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BananaScholar — Magic system overview
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Published: 2022-01-29 17:02:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 5031; Favourites: 37; Downloads: 0
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Description
All matter in existence is defined by its ability to interact with other matter – for otherwise it would be impossible to even detect it in a first place.
In the language of physics, this interaction is described as the application of force.
Conventional baryonic matter – the one constituting the bulk of the known cosmos – is limited to merely four such forces. And it’s from them alone the whole complexity of realms such as biochemistry or astrophysics, is derived.
But on their quest to reach the center of the universe, the Founders had registered and recorded numerous types of exotic matter – unusual “arcane” particles distinct from those the atoms are made of. Expectedly, the kinds of forces they exhibited were lying beyond the standard tetrad – and so after the establishment of Creacon, the Founders started to consider the possibility of harnessing them the same way fire and electricity were harness in the times of yore.
And thus the foundation stone of thaumaturgy was solemnly laid down!
* * *
The first step was fairly straightforward – in order to use the exotic matter, one must first have the exotic matter. And as it turned out, the mere act of gathering it alone was already a harsh challenge. Unlike most atomic elements, arcane particles didn’t form any solids, but was thinly distributed across the univerce in a gas-like state. So in order to harvest them, special “mining stations” had to be constructed in the depth of outer space. Localized in the regions of highest density of arcane matter and equipped with the powerful particle accelerators, they were able to capture the necessary particles and stabilize them within solid atomic mediums – thus, creating the first and most basic type of thaumaturgic catalysts, known colloquially as the arcane machines.
Most of such catalysts are crystalline in nature – and therefore often referred to as “magic crystals” in everyday speech – but fibrous, membranous and some other types of mediums had been created as well. The functionality of them is generally rooted in two core principles:
When conditions specific to a particular catalyst are met, it will generate a force inherent to it. Some catalysts produce gravity-like forces, pushing and pulling objects directly in front of them; some can heat their surroundings; some alter flow of electric charges or even bend the curvature of space-time – with the right combination of particles and mediums, possibilities are nearly endless.
Conditions of activation can include things like temperature, luminosity or pressure – but the most popular type of catalyst by far is piezoelectric. This way, the activation process not only doubles as the energy source, but also allows integrating the arcane crystals directly in the conventional circuitry. The end result is somewhat similar to the solenoid – but instead of crude magnetic force, it generates much more precise and directional arcane force that can be manipulated by tweaking with the inner nanostructure of devise.
This type of thaumaturgic catalysts is absolutely ubiquitous in the modern Assembly!
Essentially, if a mechanism is somehow tied to flying, making other stuff flying, generating force-fields, creating artificial gravity, creating artificial antigravity or lifting large amounts of mass – you can be 100% sure it has at least a few arcane crystals embedded somewhere in between its gears.
* * *
But all that being said, creating magical crystals was only a beginning!
For when the Age of Turmoil broke out, the scholars of Iona were truly fascinated with this new field of studies – and so it didn’t take much time before they tried to combine it with yet another mesmerizing Founders’ technology – the art of life-forging!
Of course, attempts to integrate thaumaturgy with living things were already made beforehand – but until that point, they only went as far as inserting crystals into various biomechanoids, such as Apostles . These creatures, however, had their entire biology intertwined with the arcane, giving them never before seen powers and abilities! The fundamental nature of such powers was identical to that of the arcane machines – but whereas machines had to rely on delicate mechanisms to function and were largely restricted by said mechanisms, the powers of the creatures brought to life by ionites flowed through their bodies freely and could be redirected by the mere force of will alone!
Eventually, these beings came to be known to the world as the Elder Gods .
And shortly after the symbiotic relations between them and their worshipers were established, it was discovered that their abilities could be borrowed. By entangling particular objects with particular gods through the threads of warped space, the priests managed to create the conduits capable of performing miracles – elaborate tricks achieved by channeling arcane forces directly from their patron deity. Whether or not these conduits were superior to the plain old machines is debatable – but it is certain that they were far more impressive to the masses. Whereas machines were often bulky and complex, conduits could be as simple as mere staffs or wands. In the times of early Golden Age they were everywhere – but now, as the world had become much more critical to the gods in general, their usage had been largely reduced to some very niche application.
Also, it should be noted that gods – being living things after all – tend to lose their arcane lifeblood over time and thus require periodical replenishments to remain vigorous. Gods who are actively worshiped or at least cooperated with typically gain their sustenance from the cities that follow them – but gods that were exiled and went feral obviously do not have access to such luxury.
For most of them, the solution is to attack and ravage cities and each other – but some especially powerful ones had developed the ability to temporarily venture into space and absorb raw arcane particles directly from there. This made them incredibly favorable prey for the other wild deities – and in turn caused them to gradually evolve into some of the most defensive, aggressive and dangerous creatures in the entire Assembly!
And lastly, it should be mentioned that exotic matter flowing in the bodies of gods can be extracted and used as a cheap source of arcane machines – which naturally means that there is long-running practice of hunting and killing wild gods for their life-force. The ethical ramifications of this practice, however, lie outside the scope of this document and thus won’t be discussed.
* * *
As was elaborated above, the creation of gods was a controversial decision in many aspects – but despite all the infamy it had, it also helped to advance the field thaumaturgy in one very unexpected direction!
In particular, the birth of the purely arcane lifeforms left many wondering – was it possible to imbue the regular, flesh and blood creatures with the arcane forces as well?
For many eons multiple scholars had worked on this idea, until finally, all of their collective researches had culminated in the creation of brand-new, biocompatible, finely dispersed type of catalyst! Although functionally similar to the standard crystalline ones used in circuits, these catalysts were cut in a form of extremely small grains capable of accumulating inside assemblians’ bodies, and their conditions of activation were directly linked to the host’s neural activity. This kind of magic-imbuing substance received many names – but for the sake of clarity, we will refer to it as “mana” from now on.
Initially, this mana was only restricted to the high-class warriors and explorers, who had to undergo special “infusion” procedures to gain its special powers – but over time, a thin layer of so called “background mana” had formed around the habitable Assembly, allowing virtually anyone to develop some arcane abilities with sufficient practice and concentration alone – albeit to the much more limited degree compared to those who were infused with it directly.
The source of energy in this case is the caster’s own body – which, as was mentioned earlier , can hold very high amounts of it – and the arcane force itself usually manifests as a something akin to telekinesis. However, outright moving objects with the force of will is relatively rare and complicated skill – with many more popular techniques being much more subtle. They include, to name a few:
- Increasing one’s physical strength by combining arcane force with the natural muscle force.
- Making one more resilient by counteracting any physical forces acting on the body.
- Making jumps and dashes that would be impossible to do otherwise, and increasing one’s mobility in general.
- Moving one’s own body parts. It can be used for relatively mundane purposes, like instantly adjusting fractured bones, but is fairly notorious for numerous absolutely insane and gory techniques that got popular in particular circles – such as shooting your own bones as projectiles or turning your blood vessels into prehensile tentacles.
- Bio-acceleration – a pretty difficult yet extremely popular technique of speeding up one’s metabolism. Primarily used for quick healing, such as regrowing lost limbs within minutes, but should be used very carefully – accelerated healing drains body’s reserves like a sponge, so misusing it can leave your emaciated and exhausted in the worst possible time.
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