Magic
Overview
"The manifestation of the soul. The reflection of one's true self. Our hopes and dreams, our strengths and weaknesses, everything that makes us what we are is what gives magic form."Magic is a power any being with a soul can tap into through dedication and practice. The form that it takes is narrow, focused, and representative of the individual wielding it. A person with a short temper that is quick to jump into action may wield fire magic, while someone calm, relaxed, and willing to simply deal with things as they come may wield water. This power comes from the soul, tapping into an energy within it that many scholars refer to as "Soulflow."
Currently, Soulflow has been largely broken into three main categories, based on how one makes it manifest: Sword, Mirror, and Jewel. It is noted that the type any given individual wields seems to largely be based upon their disposition, preferences, and circumstances. Sword types, for instance, are generally more physically active individuals that go off gut instinct and are possessing of great wills. A shared constant between all three, though, is that magic is a reflection of themselves, and only through balance and understanding, taking care of and discovering oneself is how true mastery is achieved.
An often curious phenomena is that magic users are not bound to a particular type for life. It is quite common for a person to change their type, or learn to wield multiple at once, as life takes them upon strange paths and they develop as an individual. Someone that once relied entirely on a magical sword given to them by another may one day step out of the shadow of the one before them, changing from a Jewel mage into a Sword mage as they become confident, strong, and passionate about the things they do.
Sword
"100 push-ups! 100 sit-ups! 100 squats! Then a 10 kilometer run! Every single day!"Sword mages are both the easiest to understand and the most baffling of the three. Their power is simply intuited, conjured forth through effortless action and willpower. While others require study or procurement of special materials, Sword types are powered purely by desire and training. By honing their bodies, strengthening their wills, and inflaming their passions, Sword types grow in power as they cultivate both body and mind. A hurdle that many wielders of this form of magic encounter is that they tend to focus too heavily on the physical. While training and becoming fit is an important part of the magic, one needs to take time to pause and meditate, reflect on things they value and focus on what matters most to them. By achieving this focus and strengthening their hearts as well as their bodies, Sword types will reach incredible breakthroughs in their prowess that previously seemed impossible.
Mirror
"The world will not move with you, it will move against you. So adapt. Learn more about the world and exploit what you can. Because in the end, when the dust settles and the world is on fire, you will have the knowledge to survive on your own."Mirror mages are, in many ways, the most difficult of the trio. Though it requires only patience to begin, mastery of it is a difficult journey where one's ego is truly tested. Knowledge and understanding are the greatest virtues for Mirror types, as their form of magic is cultivated through study and experimentation. Those seeking to wield such power need to be comfortable both with trying new things and also failing, for it may take a hundred attempts to form the proper sigils or incantations required to make a particular effect manifest. Through this exploration, though, Mirror types will be able to deeply understand the powers they wield and rapidly conjure up the powers they have practiced so intensely in the past. The greatest challenge for Mirror types, however, is not their understanding of magic, but of themselves. So focused many become upon their studies, that they forget where their power comes from: not their knowledge and memory, but from the feelings that they have that guide their actions when logic often fails them.
Jewel
"Deliverance has come!"The last type are the most dependent upon those that are around them, but this gives them a strength that often confounds other magic users in the versatility it grants them. Jewel mages are empowered by artifice, either items that which they have made themselves or have been given by another that they now wield. Using a unique material extracted from souls called Anima, Jewel types focus the power within them through the artifacts that they carry. While in theory entry into this type is a simple matter, as all that is required at base is to pick up a magical item and invoke it, mastery is an entirely other ordeal. Artifacts are often narrow in their application, such as a sword that is engulfed in fire or a ring that permits breathing underwater, but a rare few items of masterful craftsmanship may develop a life of their own and change in unexpected ways. For Jewel mages, mastering of skills is the most obvious thing to focus upon, as they need to learn not only how to create Artifacts, but also how to wield them. That is not the only challenge, though, as to make a true masterpiece a person must exit their comfort zones and practice other crafts, learn to wield other types of weapons, and, most vitally, building a community around them that supports the mage. Only through making genuine connections with a diverse group of people can Jewel mages have access to the greatest variety of Anima crystals, as the capabilities of such materials are heavily dependent on who they are drawn from.
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