Magic

Magic and You

The world of Amerilia is one of high magic and wonder, from magical sciences and magic-tech such as runic, steamwork, and clockwork magic to the more ethereal and less understood psionic and ancient magic. Whatever type of magic exists it is usually broken down into the below categories for simplicity and often is merely referred to by its 'general type' than anything more specific. Often times, when a magical item is referred to by a specific type it is because it is obviously of that nature, for example, a rune lantern specifically uses runic magic and only runic magic so it is referred to as rune magic. While something like a vending machine that dispenses cold drinks uses the complexity of a mundane clockwork machine and rune of frost to cool the drinks, thus making most refer to it more simply as magi-tech.

Magic is very common across the world and employed at just about every stage of life be it from those naturally infused with varying forms of magic like the lagus, salamanders, or kaxxis or those whom come from empires that widely employ them such as the empire or federation. As a result of how common it is magic has also become highly commodified, most mechanical and clockwork technology is infused with magic to augment its purposes. For example, the pinnacle of mechanical technology now are combustion trains. The step up from these mechanical wonders are runic locomotives that rely on mana batteries as a power source rather than a combustion engine. But, like with this example, better rarely means cheaper and thus some impressive magical machines are rare enough to still be novelties or notable across the wider world.

Runic Magic

Type: Magi-Tech
Disciplines: Battlemage, Freedom, Occult, Order, Rosaria, Rune Master
Origin: Dwarven Kingdoms (Formerly), Onokrin Empire (Ogres)
Bodily Changes: Rune lanterns are an ornately carved implant set in the center of the chest.
Runic magic is considered the most respected form of magic as its methods and applications can be considered more approachable to science than something ethereal like ancient or psionic magic. As a result, runic magic is the most widely used and appreciated form of magic available. Through the use of meticulously carved runes, runic magic withdraws the natural essence in all objects to form a powerful enchantment. Through the application of multiple runes used in conjunction with slight modifications in size and shape, rune masters can create new and interesting applications of power. A simple rune of fire on the end of a wand combined with an activation rune that, when pressed, shoots out a small fire blast is relatively simple. While a modified rifle employing a fire rune, focusing rune, activation rune, and several batteries powered by lightning runes makes for a fully automatic wand in the shape of an easily aimed firearm. Runic magic has been around for a few centuries now and because of its ordered nature, it is a staple of all forms of magic, even capable of branching out and mixing with others thanks to its consistency.

For those who go a step further and get rune lanterns installed, this make them rune mages and unlocks various magical powers depending on the rune they are attuned with. Any lantern bearer may attune themselves to any type of runic magic, but the process does take several hours as the new rune is attuned. The rune lantern itself is an oblong object installed directly in the chest, between the breast, where it is fused to the rib cage. As rune lanterns are an empire secret and were originally designed by the zealous dwarves they come with built in fail safes that result in the user dying and the device being fried if ever forcefully removed. While still possible to have it taken out by a rosaria, most rune mages are mages for life.

Disciplines

• Rune Master - Rune masters, often called technomancers as slang, are those who focus on creation and forging magical objects. Rune masters specialize in making weapons, machines, golems, and upgrading existing technology from mundane parts to specialized magical parts. Any good rune master has a rune forge and the talents to use it. Rune masters are also widely known for their use of magi-tech weapons, ranging from wands and staves to full blown magitech firearms.

• Rosaria - The rosaria are the widest spread and most well known and appreciated form of runic magic across the entire world with only weavers coming in second to their magical talents in healing. The rosaria are expert healers, their specific type of runic attunement granting them exceptionally useful spells for healing entire groups of people with every casting. Most rosaria further dedicate themselves by becoming surgeons and alchemists to further advance their abilities as a healer, diagnosing and treating more complex injuries using any available method at their disposal. These humanitarian approach makes rosaria a valued favorite across the world.

• Battlemage - The iconic empire battlemage, most well-known for the empire's ogre mage legions. Most battle mages are soldiers who employ their magical talents to augment their battle prowess. As a discipline first made by ogre's there is a heavy emphasis on melee combat, with spells to knock enemies down to allow a mage to close the gap and destructive smiting spells to better slay your enemies. Most battle mages use similar armor and tools and in Hammer's Fall can summon a standard suit of equipment from the Ascendant armory. Finally, battle mages have a purpose for battle and thus have spells that alert them to nearby enemies. Sadly, unlike true empire legion battlemages, few can wear the super heavy plate that the empire legions are known for.

• Freedom - Also known as bards in slang, freedom lanterns are created by followers of Ravendara to uphold her care-free and wild nature. These lanterns come with favorable boosting enchantments that are sung to bolster those around them, be it improving their bodies, minds, or enhancing their step to keep moving. Additionally, as the goddess of nature and agriculture, freedom lanterns can also use spells to create food and promote agriculture.

• Order - Generally referred to as monks, those of the lanterns of order are followers of Baitaal, the god of strength and order. Order lanterns were created under the express purpose of bolstering the user's self-control and allowing them to shrug off effects that would otherwise impede them. Users can negate the effects of pain entirely, reduce incoming damage, and bolster themselves through meditation be it themselves or another.

• Occult - Occult lanterns are the newest and youngest form of runic magic that primarily come from Crullfield, where its originator, lord Bonecaller Magnus, holds sway with his legions of necromancers. Occult lanterns are, due to the complex politics of the empire, not inherently outlawed but most necromancers are wary of broadcasting their attunement publicly or being known as a dark magus. While necromancers apart of Magnus's Black Hand are capable of controlling and commanding a wide variety of undead to run the many factories of Crullfield, lesser and common occultist can only control a single undead or summon a single daemon to obey them.

Psionics

Type: Supernatural
Disciplines: Elementalist, Mesmerist, Mindwright, Telekinetics, Vitalist
Origin: Warren Federation (Lagus), Kaxxis (Racially)
Bodily Changes: Psions have discolored purplish brains and their eyes glow in the dark at all times.
Psionics is a branch of magic that is considered supernatural in nature and uses an internal resource known as essence that is directly derived from the user's intellect and willpower. Psions are often born as psions but a select few later develop their psionic abilities over time, sometimes through being inducted by an extremely powerful psion or more often through happenstance nobody fully understands. Psionics are greatly affected by their personal emotions and their powers are thus far more unpredictable than other fields of magic. The environment is also said to heavily affect psions, with high magic areas sometimes manifesting into strange and temporary powers which alters the psion for a time. Like rune lanterns, psions may attune themselves to different disciplines through a long ritualistic meditation that requires intense levels of focus, often supported by incense and personal objects used as foci. Some psions may also become locked into their specific discipline because of their personality and emotions, incapable of attuning to another path.

Disciplines

• Elementalist - The ability to psychically control and produce elemental effects ranging from fireballs, lightning blasts, and orbs of frost. While powerful, elementalist are often said to burn out quickly and have brash natures due to their powers taking much of their essence per use. Elementalists make up the primary soldiers of the federation thanks to their destructive might and often carry cerebrix injectors to restore spent essence quickly, a habit that many often make jokes about. The power of elementalist is severely limited compared to other disciplines but what it does do it does exceptionally well.

• Mesmerist - The ability to modify and overwhelm others thoughts for good or ill. Mesmerist can hypnotize people to put them to sleep, greatly enhance other's body and mind through suggestion, call and banish creatures with their psychic screams, and ensure total self-control by freeing themselves of all forms of pain, stuns, paralysis, or restraints. The most iconic abilities of the mesmerist of being able to locate people by their thoughts, including the recently deceased and being able to completely overwhelm creatures they can grapple to serve them. Mesmerist are said to be very introverted and introspective. Most tend to be kaxxis, where the discipline is most widely used and thus have given them a reputation of being untrustworthy, but the federation employs legions of them as enforcers who use their abilities to force confessions from the guilty or control dangerous beasts into loyal companions.

• Mindwright - The more tool inclined path of psionics. Mindwrights can forge tools or manifest temporary ones with their psychic abilities. They have limited abilities to change and adjust magical oddities as well, though this is less refined than most methods. Mindwrights favor creation and thus serve alongside rune masters. Most are described as inquisitive and thoughtful and are find among the federation engineers that continually maintain, build, and expand their underground empire. Most mindwrights are considered on par with rune masters in terms of their creation abilities and many consider them the federations take on the magical artificer.

• Telekineticist - Also known as force mages, the telekineticist can manifest physical changes around them and create force weapons such as psychic blades and shields. They are experts at moving objects with their mind and have a variety of supportive powers. Telekineticists are said to be the default that most psions begin as and thus have no special disposition to any one emotion. Most people who later become psions will often manifest their powers in this form and as a result, at least among the federation, it is considered the discipline of the youth to be later discarded with age.

• Vitalist - The healing path, the vitalist are capable of healing others for vast amounts of damage and can be considered experts on the body. Thus they serve as a different type of healer and are a match to the standard rosaria in the healing arts. While lesser known than the rosaria (and often called rosaria by mistake) the vitalist can be likened to a specialist rather than a generalist as a healer. Federation forces employ vitalist alongside rosaria to act as triage experts by having them save those closest to Xaal's embrace. While not common, on the front lines of the current war many vitalist are referred to as miracle workers through using their greater but singularly focused healing spells.

Clockwork Magic

Type: Magi-Tech
Disciplines: Brass Heart
Origin: Order of Brass (Organization)
Bodily Changes: The heart is replaced with a brass replica.
Clockwork magic is often derided by its own users as not being magic at all but a form of technology on par, but seperate, from mechanical technology that employs heavy use of alchemy and steam rather than runes of power. Clockwork magic is not exclusive to other forms of magic and, like runic magic, can be combined for greater effects. Most clockwork magic is known for its use of brass and alchemy as it focuses on enhancing the natural function of its users and enhancing complex clockwork golems. Clockwork magic is exclusive to the Order of Brass, magicians from the City of Brass who train those willing to learn at the cost of becoming a brass heart (sometimes called gear hearts) by voluntarily replacing their natural heart with one forged from brass. Though it is technically reversible, few members ever willingly restore their natural heart as the brass heart enhances the bearer to an almost super-human level. The one main advantage brass hearts have over regular runic mages or psions is, without a doubt, their ability to further replace their body with clockwork parts. What is mechanical is superior and what isn't is augmented.

Clockwork magic is considered uncommon compared to runic magic but can still be found around the world, as the city of brass churns out many quality-of-life creations to fund their research and livelihoods. Originally the city was created by the legendary lord Lonesome Gract, a goblin wizard who disappeared some decades ago. He is now presumed dead, but his life's work carries on through the master artisans of his order who rule by a council in his stead. Though the city of brass is not large, nor populated, enough to be what anyone would consider a polity in its own right it swears fealty to the empire and many of its members are often empire citizens.

Ancient Magic

Type: Ethereal
Disciplines: Varies
Origin: Unknown, presumed gods or dragons.
Bodily Changes: Varies
Ancient magic is the oldest form of magic and is natural to all places where man and beast alike wander. Though it is ancient as the name implies it is the least understood and most difficult to learn branch of magic that exists. Before the advent of runic and the more wide spread formal training of psionics, ancient magic was wielded by the rarest and most powerful magi to ever tread the world. Ancient magic requires years and decades of study to understand, a single wizard perhaps being lucky to memorize a single spell which he can reproduce reliably and consistently only after a decade of intense study. An expert wizard might learn three or four spells over the span of his life and only lords of magic ever learned to truly create spells of immense power, these wizards always becoming recognized lords. The greatest known wizard across the world is Sad King Briareus, leader of the Ascendant, said to only be rivaled by Black Harvester Lazarus of ancient legend that appeared during the lich war.

While most must learn ancient magic some races have inherent abilities to perform what is considered ancient magic outright. These are seperate from natural psionics such as the lagus or kaxxis by way of always being capable of use from any member of said race. This is often more commonly found in beasts rather than people as only elves, trolls, and salamanders being considered magical by nature. For elves it is unknown how their magical talents work but for salamanders it manifests in the form of innate pyromantic abilities that allow them to cast fireballs or forge and fix metal objects with magical ease. For trolls, it is contested on if they are considered capable of ancient magic as trolls themselves speak that Ravendara has blessed them all with the power of healing and regeneration thanks to their race-wide devotion and physical resemblance to the goddess. Others claim this ability is natural and that their religion has little to do with it as even trolls devoted to other gods or simply uncaring of Ravendara can still rapidly regenerate. Those who watched a troll lose an arm only to regenerate it within minutes often have little doubt to their magical nature.

Alchemy

Type: Natural
Disciplines: Varies
Origin: Universal
Bodily Changes: None
Alchemy, much like mechanical science, is considered more of a natural extension of a learning world rather than the growth of magical abilities. Alchemy is still considered magic due to being able to replicate magical spells and effects through their processes. Most, if not all, rosaria can also be considered alchemist but many independent individuals become alchemists of some renown as a means of supporting themselves. Alchemy is a popular form of quasi-magic that often supplements whoever needs it, be it a warrior who needs to enhance their senses, a psion needing to restore his essence, or a lantern bearer needing greater focus to weave his spells. Alchemy can range from healing, supplements, and other powerful effects and thus is employed by nearly everyone. The most powerful of alchemy often requires reagents grown from rare plants or extracted from the bodies of powerful magical beasts, thus the most expensive and powerful alchemy has to be purchased from the Steel Legion, which has cornered the market for magical reagents extracted from the leviathans they hunt at sea.

Life Weaving

Type: Magi-Tech
Disciplines: Weaver
Origin: Steel Legion (Deerfolk)
Bodily Changes: None, but weavers often weave themselves to appear more unique.
A form of magic nearly exclusive to the steel legion and the deerfolk that is capable of modifying and enchanting the body. Weaving is largely used for its healing purposes, allowing a body to be rebuilt to its natural state in the event of a lost limb, organ, or destroyed body. Weaving was largely used by the deerfolk and minotaur in history for simply that, with only a mild side business of being able to offer light cosmetic changes such as changing hair, eye, or fur color and adjust minor details like horn shape or slightly adjust size. Weaving did not really come into its own until contact with the empire, where early experiments with other races discovered that humans could be weaved beyond what was normal, allowing them to change their entire appearance and bodily structure to a much more drastic degree than other races. This discovery allowed the deerfolk to not only better refine weaving but unlocked the secrets of enchanting the body, allowing others to bear long term magical enchantments that directly infused their bodies.

While enchantments were useful, weaving these days is most profitably used for cosmetic changes and often supports the healing talents of rosaria and vitalists. The steel legion will often weave humans into yokai and pay for them to simply exist in their courts and estates as a sign of opulence and status. This has caused weaving to become a widely known magic but its abilities and how it works remains the secret of the deerfolk within the legion. If anyone finds weaving services anywhere, one finds a deerfolk controlling it and they are ruthless about maintaining this monopoly.

Runestone Magic

Runestone magic is a type of runic magic popular among mages for its amusing and sometimes devastating affects. Though it uses and is considered runic magic it is technically a type of ancient magic that changes to an inconsistent state each day. Rune stones are most widely employed by soldiers, mercenaries, and adventurers much in the same way people employ grenades.

Runestone magic relies on the user engraving runes on a titular runestone or runic circle, and then activating the stone to get a reaction. Which reaction happens depend on the combination of runes engraved on the object.
Runestones are single-use, becoming spent after activation, same with runic circles.

Runic Circles can also be drawn on the floor to act as traps.

All runestones have a delay of 3 seconds between the activation and the actualization of its effect.
Runes can be engraved using any Cutting tool on a runestone.

Concepts

Each rune that can be engraved represent a concept. Which rune represent which concept changes daily, meaning users have to keep finding which runes represent which Concept.
However, most if not all concepts have a single-rune Effect that allow for the identification of the rune's concept.

Effects

Effects are what happen when a rune is successfully activated with a correct combination of runes depending on their concepts.
Runes can be required to be repeated multiple times, but the order of engraving does not matter.
Runestones with a invalid combination will fizzles upon activation.
Any extra runes added to a valid combination will make it invalid, unless you happened upon another valid combination.