gateway to branch off from.
"It is most accurately described as a middleground betwixt a dream and an intense, projesction of your thought. A state of quick and powerful lucidity that is traversed by your inner conscious, the feeling of eons in a rush of seconds. Your mind enigmatically travels through The Astral Sea, searching and sifting. Riding the cosmos until you reach a perfect mystical strand that leads you to your request, a pathway of pure and powerful magic, ending at your precise desire. You find what you seek, to then warp back to reality, dragging with you the powers and resources you found to conjure your mighty spell.”
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To Plane Pull, a mage must first focus on an outcome they wish for their spell, making a mental request or invisioning a resource that they require for said outcome. This can be premeditated and predetermined on a scroll or written in a book with listed locations and paths, or done so instantaneously if naturally gifted enough. Then, the most common way to Plane Pull is to reach for the Astral Sea by projecting their mind, navigating it, and thereafter proceed to a desired plane that hosts the resource the mage seeks, utilising the Astral Sea as a planar shortcut. In rare occasions, a masterful Plane Puller can skip this middle step, but it is often more difficult and inefficient to do so. A knowledge of the planar alignments of great advantage to a caster and can save time and
effectiveness of their process. Once the desired plane is found and accessed, the caster searches, finds, pulls, mixes and the plane provides. It is wise to correlate the mage's request with the choice of plane for more accurate results. For example, destructive magic is easiest pulled from The Plane of Destruction due to the obvious nature of the plane. Light is brightest when pulled from The Illumination Plane. Fire the most devastating and hungry from The Plane of Fire. Water the freshest and pure from The Plane of Water, and so on. It is both a talent and an educational mastery to know where exactly to pull from and how to do it fluently, quickly and precisely. Mages are continuously experimenting with the limitations of Plane Pulling, making notes on the fastest pathways and locations of certain valued or common resources, forever pushing the boundaries and searching for better, quicker routes. However, it can of course be a personal preference of the mage as to where they pull their magic if speed is not a priority. The most powerful spells can be cast from the most experimental paths that take time and incredible focus to access, some even requiring multiple or distant planes to combine and produce complex spells.
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"Alike an experienced fisherman who knows the best lakes to cast their rod, an experienced wizard knows where best to pull their magic from. Lest a more experienced caster pulls fire faster than they."
Esteemed casters utilised Runic to stabilise their first experiences with Plane Pulling, which allowed them to navigate and explore the new routes offered to them as mages very cautiously. The easest of paths to connect to were the Elemental planes and thus where the first experiments began. These first attempts at forging paths were quickly dubbed as Arcane magic and has since been the most explored and studdied variation of Plane Pulling. More paths and reaches continue to be connected and found as the researchers and practitioners continue to delve deeper into the magical art.
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ARCANE MAGIC
Arcane Magic is the earliest base and leading form of Plane Pulling. It was the first named technique and continues to be the most promptly explored notion of what is deemed 'new magic'. Of all the processes, Arcane is the most documented as well, having pathways and instructions written in great detail by wizards and sages, many at the Apex Sanctuary. Most instructions are based on navigating the Astral Sea, which paths to take, where resources are located and even details such as the best hand gestures to perform to speed up the process or access certain fonts of essence. A culture therefore has quickly formed of wizards, books, students and teachers as the interest in
Arcane grows evermore. It's rise in popularity is also aided by the legal allowance of the technique too in all countries that allow magic, as well as the favourable planes the technique accesses not being seen as taboo. Many Arcane practicers demonstrate a strong urge to use the magic for good, another attribute that helps in the eyes of laws.
Arcane magic, despite its large coverage and flexibility across planes, cannot replicate certain aspects of other, rarer magic, which is way it is favourable in the eyes of most civil laws. Arcane magic does not encompass healing as Divine magic or Earthen magic does, and also does not incorporate any interactions with souls, that of which is considered Black magic. However, The Everhalls can sometimes be pulled from using Arcane techniques on rare occasion, but can be detrimental to the caster and their morality, pushing the Greywind Barrier. Many mages who attempt such a route either fail to locate the plane, are blocked entirely, or are diverted to another plane, forcing them to either turn to true Necromancy or surrender the attempt all together.
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DIVINE MAGIC
Magic birthed by the creating Numen and bestowed to trusted and loyal casters, Divine Magic is neither an awakening technique nor Plane Pulling. Instead, it is raw magical essence blessed upon and into the wielder to utilise as they wish. Many Numen, other gods and powerful creatures gift divine magic sparingly through binding pacts, sworn oaths or as a reward for devoted prayers, the amount of essence granted slowly growing through time as trust is forged or goals are met.
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Divine Magic is most notable for its stark comparison to Black Magic, providing many opportunities to negate or counteract the necromanic practice. The greatest of which is healing and in extreme feats of magic, revival.
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DIVINITY AND FAITH
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RUNIC AND IMBUEMENT
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Etched by talented smiths or masons, Runic is an ancient logogram language that triggers and awakens an internal magic lingering deep within anything that has a malleable and physical surface. Dependant on the words carved into the object, the quality and the internal density of magic inside, the awakened magic follows the strict rules of the Runic like a direct command. Different materials have different capabilities and host unique or bias types of internal magic, for example, diamonds are well known to have a high density of inner magic, while brittle materials such as zinc commonly lack an abundance of inner magic to awaken, making Runic carved into diamonds far more powerful, potent or efficient.
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In other cases, it is known that certain minerals or objects favour certain Runic orders. Brimstone is one of the most notible resources for its syncronisation with Runic scripture that awakens fire. Brimstone commonly accepts fire related Runic far easier than other minerals, producing a far more controlled, intense or powerful desired outcome.
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Runic can be strung into long commands that the inner magic of the object may follow. The order of which is important, as inner magic will always awaken and activate from the first rune etched into it when the full scripture is finished. For ease of future reading, masons will often ensure they etch their Runic in a singular horizontal or vertical line, or in a compact spiral that starts from the centre and swirls outward. They may even leave some runes unfinished until the final moments to avoid any accidental early awakenings, though most craftsmen are learnt enough to encode triggers first and foremost into their etchings.
Expert masons that wish to disguise the purpose of their Runic can muddle the locations of their runes, etching them disorderly and without a recognisable pattern, making it harder to decode and figure out the order in which the magical commands will unfold. These are common in more malicious runic sigils, carved with the intent to do harm and cause difficulty in a defusing process.
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IMBUEMENT
A more modern form of Runic is the artistry of Imbuement. Talented smiths, weapon crafters and metalworkers enhance their creations with the use of Runic awakening, etching looping orders into the final pieces to tailor, adapt or magically enhance the work. This is most commonly done with weaponry and armour, but is not excluded from other tools or objects.
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There is also a shunned and crossing in magical paths with Blood Magic, where a caster can use Runic markings to imbue their skin. This process is highly frowned upon.
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ALCHEMY
Much like the process of Imbuement, alchemy is a form of awakening magic, however, alchemy specialises in the study and use of softer, organic materials that can grow and expire, producing toxins, potions and liquids far more reliable and safer than awakening them with Runic.
While alchemy can still replicate results similar to instantaneous spells and Earthen Magic, their potency is often lessened when the awakening process is forced or rushed through the matter. Delicate, biodegradable and earthy material, such as flowers and fungi, rarely withstand the immediate demand of Runic scripture, favouring a far more gentle approach to the awakening process. Ingredients are still commonly rich with internal magic, they simply require a different approach to unveiling and awakening it. Thus, a better and more refined practice became the talent and skill of bottling and fermenting mixtures of brews for stronger and more reliable outcomes, now known as alchemy.
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Alchemy also has a unique advantage that many organic materials tend to favour healing commands and properties, a rarity in regular solid material used for most Runic awakening.
Many successful potion crafters are known to store their potions for years at a time to age and wake, sometimes surpassing the raw strength of Runic awakening given the right conditions.
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BLOOD MAGIC
While Black Magic is in close alignment with Blood Magic, the differing factor of both magical awakening techniques is the source the caster uses. Blood Magic solely utilises blood and body as a resource and does not alter or touch the soul. In some cases, Blood Magic is seen as a lesser of two evils, as blood can be replenished, healed and slowly regained, unlike a soul which is damned and damaged whenever used and unable to regenerate. However, this does not excuse many Blood Magic users from walking a fine line of morality and legality, many social circles still banning the practice.
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SKIN CHANGING
Unique to Blood Magic, refined artists and weavers can alter their very physique and biological makeup, awakening the blood inside of them to transform into something entirely different. Sometimes these chosen forms can be monstrous creatures or powerful, hulking beasts, other times it can be to deceive and steal identities in a far more transformative means than an illusion ever could. This talent is known as Skin Changing or Shape Shifting, however, it can also be inflicted as uncontrollable curses, like lycanthropy and vampirism that force the bearer to transform sporadically and against their will. They often lose control of their person, too, which can cause serious strain on their wellbeing.
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BLACK MAGIC AND NECROMANCY
Necromancy, more commonly called Black Magic is a form of forbidden magic that utilises awakening the essence within ones or anothers soul as a resource, or Plane Pulling a soul from The Everhalls. In doing so, possessions, hauntings, curses, hexes and the raising of dead have a more reliable and true link, making it easier to achieve.
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Using a soul as a resource is eternally damaging and corruptive. When a caster uses their own for an extended period of time or in a repetitive manner, they noticably wither, their fingers and teeth blacken and they are believed to be a step closer to The Watching Wolf's control.
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THE GREYWIND BARRIER
The Greywind Barrier is a moral line often referred to in discussions as to when other techniques of Plane Pulling or awakening become Black Magic. Many casters place this blurry line according to their own beliefs and morality, while civilised society tend to uphold a more definitive ruling to maintain order and law over harmful casting. Earthen Magic commonly flips either side of this line, as well as Blood Magic when it comes to legality and morality of their use. Extremists may even debate magic as a whole is unnatural, placing it's entire use as an overstep of the barrier.
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EARTHEN MAGIC
An old, esoteric form of awakening magic, Earthen Magic channels the wilderness and nature, but also ambiguously crosses the borders of Divine Magic, Blood Magic and Black Magic, utlising ones soul and the magical essence of Aaya Ahorr.
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While the use of Earthen Magic has dwindled to anscestral and ceremonial purposes in modern civilisations, druids, shamans and other wild beings in more enclosed and traditional cultures still rely on the practice of Earthen Magic as their main or only form of accessing magical essence. There is a large focus on ones spirit when using this awakening technique and is said to be the most instinctual and intuitive to perform. Morality therefore is often a small or passing question, as the users are commonly unaware of the intricate ties of ones spirit as a resource, the potential for corruption, and have little knowledge of the practice in terms of true consequences. In some ways, this is beneficial to the casters. However, there are still
present examples of Earthen Magic in modern use away from eclosed and tribal circles, such as the use of music and song. Unlike other Earthen Magic, awakening with music has continued to progress and adapt with time, never being considered archaic, but instead peaceful, and has survived the slow fade of obscurity above other Earthen Magic techniques. Sounds of perfect note enhance rhythm with a soothing pitch that awakens slumbering magical essence. Masterful bards or grand orchestras can tap in to magical essence with only a handful of notes, springing their spirit, tales and memories to life.
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Rangers are also known to use Earthen Magic to aid in navigation, tuning into the world as wayfinders, gaining supernatural senses and many more boons that nature provides. A druid can transform into a beast without the cost of blood or the markings of curses. Shamans can heal and awaken the soul to replenish itself, rather than blacken and deteriorate. These unique and rare traits in magic are a cause for modern society to monitor and study Earthen Magic despite its old roots. However, the process is slow, as access to casters that are willing to describe, explain and demonstrate this type to outsiders are becoming more secluded and rare with every passing day.
SPIRIT TREES
One of the most magically dense organic materials is that of a Spirit Tree. Rare, magnificent and religiously guarded, Spirit Trees are located across a great stretch of Entrellia and even on other planes, either hidden away or on sacred grounds. Many are unrecorded and remain undiscovered by civilisation.
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Spirit Trees are said to have powerful teleportation properties accessed through intense Earthen Magic. Awakening a tree can transport your entirety to another Spirit Tree scattered somewhere throughout the world. This magical jumping is considered the only natural and reliable means of true teleportation. However, as mentioned prior, most known locations of Spirit Trees are kept a secret and away from public knowledge, safe guarded through independent groups or an order known as The Feyright. Access is near impossible for those who wish to utilise the magic of the trees.
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The true power of a Spirit Tree is therefore yet to be fully harnessed by an individual curious enough to find one and study it, however, talented or mischievous wizards who have had the blessing or luck to gain access have discovered a means to craft the wood and bark of a Spirit Tree into highly receptive paper for spell scrolls. They can then imbue the parchment with powerful runes that would otherwise be inaccessible, unstable or too volatile. These scrolls are incredibly rare and hard to come by, as the disruption of a Spirit Tree is deemed highly disrespectful and immoral, as well as general access to the resource is near impossible.
Some respected researchers raise thhe arguement that the aptly named trees harbour lost souls never correctly sent to The Everhalls, causing controversy and debates as to whether allowing the Spirit Trees to exist is morally right. The concept and theory often presented argues that the teleportation characteristics of a Spirit Tree is potentially due to the inner souls within the tree have a natural planar pull, initially to The Everhalls. When the souls try to leave for The Everhalls, they're instead pulled off course to a Spirit Tree, acting as a conductor or magnet for the souls stronger than the pull to The Everhalls. The teleportation aspect is therefore said to be riding the exchanging of souls of the trees with each other.
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HALLUCINOGENIC MAGIC
Charms, echantments and illusions are a very powerful and interesting form of magic which can be accessed through a difficult and strange way of awakening dormant magic inside anothers mind. It can also be replicated with modern Plane Pulling from the Confusion Plane or the Feywild. This category is the only form of magic, other than Black Magic, that can be accessed through both types of magical tapping techniques, making it both an innate and practiced talent, depending on the casters way of accessing the essence. Hallucinogenic Magic, and any similliar mind-meddling form of magic has varying degrees of success and is often inaccurate or vague with direct results.
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The difference between an enchantment or charm compared to a curse is the intentional duration. A curse is not meant to finish or end, nor be lifted, while a charm is subtle and lasts oftenly less than a day.
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PSIONICS
Psionics is a rare talent that unlocks and awakens sleeping magical essence inside ones own mind and consciousness, while purposely leaving ones soul and spirit entirely untouched. Commonly, trained monks master this form of awakening to fortify their mind and enhance their internal wisdom and ability to control their emotions. However, this form of cognitive awakening can be straining and wrathful upon the practitioner should they be impatient with the process or generally careless, potentially causing irreversible damage to the health of their brain and developing negative mental afflictions. The process requires immense focus and can take years of slow, tedious awakening, one day at a time.
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SHIMMERFORMS
Projections, illusions and altering appearances are known as Shimmerforms, disguises that illude ones true figure. The caster often appears as an avatar-like form of their choosing without having to physically or biologically alter themselves. Numen are said to regularly utilise a Shimmerform to appear more peaceful and relatable to mortals, while other creatures may use it to deceive and trick others.
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