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On magic and demons

    • 203 posts
    September 21, 2016 3:31 AM EDT

    Well, after I read through Wuyi's fantastic magic system, and having participated in and read the following discussion, I thought I might as well throw my personal magic system in the ring, and see how it holds up to your scrutinty.

    As a bit of background, I created this for my original work (for those that read my writer's interview that should ring a bell), and have tinkered with it for years. It has seen quite a bit of changes already but as I have sacked the project of a book for now, I might as well work on my lore a bit, so here goes.

    Astronomy:

    Before we get to the proper magic, let's talk astronomy. The world where my book would take place in is called Dwearwyr, or the serpent's prize. Dwearwyr is a planet with a small moon. It orbits around a gas giant; Miriat (technically making Dwearwyr a moon itself), which in turn orbits a single sun; Siris. Far beyond the gas giant is a dense asteroid ring, these asteroids react to the sunlight like our moon does and show up in the night skies of Dwearwyr as one big silver aureola, they call this the Ourobouros. Beyond this ring are six other planets, from Dwearwyr these all seem to have similar sizes and are broadly only recogniseable by their colour scheme and composition. These are the planets of Cendrar, Misara, Iris, Ura, Borea and Thundar. Keep all these names in mind, they'll come back later.

    How does one become a mage?

    Ok, so now let's get to the bloody magic. In Dwearwyr there are three kinds of magic; Elemental, Prophetic and Ritualistic. I'll get to their proper functioning later, first let's discuss how one gets magic powers. In the first case, one gets born into it; Elemental mages are all born as mages. Prophetic mages are a bit more difficult to judge, as there have been only two documented cases, in one case the mage claims to be born as such, the other claims to be possessed by a near demon-like entity. Without further cases it is difficult to see which one was right. The last type of magic is a bit more difficult to acquire, again one can only be born with these powers, however they only rarely occur naturally, as the name suggest the births of these mages are prompted by rituals of all forms and shapes. Most often these require human sacrifice or the essence of certain magical creatures, making it both a very dangerous task and something that is generally despised by the different people and cultures of Dwearwyr.

    What types of magic are there?

    Elemental mages are capable of extreme feats of control but are limited by the element they wield; these are represented by the objects most often manipulated. They are born amongst the population of the different sentient species of Dwearwyr, the rarity of the trait however depends on the species; Alflaengs are all born as mages whereas humans only rarely see the trait appear, oddly enough humans are the only species where the trait can be inherited from one's parents.
    • Mages of Cendrar are capable of irradiating and increasing the amount of thermal energy within objects, they are represented by fire.
    • Mages of Misara are capable of manipulating liquids, such as water and are therefore quite often represented by it.
    • Mages of Iris are capable of manipulating solids, most often they extend this mastery to mineral entities, which is why they are represented by the earth.
    • Mages of Ura are capable of manipulating gazes, again they are represented by the most natural manifestation of this; air, wind and storms.
    • Mages of Thundar are capable of manipulating flows of electric energy and plasma to an extent (not that the people in Dwearwyr know what plasma is), they are represented by lightning.
    • Mages of Borea are capable of absorbing and reducing the amount of thermal energy within objects, effectively freezing them, they are of course represented by ice.

    Prophetic mages exist in only two forms and are considered near divine, they have powers similar to that of the elemental mages but are generally more powerful, of course this power comes at a price, which is why all prophetic mages come into this world in an awoken stage (more on that later). So far there have only been two cases and it is believed there can only be two, one of each form, this is further cemented by their near immortality.
    • The prophet of Siris is capable of creating all elements as he or she wishes (therefore calling it into existence). This extends to all forms of energy.
    • The prophet of Miriat is capable of erasing any form of matter from existence. Furthermore, they are capable of absorbing and suppressing all forms of energy.

    It is generally believed that a conflict between the two prophets could either lead to an apocalyptic event or the most anticlimactic battle to ever exist (seeing they would cancel each other’s powers out).
    I suspect that you have noticed the names of the planets and the sun fit with the different kinds of mages; these names were chosen with a religious practice in mind, and are not really related to the planets themselves. Even if some schools of magic, as well as a good amount of charlatans, believe that the stance of the planets influences magic events.

    The last category of mages are ritual mages, these can be of all forms and shapes, from immortal beings, oracles, changelings, and the unliving to the combination of two or multiple of the six types of elemental mages. This all depends on the ritual used in the process and the creativity of whoever organizes it, these patrons rarely profit from the powers themselves in any way. As mentioned previously this often involves human sacrifice, knowledge needed for the completion of the ritual notwithstanding. Therefore, the patrons and the products of these rituals are often seen as monsters and have been actively hunted to near extinction throughout history. The remaining ritual mages have either gone into exile in the wilder parts of the world or have learned to hide amongst the populace. In some extreme cases they have grown powerful enough to not fear the persecution, which generally makes people fear them even more.

    Recognizing mages:

    So now that we have discussed the different kinds of magic powers, let's discuss how one recognizes a mage. When a mage is born, they are born with rather peculiar eyes. They do not appear to have a pupil and their iris and would usually be their pupils have fused together to form the Auris, a strange part of their eyes which represents their element, form, or reminisces the source of their ritual power. They will represent the element their mages are represented by; flames, water, tornados, metal...

    The auris of prophets has never been properly observed, this is due to their property to influence the emotions of the observer. The auris of the prophet of Siris will make the observer euphoric, and may potentially cause them to hallucinate. Whereas the auris of the prophet of Miriat causes the observer to feel crippling pain.

    Again the auris of a ritual mage is a lot less predictable, and will depend entirely on the ritual undergone. What is known however is that it will always be different from elemental Auri. Even if their powers seem related.

    The costs of magic:

    Of course these forms of magic do not come freely. Elemental magic and Prophets will suffer get stronger as they practice their magic capabilities. However, as they grow stronger, this will start to put a heavy toll on their minds. Ritual mages, however, are not affected by this process, but will not become much stronger after their birth and most likely paid for their sanity in the blood of innocents.

    There are three states of mind a mage can be affected by:
    • There is the dormant state, this is the state elemental mages are born into. So far, they are still healthy, and will feel their powers grow as they use them. So far nothing of note has happened yet.
    • In the awoken state, a mage will start to develop a separate personality, from the following states, it is generally accepted that this personality is the manifestation of their magic power’s own will. This split personality is utterly unpredictable and mages in the awoken state are generally considered dangerous; usually their magic capabilities are monstrously powerful. Mages of cendrar for example might accidentally burn down entire cities in their sleep if the split personality decides that to be a great plan to develop further.
    • The following step is the possessed state. At this point the mage will have lost control over their body to their split personality. These mages are actively hunted by non-mages, and mages alike, due to their dangerous nature.

    After the possessed state is reached and the mage manages to survive long enough to develop his powers further, their split personality will abandon their body and create one of its own. This gives birth to elementals; fickle demons obsessed by accruing more power, at this point the body of the mage will be destroyed and their soul devoured.

    The origins of magic:

    There are several philosophies as to why mages exist, due to the existence of elementals their birth, some believe that mages are inherently possessed by these spirits, and that the mage is used as a vessel to keep the elemental imprisoned. Why they are imprisoned and who imprisoned them isn’t clear however.

    Others believe that the gods have granted these powers to those they find worthy, this belief has sprouted many a war between the alflaengs and mankind, and both species have started to distanciate themselves from it.

    Some biologist believe it is a biological condition, they are so far incapable of explain exactly how the whole process works, but they have made some great advances in the process. Most of this research is patronized by influent individuals trying to gain magical powers, sadly for this reason these forms of research often lead the biologist and the patron to dabble in ritual magic.

    For now, that will be it. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions and put some of the things I mentioned into question. Doubt, criticize etc…


    This post was edited by Teineeva at September 21, 2016 3:56 AM EDT
    • 312 posts
    September 21, 2016 3:55 AM EDT

    I'm curious about this part in specific:

    After the possessed state is reached and the mage manages to survive long enough to develop his powers further, their split personality will abandon their body and create one of its own. This gives birth to elementals; fickle demons obsessed by accruing more power, at this point the body of the mage will be destroyed and their soul devoured.

    Are there any documented cases of a mage subduing or even slaying the elemental that is born from his (or her) mind, or is the mage's destruction a sure thing at this point?

    • 203 posts
    September 21, 2016 4:01 AM EDT

    WuYiXiang said:

    I'm curious about this part in specific:

    After the possessed state is reached and the mage manages to survive long enough to develop his powers further, their split personality will abandon their body and create one of its own. This gives birth to elementals; fickle demons obsessed by accruing more power, at this point the body of the mage will be destroyed and their soul devoured.

    Are there any documented cases of a mage subduing or even slaying the elemental that is born from his (or her) mind, or is the mage's destruction a sure thing at this point?

    While it is theoretically possible, most mages will lose their magical powers in the process, as the elemental is the physical manifestation of their own magic capabilities. There have been documented cases of mages having enough willpower to hold onto some of their power, this would considerably weaken both mage and elemental but technically it should allow for the mage to fight the elemental. This doesn't always work for elemental mages of Cendrar and Borea for example, as their powers would be practically useless against their elementals, they are however hired to kill of the elementals of the other element.


    This post was edited by Teineeva at September 21, 2016 4:02 AM EDT
    • 312 posts
    September 21, 2016 4:02 AM EDT

    Teineeva said:

    While it is theoretically possible, most mages will lose thier magical powers in the process, as the elemental is the physical manifestation of their own magic capabilities. There have been documented cases of mages having enough willpower to hold onto some of their power, this would considerably weaken both mage and elemental but technically it should allow for the mage to fight the elemental. This doesn't always work for elemental mages of Cendrar and Borea for example, as their powers would be practically useless against their elementals, they are however hired to kill of the elementals of the other element.

    I see. Is there any way to physically overpower an elemental before it devours its mage, or do you have to fight magic with magic?

    • 203 posts
    September 21, 2016 4:19 AM EDT

    WuYiXiang said:

    Teineeva said:

    While it is theoretically possible, most mages will lose thier magical powers in the process, as the elemental is the physical manifestation of their own magic capabilities. There have been documented cases of mages having enough willpower to hold onto some of their power, this would considerably weaken both mage and elemental but technically it should allow for the mage to fight the elemental. This doesn't always work for elemental mages of Cendrar and Borea for example, as their powers would be practically useless against their elementals, they are however hired to kill of the elementals of the other element.

    I see. Is there any way to physically overpower an elemental before it devours its mage, or do you have to fight magic with magic?

    Unless you're specificly equiped to deal with one, there is no way to defeat them. Elementals are manifestations of the wielded element born from the mage's body and whatever surrounds them: as a consequence they can often just be a material in the state that is wieldable by the mage.

    Water, blood, or magma for mages of Misara. Metal, stone or bones for mages of Iris... Elementals of Thundar are even capable of tapping into the nervous system of the mage or surrounding living things to feed and build themselves.

    The easiest way to get rid of them is to force them to change their physical state for elementals of Misara, Iris, Ura and to a certain degree those of Thundar. Boiling or freezing an elemental made out of water for example should do the trick. Or to change their energy balance for elementals of Cendrar and Borea: cool or heat them. A similar thing can be used against Thundar elementals, you'll just need to find a way to disrupt the electric flow; a change of state often helps with that as well.

    • 312 posts
    September 21, 2016 4:25 AM EDT

    Teineeva said:

    Unless you're specificly equiped to deal with one, there is no way to defeat them.

    Now, that really gets me thinking. What exactly is the equipment required to take on an elemental if you're not a mage? Enchanted weapons and armor, or is there a special material that elemental-hunters use?

    • 203 posts
    September 21, 2016 4:37 AM EDT

    WuYiXiang said:

    Teineeva said:

    Unless you're specificly equiped to deal with one, there is no way to defeat them.

    Now, that really gets me thinking. What exactly is the equipment required to take on an elemental if you're not a mage? Enchanted weapons and armor, or is there a special material that elemental-hunters use?

    It can be as easy as bringing a bucket of cold water or a torch to the fight, but more often than not, this won't suffice.

     

    Elemental-hunters have multiple options at their disposal as to fighting them. A lot of ritual mages will turn out to be elemental hunters for example and a few rituals have been designed exactly for the purpose of breeding mage hunting monster babies (often refered to as ritualspawn, also used a derogative term). Some will try to tame wild beasts that have capabilities similar to those of mages (often the same beasts used for ritual magic) and use these beasts to fight the elementals, but the best spread way of dealing with them is to use mana weaponry (name of the mineral under development). It is a mineral that was presumably formed when a possesed giant mage was turned into stone by the gods, the stones can only be found in Irogholni territory (Irogholni are my personal interpretation of dwarves, not that they look a lot like classic dwarves) and they are the only ones capable of properly forging it. If the myth behind mana is believed it pretty much comes back to: fighting fire with fire.

    • 312 posts
    September 21, 2016 4:47 AM EDT

    All of that is quite fascinating. Thank you for sharing.