Magic

There is a hierarchy of magic in the world that dictates how it is used and what it can do.  

History of Magic

Wellsprings

Similar to laylines, pools of underground magic are located naturally all around the world and provide a steady stream of magical energy that rises to the surface and spreads around the region. Little is known of how they work or what specific magic they are. Fallen Seolfor have the ability to siphon off magic from the wellsprings to increase their own power, something no one on earth knows how to do. Most species cannot see the wellsprings with their natural vision but those affected the mirrorshards can because their mirrorshards were originally made from the same pure form of magic. Some, like euska, can see the wellsprings and other pooled areas due to their heightened vision and religious devotion to Alabaster.  

Hierarchy of Magic

Elemental Magic

The most common and benign form of magic, elemental magic is found in the make-up of many species and plants. It manifests differently depending on the species. Elfae have fire and plant control abilities. Eueska grow certain plants in the magic-infused regions of Morforst. Elemental magic can be learned by humans but it takes a biological change to do so, usually in the form of drinking brews and infusions, and having seed-sized slivers of bone inserted into their skin; the bone slivers having previously has spells worked over them in addition to soaking in brews. Elemental magic is unique in that species born with abilities do not need to touch the object they wish to use magic on. Humans may wield their magic without apparent physical touch but it is significantly weaker and harder to control. Spoiler for Of Ice and Roses  

Spoken Magic

After the Summoning and destruction of the mirrorworld, more attempts were made to physically control magic. A language was developed by a religious sect, although many believe the sect was a cover for fallen Seolfor carrying out evil deeds in the world. Regardless of origin, the novelty of controlling magic was too appealing to be left alone and within a few generations, the language was being taught in universities around the the world. Some countries embraced this new outlook while others rejected it completely. This eventually lead to the spilt of several kingdoms and the drastic rearranging of political borders, leading the world from the Era of Wild Magic into the Fairytale Era.   The spoken language borrows heavily on elemental magic, often performing several rounds of spells on something for it to reach the desired state or by combining altered ingredients together, much like alchemy. Despite the complex, spoken nature of the language, magic users still need to physically tough the object of their attention or a surrogate of it.   Within the language itself, it is the only foreign language in the world. Many of the spells are in rhyme for easy recall and a great number of them have been set to music over the centuries. For a spell to be "spoken" it must be fully formed in the wielder's mind, thus a mute person can still use magic but with less accurate results because their pronunciation is harder to perfect.  

Blood Magic

Blood magic is advanced magic and can be dangerous if performed improperly. There are both good and evil ways of working with blood, so intent and how it was procured make all the difference in the outcome and effects. Blood magic is more personal and much, much stronger.  

Human Magic

By the first century of the Era of Wild magic, use of human magic was made illegal in most countries and users were faced with extreme punishments, varying by country.   Human magic is defined as "the experimentation on a living sapient species with the intent to alter their physical or spiritual forms, mental abilities, or other invasive procedures including but not limited to: altering, removing or destroying a soul; attempting to control the mind of a living species; use of internal organs as ingrediants for spells; causing a disease to manifest or spread."   The use of magic for healing does fall into the category of human magic but registered healers are protected in a clausal statement agreed upon by members of the Second Council of Een-Llyn.  

Variations, Rules or Customs by Country

Anland

Forstur

Morforst