Magic

….. “The world is turning. Stars pass through the sky at night, and the Orb of Sheliak lights it by day. The moon of Loran keeps its course, circling every thirty days, lit by Sheliak’s light. The moon of Wor’yck hovers out there too, far from Naeja, making its revolution every eighty years. Those stars, seen only by night, are always there, and together they make the symbols of our gods. When these constellations rise into view they grant the deities a more direct influence over the world. Their priests can perform rituals normally mundane at other times of the year, and the gods themselves can send avatars to the world to perform their duties. These are not the only stars of importance though. There are many symbols in that celestial sphere. The constellations are a written language, which reveal the secrets of creation. Aminus himself is at the center of the universe. The Silent Watcher, it is called, birthplace of the universe. It is said to be both the gate to the eternal realms, ever present in the northern sky, the eye of Aminus observes all of creation. Rising and falling with turning of the earth are the stars that symbolize the eight Philosophies of Magic; Divination, Evocation, Necromancy, Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Ilusion and Alteration. It is through these eight constellations that magic wields its power over the universe. Beyond those stars are the constellations of the Divinities who rule over the seasons, each one rising at sunrise in the time of that season. Stretching across the widest length of sky, following the path of the Orb of Sheliak, the Moon of Woryck and all the other celestial bodies, are the Ecliptics, Constellations of twelve animals, each representing one aspect of nature. Descending towards the south are the constellations of the Prime Divinities, whose will controls the Mortal Realms, twelve in all. Finally, setting in the southern sky, barely visible but at the depth of night are the constellations of lesser divinities. Their power is minor, but they have attained positions of importance such that they rule over a domain represented in the stars. These are the constellations, and it is in the stars that magic resounds.
Wizards, Sorcerers, Bards, Druids, Clerics and Oracles; we are all the same in reality. The gods themselves wield a portion of the power of creation, which we wizards call the Source. The Source is all around us. It is in everything and it drives all time and motion. No one being, save Aminus, could ever learn to control the Source entirely. Even deities are limited. While they have absolute control over their dominions, they cannot control much beyond them. Their power is also their limit. Their priests are granted access to their power through rituals and prayers, or a direct link to the deity such as an Oracle would demonstrate.
Druids, it would seem, are priests, but in truth they do not divine their power from the deities they worship. Instead they access the Source directly, though they are limited to the rituals of the natural forces, which have been taught to them by their gods. It is true, perhaps, that Druids have come closest to what one might say is the “intended” way that mortals should access the source. They are not directed by the gods, but do not, either, seek to upset the balance of creation. This is where Wizards have gone awry too many times, and have thus angered the gods.
Wizards are students of the Source. The word ‘Wizard’ itself is derived from the ancient word ‘Vizier’, which means “seeker of the truth”. We seek to learn all the secrets of creation, and so ignore the conventional “blind leadings” of the deities. We study and record every detail we can discover. We have written them down over centuries and have devised our own “rituals” and “prayers” to bend the Source to our will. We call these Spells, and the act of casting spells is called Magic. Hence, those Wizards who cast spells are Magicians, or Mages. These Magi once gathered together to form great Schools of Magic, but all but a few were wiped out in Tides of Darkness that overcame the world at the end of the Age of Glory.
There are others though, who have been born with a greater understanding of the Source. They can feel it and bend it to their will without the need of Spells. It seems that they might only need to see the way the source is manipulated once to learn to do so themselves, much as a child learns to speak a word she has just heard. We call these people Sorcerers. They have an incredible talent, though it they are apparently limited in how much they can learn. While Wizards keep spell books, which they can refer to over and over again, Sorcerers have no such storage of knowledge. It would seem the complexity of controlling the Source is so much that they cannot retain a great plethora of that skill. However, a few Sorcerers have been known to take on the arduous study of Magic so that they may have a greater access to the Source that are so adept at manipulating.
I have learned that Bards are a distinctively unique cast of people. They do not realize it, but they are, in their own way, a form of Wizard. It seems, that the universe is stringed like a harp, and if the chords are struck with a great enough will one can make music. If this music is put to a harmony then the Source can be wielded. Hence, Bards have created their own versions of “Spells” that they call “Songs”. While anyone can play a song on a musical instrument with a small amount of skill and talent, it takes a powerful mind to use it to wield the Source. Hence, the Bardic Colleges of Moar and Rona are in their own way Schools of Magic.
There are other beings that access the source. Some learn minor rituals, symbols, or incantations, which, when set with a will, can focus the Source. There are also creatures that can control the source through natural means, a power they are born with by the intent of Aminus. Dragons it seems are much like Sorcerers, in that they can cast any spell they have seen performed only once.”

Omar.jpg

Ara-Arcana


Arcane Magic

Wizard

Sorcerer

Spell Books

Rods, Staves and Wands

Astromancy

Components

Empathic Magic

Arcane Geographies

New Spells

Magic Items

Banned Spells

Duervan Lores

Schools (Subschools): Abjuration, Conjuration (Calling, Creation, Healing, Summoning, Teleportation), Divination, Enchantment (Charm, Compulsion), Evocation, Illusion (Figment, Glamer, Pattern, Phantasm, Shadow), Necromancy, Transmutation.

Descriptors: acid, air, chaotic, cold, darkness, death, earth, electricity, evil, fear, fire, force, good, language-dependent, lawful, light, mind-affecting, sonic, and water.


Bardic Magic


Divine Magic

Domains: Air, Animal, Chaos, Death, Destruction, Earth, Evil, Fire, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Luck, Magic, Plant, Protection, Strength, Sun, Travel, Trickery, War and Water.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License