Artificial Evolution and Speciation, Via Magical Means
One of the core principles of life is that it is ever-changing and adapting, with old species gradually changing into new species through the process of evolution. This is usually a long process, with millions of years of minuscule genetic alterations needed before a group of organisms can truly be considered a new form of life. Yet, here on Az, with the emergence of magic in a few keystone species, this method of evolution has on occasion been circumvented.
The driving force behind evolution and the genesis of new species is natural selection, where individuals who are better suited to an environment will go on to breed and pass on their genes to the next generation. So the fittest members of a population, perhaps the fastest, strongest or those with the greatest resistance to disease and the elements are most likely to survive to reproduce.
Therefore, it would be logical to assume that animals capable of greater magic will have a greater chance of survival than their peers who only have a meager amount of magic. A tiger, for example, will have a much greater chance of survival if it can simply use its stock of magic to augment its abilities and guarantee a kill it may otherwise fail to make. This individual will then go on to produce offspring, ensuring that its genes are passed down. This theory is very sound, but many fail to appreciate that magic is not a genetic trait, rather manifesting in different amounts sporadically across beings. The implication then, is that even if a magically gifted individual has offspring, there is no guarantee that any of them will have a enough soul-force to increase their chance of survival.
This links to an important caveat of species changing in accordance to individuals with higher magic, namely that such change can be a negative in the long run. To describe such a process: imagine an animal is a carrier for a debilitating disease or mutation, yet is strong enough stave off death with what magic power it has. This animal will then go on to breed, producing offspring who will also carry this disease, weakening the fitness of all subsequent generations. If similar events like this occur enough times, a species in an area may eventually go extinct, with too many individuals without enough magic dying in droves.
That being said, with the ability to manifest magic on an individual basis being so rare, even in sapient species, so called implicit evolution through use of magic is a near impossibility. It is theorized that only the animal groups with the most developed of minds can even be affected by this phenomenon. Arguments have been made on the Isle of the Sages that the three great sapient species of giants, humans and Vull'jorg gradually evolved greater intelligence in a positive feedback with greater abilities to use magic, though these are unsubstantiated for the most part.
The only examples of Implicit Evolution via magic that have been confirmed come from highly isolated instances. One such example are the Storm-manes of the Danai lands on Tolu, a venerated population of horses that have seemingly managed to cultivate an above average occurrence of high soul-force in their ranks. As their name suggests, Storm-manes are distinguished by their preferential manipulation of electricity, often mimicking the electrical storms that are commonly seen around their habitat. This preference to channeling lightning has clearly influenced the biology of these equines, as the few specimens that have been studied all displayed a large, frizzy mane which can store a high voltage across its length. In addition to this adaptation, Storm-mane horses also exhibit highly insulated skin which gives them an innate resistance to electricity.
Both these adaptations are present in all Storm-manes, regardless if the individual can actually manipulate electric currents through magic or not. Hence this evolutionary change must have been facilitated by continuous exposure to manipulated lightning, with individuals who could withstand greater shocks surviving and producing offspring. These would in turn pass on resistance to their offspring, so as hundreds of thousands of years passed the Storm-mane sub-species would become adapted around the few members of the population who could wield such magic. This stands as the most definitive example of Implicit Evolution through use of magic.
What is far more common throughout Az's history is the creation of new species by direct biological manipulation using magic. Humans have made several successful species using different methods that change the DNA of a targeted group of animals.
Now, since the concept of DNA was unknown to the inhabitants of Az until very recently, most examples of artificial evolution were achieved through either haphazardly forcing traits to manifest spontaneously, or through gradually influencing a given trait across generations. The former, known as Rapid Bio-transfiguration, is a grueling process that is more likely to kill the target organism than anything else, while the latter, known as Mediated Bio-transfiguration is a more successful approach, which can cause permanent genetic change in a species in as few as 50 years in animals.
Rapid Bio-transfiguration has very few examples of successful application, with only the creation of the Fell during the Catastrophe of Kyner 600 years ago being counted a true success, in that the subsequent generations of those cursed people are all fertile and can readily produce more of their kind. Any other creature put under this process has seldom lived past a few years, thus this technique is more so used throughout history to make dreadful abominations for war, commonly by powerful mages who wish to quickly raise armies as to force their will over others.
Mediated Bio-transfiguration, owing to its less intrusive approach, has many recorded species attributed to it, such as the Beller Hound from Gurn, a canine breed derived from mastiffs and wolfhounds which is possessed of both gigantic size and great discipline, oft standing almost shoulder to shoulder with the average man. The Topopelo is a remarkable species, being a species evolved from the common mole, and after extensive genetic alteration over centuries have swelled to a great sizes of over two meters in length. Though the more enamouring feature of the Topopelos is their fur, which grows thick upon them and can be induced to turn many different colors and shades by feeding the newborn animal certain chemicals, ranging from natural hues of brown and black to albino white or even a royal blue. To round off these examples, the Nimagathna, the guiding frogs of the vast Gimean jungles and swamps. Small tree-dwelling amphibians, these creatures were painstakingly bred for generations to emit light and follow simple prompts, so that the local Gimeans could find their way through the treacherous night. When a threat is perceived, these frogs flash quickly to warn of danger, otherwise maintaining a steady glow for a time, before returning to the owner after a signal.
Thus, ends this simple overview of the concept of artificial evolution and the role magic plays in it.
Implicit Evolution Through Use of Magic
The driving force behind evolution and the genesis of new species is natural selection, where individuals who are better suited to an environment will go on to breed and pass on their genes to the next generation. So the fittest members of a population, perhaps the fastest, strongest or those with the greatest resistance to disease and the elements are most likely to survive to reproduce.
Therefore, it would be logical to assume that animals capable of greater magic will have a greater chance of survival than their peers who only have a meager amount of magic. A tiger, for example, will have a much greater chance of survival if it can simply use its stock of magic to augment its abilities and guarantee a kill it may otherwise fail to make. This individual will then go on to produce offspring, ensuring that its genes are passed down. This theory is very sound, but many fail to appreciate that magic is not a genetic trait, rather manifesting in different amounts sporadically across beings. The implication then, is that even if a magically gifted individual has offspring, there is no guarantee that any of them will have a enough soul-force to increase their chance of survival.
This links to an important caveat of species changing in accordance to individuals with higher magic, namely that such change can be a negative in the long run. To describe such a process: imagine an animal is a carrier for a debilitating disease or mutation, yet is strong enough stave off death with what magic power it has. This animal will then go on to breed, producing offspring who will also carry this disease, weakening the fitness of all subsequent generations. If similar events like this occur enough times, a species in an area may eventually go extinct, with too many individuals without enough magic dying in droves.
That being said, with the ability to manifest magic on an individual basis being so rare, even in sapient species, so called implicit evolution through use of magic is a near impossibility. It is theorized that only the animal groups with the most developed of minds can even be affected by this phenomenon. Arguments have been made on the Isle of the Sages that the three great sapient species of giants, humans and Vull'jorg gradually evolved greater intelligence in a positive feedback with greater abilities to use magic, though these are unsubstantiated for the most part.
Examples of Implicit Evolution Through Magic
The only examples of Implicit Evolution via magic that have been confirmed come from highly isolated instances. One such example are the Storm-manes of the Danai lands on Tolu, a venerated population of horses that have seemingly managed to cultivate an above average occurrence of high soul-force in their ranks. As their name suggests, Storm-manes are distinguished by their preferential manipulation of electricity, often mimicking the electrical storms that are commonly seen around their habitat. This preference to channeling lightning has clearly influenced the biology of these equines, as the few specimens that have been studied all displayed a large, frizzy mane which can store a high voltage across its length. In addition to this adaptation, Storm-mane horses also exhibit highly insulated skin which gives them an innate resistance to electricity.
Both these adaptations are present in all Storm-manes, regardless if the individual can actually manipulate electric currents through magic or not. Hence this evolutionary change must have been facilitated by continuous exposure to manipulated lightning, with individuals who could withstand greater shocks surviving and producing offspring. These would in turn pass on resistance to their offspring, so as hundreds of thousands of years passed the Storm-mane sub-species would become adapted around the few members of the population who could wield such magic. This stands as the most definitive example of Implicit Evolution through use of magic.
Artificial Evolution Through Magical Tampering
What is far more common throughout Az's history is the creation of new species by direct biological manipulation using magic. Humans have made several successful species using different methods that change the DNA of a targeted group of animals.
Now, since the concept of DNA was unknown to the inhabitants of Az until very recently, most examples of artificial evolution were achieved through either haphazardly forcing traits to manifest spontaneously, or through gradually influencing a given trait across generations. The former, known as Rapid Bio-transfiguration, is a grueling process that is more likely to kill the target organism than anything else, while the latter, known as Mediated Bio-transfiguration is a more successful approach, which can cause permanent genetic change in a species in as few as 50 years in animals.
Examples of Rapid Bio-transfiguration
Rapid Bio-transfiguration has very few examples of successful application, with only the creation of the Fell during the Catastrophe of Kyner 600 years ago being counted a true success, in that the subsequent generations of those cursed people are all fertile and can readily produce more of their kind. Any other creature put under this process has seldom lived past a few years, thus this technique is more so used throughout history to make dreadful abominations for war, commonly by powerful mages who wish to quickly raise armies as to force their will over others.
Examples of Mediated Bio-transfiguration
Mediated Bio-transfiguration, owing to its less intrusive approach, has many recorded species attributed to it, such as the Beller Hound from Gurn, a canine breed derived from mastiffs and wolfhounds which is possessed of both gigantic size and great discipline, oft standing almost shoulder to shoulder with the average man. The Topopelo is a remarkable species, being a species evolved from the common mole, and after extensive genetic alteration over centuries have swelled to a great sizes of over two meters in length. Though the more enamouring feature of the Topopelos is their fur, which grows thick upon them and can be induced to turn many different colors and shades by feeding the newborn animal certain chemicals, ranging from natural hues of brown and black to albino white or even a royal blue. To round off these examples, the Nimagathna, the guiding frogs of the vast Gimean jungles and swamps. Small tree-dwelling amphibians, these creatures were painstakingly bred for generations to emit light and follow simple prompts, so that the local Gimeans could find their way through the treacherous night. When a threat is perceived, these frogs flash quickly to warn of danger, otherwise maintaining a steady glow for a time, before returning to the owner after a signal.
Thus, ends this simple overview of the concept of artificial evolution and the role magic plays in it.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments