Magic Theory
From Illapedia
This is Djironnyma's Anthology of Magic.
Contents |
[edit] 1 Preamble
What is magic?
This question has been bothering the mortals since the beginning of time. There are millions of opinions, starting with fanatic, religious misbelief, coming up to occult, nearly insane theories about it's answer. In the end, one might say, everything comes down to something in between all that theories.
Even I myself can't really say, that I know the final answer to this question. I can only tell, what I have seen and to what conclusions I've come to, during my life, the experiments I've been doing and the time I've been studying the most common theories. It's all up to the reader, to form his own opinion about all this. What does my answer look like? Magic can be explained with a simple equation, though, the explanation of the different parts of that equation are much more complex.
Magic is the manipulation of arcane structures, using mana energy.
That means, we now have to tell, what arcane structures and mana energy are. That's much the way it always goes with Thaumatology: You answer one questions and two new ones accure.
[edit] 2 Arcane structures
Arcane structures are often named as magical framework. Normally, they aren't perceptible to us. Some rituals, artefacts and mutations, though, make it possible, to sense, feel or see them. In such cases, they accrue to be complex nets, consisting of intertwined, regularly bluely glooming widths or twines.
Everything, no matter if creature or object, that consist of one or more of the five elements, possesses an own, specific and individual arcane structure. Arcane structures of objects that are similar to each other, might sometimes have typical or significant characteristics, from which you can read into the consistency and properties of the object, but, as good as never, have exactly the same arcane structure, even if both of the objects seem to be exactly the same to our regular senses. The only exception to that are the runes, about which we will take later on, in a later chapter.
There is an intimate and direct correlation between the arcane structure and the five elements. If you influence the arcane structure, you automatically will also cause effect to the material and/or spiritual form of the target. Vice versa, the arcane structure will always be effected, if you change something about the elements a target is consisting of. Thereby it's clear to see, what magical effects are: the change of the arcane structure. If we summon a fireball, we do it by forming the arcane structure of a fireball, using the arcane structure of the air or the surroundings near us to create it in the material world.
[edit] 3 Mana energy
What the common dolt will link with a manapotion or think of as the stamina of a mage, is much more than that. Mana energy is, on one side, stored in the webs of arcane structures, while, on the other side, it can be found in very low amounts in the free spaces in between those webs.
Whenever you plan to change the elements, you will need that specific form of energy. The most obvious case is the power of muscles. Lifting up a stone costs effort, energy. If we want to cause magical effects, meaning, if we want to change the arcane structure, we will also have to relay on that energy. We call it mana energy or – simply put – mana.
A mage, that causes a magical effect, uses the mana of his own arcane structure, changing his target with it. To tell the meaning of this more exactly: The mana energy is fired out (most times in an arcuate line) of the arcane structure of the mage, hitting the arcane structure of the target. Cause of the sudden intrusion of mana energy into the target structure, that structure changes it's form, depending on the way the mana came out of the mage or was hitting the target, in a specific way.
During this process, the mana energy isn't exactly lost. I's just being injected into the target structure. Everyone, that has ever been the target of a spell knows about that tingling feeling all over the body. It's a sign for one's own arcane structure, saving more mana energy than it normally does.
That mana isn't staying in the arcane structure of the target, but splitting up to the surroundings of it pretty quickly, regaining the regular amount of mana the target's arcane structure normally contains. The arcane structure of the mage that was using the spell, on the other side, will draw the mana energy back from it's surroundings to regain it's regular amount of mana. Note, though, that the process of regaining mana will need a lot more time to happen than the process of losing the mana, the target's structure is containing too much.
How much mana energy an arcane structure can carry, is depending on many factors. Size and shape are two of the most important ones. Note, that an extremely thin and entwined convolution of an arcane structure can let it seem quite different to what it really is like, to us. Therefor, it can be quite hard to tell how much mana a specific arcane structure is able to hold.
As indicated before, mana energy is never lost, nor can it be produced. I don't know of any exceptions to that either. Reports or legends about mana being created or destroyed are most likely misconstructions or simply fables.
[edit] 4 Particular arcane structures
Some arcane structures of course, differ from the standard, which makes them worth giving an extra look to them. Those are mana sources, mana streams, areas of dead magic and runes. About the last case, I will talk later on in the next chapter. The first three, I will give a small explanation about, now.
[edit] 4.1 Sources of mana
In general, sources of mana are misleading words. As mentioned before, mana energy can't be created. So named sources of mana always have two significant characteristics, about what their arcane structure is made of. A center and collecting streams. The center is, most of the times, a spheric, extremely compressed arcane structure that can safe an unbelievably high amount of mana energy, giving that energy away to the surrounding areas when it's filled. The collecting streams are twines that can reach up to several miles in length. They spread out from the center in all directions, collecting the mana energy of their surroundings, delivering it back to the center. In their immediate surrounding area, a mage can use a higher amount of mana energy, which eases especially the use of ritual magic.
Sources of mana have, depending on each source, very different shapes and sizes: Rocks, gemstones, trees, pools or other small bodies of water are the most common form of such sources. When a plant or a small body of water is a source of mana, drinking it's water or eating the it's fruit can make you regain mana very quickly. It's similar to a manapotion.
Because of the power they give to mages and the rarity they accure with, they are often objects, that are heavily fought for. The fact, that magical or unnatural creatures are instinctively attracted by them, has caused many of the sources, being guarded by tons of creatures, that are existing in Illarion, to be forgotten about. The biggest and mightiest source of mana can be found, how could it be different, in Lor-Angur. It's only thanks to that source, that all those strong protective charms that guard the town can be kept working.
[edit] 4.2 Mana streams
As mentioned before, everything that exists holds it's own arcane structure, consisting of many small, entwined lines. The level we are living on, Illarion, also has it's own arcane structure, that makes it exist. The single lines of that arcane structure are so huge, that we are talking about them as mana streams.
Mana streams make it possible for mages, to drag mana energy out of them, especially for ritual magic. Similar to sources of mana, though not as much. They also have a great advantage to mana sources: You can cast ritual spells along them, which can widen the range of a ritual extremely. Flows of mana energy that a mage produces during a ritual, are gliding along those huge mana streams and can reach up to ten times the range they would normally work with. That should explain, why points where two or more mana streams cross are being loved that much as locations for rituals or places where magetowers are build.
[edit] 4.3 Areas of dead magic
Caused by magical accidents, such as unsuccessful rituals, the arcane structures of some places have been demolished so heavily, that most of the mana energy they were carrying was given out to arcane structures and areas outside the surrounding spots. In areas of dead magic, it's absolutely impossible to use magic. Every being or object, that stays in such an area, will continuealy lose mana energy, which, in most cases, will end in their death or destruction. Luckily, those areas of dead magic accure very rarely. If you find one, though, you should leave it as quick as possible.
[edit] 5 Rune magic
Rune magic contains all magic, that is made by combining single runes. Most of the time, we just call such magic that is made with rune magic rune spells or just spells. The mage concentrates on the runes he wants to use and loudly speaks them out in the Ancient Language to use such a spell.
Runes are characteristic arcane structures, that have been woven into the arcane structure of their possesor, giving him the possibility to quickly use magic, via guiding safed mana energy into specific forms and flows. Runes are the only accurances, that always have the same arcane structure. Meaning, RA for example, has the same arcane structure, no matter which mage contains it.
We know of 28 different runes, each having a certain meaning, a translation from Ancient. The combination of runes creates a line of words, that has a meaning that is similar to it's arcane effect. That way, it is possible to guess the effect of a spell you hear, that you haven't known of, or seen before.
[edit] 5.1 Rune meaning
- See Runes
