Magic

Magic is the act of changing the laws of physics, reality, and matter in the world of Aloria, by drawing upon other dimensions to break the rules of Aloria. Magic has a different meaning in nearly all societies, with many Heritages split between loving Magic and hating it. This Page explains the logic behind Magic in Aloria. The recommended reading portion is at the top, with Expanded Lore being optional reading for in-depth content.

Quick Start

This section will discuss how to tackle this page as quickly as possible to get into Roleplay as soon as possible. This page can be tackled in collaboration with, or without the Proficiency page, as the choices here are mostly aesthetic and do not reflect in Combat Roleplay.

Step 1 read the Dimensions section, and decide on 1, or multiple dimensional alignments for your Character.
Step 2 read the Learning section, and decide what type of Origin and Training your Mage Character has.
Step 3 read the Regalia section, so you have a general expectation of what Magic Roleplay is like.
Step 4 remember this information, or write it on your Character Sheet. You are now done here, but can read Expanded lore!

Dimensions

Aloria is separated from other dimensions or realms by the Veil, an imperceivable magical barrier. Magic users reach beyond this Veil to access Magic from the other realms and draw it to Regalia where they use it as fuel to cast Magic. More than one realm can be Aligned with, we generally recommend two realms for a new Character, but one is also good, though connecting to more makes a Mage weaker (see Arcane Harmony). This Page only contains a superficial overview of the realms for the sake of making a quick decision. For more in-depth analysis, see the Magic Realms Page.

The Abyss
The Eidolon
The Anima
The Hollow
The Vortex
The Eternum
The Dictat
The Silence

The Abyss is a realm of darkness, hedonism, and unrestrained freedom, where shadows and eternal red twilight seduce and overwhelm, hosting powerful Demons that seek to impose both liberation and corruption. It is opposed to the Eidolon, and allied with the Vortex.
The Eidolon is a realm of perfect angelic tranquility and geometric divine order, where harmony is achieved through strict dogma and harsh repression of deviancy, emphasizing stability and tradition and creating balance. It is opposed to the Abyss, and allied with the Eternum.
The Anima is a realm of abundant life and beauty filled with all manner of mystical critters and magical beasts, where immortal Fae wage endless wars of trickery and deceit, conscripting mortals to fight for their amusement. It is opposed to the Hollow, and allied with the Dictat.
The Hollow is a necropolis realm of death and finality, where tranquility exists alongside suffering, and Demons either consume souls out of hatred of the living or guide mortals to peaceful ends in pity for their pain. It is opposed to the Anima, and allied with the Silence.
The Vortex is a realm of relentless change and defiance, where chaos reigns, and landscapes shift with every blink. Above all, it is a realm in defiance of fate, that nobody is beyond saving, beyond changing, or beyond redemption. It is opposed to the Eternum and allied to the Abyss.
The Eternum is a realm of eternal stability and fixed destiny, where unchanging beauty and the comfort of the familiar defy decay, yet bring the oppressive weight of immutability. In it, fate is dogmatically followed and obeyed. It is opposed to the Vortex and allied to the Eidolon.
The Dictat is a realm of boundless knowledge and learning, an infinite library that stores every thought, from insights to drivel. Its Demons compulsively seeking information, forcing it on anyone who mistakenly listens. It is opposed to the Silence, and allied with the Anima.
The Silence is a realm of absolute emptiness, where knowledge and ideas are erased, and Demons destroy thoughts and histories to ensure nothing remains. Its hunger is both the gift of forgetting and the grief of unknown losses. It is opposed to the Dictat and allied to the Abyss.

Alignment does not dictate the types of Magic you can learn. Healing Magic for example is not unique to the realm of life. Alignment is chosen for ideological reasons, and while the colors and themes are just guidelines, we recommend gravitating toward them for cohesive character design.

Learning

Magic can be learned a number of ways. While it is possible to learn different dimensions or schools of Magic at various points in one’s life, a Mage only first learns to connect with the Veil once, which is called their Mage Origin. Mage Origins are split into the following.

Birth Origin refers to a Mage who was aligned to any realm from birth, and manifested from an early age.
Teaching Origin refers to a Mage who was aligned by being taught by a mentor, or book.
Blessing Origin refers to a Mage who was aligned as a gift/pact with a Demon, God, or other.
Curse Origin refers to a Mage who first aligned as a result of a Curse from a Demon or Object.

This choice relates to how a backstory pans out. E.g. children born with Magic in anti-Magic societies have a harsh childhood, while they have it easy in Magic societies. No one Origin makes a Mage better at casting Magic, every Mage must be taught, as even Birth Origin Mages are amateurs despite their born inclination. Next, consider how your Character became better at using Magic and practiced. This is called Mage Training.

Mentor Training refers to a Mage who was taught Magic by singular or multiple Mage mentors.
Book Training refers to a Mage who is largely self-taught, learning theory and techniques from books.
Trial Training refer to a Mage who used a process of dangerous trial and error over any official education.
School Training refers to a Mage who attended a prestigious Magical school or academy for learning.
Divine Training refers to a Mage who has their knowledge granted to them by a God of their Faith.
Demonic Training refers to a Mage who learned Magic from a Demon, or can only use it because of a possession.

You can learn different branches of Magic with different Training at any stage in life. Generally, when someone asks “How did you learn Magic?” you should only have to reply broadly which of the above applies, none is better or worse. See Magic Academies for a list of in-lore places of learning.

Regalia

Regalia, the place where most roleplay takes place, has a constantly shifting attitude towards Magic. The story goes, that Regalia is an Empire with a large Magic-using population, but with non-Mage rulers who are either afraid of or disgusted with Magic. Mages have contributed to saving the Regalian Empire numerous times from catastrophe, but are also immediately blamed for these events. Magic usage is also rife in the criminal underground, leading to a stilted view of how Magic could be used. Progressive forces always try to integrate Magic more into society, but are stymied by conservatives who fight to keep Magic hidden. Magic is generally tolerated so long as the Mage casts responsibly, and not in public or on the street without the necessary legal reprieve, for example by being a Knight or having some other form of legal exception to the law.

While the law is generally merciful and gentle, opinions on the ground can radically differ from person to person. While the law is generally protective of Mages and prevents their abuse, there are radicals in society who want to hurt Mages for what they are. Some Demons seek to feed off Mages or possess them, while some anti-Magic radicals want to outright kill Mages. Mages are also often easy scapegoats for noble schemes, making the day-to-day living of a Mage a careful balancing act between living free, and living with restraints to now draw too much attention. Your Mage Character will generally be liked by the majority population but may be randomly attacked by anti-Mage radicals or Demonic forces, while occasionally having to fend off the ignorant arm of the law that over-punishes and misunderstands Magic.

Expanded Lore

This section is not necessary to read to be allowed to use Magic in Roleplay. However, it contains a lot of technical information of how Magic works, moral implications, and the place of Magic in Aloria. As such, to avoid some confusion in roleplay, it can still be a good read, but can comfortably be delayed until later, as many of the problems that arise from Magic do not present themselves early on for new Characters.

The Veil

is an imperceivable barrier that separates the dimensions and realms from Aloria and even each other. The best way to think of the Veil is that it is like a shell around the planet of Aloria itself, but has cracks in it through which Magic breaks into Aloria. The Veil was once whole, but due to the hubris of the Seraph Civilization, was damaged, which in turn caused the Void Invasions to take place in which legions of Abyss Demons tried to purge all life from Aloria. The Veil is currently largely intact, but is still damaged from all events in history.

Elderlaw

Elderlaw simply put was the Magic before Magic, a form of doing Magical things with energies native to Aloria. Elderlaw is the power of Dragons, a tool by which they shape reality in the universe, but also create the world of Aloria as it is known. The last civilization of mortals that had Elderlaw were the Seraph. After they damaged the Veil in their hunger for more Magic, the Dragons destroyed all knowledge of Elderlaw to prevent it from falling in the hands of mortals. It is still possible to learn Elderlaw, but only through direct Dragon guidance.

Leylines

Leylines are an extension of Elderlaw, a network of imperceivable magical highways created by the Dragons to extend their power. In Aloria, Gods and Dragons aren't omnipotent or omniscient, they are restrained by their field of awareness, which for Dragons is quite narrow. Dragons can only directly see what their eyes can see, so they created the Leylines that span over the whole world to connect Dragon Sites, vast installations of Elderlaw and Dragontech which extend their interactions across the world. One such installation for example is the Orrorey, a vast detector that the Dragons use to locate objects across the world, feeding that information into the Leylines, and allowing the Dragons to perceive it thousands of miles away. The Leylines are sometimes hijacked by Mages, purely because they present a convenient highway through which to transit information, but the Dragons are very protective of who gets to interact with them. Leylines are also seductive to Demons, because of the raw Elderlaw Magic in them.

Religion and Gods

While originally some Religions in Aloria had issues with Magic or outright banned it, by the modern era, all Religions have found some form of acceptance of Magic and even celebrate it within their dogma. For each Religion, the nuance is slightly different, and this will give an overview. Generally speaking, all Religions at a baseline demand the proper and responsible usage of Magic in relation to Venting and Corruption.

Unionism views Magic as a blessed gift by the Gods, but one that can also equally be a terrible burden. To Unionisms, magic is no different than holding high political office, or having some exceptional skill, in that an expectation is attached to use it only for the good of the Empire. Frivolous and self-satisfying use of Magic is frowned upon. Unionism has no general preference for any of the realms.
Draconism views Magic as an irrevocable reality of the world, but one that the Dragons would really prefer to live without, but can tolerate. To Draconists, the right to live a full life is more important than the impact Magic could have, and Magic is still a necessary part of life at this point. Magic is acceptable within the fight against the traditional enemies of Draconism like the Malefica, and violent Demons.
Estelley is a Religion deeply steeped in Magic that not only encourages all of its worshipers to try Magic out, but actively worships the ideal of the Archmage Magic user. The majority of Mage supremacists are Estelley faithful, and being a Good Mage is considered a high virtue. Estelley as a Religion has a strong preference for Eidolon, Eternum, and Anima Magic, with only Abyss Magic being considered stigmatized.
Fornoss is a Religion deeply steeped in Magic, but also with inherent themes of Magic vs. Mundane, the idea that someone should both be able to become a strong Mage, but also strong in body and mind in opposition or defiance of Magic. Both must be considered equal ideals. The Fornoss Faith has a strong preference for Eidolon and Eternum for the Eili Gods, and Abyss and Silence for the Vola Gods, but other realms are also fine.
Evolism is a Relgion deeply steeped in Magic. It is in fact practically unthinkable that a Fornoss believer does not practice some form of Magic, as Magic is the cornerstone of their trans-dimensional ideology. Out of all Religions, Evolism is the most likely to tolerate irresponsible usage of Magic and Magic Corruption, so long as it is done for an explicit purpose other than just because or random terrorism.
Khama is a Religion that was until recently extremely anti-Magical, but has recently become more accepting because of their reality of their followers. Their anti-Magic stance is related to the societal trauma inflicted by Magic usage on their people, but they have come to accept Magic among them because it has become an undeniable part of the identity of some of their flock, who they do not want to reject.
Minor Faiths & Nilthism have no explicitly stated view against or in favor of Magic, and it should generally be considered to be entirely open to interpretation from the individual. Generally speaking though, Magic should be seen as a tool mucy like a weapon.

The Gods themselves have varying Magical inclinations. Generally, every God is at least a little bit Magical, though the exact nature of their Magic is dubious. Because Gods are an extension of the realm-crafting of Dragons, they can use Elderlaw, but they never exclusively use Elderlaw. Many of the Gods are Magically aligned, though their exact nature ranged from extremely obvious to very dubious. The Fornoss Gods are for example very explicit in their Abyss-Silence and Eidolon-Eternum alignments, while the Unionist Gods are very unclear, save for Caan who is explicitly Vortex and Dictat. For more specific information about Magic nuances in each Religion, or the alignment of their gods, see the Religion pages themselves.

Arcane Harmony

Arcane Harmony is the concept of Magical strength through harmonizing realms or alignments. A Mage who has aligned with opposing or many realms for example has reduced Arcane Harmony because their soul becomes conflicted by the many facets of the realms they are connected to. A Mage with low Arcane Harmony can draw upon less Magical energy from beyond the Veil and thus cast weaker spells. This does not affect Combat Roleplay Abilities or Stats, it is purely a mechanical approach for how strong Magic should be in more general Roleplay, which we allow Players to moderate themselves. When it comes to determining Arcane Harmony, the following rules apply to determine a Character's harmony:

Arcane Harmony is at a perfect 100% so long as a maximum of 2 realms are Aligned, and neither realm is of opposing alignment.
Arcane Harmony is reduced by 10% for every additional dimension that is aligned beyond 2, with a maximum reduction of 60%.
Arcane Harmony is reduced by 10% for every opposing pair that is aligned, with a maximum reduction of 40%.
Arcane Harmony cannot go lower than 10%, but such a Mage Is in essence 10x weaker than a Mage who has 100% Arcane Harmony.

Note, an Arcane Harmony of 80-90% is still acceptable. As a ground rule, we want to discourage the over-tuning of multiple dimensions and too many opposing pairs. There are circumstances in which someone with opposing realms can have a compelling character design, however, so try not to take 100% as an absolute necessity, because you may be inadvertently green-housing yourself from interesting character concepts.

Magic Costs

Magic always costs something. Because Magic is inherently against the natural state of reality and the world of Aloria, there is always some kind of impact of Magic on the world, and is usually not a good one. Elderlaw enforces reality as it was intended, and while Magic can suspend or alter that state of reality, Elderlaw will always attempt to correct its own reality and snap back like an elastic band would if stretched too far. For Mages, this comes down to mitigating the damage as much as possible, but complete negation is never possible. For them, the question is whether they want to be responsible with their Magic usage through proper Venting and discipline, or careless for the sake of personal convenience or indifference. Venting describes the general process of off-loading the cost of Magic onto activities or objects, to reduce the damage to the world. Magic is only as immoral as the caster wants it to be. Each Venting process has its own moral implications described below.

Reagent Venting

Reagent Venting is the act of using reagents or other casting agents to reduce the amount of Magic required, thus reducing the amount of strain on reality. For example, if you were to shoot a fireball spell from nothing, you would first need to suspend the reality law of matter (for the spark), then temperature (heat), and then inertia (movement). A Mage can use a flame spark reagent (like a small pouch of spark stones) to ignite, which removes the need to magically create matter from nothing, and also allows the Mage to throw that bag-turned-to-flame thus also removing the need to suspend the law of inertia. Reagents can be used to reduce the difficulty of a spell, thus reducing its impact, which is seen as a moral benefit.

Magestone Venting

Magestone Venting is the act of storing Magic corruption in so-called Magestone, phone-sized tablets that can contain magical corruption. For every spell a Mage uses, some corruption builds up in their body. Small amounts are generally not a problem, but the more corruption that accumulates, the more dangerous it is to a Mage's health. Corruption can effortlessly be transferred to Magestone where it is safely trapped. Magestone in turn can be stored safely somewhere and will slowly over the span of years break down the corruption inside until it becomes completely inert. In Regalia, several Magestone storage services exist, where couriers pick up Magestone tablets from Mages and deliver them to Arcane Vaults made by Aelrrigans.

Magestone Venting has downsides however, which is that Magestone by its nature attracts Demons. Demons are attracted to Magic usage in general, but Magestone has such concentrated magic corruption that Magestone is an almost irresistible delicacy for Demons. Arcane Vaults are routinely attacked by Demons who try to break in and consume the Magestone, as consuming any Magestone empowers a Demon and makes their Magic more powerful against Elderlaw. Furthermore, there are Demon summoners who actively go out of their way to try and steal Magestone, to feed it to their Bound Demons to make them more powerful. As such, Magestone Venting while most commonly done and seen as morally good, has some danger.

Burdened Venting

Burdened Venting is the act of using some immaterial substance or resource of Aloria to off-balance the cost and corruption of Magic. For smaller spells, one should think of using the life-essence of an animal or plant to prevent the buildup of corruption, but for larger spells this involves exchanging Divinium, Artifactsparks, and so on, to substantiate the cost. Burdened Venting prevents any corruption build-up, and thus the need to use reagents or Magestone Venting, but taking life-essence from animals, plants, or people, is considered immoral. Mages can in a pinch use Burdened Venting on themselves, shaving several years off their own lifespan to empower their Magic or to prevent any corruption from taking place.

Ejection Venting

Ejection Venting is choosing not to care about proper casting processes or responsible usage of Magic, and just ejecting all Corruption straight into the atmosphere or environment the moment it forms. Ejection Venting is obviously considered the most immoral form of Venting, as the Mage does not care what the corruption of reality does, or what the reality-snap could damage as collateral when it tries to correct itself. Corruption can take various forms, from outright making people sick with Magical ailments, killing them, or corrupting the environment, for example by turning plants and animals into rabid monsters. Ejection Venting is often done by criminals or terrorists who just do not care about the collateral.

Venting in Roleplay

When it comes to the practicality of roleplaying out Venting, it is assumed most Mages Vent their reality damage off-screen. That is to say, you can roleplay one of the above techniques if you want to, but nobody will be policing the correct amount of Venting, or policing how many Magestone tablets are being stored where. When it concerns much larger spells however, like moving parts of mountains or crushing whole buildings, we ask that you do not defer the reality damage, and only use such a spell when a Lore Staff DM is present (for example during an Event) to moderate the reality effects these spells cause, because their effects are usually immediate, and the small methods for venting the reality damage are not available. Abilities, Mechanics and the like, are all classified as small Magic. Big massive spells that have an impact on the world, are big Magic.