Magic

Magic in Aiaos is a mistake, a side-effect of the attempt to repair the damage of the Colossus War with divine energies from the Twins. Instead of repairing the scars in the World, the energy pooled and clotted, forming Divine Eggs, and also permeating the material plane around the wound. Over time, the energy spread and became a part of the World, making it possible for mortals to wield powers formerly reserved for the Gods and their immediate servants.   The first mortal magic was simple folk craft, which quickly divided into three distinct practices: Wildcraft, the magic of the wilderness; Magecraft, the magic of hearth and home; and Theurgy, small pleas for outside assistance.   The Wildcraft developed in time into Primal Magic. The gods then began to grant true Divine Magic to their theurgists. Sometime after this, some Magecrafters began to take a closer interest in how the powers they used worked, and to develop the studied, formalised practices of Arcane Magic.   As magic permeated the world more and more, Sorcerers began to appear, mortals with innate magical abilities. The pact magic of warlocks is an oddity, not conforming to any of the three main types of mortal magic, but containing fragments of each: the gifted power of a patron, the deliberate formulae of the arcane, and the habitual practice of the primal. Warlocks tend to begin in an unstructured folk tradition, and find a patron instead of a teacher. Finally, there are practitioners of what are called minor traditions, who continue to perform a few spells - arcane, primal or divine - as part of another calling.   The difference between the types has historically caused many clerics to view other magics, especially the arcane, with some suspicion. Conversely, arcanists often regard 'gifted' magic as a lazy shortcut. Both sides of the argument consider theirs the 'true' magic, and both will tend to sneer at the 'hedge magic' of primal spellcasters. Regardless of these differences, all use of magic creates an increased flow of energy into the World, and in extreme cases can create places with a dangerous concentration of Arcane Flux. These build-ups can result in the formation of planar intrusions, planar gates or wild magic zones, the birth of magically-imbued monstrosities from natural beast populations, and of course the birth of sorcerers.   The truest expression of power is, despite much energetic argument in various directions, none of these, but the pure, unfiltered action of the Divine. This power cannot be welded by a mortal, but the practices which come closest are the draconic disciplines called in their own language rakh-dzen (prn. rook-jen) and the fragmentary recollections of titanic rune magic practiced by the Giants. Rakh-dzen, the means by which Dragons work magic, functions by direct manipulation of the principle which underlies ordinary arcane power, which is called dzenmisa (jen-uh-mis-uh), while rune magic uses the scraps of the ancient titanic language, which is said to have been the language of creation itself.   Rakh-dzen is translated loosely as 'the coming and going of things' or 'cause of action.' Dzenmisa is 'that which works against itself.'   Some wizards have sought to recreate the arts of the dragons through diligent study, and some have found a measure of success. The product of such study are usually called jenamancy. They are more limited than Draconic Magic, but also quite distinct from conventional wizardry, which makes it difficult for jenamancers to learn ordinary spells, and vice versa. This power can, in theory, be wielded without changing the arcane flux of a location and jenamancers often see themselves as servants of harmony and other magic users as agents of chaos.   For those who simply wish to wield the potential power of dzenmisa without regard for harmony and spirituality, there is another path. So-called red jenamancy is a violent and destructive art that tears at the remaining harmony of the world each time it is used. Its practice is directly associated with the Colossi and their servants.