Magic in Theyla

Magic

Background

Men and women of Adregon and the rest of Theyla have been practicing and studying magic for millenia. In ancient times this resulted in a lot of turmoil and chaos on Theyla. Magic empowered as much as it corrupted ones being. There were never any guidelines for the utilization of magic, and mankind's curiosity was always vast and unending. It wasn't until an old order known in old tales and legends as the "Philosophers" congregated and devised a code that many mages would learn to follow; and many others would ignore. The code was inscribed in an enchanted stone called the "Magorium Codex", and preserved in an old ruin used as the ancient order's base-of-operations. These knowledgeable and powerful wizards created the foundation for mages who chose not to abuse magic, and for some it has lingered to the present-day. The journey to the Magorium Codex is looked at as a pilgrimage for many mages.

Mystborne

In ancient times, when mages roamed freely, and some even ruled over men, they did not have to learn of the schools of magic, in order to craft and cast spells. The mages of old were born with their magical gift, and were feared as the "Mystborne", thought as being spawns of magic instead of spawns of man; or as divine creations. To many the Mystborne were their own species, and because of that, many were feared by those who did not posses magic. As time continued, the Mystborne began to decline. In the present-day, being born with such a gift is unheard of; believed to have died out thousands of years ago. Only until recently, was the rise of a Mystborne prophesied by seers of varying Druidic Circles. Who the last of the Mystborne is, remains a mystery...

Schools of Magic

Magic has long been divided into different schools. These schools are what present-day mages hope to unravel and utilize in the world around them. Most mages never get to mastering all the schools of magic. It is most common to master two schools of magic in a single lifetime, but there have been an exceptional few who have achieved more in their lifetime.

Illusion: Illusionary magic involves making what normally exists in essence or in the mind, into something that can exist in the physical world. These illusions distort the use of mankind's five senses, and manipulate them to confuse, distract, manipulate or even kill their target(s). The more experienced the spellcaster, the more powerful, and real his/her illusions will become.

Alteration: Alteration magic involves altering or enhancing ones own physical state. It can also be used to alter someone or something else's physical state, or the environments around the caster. These alterations become real for a certain period of time, and the more experienced the spellcaster the more effective these alterations become for the user, and/or whatever is used for all intents or purposes of the caster.

Enchanting: Enchanting involves manipulating something else using one's own magical properties. This can involve charming others, or perhaps adding magical power to a physical object. The more experienced the spellcaster is with this type of spellcasting, the more powerful, and influential the enchantments can become.

Black Magic: Black Magic involves using magic for one's selfish and/or evil intentions. The magic used by black mages is powerful magic coming from the user's own dark emotions. These evil spells normally involve intermingling with Demonic entities, learning how to use curses effectively, and using magic at an excessive and often uncontrollable quantity. These Spells are normally fueled by hatred, and cruelty. There is a cost for such power however, and that cost is ones own purity. Their physical appearance starts decaying early, and their physical bodies began to die out the more times the spellcaster uses black magic. Also, it deforms someones mental state, often leading to hatred to an entire world, people, etc... Which really blinds someones perception of things. Black Magic is forbidden in every kingdom on Theyla. The use of Black Magic corrupts, and changes the appearance of the caster.

Destruction: Destruction magic was founded by the battlemages of times past. It involves manipulating the world's natural elements of fire, earth, water and/or wind, or releasing magic in unstable amounts causing quite a powerful offense - and not so much a defense. Your average mage often has some Desutruction spells at his/her disposal, however, a more benevolent mage often neglects to use it, since it was originally used to damage or destroy in times of war.

Shapshifting: Shapeshifting is a form of magic that differs from Alteration in a particular way. Instead of altering somethings physical state, it completely changes it, but, it's limited to only changing into other things. Many of the most ancient of wizards used this kind of sorcery in order to conceal powerful magical objects, etc... By changing their shape into something plain and simple in order to protect it from falling in the wrong hands. Some mages use Shapeshifting for their own mischievous, if not conniving reasons.

Conjuration: Conjuration is a form of magic which allows others to literally bring forth creatures from an otherworldly realm or those of Theyla through a gateway of the summoner's magical power. The more experienced of a mage (the more older a character is) the better one's summonings will become, and the smarter their summonings will be. A mage cannot summon other people however, unless it is through some particular ritual.

Protectum: Protectum Magic is the oldest known magic of Theyla, and rarest to find a spellcaster use, for its ancient usage was never recorded in any official scrolls/documents. Protectum magic is looked upon very highly by most mages, and is incorporated into the power of the Divine. Many of the feats. Gods have done were very similar to how ancient and powerful wizards used Protectum magic. It involves creating powerful defenses through the use of magic. Also, it extends as far as healing others, and bringing the grievous dead back to life, giving them a second chance. The most powerful spells in the Protectum category, were ancient, and powerful sealing techniques perhaps only mentioned in folklore.

Magical Power Scale

Magic is divided into four different levels of effectiveness and power: Apprentice (lowest), Journeyman, Expert and finally Master (highest). It is generally understood that the older a mage becomes throughout his/her practice & study of magic the more effective and powerful they will become. However, this isn't an entirely untrue. Though it often takes years to master spellcasting of any school, it isn't impossible to do before one becomes elderly in age. A spell of a higher rank will generally overpower or counteract a spell of a relatively lower rank.

* In the forum, members may have higher-level spells at their disposal depending on their rank within the faction they're a part of, their character's age, or perhaps one's role within the forum. Otherwise, it is expected of all members to earn the proper amount of points before having more powerful spells at their disposal.

Apprentice: The Apprentice-level spells are the ones typically taught to students of magic. They are often basic, and their incantations are relatively simple to more advanced spells. The incantations for Apprentice level spells comprise of a single word. All the mages that roam Adregon have Apprentice-level spells at their disposal, and many of these spells are practical. Apprentice-level spells are considered 25% of a mages true potential.

Journeyman: The Journeyman-level spells are the ones commonly utilized by a practiced mage. The incantations for Journeyman-level spells comprise of three words. Journeyman-level spells are considered 50% of a mages true potential.

Expert: The Expert-level spells are the ones commonly utilized by instructors, and Expert-level ends up being the highest-degree of magic learned by many. The incantations for Expert-level spells comprise of five words. Expert-level spells are considered 75% of a mages true potential.

Master: The Master-level spells are the most uncommon level of spells used by mages of the day. It was common practice in ancient times for a mage to one day master the magics, but as time passed such a task became ever-more trivial and endangering to the caster. Few mages of late have achieved this level of mastery in their lifetime. The incantations for Master-level spells comprise of 9-12 words depending on the spell cast. Master-level spells are considered 100% of a mages true potential; the point at which a mage has attained the power of the wizards of old.