The Basics of Magic

Magic in the world of ORCHESTRA is as hard a magic as you can get. It essentially tries to be as much of an actual science and follow the real laws of physics as possible. There are a set of rules that apply to magic that can never be broken, just as how one cannot break the laws of physics. First and foremost, magic must follow all the rules that science already sets out in the real world. That is, magic cannot break any of the laws of physics, laws of conservation, laws of energy, or any others. This does not mean that magic is limited in its power, however; magic is one of the most powerful forces in the universe if used well. But there are strict natural laws about how it works.   The fundamentals of magic lie in five assumptions that separates it from real world physics:

1. There exists a realm outside the universe called the 'aether' that contains all magic.
2. There exists two extra subatomic particles called the 'stem particle' and the 'anti-stem particle' that naturally exist within the aether, from which all magic is derived.
3. Stem and anti-stem particles can be summoned from the aether through the will of a magic user and will naturally return there if not controlled, or return instantly via annihilation.
4. When outside of the aether, stem and anti-stem particles can only exist in the nucleus of a carbon atom.
5. Stem particles can become any other fundamental particle through the will of a magic user, while anti-stem particles cannot be controlled.

From these, the rest of the rules of magic are built from the ground up based on real world physics, and are described in more detail in further articles:  

1. The Aether
2. The Stem Particle
3. The Anti-Stem Particle
4. Carbon and Magic Transfer
5. The Cantus Lobe
6. Anti-Magic
7. Magic Abilities