Hi, I was wondering if you had any StF headcanons about
A. Why even though apparently anyone can do magic, and there's even a sorcery class at RPA, only certain people are called sorcerers,
and B. What's the difference between a sorcerer/ess, a witch, and a wizard?
Hello Anon!
I do!
Fair Warning:
My child is terrified of a solid portion of S4 - exception being "Too Cute to Spook" & maybe one or two other episodes.
Thus, I don't end up watching that season very much. We just recently, as in within the last month, found Elena's episodes acceptable to sit through without hiding or asking for the show to be turned off because it is "too scary." Dax's Intro episode is also always skipped in the rewatch rotation. Like, the literal moment it starts Squish asks for it to be skipped because it's "too scary."
(If that gives you a clue to where we're at. Also, low key, Dax would LOVE to hear that. So, it kind of makes me laugh.)
However, that means I spend a decent bit of time on the Wikis or rewatching just small sections of certain episodes when I need to fact check something I can't look up.
That said, I've been trying, very slowly, to develop lore behind these questions based on:
A. What I've seen the show say directly
B. What I've been able to kind of piece together from the fact that each "creature" (fairies, witches, etc.) have their own Isles in the Mystic Isles
C. The fact that "sorcerers" seem to be, based on what they can do, a cross between "Wizards" - magic by study - and literal "Sorcerers" - magic by blood/birth, if we're basing things on DnD classes, in the StF universe.
In addition to observations from the show, I've also taken a fair amount of my own liberty in creating lore in regards to these questions with my head canons/ what I've developed for my fics.
I've done this in part because I frequently end up watching the show out of order (based on my kiddo's favorite episodes) AND because I sometimes just like to get funky and fill in plot holes I notice after my 6th or 7th rewatch of the same episode for my own pleasure/ sanity.
Why Are Only Certain People Called Sorcerers:
In my mind/ HC, this has to do with TWO things:
A.
There is some sort of "gift" or "natural born" inclination towards magic - usually of a particular discipline - through either a familial bloodline or just appearing randomly in a person.
** The reason RPA has sorcery classes is because those inclinations towards magic that can "randomly appear" are more likely to appear in Royal Blood lines (See: Elsa, Raps, etc.)
** However, any "sorcerer/ess" knows the fairies teach too broadly & without focus on the particular disciplines with which each Royal may be inclined. Thus, leading to magical mishaps when those gifts are discovered.
(Hehe ... I have so many ideas & HCs for little flashbacks/ micro fics about different students and their little "magical mishaps" in their pre-Merlin and Pecullian years.)
** I do think that, despite everyone in the EverRealm having some ... for lack of a better term ... magical "gift" / having the ability to perform some basic spells, that Sorcerers/esses are both drawn to magic and have some kind of internal magic within them that is needed for survival.
***** What I Mean By This: ******
** DRAWN TO MAGIC: **
A true Sorcerer/ess - not just a someone who can perform basic spells - but that literally needs to learn how to control the magic they possess and is, therefore, drawn towards learning magic as a discipline. It's not necessarily such that they master ALL forms of magic quickly, but it's more that they feel called to the study of magic.
I also think Sorcerers lead with their heart/ desire when it comes to magic.
They're the only magic performing creature/ class/ whatever that doesn't have a depicted Isle in the Mystic Isles.
Therefore, my thought is that they go there only when they die.
The Isle of Sorcerers is inaccessible to anyone living.
So, many cultures of Sorcerers have called the "Isle of Sorcerers" different names depending upon the Kingdom they hail from.
In Rudistan, it's "Valhalla."
In Corinthia, it's "The Underworld."
Etc. Etc.
It's their afterlife.
But, because of that, they're drawing from their place of deep desire.
Thus, spells do not work if a sorcerer/ess, in their hearts, do not desire it to work. A Sorcerer/ess may say they want something with their words. However, if their heart isn't in their words/ deeds, their magic will reflect that.
Therefore, any non-Sorcerer/ess who accesses magic (average individual OR Magical Being) can do just about anything they want/ are asked to do as long as they perform exactly the action and words in front of them.
However, a Sorcerer can only perform magic that is:
1. In alignment with what they deeply desire
2. Done with a sense of purpose & confidence in the action
3. (For Established Spells Only) Done correctly as written on the page
Average people just are less powerful/ capable of doing advanced spells than true Sorcerers/esses. Basic magic is available to anyone because it's a magical world.
** INTERNAL MAGIC: **
Basically, think of this like spell slots for a magic using DnD character.
Sorcerers have like a finite amount of magic within them, and they can burn it out completely if they're not careful. They need that internal magic to survive. If they burn it out completely, they need to grow it back in stability or they will die.
Therefore, growing back magic from a complete burn out takes a TON of time. IF it's not fatal.
This is why rituals have been developed for larger tasks & how Sorcerers have learned to blend their magic into more powerful spells.
The idea for this concept sprung from two places:
A. The way the ritual to free Elena from the Amulet is described in the Elena pilot episodes
B. The way Cedric reacts to pulling people out of the Amulet (despite magical support) in the Finale
One spell was done THROUGH significant ritual. The other one was basically the equivalent of using a single person as a human magic-lightning conductor rod to do what a statue did in a previous episode.
Actions?
I would like you to meet my friend, Consequences.
Additionally, we see that individual Sorcerers can choose to cast the same spell together. Thus, each individual adds their magic SEPARATELY to create a more powerful cast.
(See: "Gone With the Wand." - My gremlin loves Calista. I've seen every Calista episode like 8+ times each.)
So, how is this different from the Finale?
In my understanding/ what I've interpreted/ expanded on, when Sorcerers each cast a spell themselves to increase the strength of a spell no one has to direct the individual energies given to them.
They don't have to both CAST & FOCUS the spell because each person is doing that themselves.
However, that means each person has to know the same/ a similar type of spell.
When someone is desperate?
When they're the only one who knows and time is of the essence?
Well then, Actions?
Meet Consequences.
B.
Sorcerers study, a lot. Thus, it is also a title/ profession bestowed on folks who complete their studies & refine their innate magical gifts.
** I have to imagine there are "sorcerers/ess" out there. As in, people with deep ties to magic who never fully hone their powers/ cannot afford schooling BUT who still have an inclination towards magic. (Likely, these folks end up self-taught in some kind of discipline.)
** Therefore, there is also a sense that "Sorcerer" is a title. It shows the completion of some kind of course of study that refines the gifts, to which, that sorcerer is naturally inclined.
(I explore this through the story of an OC Cedric meets while he's at Hexley.)
Tangentially Related HC About RPA, An Increase In Students With Innate Magic in Sofia's Generation, & A Merlin Headcanon:
So, if you've read any of my other StF posts, you'll know that I base a lot of my Merlin Lore on the "Didot Perceval" (Perceval in Prose) as well as Disney's "Sword in the Stone" - from which the StF Merlin originated.
I've also been a HUGE Arthuriana buff since I was reading picture books of it since I was ... 7? 8?-ish?
Anyway, part of the reason I mention this is because, in the ending of the "Didot Perceval," Arthur is slain but Merlin is left immortal to live in his castle until he is ... effectively called on when the world is going to end? Kinda sorta?
A lot depends upon the translation.
Basically, the HC I hold about Sofia's classmates and the reason there is an increase in the amount of magic present in her time/ her peers is because the veil between the world's is close.
Like, the world is coming to a point of ending.
A lot of forces are moving in the world to cause it's destruction.
Obviously, the series ends with Prisma and Vor.
However, before them, there's Grimtrix and his Order.
Before that, Elena is still trapped in the Amulet, and she has been for 40+ years. This means Shuriki is still in power.
All that is to say nothing for The EverRealm's minor inconveniences/ other magic users in need of rehabilitation.
Therefore, Sofia's generation just happens to have several individuals, both Royal and not, gifted with greater or lesser amounts of magic because the EverRealm was trending towards a point of destruction, not unlike that at the time of Arthur.
Merlin, having somewhat foreseen this, left the Three Good Fairies with instructions to give a "Contest Winner" access to his fortress.
(Fun Fact: In the "Didot Perceval" it's called "Esplumoir." The title of "Esplumoir" might also crop up in one or two of the other variations on Arthur's story from that same time period, but it's most famous appearance is in the "Didot" because it's where Merlin goes to grieve Arthur's death until he's called on at the end of time, due to his immortality.)
Merlin instructs the Fairies to look for someone with "deep magical potential" who could "possibly help us stop the end times." He also reminds them "not to be afraid to look for Royals born amidst the peasants. Arthur was 'Wart' long before he was King."
What Merlin is really looking for is a prophet who can, hopefully, pull with her/him/them other pieces of the puzzle of the end of the world.
(As my personal stories/ writings continue, Calista ends up playing a huge role in stopping some major catastrophes.)
But, the Good Fairies, seeing an uptick in the number of magically inclined, if not true Sorcerer/ess born-Royals, begin searching for the person Merlin asked them to search for.
Thus, Sofia wins Merlin's "contest" and brings two others to Merlin (one canonically, and one in expansion) who will play "significant roles in preventing the end of the world."
[Cedric ensures Sofia doesn't end up in the Amulet forever - Canon. He also does some pretty nifty shiz post-canon in my stories as well, & Calista, as I mentioned, does some cool stuff, post-canon, in my stories as well.]
So, this ALSO explains why (in the show, at least) there is a heavy focus on teaching magic.
More RPA students than usual/ average have innate/ sorcerer-levels of magic during Sofia's generation because things are about to get CRAZY!
Difference Between Sorcerer/ess & Witch/Wizard
This is much easier to answer because I think cannon kinda-sorta touches on this?
Basically, Witches, like Fairies and other Magical Creatures, originate on the Mystic Isles.
They have an Isle of their own.
Thus, they are, first and foremost, Magical Beings.
Sorcerers are, to my understanding, born with a depth of connection to the Mystic Isles. But, think of it more like the Atlanteans from Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Connected. Deeply Dependent.
However, they don't **originate** from it in the same way that Witches and other Magical Beings/ Creatures do.
In my mind, this is why Sofia was chosen to be a Protector/ chosen by the Amulet. Her connection to the Isles is profound and deep because she was born a Sorceress.
So, kinda sorta like Kida in Atlantis, beyond the Protectors even, the Isles themselves choose her/ draw Sofia towards the Protectors to serve the purpose they need her to serve for the time she needs to ensure the afterlife (as in the memory) of all Sorcerers/essess remain.
[It's not exactly like that? But, kinda? It's the best explanation I have outside of the handful of scenes explaining things I've developed/ my really super detailed chicken scratch that makes no sense to anyone who does not live in my head.]
(That said, please, go watch that movie if you've never seen it. Both Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet are DEEPLY underrated.)
I got the Atlantis connection from Azurine's crystals, actually.
They reminded me of the crystals from Atlantis. So, I decided to make the connection more official when I was developing out the lore for my fics.
[Side Note: I think ... I think? ... I have dropped a connection/ reference to almost every full-length Disney film as well as several Disney TV show/ cartoons into the lore of my fics/ HCs somewhere.
I've also developed OCs based on my kiddo's favorite characters from other Disney Jr. Shows.
However, this all appears across like 3-4 full length fics that I've planned, as well as a few of the shorter "novella" type ones.
I think the most bonkers thing I've done is included an in-universe reason for both an accurate AND inaccurate representation of the myth of Heracles vs. the Disney film Hercules.]
But, TL; DR
My HC is that the biggest difference between a Sorcerer/ess and a Witch/ Wizard is that Witches & Wizards are Magical Creatures or Beings originating from the Mystic Isles whereas a Sorcerer/ess is connected to the Mystic Isles more through their spirit/ soul/ desire/ memory.
Closing Remarks
Thank you so much for asking these questions! I had a ton of fun answering them/ breaking back into the fandom through this nice softball.
I suppose this marks a more official end to my hiatus?
Still not sure how active I'm going to be because things are still kind of nutty.
But, I thank you anyway Anon and I appreciate the ask! :)
Cheers, Pip