Magic (DoN)
From Storing Don
Magic is powerful and elemental, and weaker than it has been in some time. Before the Sundering, a powerful mage could lay waste to an entire army single-handedly. Now, though, there is a balance between martial and magical prowess, best described like this. A spell hitting someone in the chest hurts and may kill them, but a sword thrust or an axe strike will kill.
Before the Sundering, magic was a thing of every day life. Elevators powered by wind spells and ovens utilizing controlled fire spells were common if not universally available, and the weapon that was not enchanted was a rarity. However, because of the magical fluctuations caused by Valistrix's death and the continent shaking explosions that created the two inland seas, most if not all of that was lost. The people were thrown back thousands of years of development, and strive as they might, they will never be able to match the skill of pre-Sundering mages, for the curses that Valistrix foolishly laid on the event of his death ruptured magic's flows throughout the world, weakening it perhaps forever.
Magic is divided into five main spheres - Anima, Dark, Light, Rings, and Staves.
Anima is the conjuration and manipulation of the four primordial elements - Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Air is split into the Wind and Thunder sub-schools, as it is the most versatile and changing branch of the Elements. Anima magic is balanced between speed and power, and is by far the most versatile school, as well as being the most easily manipulated. The Four Elements are the building blocks of reality, but they are the easiest to control despite that.
Dark magic, called Elder Magic by defensive shamans, is the control of the primordial energy of chaos and evil, and has the largest appetite for destruction, but is also the slowest. It is split into the Destruction and Affliction subschools, with Destruction focused on its name-sake and Affliction focused on gifting targets with diseases, curses, and other nasty status effects.
Light magic is not controlled, as it is a gift from the primordial energy of good. It is split into the Judgment and Benediction subschools, each of which is unique. Judgment is the offensive arm of Light magic, and it is the fastest and most accurate of all offensive magic schools. It is, however, the weakest in brute force, although it has an increased chance to deal critical hits by some unknown property. Benediction is focused on blessing the target with various, beneficial status effects.
Rings are the least understood branch of magic, as they are connected to the magic of music and movement. Rings affect the mind of the wielder, filling them with this or that emotion or feeling, which can drive them to greater heights or damn them forever to the valleys. Calling this school Rings is a euphemism whose meaning has been lost with much of the knowledge of pre-Sundering Elibe.
Staves are perhaps the most widespread branch of magic around, as they can do anything from drive the target wild to enhance the target's strength or heal someone back from the brink of death. Staves are not understood near as well as Anima, Dark, or Light, but they are understood better than Rings. Staves affect reality or time: for teleportation staves, the time needed to get to place is reduced to zero, or alternate theorists argue that reality is affected so that they were there, with time being unimportant. There is argument on either side for what is the real nature of staves.
zahT0O Sorry for the off-topic, could you tell where I can get such a nice pattern for my blog ?!...
uR4CR1 Thanks-a-mundo for the post.Really thank you! Awesome.
Contents |
[edit] Light Magic
The opposite and enemy of Dark Magic, Light Magic is the universal and primordial energy of good. It is ultimately strong and powerful, and no one can control it. In order to truly use Light magic, you must surrender to the energy. Only then may it be directed. Light magic is faster and easier to cast than any other style of magic, but because it cannot be controlled, it has the least power per strike. Light magic also has the greatest chance of dealing more damage, in a sudden burst of power.
Due to the influence of Ainor, Caread, and Artal, Light magic is considered, rightfully so, to be the 'holy' branch of magic. Defensive shamans protest this label, pointing out that not every Light caster is holy or good. This, however, is foolish, as the evil or neutral Light casters are a tiny minority, as very few people of that disposition can accomplish the true surrender needed to successfully cast Light magic. However, the few evil casters that exist are extraordinarily dangerous, as they seem to have a special knack for using spells that strike with more force often.
Non-combat Light spells include things like illumination, short ranged self-teleportation (about 200 yards max range, and disappears/reappears with a burst of light), or even things like determining truth from lie (very useful in trials).
[edit] Benediction
[edit] Judgment
[edit] Rings
Coming soon.
[edit] Staves
Coming soon.
[edit] Alternate Casting Methods, and Unique Magical Abilities
[edit] Glass Magic
Coming soon.
[edit] Imbuing/Enchanting
A very important part of warfare is the art of Imbuing/Enchanting. The two differ from each other in the length of time they last. A sword imbued with a fire spell might have it for one hit or even a few minutes, but a sword enchanted with a fire spell never runs out. Imbuing can be done on the battlefield, as it takes around 30 seconds to complete for an average caster, but enchanting would be suicidal at best to even attempt on the field. It takes a full day of effort to make even the most basic enchantment, and for some weapons created before the Sundering, whole months were devoted to the enchantments. Escalon itself took a month and a half to complete. Enchant and Imbue are the same words as far as the public is concerned, but casters and other magical theoreticians use them differently, according to the length of time. Enchantments are permanent, and Imbues are not.
Virtually anything can be enchanted or imbued, from the mightiest Adamant Sword to the tiniest pebble. What is being enchanted or imbued does not affect the time it takes to be modified, only the strength of the spell to be placed within.
Average Imbue/Enchant Times by rank of Spell
- E rank - 5 seconds to Imbue, 12 hours to enchant
- D rank - 10 seconds to Imbue, 1 day to enchant
- C rank - 30 seconds to Imbue, 4 days to enchant
- B rank - 60 seconds to Imbue, 8 days to enchant
- A rank - 240 seconds to Imbue, 15 days to enchant
- S rank - 420 seconds to Imbue, 30 days to enchant
- S rank+ (national weapon level) - 600 seconds to imbue, 45 days to enchant
The power of the caster determines how long something can be held inside a weapon when it comes to imbuing, although the time it takes to imbue can be increased in order to lengthen the imbue, conversely, the time can be reduced to shorten the time. A low level, weak caster could only make something last for about five seconds, but a powerful 3rd tier could make something last for an hour or more. Commonly Imbued Items:
- Ammunition - Arrows, Crossbow Quarrels, Ballista Bolts, Catapult Stones
- Weapons - Especially in Lequallian units with a War Mage
Commonly Enchanted Objects:
- Fortifications - If they weren't enchanted, Geomancy would rip them to shreds.
- Ships - Too expensive to lose to a single Fire or Water spell.
[edit] Virtuosos
Coming soon.
[edit] Rune Magic and the Webway
[edit] Counterspelling
A talent that is absolutely necessary to the success of any given spellcaster, Counterspelling makes any mage duel an unpredictable, sometimes messy affair. Any spell can be countered, but what it can be countered by is a whole different matter. The time it takes to counter a spell is different from spell to spell that needs to be countered, but they cannot be countered once the effect begins. In explanation, a fireball can be countered while its streaking towards its target, but once it explodes, the pain and damage cannot be countered. Countered spells do not fizzle out or fade away, they disappear instantly.
Anima, Light, and Dark spells all counterspell by using an equivalent amount of energy to neutralize the effect. Staves, with their control over reality, erase the spell from existence. Rings counterspell by utilizing the magic inherent in song and dance to disrupt and unravel the energy inside the spell.
In order to counter a spell, the would-be dispeller needs to have the same rank as the spell being countered. In other words, a caster would need a Rank of B to counter a B rank spell. The weapon triangle affects the ranks needed to counter, and for an Anima caster to counter a B ranked Dark Spell, he'd need an A rank. Conversely, a Light caster would only need a B rank to counter an A rank Dark spell. Staves and Rings require a rank higher to counter any spell, as well as a rank higher to be countered. I.E., an Anima caster would need an S to counter an A rank Staff or Ring, but a Staff or Ring would need an A to counter a B ranked Anima spell. Rings and Staves do not require a higher rank to counter each other (A B Ring can counter a B Staff). Dispel staves can counter spells two ranks above them, as in a C rank Dispel staff countering an A rank spell.
- Note: A spellcaster cannot determine the rank of another spell. He has to guess, and if he isn't powerful enough, nothing will happen to the oncoming spell.
