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Introduction
Introduction
The rules of magic in this world are simple. Magic is based on elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Nature. All of these have their own evolved branches.
You cannot create all these elements out of nowhere. It must come from a source that you can perceive. You must use its essence for spells. For players, you must see your element to use it. Fire will not come from your hands. You must burn wood first, or find a burning tree, or harness the heat of the sun. Having a source that you can perceive also means you must see or feel it. Being blindfolded will easily prevent you from using magic.
No one is able to control 2 elements - only aspects do. And no one becomes an aspect.
In this world, the more you study to become the best mage, and become more powerful with it, the more your body weakens. Magic here comes from the mind, and as you focus your affinity to magic, your brain takes in more nutrients. Powerful mages here are frail and thin. And the older you are, it is expected that you are more powerful. Otherwise, you simply wasted your body and your potential.
Mana
Mana
The energy that flows through all
Mana is the mysterious, intangible force that binds through all living things. It attaches to some non-living things when a living thing uses it. This is where magic is done. It is easy to think of mana as a rope that can be used to grab objects if need be. The people that are known to control these threads are what’s known as Manaborn.
When a mage uses a spell, a thread of mana gets stuck into their body. This creates a glowing effect on the body (known commonly as a Luxen Line), which could potentially be harmful if not treated.
Manaborn
Manaborn
The Exceptionals
Manaborn are people with a genetic mutation called an ‘Arcane Lobe’. This grants them the ability to control mana and grab elements around them. With this additional lobe, their brains tend to be slightly larger than normal people's brains. However, they must refine their Arcane Lobe by meditating and practicing magic. Mastering one element is virtually the only option, as your affinity to connecting your mind to an element makes it easier to use mana.
The more you meditate, the higher your affinity becomes. The higher your affinity becomes, the more powerful you are in magic.
What is Affinity?
What is Affinity?
Magical Affinity, or simply known as ‘affinity’, is a term used to describe how well you are able to control your element, and how long you could do it. In the world of TSC, using too much magic will force mana to be absorbed by the body part you use to control it, creating an effect known medically as a ‘Arcalumenary Nerve’, commonly known as a ‘Mana Vein’ or ‘Luxen’ lines. These luxen lines can grow the more you use magic, and spread from the body part you commonly use for magic, up to the pupil of the eyes. However, you must beware, the more you use magic, and the more these veins grow, the more you will experience mental pain. Symptoms include moderate-severe nose bleeding, moderate-severe headaches, and sometimes even fatigue. If you, as a mage, push yourself too hard despite this, the Arcalumenary Nerves reaches the eyes, and eventually, the pupil. If this happens, there is no turning back, as you will experience one of the worst deaths in all of this world - Sorcerer’s Syndrome.
Affinity is the muscle of your magical mind. The higher your affinity, the more you can take the growth of your arcalumenary veins. This means that the higher your affinity is, the more spells you can do. This also means that the higher your affinity is, the more you can do more powerful spells.
What Conjuring a spell looks like
What Conjuring a spell looks like
Doing magic in TSC usually involves using mana to grab an element from a source, usually breaking it down to its finest 'essence', holding that essence and turning it into the spell you wish to conjure, and releasing it into another area. For users of the Vulcan System, and the Eastern Style, it is very straightforward, but for Spellcasters, an additional step must be made whenever you cast a spell, which is to state the spell while holding it, in order to release it.
Quick refreshers
Quick refreshers
Mana
Binding force of magic
Affinity
Someone’s capability to hold and use mana
Manaborn
People born with a fully-developed Arcane Lobe.
Source
A place where an element is found.
Sorcerer’s Syndrome
Sorcerer’s Syndrome
In Hreinngar, it is a gesture of mercy and kindness to cut someone’s head if someone is found to be screaming with their eyes glowing, and their luxen lines start pulsating. This is because when this happens, the body collapses, only prioritizing the brain, and preserving it. The mind then begins to use everything to keep your entire self stimulated - and mostly, this is negative.
If you suffer from Sorcerer's Syndrome, there is no cure. You will scream until you die, and you will feel pain that no one has ever felt before. You will beg for death.
What does Sorcerer's Syndrome do to you specifically?
What does Sorcerer's Syndrome do to you specifically?
Azarieth the Sorcerer was the first to study this, and gave his life for the clarity of such conditions. He measured the pain of multiple scenarios. However, when it came to sorcerer’s syndrome, he begged his assistant to put it on the highest scale of pain, before begging his assistant to kill him.
Studies have shown that Sorcerer’s Syndrome inhibits the mage from using their body. The mind, as some would suggest, would overdrive the pain inhibitors of the brain to constantly awaken the person. A scholar working closely about this topic has concluded the following;
Once you suffer from sorcerer’s syndrome, there is nothing that can be done to save you anymore. You cannot speak, you cannot move, you cannot see, you cannot hear, and you cannot smell. Once you experience this, you will be trapped in an endless void of pain and suffering that no one will ever fathom. You can scream and shout, but that is the only thing you can do, as if to call out the wolves of a forest, hoping they would tear you off limb from limb - a fate so insignificant to the pain you’re feeling. It is a nightmare while awake. It is an execution while you live.
When a person suffers from this syndrome, they will be seen first falling into what seems to be an unconscious state while the eyes shine bright. They will then start screaming as their body reflexively shakes. In some cases, they will bleed from their mouths and eyes, or even ears. When this happens, most mages choke from their own blood. If not, theoretically, they could scream for over 2 days without any medical intervention until all their energy runs out, or their body goes into shock.
Prevention of Sorcerer’s Syndrome
Prevention of Sorcerer’s Syndrome
Luckily, there is a very effective fix to fight sorcerer’s syndrome. This is through meditation. In the olden days, it was believed that rest and care was the cure to prevent Sorcerer’s Syndrome. This made people treat Mages as delicate people, which likely made them worshiped and even now, highly respected.
Meditation
Meditation
More common in the north of Selyria, meditation requires an absolute state of focus on the mind. This way, your body flushes out the mana built up inside your body, and trains your mind to be used to this situation. Usually, your mind will also adapt to this, creating what’s known as a ‘Vulcan Effect’, where the Arcane Lobe tells the body to take in more nutrients to power it, and flush out mana much more efficiently, leading to nutrients not being prioritized to the body that much. This is why high level mages tend to be very thin, and for virtually all grandmasters, look extremely malnourished.
While meditating, your body releases dopamine, making you feel relaxed, and tempting you to further meditate. However, this is very dangerous, and may lead to extreme consequences.
The Dangers of Meditating too much
The Dangers of Meditating too much
High level mages, such as Masters or Grandmasters, who meditate too much, may end up overwhelming their Arcane Lobe, forcing it to attach towards their vicinity and attaching themselves to it in order to supply nutrients to it. For pyromancers, hydromancers, and aeromancers, this usually means falling into a coma until they die of starvation, but for Geomancers and Sanamancers, this is different.
For Geomancers, it is known to be that the nearest rocks will start to move and attach to their body. Their body will start to naturally cling on to these materials, until it becomes part of them. While they fall into a coma, they will slowly change their body. Brown hard fleshy parts will soon start to grow on top of their body, as well as their back, as their main energy source will be the sun. Some golems even become steel golems, which are much more faster as their metal plates gather much more energy from the sun.
For Sanamancers, it is also the same, but they won't just gain energy from the sun, but they can also absorb plant and animal matter for sustenance. This makes them much more agile and helps them heal quicker.
Reorientation
Reorientation
While meditation is practiced in the west, reorientation is a practice in the east. By using different parts of your body when casting spells, you ensure that your luxen lines will be more spread out, allowing you to keep casting spells, albeit in a less flexible and less powerful manner. Only a limited amount of capabilities and spells are known to be made by doing this, and oftentimes, it takes far longer to flush out your luxen lines should you do this, as there is much more to be taken out.
Spellcasting
Spellcasting
Most common in the south of Selyria, spellcasting is a practice of deliberately taking out your focus on your Arcane Lobe, and supplementing it with your Frontal Lobe. By using words you associate with a spell, you can easily use your Arcane Lobe to do magic. While this is the safest way to use magic, making it the most popular prevention method in the south, it is very slow and extremely predictable if used in a duel. Spells are also often inflexible, leading to less creative ways to use an element.
Rest
Rest
Yes, sleeping is also another form of sorcerer's syndrome prevention. While this will not increase your affinity, it will flush out your luxen lines. Keep in mind that you may need days of 8 hour rests to fully flush out your luxen lines if you pushed yourself near your limit, but if you only used a small amount of spells, you may only need 1 night of rest.
This is more popular towards spellswords, and low affinity type mages such as Imperials and Benders. This is very practical and also has lesser side effects.
Affinity-Induced Malnourishment
Affinity-Induced Malnourishment
Mages in this world can mostly be easily distinguished based on their level of skinniness. This is due to the Arcane Lobe doing its work to divert most nutrients to itself more rather than the body.
This is why you will see a lot of mages wear loose and sometimes baggy outfits, as some become ashamed to show their body. This has become a staple in a lot of mages in the world, but in Hreinngar especially, this is much more prominent, with some even wearing large hats to hide their wrinkles and ragged hair, since the nutrients that make hair and face glow and stay healthy, are not put into the body.
To most mages however, this is a worthy tradeoff. The power that a lot of mages have regarding this is simply extreme. The power to cast lightning, to collapse hills, to control someone’s limbs - to the average mage, it is worth such superficial sacrifice as one’s own body.
The Systems of Magical Use
The Systems of Magical Use
As time has gone by, different cultures have created different systems - both as a choice of aesthetic, but also to suit their nations’ needs. A style can be known as a mage’s way of handling their magic, and how they balance their physical power compared to their magical power.
The 3 systems are the Imperial System, The Western Style, and Eastern Style. There used to be a 4th system, known as “Acta Miraculorum”, more commonly named “The Arcane Arts”, but this is simply lost in time.
Imperial System
Imperial System
The Imperial System is a magical system that is about pushing a mage to their absolute limit. There is no meditation if one uses this style. The way of “recovery” is through indulgences, and whatever it is that makes someone comfortable, happy, and/or focused. Martinus Triventius is a good example of this, as during his time, he was treated like a god, as a way to help him recover his affinity. This style is considered extremely useless by today’s standards as the advancements in studies and research go forth. Users of the imperial system are known as 'Sorcerers'.
Sorcerers never reach the level of a Master, or at least, they can never recreate the spells that Masters do. However, their "low-level" spells pack a stronger punch.
Current sorcerers are known to be either the most disciplined, or insane, and generally, there is no in-between. In the current age, followers of Martinus Triventius pursue recovery through focus and discipline, while followers of Grandmaster Lillith Avarisia participate in very hedonistic activities such as drugs and violence to truly reach maximum 'comfort' and 'happiness'. However, despite these differences, these mages are also known as one of the hardest to break, both physically and mentally, and are known to be the most tenacious when it comes to fighting. To sorcerers, dark times create hard mages.
Western Style
Western Style
Western Style is a system that focuses primarily on the mental part of magic. Oftentimes, mages who practice this are thin, but are capable of doing extreme feats. While much more risky than Eastern Style, the magical flexibility and raw power this gives to the user is terrifying. Western style however has two more subsystems under it.
Spellcasting
Spellcasting
Spellcasting is a subsystem of the Western Style that primarily uses spell incantations to prevent sorcerer’s syndrome. It is slow, but safe, and only takes a little bit of affinity, which in theory, lets you cast more spells. While western style mages mix both spellbinding and the Vulcan System from time to time, mages who primarily use this system are known as 'Spellcasters'.
The Vulcan System
The Vulcan System
The Vulcan System is a subsystem of the Western Style that focuses on quick and fast drawing of spells, making you much more unpredictable and fast in combat. This requires a lot of affinity and focus, and often risks death. Those who practice this system are said to be fearless, and are the home of the ones who wish to truly prove themselves… at least that’s what Hreinngar’s documents say. While western style mages mix both spellbinding and the Vulcan System from time to time, mages who primarily use this system are known as 'Wizards'.
Eastern Style
Eastern Style
Eastern Style focuses more on the body and wellbeing of the person. A combination of Meditation, Reorientation, and Martial Arts are a staple of Eastern Style. While their spells may not be as powerful, and their limits of magical strength only reach the levels that prefects have, Eastern Style helps the user recover more quickly. Eastern style doesn’t necessarily revolve around magic however, and it is meant more as a supplement to martial arts. Eastern Style users are known as 'Benders' in Shiniya, and 'Spellswords' in Selyria and other places.
Hyperfocus
Hyperfocus
A very mysterious and rare occurrence when a mage has maximized their focus to the point where they, as studies would write down "develop a primal connection with mana."
The SUV has since noted this as 'hyperfocusing'. This has massive benefits, allowing a mage to do spells a little bit beyond their capabilities. However, every second is a moment of pain, pushing a mage to stop their focus.
While in a state of hyperfocus, a mage's luxen lines will grow a little bit less, but veins will be found near the eyes, called 'Focus Veins', that some mage schools have found to be a connection that when the arcalumenary nerve touches it, the mage immediately suffers Sorcerer's Syndrome.
When a mage gets out of hyperfocus, the focus veins will disappear. Mages who use the Imperial System are usually the ones who know how to use this.
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