Creative Corner

[center][size=5][b]MAGIC IN THE WORLD OF SORNIETH[/b][/size][/center] [b]INTRODUCTION[/b] Hello and welcome to my own personal discourse on the inner workings of magic in Sornieth! Terms are italicized as they are introduced. If you do read over this, I’d love to know what you think. Thanks for taking a look! [indent][i]Lark[/i][/indent] [b]TABLE OF CONTENTS[/b] [List] [*]Introduction and Basics [*]Dragons as Magical Creatures [*]The Seats of Power [*]Casting Magic [*]Other [/list] [b]THE BASICS[/b] The magic the world of Sornieth can be likened to radiation. In fact, a more accurate term for what dragons call magic is [i]arcane radiation[/i]. In this discourse, arcane radiation, magic, and energy will be used more or less interchangeably. The source of Sornieth’s unusually high levels of arcane radiation is the explosion of the magical reactor preceding the end of the Second age. It rapidly generated more energy than had ever before been present. However, after this catastrophic event, arcane radiation settled into the land and the organisms within it to form a closed system. It can be transferred from one source to another, but cannot created or destroyed. Like real-world radiation, magic is capable of damaging DNA and causing mutations as a result. Unlike real-world radiation, it can also repair damage in ways that allow even more complex mutations (like extra eyes in mirror dragons) to be functional and viable. This is also why water dragons are almost always born with gill structures no matter their breed. However, exposure to extreme levels of arcane radiation can cause rapid, uncontrollable mutations often resulting in death. Dragons, a lineage that emerged almost directly following the explosion, are highly adapted to the elevated levels of radiation in their planet. However, unlike most Sornieth organisms, they can also store and redirect magic. Once “used,” their magic dissipates, usually into the landscape. The magic is replaced through contact with the environment and the digestion of their food (all of which contains magic in at least some capacity). Terms for dragons that choose to actively pursue the study of casting magic vary. For the purposes of simplicity, [i]magus[/i] (singular) and [i]magi[/i] (plural) will be used here. [center][item=sacridite][item=manaweed][item=glowing pocket bauble][/center]

[center][size=5][b]DRAGONS AS MAGICAL CREATURES[/b][/size][/center] [b]MAGICAL POTENTIAL[/b] Different dragons are born with the potential to handle differing amounts of magic. Some dragons are born with massive internal reservoirs, while others are born with very small ones. Some are born without enough magic to allow usage of it. However, it is much more common simply to never learn how to access magic rather than not being physically capable of it. This “preset” amount of magic is dependent on several factors. [list] [*][b]Size:[/b] A dragon’s physical size does lend some idea to how much magic it can handle. However, this is not the best indicator. [*][b]Genetics:[/b] Strong magical capacity tends to run in families due to the effect that magic has on DNA. [*][b]Mother:[/b] Mothers will naturally but unintentionally instill small amounts of their own magic in their offspring while in the embryonic stage. [*][b]Nesting Environment:[/b] Dragons born close to strong sources of arcane radiation (arcane dragons especially) tend to absorb much more while in the egg than those incubated in other territories. Environment is also solely responsible for birth element. [/list] While all dragons have this distinct preset, it is far from a be-all and end-all. Magi can stretch their natural limits through practice. Practicing magic is essential for casting larger magic, as it serves to acclimate the body to larger amounts of the potentially damaging arcane radiation. Conversely, even powerful magi can lose some of their storage capacity through irresponsible use of magic. If too much is handled suddenly, it can cause uncontrolled mutation, external burns, and even permanent, internal scarring. These scars are far less flexible than natural tissue and cannot hold or transfer magic as effectively. [i]Meditation[/i] is a term used to describe the process of a dragon actively absorbing magic from their environment. Once internalized within the body, this magic is referred to as [i]mana[/i]. [b]ELEMENTS[/b] [i]Elements[/i], while strongly associated with the basic forces of nature, have their true origins as manifestations of specific traits and emotions within a dragon. These so-called elements act as “flavoring” for magic, condensing it from the wild, external form into a more filtered form the dragon can redirect. High populations of dragons in a certain place add the particular “flavor” to the landscape. Over the centuries, their environments have become saturated with certain types of elements. While the elements were originally responsible for modifying the landscape, it is now the landscape that guarantees the element of a dragon upon their birth. [center][item=meditate][item=runed tuft of fur][item=aid][/center]

[center][size=5][b]SEATS OF POWER[/b][/size][/center] [b]BRIEF OVERVIEW[/b] Dragons contain eleven [i]seats of power[/i] within their bodies, each of which is identified with a particular element. In their natural state, seats of power are only visible to some arcane-born mirror dragons who have their infrared vision mutated to detect energy fields. However, they can glow visibly when especially powerful spells are cast. The dragon’s birth element is essentially a dictation of which seat of power they use most effectively. While each dragon exhibits all eleven seats of power, they can only truly cast magic from one of them. Dual-element dragons have been born, but they do not normally survive long due to the abnormally high levels of internal radiation. [b]THE INDIVIDUAL SEATS[/b] Seat - Trait(s) - Location: Reasoning [list] [*][b]Light[/b] - [i]Honesty, Purity[/i] - Tail: will always betray emotion, disallows deception [*][b]Earth[/b] - [i]Groundedness, Memory[/i] - Hind Feet: anchor to the earth, memory in movement [*][b]Nature[/b] - [i]Survival, Compassion[/i] - Lower Belly: full belly means survival, feeding as a sign of care [*][b]Water[/b] - [i]Belief, Foresight[/i] - Lower Lungs: associated with gut feeling, location of gills [*][b]Wind[/b] - [i]Curiosity, Independence[/i] - Wings: equate freedom, the possibility of exploration [*][b]Lightning[/b] - [i]Hard work, Determination[/i] - Hands: source of production [*][b]Arcane[/b] - [i]Flexibility, Confidence[/i] - "Magic Core": centered on the body [*][b]Plague[/b] - [i]Strength, Resilience[/i] - Upper Chest: houses heart and lungs, source of strength and survival [*][b]Fire[/b] - [i]Passion, Voice[/i] - Throat: facilitates expression of beliefs [*][b]Ice[/b] - [i]Logic, Resourcefulness[/i] - Crown of the Skull: houses brain, drives logic and wit [*][b]Shadow[/b] - [i]Creativity, Deception[/i] - Mouth: source of deception and creative expression [/list] [b]TYPES OF SEATS[/b] Studies performed by the aforementioned arcane mirror dragons have over time revealed the overall structure that certain seats of power tend to take on. These are divided into four basic categories with one additional, anomalous one. [i]Sphere[/i] or [i]orb seats[/i] are fairly regular in shape, normally appearing as an orb. While the surface texture may feather or blur slightly, the overall shape is consistently maintained. Sphere seats include Nature, Water, Plague, and Ice. [i]Bleeding seats[/i], while holding an orb-like appearance, tend to “bleed” tails leading away from their location. Their appearance has been compared to that of a comet. The light and fire seats belong to this category: the light seat is located at the base of the tail, but trails down toward the middle; the fire seat is centered in the throat, but will “bleed” down the neck and toward the chest. The arcane and shadow seats are examples of [i]branching seats[/i]. These hold an irregular appearance that tends to form “spikes” or tendrils. For shadow dragons, the seat is located around the muzzle, but forms branching tendrils into the teeth and tongue. The overall shape is more like a “u.” The arcane seat is an almost oval shape, but has very visible tendrils emerging from it that tend reach out in the direction of other seats of power. [i]Split seats[/i] are connected across more than one limb. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as they aren’t necessarily split so much as shared. The wind seat shares the wings, earth the feet, and lightning the hands. Occasionally, a dragon may be born with a seat located in only one of these limbs as opposed to the normal, conjoined position. In these special cases, they are termed [i]halved seats[/i], though a more accurate term would be unsplit seat. Dragons with a halved seat will often favor the limb containing the seat of power, a highly unusual behavior due to the fact that almost all dragons are born ambidextrous. This kind of favoring can be problematic for magic users, as it causes imbalance in their casting. Most wind dragons with a halved seat are not able to fly properly because they will favor one wing. In most simple diagrams, all seats aside from the split ones are represented using simple circles. However, there are a few notable high-level diagrams that reflect more accurate shapes and even one that documents a dragon with two halved seats. [center][item=discipline][item=haunted stone orb][item=scholar][/center]

[center][size=5][b]CASTING MAGIC[/b][/size][/center] [b]A BRIEF OVERVIEW[/b] [i]Casting[/i] is the general term used to describe the process of magic being moved from inside the dragon to outside of it. There are two types of casters: [i]spellcasters[/i] and [i]‘mancers[/i]. The latter is often preceded by a prefix that designates the area of specialty. However, despite attempts to completely separate these categories, they are not mutually exclusive. A dragon is not limited to one or the other. In fact, most magi are a mix of both. [i]Channeling[/i] is the most common way to cast, and is normally learned first because of the relative ease of mastery. This process consists merely of moving arcane energy from the dragon’s strongest seat of power away from and outside of the body. It is used by both spellcasters and 'mancers. The difference between spellcasters and ‘mancers lies on how they build on this. [b]‘MANCY[/b] Unlike spellcasting, ‘mancing uses gestures and motion to control and direct magic once it leaves the body. These motions either involve or are close to the strongest seat of power. While most spellcasters stay with channeling, usually into runes, ‘mancers have two more advanced methods of casting. [i]Anchor lining[/i] allows the 'mancer to use a different part of the body for direction of their magical energy. True power still resides within the anchor point, or strongest seat of power. This is accomplished by the user tracing through the blood vessel-oriented leylines from the seat of power to another part of the body. For example, an earth dragon may use the hands to direct a spell, but the main source of the casting is from the feet. Pearlcatchers are the most notable users of this casting method, favoring an anchor line that ends in the horn. [i]Pathforming[/i] is the most difficult form of casting, and is almost exclusively used by the most powerful of magi. It requires high levels of connection between the seats of power that allow the caster to access one of their weaker seats. However, the magic that is cast will always reflect their strongest seat’s element. Additionally, the path must always have a seat at the beginning and end, and connect every seat between the two. The skill of pathforming takes years to develop and perfect, starting small and working the way up to longer ones. In general, the longer the path, the more magic can join into it and the more powerful the result can be. However, if it is not performed properly, magic can escape from the pathway. This results in rapidly mutation of the surrounding tissue from the high amounts of uncontained radiation. Opening long pathways without training can release so much energy it may tear cells apart on the molecular level. [b]SPELLS[/b] [i]Spells[/i] are focused on governing the behavior of magic once it leaves the body. While most dragons can learn to cast magic, using spells requires specialized study of either the runic alphabet or arcane language. This area of study has become much more common in recent centuries. Spells are divided into two main categories: written spells ([i]runic inscriptions[/i]) and vocal spells ([i]incantations[/i]). [indent][b]Runic Inscriptions[/b] The runic alphabet mimics the lines that arcane radiation follows on a molecular level. When magic saturates a substance, it tends to gather in specific ways depending on the material. In stones, it tends to follow fissures. In wood, it travels along the “grain.” These gatherings of magic are termed [i]leylines[/i]. In dragons, the strongest leylines flow along the seats of power, though smaller concentrations of magic can branch out along blood vessels. By copying these natural patterns with carved or drawn runes, an [i]inscriptor[/i] can pool magic in that substance by drawing it from the material. In part, this allows for a temporary “storage space” for magic outside the body. The addition of secondary runes serve to define the spell’s purpose. Simple spells may only require two or three runes. More complex spells require many runes joined in interlocking patterns and rings, which are capable of holding much greater amounts of energy. These larger spells are often referred to as [i]runic circles[/i]. When performing written spells, the material is also important. The inscriptor must know the leylines of that particular substance as well as the limits of its power. Paper and parchment can hold very little magic before burning up. Gemstones and iron can pool much more. Etching runes directly into bedrock can summon immense amounts of arcane radiation, enough to drain several kilometers worth of land of its magic. Because of the knowledge involved, spells require a great deal more study than simple casting. At best, an incorrectly drawn rune circle will fail to gather energy. At worst, the spell will backfire onto the magus upon activation and burn them up. The sheer amount of study involved is one of the reasons that the best inscriptors are often quite old. [b]Incantations[/b] [i]Incantors[/i] are a smaller subset of the spellcasting population than inscriptors. This is mostly because incantations require much more training than written spells because pronunciation has to be incredibly precise in order to accurately contain and cast a spell. Vocal spells use a mix of varying pitches and volume to trace the natural leylines with sonic waves. Incantations can often be cast much quicker than written spells. The amount of magic held in the spell can also be rapidly broadened and narrowed through changes in the vocal qualities. However, incantations cannot be used to store additional magic the way that written runes can. The tempo, pitch, and volume of incantations largely depend on the material they are designed to travel through. Water dragon incantations are said to resemble whale song. Earth dragon incantations tend to sound like booming roars. Incantations that move through air often sound like a mix of quick chirps and high whines to an unlearned listener. Coatls, because their natural speech is already close to the arcane language, find incantation much easier than most other dragon breeds. Coatls also rely on vibration for their hearing, making them far more attuned to the frequency patterns that these spells rely on. Their populations hold a notably high proportion of incantors.[/indent] [center][item=rune slash][item=weathered grimoire][item=enfeeble][/center]

[center][size=5][b]OTHER[/b][/size][/center] [b]ALCHEMY[/b] [i]Alchemy[/i] is one of the oldest forms of magic-using, stretching back to the time when dragons first became aware of their power but did not yet know how to cast properly. It consists mainly of two steps: reducing objects to their individual elements and arcane magic and then recombining the results into entirely new products. Objects are reduced using a mix of heat and alchemical symbols. Alchemical symbols, unlike runes, cannot capture and hold magic. Instead, they serve as basic directions for the process. There is only one true limitation on what sorts of materials can be transmuted. While even dead bodies can be reduced, living tissue contains far too much active arcane radiation and attempting to do so can result in dangerous explosions. The result of reduction is a rather unappealing slime that is quite corrosive to anything softer than metal. This is one of the reasons why most reductions are done in heavy iron cauldrons. While these slimes don’t do much on their own, a number of them can be combined to form new objects. [center][item=blue goo][item=reinforced glass beaker][item=infused fragment][/center]