Magic is a powerful and important element within the Calliope Star Cluster. This guide gives a basic in-depth look at the settings magic ranging from the known schools of magic, their applications and uses, and what star-faring nations use what magic and how.

Magic exists within each and every living (and even some unliving and living dead) beings in the star cluster. While its origins are beyond debated and are well beyond the understanding of all the star-faring nations of the cluster there is some basic knowledge known to its practitioners and passed on throughout the generations.

Such information eludes that Magic as a term and descriptor is just a surface-level description for a complex and intricate series of interconnected of elements and forces that when under the right conditions create much of the effects and elements that we know today as “Magic”.

As such there are many different branches, schools, and styles of magic; Some overlapping, complimenting or complicating each other in their use. These magics are as varied and different as the many space-faring peoples and are even sometimes unique to them.

Magic is learned in very different ways. And no one single way is the right way to learn or even master magic, it is just the most optimal way one has learned to wield a magical art and has passed their knowledge on to disciples or apprentices to the point where it has become commonplace for them.

In reality magic of all kinds is raw and untamed. And there are more ways to harness it both efficiently and otherwise; Making it possible for two different practitioners who are the same in every way, even down to the magic they wield, to be vastly different in the outcome or output of a spell depending on how they learned to cast it, how efficiently their control over their flow is, and how raw the magic they have at their disposal is.

Magic can be learned by almost anyone. But what magic they can learn, their proficiency in that school, and their affinity for it are three different subjects.

To test ones affinity is often as easy as holding hands with a mage and allowing them to cycle mana through your body and then feeling the echo of the latent magic in the potential mages core and what magical affinities it resonates.

Magical affinities are a complicated subject kept short in this part. Affinities are how much connection an aspiring mage has towards their chosen branch(es) of magic, and how the connection was established. Affinities allow an element to be preferred by and come easier to an aspiring mage, while also causing them to struggle with or shy away from others. There are a variety of factors that affect which Elemental Affinity a person develops, but some are known to be: the location(s) they spend most of their time in, and train in, personality, the influence of others (a relative’s affinity may be passed down), experiences, etc. Likewise, once acquired affinities have the potential to affect a mages' mannerisms, personality, and behavior, as well as physical responses.

Affinities may have unique side-effects on their users depending on how much they act on this affinity and the strength of an individual’s magic and how much they resonate with their magics. A good example is the impulsiveness of fire mages, the compassion of life mages, the unsettling dread aspect of death mages, the obsession with not only the craftsmanship and technique of their magic but also how earth mages hone their body, and the mental prowess and intellect of thought mages.

The best way to connect with particular magic and gain an affinity for it can range from where one was born, their race or species, and any already known schools of magic.

• Location: Being born or living in a place with a high mana/magic density can naturally charge the body and core and open up latent magical circuits within the soul to more readily accept magic and its use. The location will also drastically limit one to their affinities.
  • Such examples include that living on a world of mostly vast oceans will naturally open affinities towards the water and wind-based attributes while limiting or closing off ones natural affinities for fire or earth due to the lack of exposure.
  • While it also explains while hell-creatures and demons have natural affinities for dark, fire, and earth-based magics but are widely weak to their opposite counterparts; Light, life, and holy magics which they are never exposed to and never gain an affinity for.
• Race: Some races are naturally more in tune or have greater affinities for certain magics compared to others. A human mage attuned in earth magic will never be as powerful as a dwarven counterpart whose race has a natural affinity for the earth.
• Latent Affinity: Knowing one school of magic may close one off to another. Knowing fire-based magic may close one off from understanding or even using water-based magics due to their opposite natures and how drastically different their motions, incantations, and even outputs are from one another.

As such it is common for your character to have an affinity in a select few schools of magic due to their species, upbringing, and experiences that will have opened them up to learn these schools of magic. The more magic they try to learn across several different schools of magic, the more they will have limited their potential and lowered their affinities across all other types.¹⁾

It is not uncommon for a race or person to have a double affinity for an element or school of magic. This is often in cases of race-specific traits such as water mages from oceanic or underwater worlds having a stronger affinity for water magic, or those who live underground having stronger ties to dark or earth magic.

Each and every living being in the setting has a core. This can be a literal core of crystalized mana in the case of some creatures or races, or a more figurative point in the body or soul where magic is first condensed much like the electrical signals of the brain and then sent down ones mana circuit and to a point of output.

The core is the source of ones mana they can draw on and works much the same as a muscle; Where flexing it constantly with use by performing magic will keep it in prime shape and constantly overexerting it through more powerful magics will at first drain one considerably and leave the caster fatigued, but over time and with enough practice and moderation will strengthen and enhance the mana core making it easier to cast and expanding the reservoir of mana one can call on.

A mana core can be damaged if too drastically drawn upon by magics beyond one's affinity and skill level, and even by backlash from magical attacks.

The body and soul are linked to a mana core with what are called magical circuits these are both literal and figurative veins and channels where mana passes through from the soul to the body and then a point of contact when casting. These circuits act much like a hose and nozzle where mana is channeled and then funneled out precisely.

Mana circuits can be damaged or even burst if overtaxed. Treat them like a hose filled with water that when backed up can burst.

Each and every spell has its own prerequisite and requirements to cast, manifest, or take hold.

For most spells it is as simple as intent and exertion of will, for others, it may require incantations as a shortcut to casting it that act as spoken formulas of words to recall arcane calculations drilled into memory.

Some spells may also require a catalyst such as a staff, stave, talisman, or piece of equipment that for some are necessary as they lack the means or power to perform powerful spells, and for others, they use them as a force multiplier to make their spells more powerful or to have better control over them. Such catalysts are always more than a piece of wood or paper and are hand-crafted with specialist materials that either naturally conducts or have been created to better channel magics.

For larger and grander devices such as large equipment, vehicles, instruments, relics, and ships often are designed and embuded from the ground up by skilled craftsmen and artificers and are not covered here.

The concepts of magic and science or technology are widely anathema to one another. While it is possible for these two concepts to co-exist or even merge with one another in the case of steampunk-style civilizations, the ndc, and the like. It is widely found that to lean heavily into one side will often see the loss in aptitude from the other.

This can be constructed as many things ranging from the intervention of cosmic beings or forces to a karmic imbalance, to even just a bias towards knowing one thing such as magic while technology is as foreign a concept to them as magic is for a purely technocratic people. This also adds that races and peoples more inclined to technology are found on worlds where there is very little latent magic, and that all the magic in their history is in tales and legends. While more magically inclined peoples are found on worlds and plains where there is a higher density which allowed the founding and discovery of magical formations and constructs, and that circuitry and batteries and radios and advanced forms of technology are non-existent in those forms but instead subsidized by magical counterparts.

Also, despite common debate on the subject Magic does not cancel out most any types of technology, and there is no known way to technologically cancel out magic²⁾.

Due to the inherent power and theory of nature, there are other planes of existence beyond our own. Ranging from abyssal and hellish plains where the average inhabitant is some kind of demon, to angelic cloudscapes with diving beings of incomprehensible forms.

And everything in between.

These plains of existence are extremely complex and hard to detail. But some mages either draw power from them, explore them, make pacts with the beings from them, or even summon from them into our plane of existence.

The most powerful and dangerous of these being are Gods, for lack of a better descriptor. These are often the oldest and most powerful of their kind and have powers and magics capable of altering reality as we know it. These beings can range from human-sized beings with deceptively powerful abilities who are incredibly hard to kill, to almost planet-sized beings who travel the cosmos and feed on the psychic energies of entire planets of living beings.

Despite their title as gods, and their overwhelming powers they can still be killed just like anything else in creation. You just need a big enough stick.

Some nations specialize in their own types of magic, here is a section for them.

(Coming soon~)

• Player char created this on 2021/10/31 13:42.

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