Limitation of Magic

Magic is potent, wondrous, and dangerous—but it is not limitless. From its origins in nature to its shaping through rituals and ingredients, magic bends the world without breaking it. Every caster learns this truth early: magic works within the rules of the world, not beyond them.  

No Magic from Nothing

“Even fire must feed. Even light must come from somewhere.”

— Common saying among alchemists

Magic manipulates, it does not create. A flame spell draws heat from nearby air or the caster’s own body. Healing mends wounds faster but cannot grow new organs. Magic accelerates or alters what is—never conjures what is not.   Even Cosmic Power, the most elusive of magical aspects, bends perception and space but never adds new matter to the world. If you have nothing, magic leaves you with nothing still.  

The Dead Stay Dead

“The song of life can’t be replayed—it ends when it ends.”

— Inedril, druidic funeral speaker

There is no resurrection. Once a soul’s Life-Force severs, it cannot return. Necromancy does not exist—not truly. Some may speak with faint echoes, shades of memory, or fragments of personality, but they are not the dead. They are what the dead left behind.   Cosmic Power has stirred speculation of greater mysteries, but if someone ever returned, no one lived to tell the tale.  

Power Always Has a Price

Magic always takes something in return. Spellcasting drains Life-Force. The more you cast, the more you erode your own vitality. You cannot cast endlessly. You cannot win magic—it is a pact, not a prize.   Push too far, and you’ll burn out your gift entirely. Some say you can see the ghosts of reckless casters: eyes dull, skin greyed, mind lost to fatigue even before their body gives out.  

No Instant Travel or Vanishing Acts

“If I could blink across the world, I wouldn’t be walking through mud.”

— Jarn the Reluctant, caravan mage

Portals exist—but they are fragile, short-ranged, and dangerously unreliable. They do not reach across continents, nor leap over mountains. They require stable surfaces, and creating one midair or into a moving object is suicide.   Elven legends speak of greater travel Spells—but humanity is far from unlocking them.  

Immortality Is a Lie

Magic may slow aging—but it never halts it. Magic might mend bones—but it cannot stop time. Even the most gifted mages grow old, and those who try to extend their lives with spell after spell merely borrow time from themselves. Their ends come sooner, not later.   Some users of Cosmic Power drift too far, becoming unmoored from the world—but this is not life eternal. It’s fading.  

No Spell Commands the Soul

Mind Control magic is subtle, not absolute. It influences, not dominates. It amplifies emotions, suggests behaviors—but it cannot rewrite a soul.

“I can push a mind to rage, but I can’t make it hate what it doesn’t already fear.”

— Tellan Yellow Eye

Illusions deceive senses. Spells sow confusion. But will is resilient, and those with strong minds can resist or break free.  

You Can’t Cast Without Preparation

Magic requires preparation:

• Ingredients, to fuel the magic.

• Training, to understand the rituals.

• Focus, to shape it.

  You cannot shout a word and watch the world bend. Magic is not instinctive—it is practiced, studied, and ritualized. The Druids teach this. The untrained often learn it too late.  

Some Things Resist Magic

Some minerals absorb magic. Some creatures evolved defenses. Some ancient artifacts simply refuse to be moved, warmed, or broken by spell. Magic may be powerful, but it’s not all-powerful.   Even Cosmic Power cannot alter objects that hold no connection to magic itself. It can warp space—but not everything yields to it.  

Magic Is Not Freedom. It Is a Discipline.

“Magic does not make gods of men. It humbles them.”

— The first line taught in every druidic apprenticeship

Magic is a tool. A dangerous one. Its rules are not there to frustrate mages—they exist because magic is a force, not a favor.   To master magic is not to command the world, but to understand one’s place within it. Every true caster knows this—and the wisest among them never forget it.