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Post by Mellie on Feb 9, 2014 15:20:32 GMT -7
Magic is an incredibly important skill and art-form in the world of Setsuwa. It can directly affect not only combat, but the day-to-day lives of residents. It allows farmers to grow crops more swiftly, for doctors to heal with ease. However, magic is not simple, and not all peoples have the predisposition to use it. Who has magic? What kind of magic do they use? This document will go over the different classes - and sub-classes - of magic, allowing you to understand what your character would be capable of.
Before we begin, the most important thing to know is that most Setsuwans will only ever be able to learn one class of magic, specializing in one of it's sub-classes. Some magicians may be talented enough to hone more than one sub-class, but only the most gifted magic-users will learn more than one class, or completely master an entire class of magic.
Magic-enabled children are often-times born into a specific class. Their powers will begin to bud in their formative years, and as they enter schooling they will be tested to find which class they most belong.
Now what are the classes of magic? What do they mean?
Elemental (4)
Air, Earth, Fire, Water
Elemental magic is extremely common in elves, and embodiments. These magics work to control the natural world, and is said to have a strong connection with the Deities. Click here to read more about Elemental Magic.
Physiological (5)
Healing, Gravity Ignorance, Shapeshifting, Spacial Ignorance, Telepathy
Physiological healing is very strongly based on the ideas of changing one's own self, or the physical aspects of others. Shapeshifting is most famously associated with this class, but in reality it is the widest class of magic, and also the one most common for most magic-users.
Spiritual (2)
Necromancy, Purification
This type of magic connects with the concepts of the afterlife, touching into the powers of Ayniea and Streike most strongly. Although these magics are commonly referred to as "Good" or "Evil" magic, there is no real correlation. There have been a number of historical Necromancers who used their power for good, and Purifiers who have used their power for evil. These magics are incredibly difficult, and are nearly impossible to learn without being born into the class.
Academic (3)
Animation, Potioncraft, Spellcraft
Academic magic is highly valuable and is populated with the least number of magic-users. This type of magic is almost always learned, though there are a few historical users who were born into the class. This type of magic takes many years of schooling to hone into usefulness, but those who are diligent can make a good living off of their magics.
Continue down into the posts to learn about the classes of magic, and the many powers under each umbrella class.
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Post by Mellie on Feb 9, 2014 20:04:05 GMT -7
Air Those gifted with or trying to learn, this brand of magic, will first focus on the basics of Air-based magic. Those who are more talented or advanced, will be able to explore it's many other properties. The element of air finds association with Impulse, Motion, and Intelligence.
Students able to master this class could find themselves with power over as many as two or three sub-classes of Air Magic. Talented individuals may learn as many as four. The sub-classes of Air Magic, from Easiest to Hardest are as follows.
I. Ventus Manipulus: The manipulation and control of the Wind. This is the most basic skill of those gifted with Air magic, and oftentimes the first sign of a young air magician. Depending on the user's power and level of experience, this can vary. Wind users can alter the power, directionality, or speed of the wind; and can use wind as a weapon.
Those who choose to study Ventus Manipulus further will be able to cultivate the skill of Ventus Creare - the Creation of Wind. This branch of magic allows for it's users to make wind from their own energy, then allowing them to manipulate it more easily.
In the next level of wind magic, users will learn Ventus Destructio. This ability will allows users to cause Wind to cease, dissipate, be destroyed, or be absorbed in the form of energy. Users with this level of magic can even heal their own wounds by consuming the Wind's energy for their own.
II. Levitation: As some children display their early Air-magic by playing with wind itself, others will display it by levitating inches off the ground without noticing, or being in control of it. As young Levitators focus and school their magic, they can levitate to heights of at least ten feet, and have been known to use this skill secretly in schoolyard sports. Truly talented Levitators are able to stay afloat at any height, though their movement is more restricted at higher altitudes.
Those who hone the skill of Levitation are sure to break into the magic of Flight. This is NOT to be confused with the ability that races like Avians have to fly, which they do naturally thanks to their bone structure and possession of wings. The magic of flight is based heavily on the user's energy, and can be dangerous for the inexperienced. Still, when honed, it can be an incredibly useful - and popular - skill.
Beyond Flight is the far rarer, and more difficult magic of Gravis Manipulus, or the manipulation of Setsuwa's gravity. This skill allows for the user to ignore gravity's laws with far less concerted effort and strength as Flight or Levitation, but can also damage the bones and blood if one isn't careful. At high levels, this magic can be applied to items, other people, and whole areas. The most notable use of this skill is in charming Airships to float through the clouds as if they were seawater.
III. Mach Altus: Mach Altus, also known as Speed Enhancement, is a powerful (and often overlooked) magic that allows for users to move at incredible speeds. Dependent on the user's own power, this can be as little as double, or as much as 106x faster than their normal speed. However, this magic is known to eat up energy quite swiftly - especially in weaker users - so those who perform this magic typically require a vast energy source, whether it be food or otherwise.
IV. Prestidigitation: This skill is extremely common in young Kinaroe, even those who show leanings towards other classes of magic. This magic is, quite simply, the creation of illusions. These range from the weak, untrained levels of small items like coins and handkerchiefs; to massive, full-scale, energy-consuming levels of a deeply real conjuring. Those who have this skill tend to find work as entertainers and artists, though some use their powers for more nefarious deeds, and become con-artists.
V. Telekinesis: This magic allows a user to move items (and sometimes people) using only the power of their mind, and their energy. This magic is one of the most popular and applicable to real world situations. Many use this power to move heavy materials, organize things more quickly, do household chores, and even write or paint without needing the user's physical body. Non-magic users are particularly offended by this branch of magic, as it can often leave them out of more hard-working jobs that pay more notable sums of money.
VI. Intangibility: This magic allows for the user to turn parts of their body (or at higher levels, their entire body) into an intangible mass that can pass through solid items. Although quite interesting, and certainly useful, this magic is also incredibly dangerous. Different materials require different, specific levels of energy to pass through, and the longer one must stay intangible, the greater the risk of not being able to maintain the spell. There have been many a tale of The Intangible attempting to cross through thick walls, or mountains and getting stuck and killed before coming out the other side. It is most definitely a magic that requires caution, skill, and study.
Those who hone their skills in Intangibility have occasionally been known to develop the skill of Invisibility. This skill allows for them to make their physical form (and, at higher levels, things that they touch) invisible for periods of time. This skill is coveted by Spies, and governments watch for youths who display these skills in school for recruitment.
VII. Divination: This magic allows for a user to locate people, and things. This magic is not to be confused by the ability to read the past, present, or future. In the early use of this skill, the user will require a custom set of items - some use rocks, others dice, it can be anything that is connected to the user only - which they can channel their powers through. As their powers grow, they can use other items to find things associated with them, and eventually divine information without any sources or channels.
Some Diviners may choose to focus themselves on another subclass within Divination: Empathy. This magic can allow the user real insight into the people and places around it. By touching and communicating with an object, many Empaths can understand the last thing to happen to that object, or who had it last. Empaths are also delicately in touch with the emotions of the people around them, and can use that emotion to empower and change themselves.
Beyond even Empathy, comes the final branch of Divination: Felan Manipulus. This magic is very rare, and can be extremely powerful and dangerous. Felan Manipulus is a magic that can manipulate the feelings of other people. At first, this magic will only allow for small manipulations, but as the user becomes more powerful and more well-versed in Felan Manipulus, they will be able to not only alter emotions, but create them from a void. The strongest magic-users of this branch can even manipulate the memories of other people, changing, creating, and erasing them depending on their own strength.
VIII. The Breath: This brand of magic is quite rare, and can be incredibly difficult to master. The Breath is a power that can create breathable air in any space. Weaker magicians will find themselves creating small pockets of air, while Masters of this sub-class will have the ability to cover entire cities - with these spaces of breathable air. This magic has historically been used to save victims of fire, and allow for further exploration into Setsuwa's oceans, and outer space.
This power does have a dark side, however. It is not common, but some magicians turn The Breath into a weapon. In recent years Magical Historians have called this "Strangalé". The power works to erase breathable air in pockets of space, as opposed to create it. This has been used for murder, and in one instance, to wipe out an entire city's people. Not many have the power or energy required to even remove air from one minute pocket of space, but those with the natural, prodigal prowess may have the ability to do that - and more.
IX. Immortality: The rarest of all Air magic, Immortality is a magic that allows the user to be immune to death. This magic so rarely occurs, that would could not even say it appears once in every generation. When it does, however, the Magic-user gifted with it is most often very powerful, and has the ability to learn most of the other subclasses of Air. In the few instances that it has appeared, there have been three different levels of immortality shown:
I) Agelessness: Those with this magic do age, to a point. As the user reaches their peak magical power, they will suddenly stop aging - forever. For most gifted with Agelessness, this is in their early middle ages. These people do not die of natural causes, but can be killed in other ways. Those who learn to control this aspect of their being can alter their age at will, allowing them to be young forever. This ability is often romanticized in fiction novels.
II) Invulnerability: Those blessed with Invulnerability - dependent on how advanced their magic is - cannot become sick, cannot be harmed by physical forces, and oftentimes cannot be harmed by magical forces. These people can only die of old age, and will remain strong until their final day.
III) Immortality: This is the rarest of levels, only one known resident to walk Setsuwa had this magic. Many believe that the one who had it, perhaps didn't at all. Others suggest that she was blessed with other Immortal magics, and dedicated her life to discovering how to unlock her Immortal potential. Those with this power do not age, they cannot be harmed by physical or magical forces, do not become sick -- in fact, the only way for them to die, is to choose that fate for themselves. Many theorists believe that if the wrong person had this magic, the world would be at Their mercy, and the End of Days would begin.
Earth Those gifted with this brand of magic - or those attempting to learn it - will first focus on the basics of Earth-based magic (That is, Florir and Natura Communicare), but those who are more talented or advanced, will be able to explore it's many other properties. Earth is heavily associated with Stability, Fertility, and Generosity.
Students who are able to master this class can find themselves with power over as many as two or three sub-classes - and truly gifted individuals as many as four. The sub-classes on Earth Magic, from Easiest to Hardest are as follows.
I. Florir: This power is the basis of Earth magic, and is often the first sign that a child holds Earth leanings. Florir is a magic that can cause plants to grow. This magic ranges in power and effect, with users being able to control flowers, trees, food-bearing plants, grasses, or weeds. Depending on the amount of time and study devoted to this magic, users could be able to affect a large area as big as a rainforest, while others who leave this magic at it's basic level would only have a minor effect on a single plant-form. This magic is extremely precious to farming villages who make most of their money from produce.
A Florir magician may specify further into Anti-Florir magic. This brand causes plants to stop growing, or to wither. This type of magic has numerous uses, including maintaining house plants, and killing dangerous weeds. Again, the strength of Anti-Florir magic depends on it's user.
Beyond even Anti-Florir magic, comes Neu Florir, or the ability to create plants out of the user's own energy. This is a rare talent, and a very difficult one to cultivate. This magic often only appears in a Florir magician who is under dire stress, and may show itself in one of several ways: Appearing as fruit-bearing trees to a starving magician; appearing as deathly brambles to protect a Florir magician being attacked; or appearing as harmless bushes or tree cover when a Florir magician needs to hide. This type of Florir magic is used in combat as defensive magic by those few who have learned control over it.
II. Natura Communicare: The second most common power in Earth magic is that of Natura Communicare. This power can take many forms. Some users may find themselves able to communicate with animals, and other beasts that roam Setsuwa. This power is more specifically classified as Animus Communicare Others may find themselves more in tune with plant life, from trees to flowers to weeds. This power is known more commonly as Planta Communicare. Although it is possible for a Natura Communicare magician to have both of these powers, it is not very common. Many with this power are environmental activists, being able to ascribe a voice to those around them.
Magicians who work to hone these powers can develop a power akin to mind control. This power is called Natura Concilum. This ability gives them the power to control the thoughts and movements of non-intelligent creatures around them.
III. Deorc Creare: The manipulation of darkness. Those with this power have the ability not to remove light, as some believe, but to create a darkness that hides it away. This darkness is thick, it exists, in contrast to the natural Dark of the world.
This power's classification under 'Earth' has been under heavy debate since it's inception, but scholars remain steadfast. The reason, they argue, is that the great Goddess Fayana (Goddess of Earth) was responsible for the creation of Khades - the Bringer of Dark. Many academics agree that until Darkness magic evolves, it should be a sub-classification.
Those who harness these abilities more steadily may also unlock the powers of Deorc Manipulus. This power allows those who wield it to manipulate and move Darkness around. This magic has proved useful in battle, as a way to obscure one's self, or to distract one's enemy.
Another strain of magic under Deorc Creare is Deorc Gesith, which allows the user to grant other's the ability to see in Darkness. The length of time, and the strength of this vision is determined solely by the magician's own power. This has again proven useful in combat, as well as exploration.
IV. Earthly Viverus: This class contains a variety of Survival magics, that are extremely common in a number of less civilized cultures. Most Magicians from today's civilizations have no natural ability for this class, as the genes that gift them have been replaced through evolution.
The first of the Survival Magics is Poisonous Detegre, or the ability to detect poisons. This skill's effects are different for each magician. Some may receive an "instinct" about the subject, others may have a more visual reaction, and others still will have a physical one. The result is the same: The magician will be able to tell if the subject is poisonous to them. This magic was, once upon a time, bred into future Kings and Queens. The desperation for this power caused mass inbreeding and damaged many Royal genepools.
Next is Divinus Felus, though many Magicians with this power refer to it as Tracking. The power enables a Magician to touch something, and receive a vision telling them what it connects to... And where to find that 'it'. Divinus Felus is an extremely useful skill for hunters, allowing them to find animal tracks, feeds, or even excrement, and locate the beast that left it behind.
The final Survival Magic is Masca Environ, most commonly known as Camouflage Magic. This power allows for the user to change their physical attributes to match with their surroundings. The base level of this magic allows for one to change the colour and pattern of the skin, but as the power grows one can adjust the texture as well. At it's highest level of power, this magic can allow one to become the thing they are copying.
V. Geo Locus: This power was extremely common in the hey-day of the Diamond Dash in Dirys, but has become less common as time has passed. Essentially, it allows the Magician to find the location of geological, or mineral deposits. The type of minerals one can find are extremely dependent on the user, as each individual have different "natural" minerals associated with them. As always, users of this power can learn other types, but it requires much study and work.
Minerale Locus has a large spectrum of sub-skills that are far more popular than itself. The first of these is Geo Creare. As you might suppose, this allows a magician to create a variety of rocks and minerals. Again, this is very much dependent on the user themselves, but many types can be learned. One might suppose that this power could allow for it's user's to create gold and diamonds en masse - but they would be wrong. Almost all users of this magic can create very convincing replicas, but they would not fool a Dwarf. Humans, perhaps. In fact, Geo Creare was the cause of Fool's Gold. The only Geo Creare magician to create an indistinguishable replica was a Dwarf named Bigsby Roc, and many don't believe that happened at all.
One of the most popular Geo Locus sub-skills is that of Geo Destructio. This magic allows for one to erase or destroy large sections of earth and rock. Although most with this skill only hone it to the point of digging small holes, some will work this power to the point where they can erase immense sections acres long. Those who do have that immense power tend to go into the businesses of underground construction. Due to the dangers associated with this power, there is a directory in the Diryn Hall of Records that contains the names of all documented Geo Destructio magicians.
Finally, the last Geo Locus skill is Tectonic Manipulus. Those with this power can move and adjust Setsuwa's tectonic plates with their own energy. This power is extremely rare, and not only that... It also eats up an immense amount of energy to do anything but unbalance an old man.
VI. Fertilius: This power works in a number of ways, dependent on the Magician who uses it. Some may find that this power relates to the earth itself, this is called Natura Fertilius. The power is precious in farmers, as it allows them to make their earth more fertile, and the plants that it bears more fruitful. Some may have a different brand of this power entirely, called Huma Fertilius. This magic is very precious, and has become much rarer over time. This power allows for one to bestow fertility on others, allowing them to have many children, or making one who is infertile, able to create children. The Huma Fertilius brand of this power only appears once every few centuries. Those who are gifted with it are lauded as highly as the deities themselves.
Fire Those gifted with this brand of magic - or those attempting to learn it - will be expected to learn of the basics (Calor Mastery and Lux Manipulus), but those who are more talented or advanced, will be able to explore it's many other properties. Fire is heavily associated with Power, Motivation and Sensuality.
Students who are able to master this class can find themselves with power over as many as two or three sub-classes - and truly gifted individuals as many as four. The sub-classes on Fire Magic, from Easiest to Hardest are as follows.
I. Calor Mastery: This is the simplest of all Fire-magics, and defines the control of Heat within a space. Those with a natural talent for Fire magic may discover that when they enter rooms, the temperature will increase, or that they can melt snow with a breath. If one were to practice this magic more diligently, perhaps they could control an immense space, or make more drastic changes in temperature... But not many Fire magicians do. This type of magic is almost always used solely as an indicator of Fire-based talents.
II. Lux Manipulus: Another of the more simple Fire magics, Lux Manipulus allows the user to control Light. This power is often not used for much other than attempting to blind or distract opponents in battle; or occasionally by artists to adjust the lighting on a subject.
If one were to delve farther into Lux Manipulus, they would find themselves able to learn Lux Creare - the most valuable of Light magics. Those who use this magic are very common, but have jobs all over the world as most of the countries in Setsuwa use it to light their cities and homes. It's also a favourite skill of explorers, who find it the easiest way to traverse dark caves.
Requiring more skill that Lux Creare is Lux Arma, the ability to use existing Light as a weapon or energy source. Those with this skill can rejuvenate themselves by consuming Light around them from Fire, or the Sun, whilst others can use this skill to handle Light as a weapon. This can be a very handy skill for those who practice it, and allows users to forgo carrying heavy weaponry on their person.
III. Smoca Manipulus: Not known to be a particularly impressive skill, the Smoca branch of magic is largely under utilized. This type of magic allows for one to control smoke, smog, and sometimes even fog, by their whim. Some big cities (mainly in Artavia, and Dirys) hire skilled Smoca magicians to direct smoke and smog out of the cities to keep breathable air levels in control, but otherwise the main use of Smoca magic is to entertain.
Slightly more useful (and slightly more often used) is Smoca Creare, or the creation of smoke. This magic was used most famously in the ancient Malscure-Liesdro war, where the Malscuri warlord cast smoke across the land to prevent Liesdron warriors from seeing, ending in their massacre. Not many magicians are that powerful on Smoca Creare anymore, but there is an occasional one that is. The larger focus in Smoca Creare is combining it with Potioncraft to deliver airborne vaccinations.
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