About Magic Pt 1: What is Magic?
Magic is a form of energy. It behaves much like light— Both a particle and a wave. As such, it can be compressed into a tangible form. This is most often pure energy, and is a white, thick, and pearlescent substance as a liquid. As a solid, it can take many, often crystalline forms. This is often called seylar or lacrima, and it has many uses, such as combination, power sources, prototype pieces for teleportation and laser equipment, and most simply, to store magic for these and other uses.
In short, almost anything. There is no true known limit of magic. It may power entire civilizations in some places, or it may be only a part of others— It may not exist at all in some civilizations. It is best known for the roles it may have in technology and combat.
It is also part of the making of some beings, mostly golems and incorporeal beings such as ghosts and other “oddball” sorts of species such as istrethi and xan’ti, which are often held together by magic.
In users of magic, it is a secondary life source of sorts, granting a person extra physical strength, speed, endurance, and perhaps other useful abilities, dependent on the type of magic used.
An odd thing to note is that magic is often what allows for inter-species breeding, and often, in humans, allows for “freak” characteristics like oddly colored hair and eyes. A full-blooded human may have similar effects stemming from exposure to seylar over long periods. The colors their features will turn to are often related to their element or aspect, and is the source of motifs such as the redheaded fire mage.
There are many types of magic in existence— More than can possibly be covered here alone, or even be counted at all. However, they can be categorized into two main types, then into branching categories that sometimes overlap such as element, aspect, style, etc. The two main types, though, are Active and Passive.
Active magic is, more or less, exactly what it sounds like: Actively using magic. Most commonly, this comes in the form of using or casting spells, invoking the powers of another being, and actively using magical abilities (flight, transformation, and other abilities of a magical nature coming from one’s species).
Passive magic is not actively being used. It often manifests as an aura, the life force of a species such as istrethi and xan’thi, which live through the magic they contain. In the case of xan’thi, i keeps their bodies alight and held together, and in the case of istrethi, it only keeps their bodies held together, as beings both primarily comprised of energy. Other forms of passive energy may include golems and their life force, magical plants and animals (and other inherently magical materials or objects), inactive abilities of species, magical items not currently in use, and potions not made through the use of spells, whether or not they are actively affecting a being. This includes potions made from anything made above, or using liquid seylar, or “lyser”. This term was coined by the Nexonians, and is also used primarily by them and those knowing of or speaking their language, though it is still a common term that most will recognize.
Next, a look must be taken at the concept of “holy” magic and at restricted magic as a whole. “Black magic” and “white magic” do not truly exist. They are social constructs. All magic is the same at the core, even holy magic. It is not moral, despite the thought that it is, neither “good” or “evil”. Things of this nature are made or decided by the user and critics of the user or the magic itself. What often sets apart types of magic is who can inherently use it, for instance, dragons’ magic, humans’ or inhuman magic, demonic magic, and, of course, holy magic. Holy magic is defined as magic that the gods use, and especially that they have developed. Holy magic, as well as other “restricted” magic types, fall into two categories: transferable and non-transferable.
Transferable magic is the kind which can be learned from another, such as holy magic as learned by disciples, or “dragonslayer” magic, amongst others.
Non-transferable magic (sometimes referred to as “static”) is that which cannot be learned by another, such as the magic which keeps immortals alive, or that which keeps istrethi held together. The holy magic which gods do not teach falls into a gray area. It could be taught to another, however, it is taboo to do so, or the magic, especially something as cumbersome as the magic which creates an angel, is too much of a drain on the user’s energy to teach to a mortal, as a process which exhausts even a god to the point that no other hefty magical procedures may be done in a day is one that will surely result in the death of a lesser being before the procedure is even finished.
In conclusion, magic is a curious thing still not understood in full, even by the most brilliant minds. It inhabits most every piece of existence and lies within even a small piece of everything, magical and otherwise. As time goes on, we can only hope to understand it more and more, but never to master it, as it is far too grand a topic to truly master, even if it inhabits every part of your life.
