Netardapope
Sage
Hey, friends. I've been working on rebuilding my magic system as of late, and I was wondering if any of you would be willing to read through my current notes. There is some language you might not understand, but everything you need to comprehend the magic should be rather clear. If there are any errors in spelling, my apologies in advance. And sorry for the text walls, they are kind of a given. Feel free to ask questions and don't censor any critique, regardless of how vulgar it may seem.
The magic in the whole of Altarum is based on a few principles which underlie every other aspect of the system. Prime among these principles is the Doctrine of Divine Connection, wherein it is held that all living beings existed in the intersection of what is known as the Mortal Planes and the Astral Planes of Existence. With this in mind, the whole of a living organism is not present within one realm or another, rather, each Realm partitions aspects of the being. For example, the Mortal Realm encompasses the body of an organism, yet it does contain it's Hallowed Essence which is the bridge to the Astral Projection of that being.
With regard to Astral Projection, there is much to be theorized about it. Distilled to its simpler points, an Astral Projection is a being's Heavenly body, thusly, no damage directly focused on the physical husk might harm the Astral Projection, but the opposite of this is not true. Damage directed at the Astral Projection could manifest physically. The Astral Projection is the source of all magic, as it is the aspect of that being which is connected to the Astral Realm, but the process of redirecting Astral Energy from the Hallowed Essence, translating it into an element, and into the physical body is one that will drastically lower the true power of the attack and harm the Siphoner. Siphoning is the process in which an individual translates Astral Energy into the Arcane energy that can be seen in the elements. This process is damaging, as all attempts to Siphon must stretch out the Hallowed Essence within that being, and should that Hallowed Essence be stretched too far, the being's spiritual link with its Astral Projection would be severed, causing instant death. Siphoner's must begin their training at early ages while their Hallowed Essence is still malleable, this way, it is simple to manage it when the Siphoner grows older. Of course, most youth whom learn magic are only those that are gifted, as most people capable of Siphoning are a minority ever since the Fall of the Eternal City.
There is much said of the Hallowed Essence, yet very little is known. What is theorized is that the Hallowed Essence is what gives life to earthly bodies, as it connects them to their Astral Projections that transmit the Spirit of the Exalted One into all Thinking Souls. What is know is that it is composed of an individual aspect of all four elements, yet they are all asleep unless the individual wishes to become a Siphoner, in which they would go through the Awakening process to rouse one of the Elementals from their slumber. All the Elementals that compose the Hallowed Essence will have some sort of personality once they are Awakened Brothers or Sisters. These Elementals are crucial not only for their companionship but also because they are the one's whom carry out the final process of translating the Astral Energy into their respective element, but is only if they Will such a thing to be. The Siphoner is expected to be on good terms with the Elemental that they have chosen to awake, they are expected to converse with this elemental and entertain them with the discovery of new knowledge. That being said, there are three different Schools of Thought when it comes to how one should manage their elementals, however, only one of these philosophies is encouraged among Siphoners.
Synchronization: The official approach to using one's elemental. Both the Siphoner and the Awoken elemental are in a relationship as equals, where they both learn from one another and coordinate their use of magical techniques with one another rather than keeping to themselves. For the scant few whom are fortunate enough to be trained in Siphoning, these make up the majority. These are mainly Siphoners whom come from nobility or in other words folk whom are able to pay for a tutor to teach them how to manage their Hallowed Essence.
Submission: The first outlawed approach to using one's elemental. Only the Siphoner holds control when it comes to using Siphoned Arts. In order for this to be possible, one of two things must be true. Either the Awakened Elemental has a weak personality, with the Siphoner taking advantage of this by imposing his/her own will over that of their elemental, This is Willful Submission, or, the Awakened Elemental has been rid of any personality through the use of a process called Silencing. In here, the Elemental is incapable of excercising their will as their Siphoner has turned them into what amounts to a puppet. This process is forbidden for three reasons, firstly, it is considered unethical to treat one's elementals in that fashion, secondly, this allots power that extends beyond the norm for a Siphoner, having the potential to use such power could sever a Siphoner's Hallowed Essence, killing both the Siphoner and the Elementals inside of him, and thirdly, it could lead to the Third Philosophy, which we will discuss in a moment. That being said, most whom go through this are regular Siphoners whom desire power or are too eager to end their training.
Domination: This one is among the reason that many look at Siphoners with wary eyes, and it was the last to be outlawed. In this Philosophy, the Elemental has managed to consumed both the Mortal and Astral body of the Siphoner which had controlled it, in essence, destroying the Siphoner both physically and spiritually. This happens when users of Willful Submission face the backlash of their angered elemental, when unexperienced folk try to dabble in the use of their Hallowed Essence and are incapable of balancing their Will with that of their Awakened Elemental, and rarely when a Silenced Elemental is capable of freeing themselves of the hex. These can pose a threat to all of Altarum, as Elementals whom Dominate their Siphoners go berserk, and if they are not contained quickly, they could stretch the Hallowed Essence of a Siphoner that one of two things could happen. Usually, since most Siphoners cannot handle the stress of having their Hallowed Essence be stretched so thin, there is an outburst of Astral Energy when the Hallowed Essence breaks, capable of destroying mass swathes of land. The Archduchy of Eranam had all of its farmable lands destroyed in an outburst of Astral Energy at the hands of a middling Siphoner, this was enough to cause the downfall of the Archduchy within a few months. Now all that remains of it are scorched prairies and ruins. In the worst cases, if an master magician is somehow Dominated, their Hallowed Essence would be strong enough to handle being stretched, however, this causes an even larger issue. The Hallowed Essence becomes so large that it serves as a massive gateway between other dimensions. The Meirun whom inhabit the northern reaches of Sulfar came from such a Gateway after the Master Siphoness, Iruna, was consumed by her Elemental during a fit of insanity. These are a threat to all of Mankind.
***
The magic in the whole of Altarum is based on a few principles which underlie every other aspect of the system. Prime among these principles is the Doctrine of Divine Connection, wherein it is held that all living beings existed in the intersection of what is known as the Mortal Planes and the Astral Planes of Existence. With this in mind, the whole of a living organism is not present within one realm or another, rather, each Realm partitions aspects of the being. For example, the Mortal Realm encompasses the body of an organism, yet it does contain it's Hallowed Essence which is the bridge to the Astral Projection of that being.
With regard to Astral Projection, there is much to be theorized about it. Distilled to its simpler points, an Astral Projection is a being's Heavenly body, thusly, no damage directly focused on the physical husk might harm the Astral Projection, but the opposite of this is not true. Damage directed at the Astral Projection could manifest physically. The Astral Projection is the source of all magic, as it is the aspect of that being which is connected to the Astral Realm, but the process of redirecting Astral Energy from the Hallowed Essence, translating it into an element, and into the physical body is one that will drastically lower the true power of the attack and harm the Siphoner. Siphoning is the process in which an individual translates Astral Energy into the Arcane energy that can be seen in the elements. This process is damaging, as all attempts to Siphon must stretch out the Hallowed Essence within that being, and should that Hallowed Essence be stretched too far, the being's spiritual link with its Astral Projection would be severed, causing instant death. Siphoner's must begin their training at early ages while their Hallowed Essence is still malleable, this way, it is simple to manage it when the Siphoner grows older. Of course, most youth whom learn magic are only those that are gifted, as most people capable of Siphoning are a minority ever since the Fall of the Eternal City.
There is much said of the Hallowed Essence, yet very little is known. What is theorized is that the Hallowed Essence is what gives life to earthly bodies, as it connects them to their Astral Projections that transmit the Spirit of the Exalted One into all Thinking Souls. What is know is that it is composed of an individual aspect of all four elements, yet they are all asleep unless the individual wishes to become a Siphoner, in which they would go through the Awakening process to rouse one of the Elementals from their slumber. All the Elementals that compose the Hallowed Essence will have some sort of personality once they are Awakened Brothers or Sisters. These Elementals are crucial not only for their companionship but also because they are the one's whom carry out the final process of translating the Astral Energy into their respective element, but is only if they Will such a thing to be. The Siphoner is expected to be on good terms with the Elemental that they have chosen to awake, they are expected to converse with this elemental and entertain them with the discovery of new knowledge. That being said, there are three different Schools of Thought when it comes to how one should manage their elementals, however, only one of these philosophies is encouraged among Siphoners.
Synchronization: The official approach to using one's elemental. Both the Siphoner and the Awoken elemental are in a relationship as equals, where they both learn from one another and coordinate their use of magical techniques with one another rather than keeping to themselves. For the scant few whom are fortunate enough to be trained in Siphoning, these make up the majority. These are mainly Siphoners whom come from nobility or in other words folk whom are able to pay for a tutor to teach them how to manage their Hallowed Essence.
Submission: The first outlawed approach to using one's elemental. Only the Siphoner holds control when it comes to using Siphoned Arts. In order for this to be possible, one of two things must be true. Either the Awakened Elemental has a weak personality, with the Siphoner taking advantage of this by imposing his/her own will over that of their elemental, This is Willful Submission, or, the Awakened Elemental has been rid of any personality through the use of a process called Silencing. In here, the Elemental is incapable of excercising their will as their Siphoner has turned them into what amounts to a puppet. This process is forbidden for three reasons, firstly, it is considered unethical to treat one's elementals in that fashion, secondly, this allots power that extends beyond the norm for a Siphoner, having the potential to use such power could sever a Siphoner's Hallowed Essence, killing both the Siphoner and the Elementals inside of him, and thirdly, it could lead to the Third Philosophy, which we will discuss in a moment. That being said, most whom go through this are regular Siphoners whom desire power or are too eager to end their training.
Domination: This one is among the reason that many look at Siphoners with wary eyes, and it was the last to be outlawed. In this Philosophy, the Elemental has managed to consumed both the Mortal and Astral body of the Siphoner which had controlled it, in essence, destroying the Siphoner both physically and spiritually. This happens when users of Willful Submission face the backlash of their angered elemental, when unexperienced folk try to dabble in the use of their Hallowed Essence and are incapable of balancing their Will with that of their Awakened Elemental, and rarely when a Silenced Elemental is capable of freeing themselves of the hex. These can pose a threat to all of Altarum, as Elementals whom Dominate their Siphoners go berserk, and if they are not contained quickly, they could stretch the Hallowed Essence of a Siphoner that one of two things could happen. Usually, since most Siphoners cannot handle the stress of having their Hallowed Essence be stretched so thin, there is an outburst of Astral Energy when the Hallowed Essence breaks, capable of destroying mass swathes of land. The Archduchy of Eranam had all of its farmable lands destroyed in an outburst of Astral Energy at the hands of a middling Siphoner, this was enough to cause the downfall of the Archduchy within a few months. Now all that remains of it are scorched prairies and ruins. In the worst cases, if an master magician is somehow Dominated, their Hallowed Essence would be strong enough to handle being stretched, however, this causes an even larger issue. The Hallowed Essence becomes so large that it serves as a massive gateway between other dimensions. The Meirun whom inhabit the northern reaches of Sulfar came from such a Gateway after the Master Siphoness, Iruna, was consumed by her Elemental during a fit of insanity. These are a threat to all of Mankind.
Archmage