Adia, while not necessarily overtly dependent on magic, has it imbued deeply within the planet itself. It has become a basis for some of the largest religions and has influenced the relation between the mortals and their world.
Adian magic primarily exists in the form of the “miraculous plane”, also known as the Thaumic sphere, a secondary layer of the planet (akin to an atmosphere) that covers the entirety of the world, housing spirits, souls, special energies and paraphysical essences, collectively referred to as Thaumic energies. A lot of worlds demonstrate this phenomenon and Adia is among where the presence of the sphere is strongest.
Within the magical sciences (known as Thaumatology in Adia), the Thaumic Sphere is depicted as an abode of dynamic power and unfettered energy, and is one half of the cosmic duality along with the “physical plane” (the Temporal sphere), which is identified with rigidity and coherence. These two planes are extremely close, but due to both existing on different planes of existence cannot directly influence each other. Current cosmological theory suggest that the Thaumic sphere is more of a circulating phenomenon, flowing around specific conduits that fuels life and sapience to its Temporal counterpart. Various points throughout Adia are considered hotspots or nexi of Thaumic activity, and thus anyone with an affinity to it (being anyone with a soul) can conduct or influence it naturally. Naturally, Thaumatological study and conduction of these hotspots have been common throughout history, especially among religious institutions such as the Amatorian Churches.
Thaumic energies influence humans similar to how radiation works. Most of the time, every living creature is influenced by Thaumic energies (having consciousnesses/souls, which are coherent manifestations of Thaumic energy). Depending on the conditions of the energy and the exposed, Thaumic energies can improve, deteriorate or transform a person’s physical and mental state. Prolonged exposure could lead to further irreversible effects, thus making it a common weapon of mass destruction. Such exposure is also the reason for the further dispersion of biological humans to different species.
The Thaumatological field, compared to the physical sciences, have fewer and more concise branches of thought, and are commonly divided into two modalities: the religious and the scientific. The religious modality is called Divination, in which Thaumic essences are studied and interpreted within the lens of religious cosmologies. The scientific modality, Metaphysics, looks at such from a neutral and entirely empirical view. The divide between Divination and Metaphysics have become a deep factor in world politics, where Divination has been the ground of more conservative entities and Metaphysics the field of the more liberal and forward-looking “Conditary world”.
imagenotes
[1] a diagram of an istanic thaumic seal.
[2] a foriscian divinator casting a spell.
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