Magic of Aroka

While there are many ways Magic has been understood by Aroka's inhabitants across its surface and throughout its many ages, there is some core concepts that are crucial to understand in order to wield it effectively. Some have managed to grasp these concepts, but the vast majority do not understand the forces they are tampering with, much less its true potential and risks.

Spirit

All life forms have a life signature that consists of their electro-chemical makeup most often centralized in their nervous system. Beings with particularly strong signatures could store up excess energy within their body and, eventually, in their clothing, surrounding structures, and even in the air itself. This excess energy can be used to influence the world around them, applying force to nearby objects, manipulating temperature, altering molecular or atomic structures, and, in extreme cases, interacting with more fundamental elements of reality.

Entities

When an individual's signature is so pervasive or powerful that it can survive outside of its host body, it is classified as an Entity, allowing them to influence the world around it on a greater scale and operate independently from its body, even in the case of its death.

Cost and Risks

Using Magic consumes part of the Spirit unless it can source energy from another source, with more significant uses and greater distances requiring more energy. Consumed Spirit can be regenerated by resting, but this puts a limit on how much Magic can be used at once, especially for those that are unable to draw on energy from their surroundings to fuel its use. For those that use up their excess Spirit and choose to continue to use Magic, their flesh will be used as fuel, causing wounds that can't be treated by most mundane methods. Frequently resorting to using their flesh to fuel their Magic often results in the deterioration of their body and/or mind.

Additionally, those that do not have a suitable appreciation of the alterations they are attempting to impose on their surroundings will often get unexpected outcomes, posing a risk to themselves and others. Many orders and societies have created strict curriculums and regulations around Magic use to ensure the safety of its practitioners and bystanders. Some paths of inquiry are outright forbidden to discourage experimenting with the more mysterious elements of Magic as there is much even the most experienced and wizened mages barely comprehend.

Means of Magic

Projection

When a practitioner of Magic relies primarily on their own Spirit to fuel their Magic, it is considered Projection. This is by far the most common and limited source of Magic.

Source

While supplementing Projection Magic with energy from their environment or a storage device does not upgrade the means of Magic to Source, fueling their Magic use with at least as much energy from their surroundings or stored magical energy as they do their own Spirit does. This requires more knowledge and/or preparation as drawing energy from ones surroundings is easier said than done and capturing magical energy into storage devices for use later requires special materials and time.

Void

Calling upon the Void for magical energy is forbidden in most orders as even the most scholarly do not understand the nature of what they are requesting. In most cases, those that draw on the Void for power will receive only silence, making it an unreliable means of performing Magic. However, those that do receive a response usually get far more than anticipate, sometimes good, sometimes bad. The greatest risk associated with drawing upon the Void is being able to control the power it grants if it responds. Those caught tampering with this kind of Magic are often either executed to end their meddling or banish them to a neglected part of the world where they can only harm themselves when they inevitably receive far more than they were prepared to.

Types of Magic

While there are nearly countless forms and schools of Magic on Aroka, there are ten types that encapsulate the vast majority of them.

Alteration

Alteration Magic allows individuals to manipulate objects on the chemical and atomic level. While it does operate at a very small scale, successfully altering and object at this level is very challenging.

Essence

Essence Magic, sometimes call Healing or Life Magic, is the manipulation of life energy. It can be used as a supplement to or in place of mundane medicine, though overuse can result in harm if the affected body is pushed beyond its natural limits. Additionally, those with darker inclinations can use Essence Magic to drain life energy, usually to fuel other Magic use or store it for later use, often falling under the label of Vampiric Magic.

Frostfire

Frostfire Magic, sometimes divided into Fire or Flame, and Frost or Ice Magic, allows individuals to change the temperature of objects, potentially changing the state of the targeted matter or setting it on fire if possible.

Grasp

Grasp Magic, also sometimes called Force or Reach Magic, allows individuals to apply force to nearby objects as if they were hitting, lifting, pushing, pulling, or otherwise physically interacting with. This can be enhanced by the use of Conduits, which are either natural or designed objects that are especially efficient at conducting magical energies, allowing the wielder to increase the amount of force they can apply and at greater distances.

Inception

Inception Magic, also sometimes called Mind or Thought Magic, allows individuals to access and even manipulate the feelings and thoughts of others. In most cases, this takes the form of mind reading or though disruption, but it can take more extreme forms such as thought implantation or limited mind control.

Jolt

Jolt Magic, also called Spark Magic, allows individuals to influence the flow of electricity. This has obvious applications for interacting with electricity-based technology, but can also be used offensively to stun or injure opponents. Creative practitioners have been known to use it to momentarily enhance physical abilities, though this often results in at least minor injuries to the target.

Mold

Mold Magic is sometimes considered a less complex form of Alteration Magic where objects are altered on just the structural level, simply changing the shape of an object instead of changing what the object consists of.

Sense

Sense Magic, sometimes called Sight, Vision, or Veil Magic, allows individuals to use their Spirit to detect stimuli in their environment. This ranges from finding anomalies in their surroundings, detecting nearby energy sources or life forms, and enhancing one's natural sense. For those particular skilled in this type of Magic, they can take in so much information from their surroundings that they can predict what is likely about to occur or extrapolate what may have just happened. Some even claim to have been able to peer through time into the future or past.

Transpose

Transpose Magic, also known as Inscribe or Imbue Magic, allows individuals to store magical energy in objects that can do so without breaking down. This often requires special materials, such as cloth or paper reinforced with Shard or a similar material, metals and stones with high conductivity, and devices designed specifically for this purpose. This allows individuals that have no magical aptitude to wield Magic via these objects and devices. Letters and other symbols are often used to denote what type of Magic has been stored in the object, though the letters and symbols themselves do not hold any power and can deceive the user as to what will happen when they release the Magic.

Ward

Ward Magic, also called Defense, Guard, Guardian, Protection, or Shield Magic, is focused on defense against magical, mental, and physical attacks. This often results in its various aspects getting grouped under Grasp or Inception Magic, though there are protective abilities unique to Ward Magic that rely on altering more fundamental forces of reality to avoid harm.