Magic

The people of Arascon have a deep fear of the undead and necromancy. All of the Magic Institutes have forbidden any magic that could be remotely considered within this realm. Even the Art of Divine Resurrection is banned by law under pain of life imprisonment.

Another form of magic that is feared is telepathy and psionics. Those who practice these arts are thought to be witches. People found guilty of mind reading or telepathy are often stoned to death. The only exception to this is the Knight of Divination who serves in the Queen's Black Dove Guard. The people of Arascon think common mages who practice this art are seeking retribution from the Gods for trying to take power away from the Holy Sisters.

Magic in general is wide spread and free to learn should you be willing to join the Gold Star for a term equal to the amount of time you spent in the Magic Institute. There are Five Major Institutes of Magic in Arascon. Magic is plentiful and most people have a rudimentary understanding of how it works. Minor magical items can be found in any major city and several minor ones sold inexpensively. The Major Institutes are located in the following cities: Amberlin-Pastine, Lilurline, Kach, Redbend, and Whitegrove. There are also smaller Magic Institutes in other cities, including Redbend, Marino and Facil. The only major city where there is not a magical institute is the city of Keth. This is because the House of Magen abhors magic and the military and would not allow one to be built in their city.

Spell magic can use two different types of energy. Most uses personal energy. This is the energy of the soul. Depending on the difficulty and complexity of the spell, it can be incredibly draining to cast real magic. Spell casting is much more common than its counterpart spell weaving. Spell casting usually uses words along with a magical focus (a wand, staff, stone or even a pointed finger).

The second type of magic a spell can use is thread magic. Threads are what connect everything. To use thread magic, you must weave magical threads before casting. Weaving threads takes time and there must be thread energy around from which to weave. Usually casters move their hands and chant to weave threads. Spell weaving is very difficult and the effects can backfire if the threads are woven improperly or if the area is affected by either a curse or a magical void.

At the Magical Institutes, both forms of magic are taught. Generally, mages choose one or the other to focus on. Most choose to use spell casting. However, some forms of magic require threads to cast. Teleportation is an example of this.

Healing magic can be either thread magic or personal magic. Most temples and other institutions of healing sit on magic foci where a high density of threads intersect to make using thread magic easier. Also, priests and healers who dedicate themselves to healing use thread magic in these cases because of the sheer energy it would take to sustain daily healing.