Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of every rule of magic. Luckily, that’s what notebooks and beginner classes are for… it also helps to have friends who actually take notes. Like Andrea!
Spellcasting I - Andrea Moment
Introduction
The Nexus is the core of magical spellcasting, certain things and people can interact with it in certain ways, which means that to use it otherwise, you need assistance connecting to it or to commune with a being who can. Godspeech manipulates the Nexus, as do its runes, and some creatures are born with the power to interact with it. A creature’s magical talent is something determined by where it’s from, their personality, and the nature of their first interaction with the Nexus. For example, Terence’s was demonic due to his natural abilities, so he makes an excellent demonic warlock, and Cathryn is a hotheaded individual, and she first used the Godspeech word for fire, since then her connection to that element has been fostered into a talent.
(Oi, I am not THAT hotheaded! -Cathryn)
Channeling magic is exhausting and each individual acts like a nozzle, they can let a certain amount out, if they let more at once out they risk damage, if they let it out too fast they risk damage, and if they let out too much out they risk running dry for a time which could be deadly in a battle. Those without a natural connection find this even more dangerous.
Planes and Portals
Permanent portals require a large amount of magic to create, and can only be maintained in places where the flow of the nexus is largely consistent. Ex: Scathe and the Valt
Teleportation requires the user to be able to either move along the Nexus as magic, utilize another plane to travel (why demonic teleportation often manifests as a swirl of fire and smoke), or be able to bend reality in some other way. Ex: me! :/
Only Major Gods can control Outer Realms, including Asharderis, Selmara, Lith, Gothrag, Oetheus, Dalthneshtar, and the Archivist.
Mortal planes all have guardian beings that protect them, otherwise they aren’t recognized as full planes. Ex: Oka Raldar and the First Twisted. Scathe is therefore not a full mortal plane, rather it is considered a demi-plane.
Binding Magical Beings
Necromancy has two main forms, animating corpses with dark energy, or returning souls to the living world. The latter brings the immediate area around it in contact with Oetheus’s realm, thus causing food to decay and such.
Similarly, summonings bring the area near them close to the native plane of the creature you’re calling. Furusato is exempt from this due to the nature of their Spirit World, also known as the Great Crossing. Ex: A summoning circle that calls a demon can have burn marks and the air smells like sulfur
Demons are the substance of the Demon Realm given form, a husk demon that is just this substance decays quickly and can’t get much stronger than a normal demon. However, if given a soul, a husk is immortal and can rise even beyond the ranks it could otherwise. Demons forget their mortal lives. Ex: Mephistopheles doesn’t know who he was before he was a demon.
(Did you go picking my mom’s brain for info? You could have just asked me! -Terence)
Bindings require the user to overpower andtransform a being into pure essence which, the more normal flesh they have, the harder it is. Ex: Demons are easier than humans
Beings created in outer planes have innately more magic than normal creatures.
Conceptuality
Primal Spirits are manifestations of concepts of nature or places in nature where the Nexus is pooled.
Gods represent concepts, but only the Founding Gods ARE concepts.
Killing a Minor God is difficult because their bodies are made up of essence. Destroying that completely will destroy them.
A God has a connection to an idea called Conceptualization, to kill one you must destroy that. Destroying an idea is extremely hard, however it does pose the question: are there Gods who have died simply because the idea they represented was completely and wholly forgotten?
Major Gods can only die forever if their connection to their Outer Plane and their Conceptualization is destroyed along with their essence.
Founding Gods are pure concept, their physical forms are simply essence condensed into an avatar. Killing these will never do permanent damage to a Founding God. Only Conceptual Beings or Weapons can harm them at all, and they can usually recover.
Major Gods do not need to rely on the Nexus for power as they themselves can cause the world to warp around them. Ex: Asharderis can still cast magic even though Methaeus hates him.
Materials
Mythral is created from stones warped by their interaction with the Nexus over millennia. It is rare and conducts magic which can melt it. It cannot be disintegrated by simple magic, and is very strong.
Darksteel is a metal that naturally forms and is present in the crust of multiple worlds. It is harmful to plant life that grows nearby, and is poisonous if ingested in large quantities, the smoke it gives off during forging is also mildly toxic.
Moonsilver is Faerie metal, and is naturally found only in the Faewilds and places connected to them. It must be exposed to nature magic or moonlight at least once a month to retain its qualities, otherwise it turns to dust.
Demonic Iron is similar to Moonsilver in that it comes from places connected to the Demon Realm. It is brittle and pits easily, but is fire resistant.
Dwarven Metals are created and tempered in their Mana Forges, making them extra strong.
(Do you think I could get Aerious to help me make a new alloy without stealing the credit? -Veronica)
Celestials are weak to gold because its purity binds their essence to it.
Demons and dark beings are weak to silver and moonsilver because their cold gleam exposes their essence & cuts deep into their being.
Fae are weak to iron, steel, and demonic iron because the unnatural nature of the metal burns them.
Primal Spirits are weak to lead and darksteel because the toxic nature of the metals repulses them.
Substances can be created via transforming the Nexus or essence into substance, but it’s quite difficult, and if its magic is undone it can cause the object to deteriorate. Ex: Newer Archfae Masks.
Magical Objects
Animating objects require raw essence to be channelled into them and runes to draw in nexus energy to keep them running. Ex: Mordrid
Conceptual or Divine Weapons are weapons that are either imbued with essence or godly power such that they become something more than metal or wood. Ex: The Sword of Gorgabad is imbued with the rage and anguish Gothrag felt, but now has it all on its own. The Staff of the Endless Abyss is bound to the realm and is its conceptual heart. The Book of the Dean is the embodiment of Scathe.
Other Info
Transmutation alchemy requires a special ointment to be applied to the hands, only master alchemists can brew it. Ex: Dorelle Cannon
Polymorphing only works on organic substances, transmutation only works on inorganic ones. Things like trees and plants can be polymorphed at master level.
Illusions can make anything look like something, but are weak to magical vision, & aren’t physical unless a creation is bolstered with telekinesis.
Druids are usually Clerics to Nature Gods or Fae Warlocks, but they call themselves such because their lifestyle is closely connected to nature and they draw power in a different way.
Would you guys stop writing on my notes??
(Neverrr!! You don’t tend to burn yours accidentally -Cathryn)
(That’s just because you burn everything Cathryn. -Veronica)
(You also have the best handwriting out of all of us, so… - Terence)