Vitam et Mortem OOC - Practicing Magic and Other Magical Things

BrookeDi

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General Magic

Magic is done through the use of spells channeled through a wand or even sometimes another medium such as a staff. Either must have a magical core and be made and bound with magic in order to channel magic energy. Wandless magic can be performed, but it takes an incredible amount of work and dedication. Generally wandless magic can’t begin to be performed until after specific study in the subject at a collegiate level.

Wandless magic is most easily achieved when practicing gift magic, though it still requires more work and stamina than practicing with a wand or some other means of channeling. The practice of magic, both general and gift, requires energy from the sorcerer. Achieving greater feats of magic requires more than just talent and practice, it requires energy and stamina. This is why those who practice duels (whether competitively or professionally) often train through running and other mostly cardio-centered workouts. Performing harder spells requires practice as well as stamina to improve spell quality and overall success.

Performing magic can take a lot out of a person, particularly if they don’t regularly practice. Think of it like a muscle; it doesn’t matter that you have a natural ability, if you don’t practice. Performing magic requires stamina and energy, things that you can increase by practice. The more you practice, the easier it will become to perform harder spells and mix the more difficult potions.

All spells, both old and new, can be spoken in any native tongue, though most spells may have a higher potency if spoken in Latin or other ancient languages. Most often spells are spoken, and the sorcerer may use as little as a whisper when using smaller and we'll practiced spells, as long as the words are clearly spoken. For unfamiliar spells or higher level spells, it is recommended to speak loud and clear.
 
Gift Magic
Earth:
  • Physical Center of Tension: Thighs and Seat
  • Source of body dynamics: Strength
  • Personality traits: Steadfast and dependable. Introverted. Very grounded. Realistic.
  • How it works: Combination of mental and wand use. Very outdoorsy.
  • Other Info: Has the power to create small earthquakes. Some of the most powerful sorcerers have created large scale earthquakes that have devastated cities. Often friends with fauna.
Water:
  • Physical Center of Tension: Lower abdomen, navel
  • Source of body dynamics: Power
  • Personality traits: Emotional. Extraverted.
  • How it works: Combination of mental and wand use
  • Other Info: Water typically balances out the more impulsive tendencies of fire. Water and fire tend to make friends with one another easily. With training and practice these sorcerers can learn to breathe underwater for hours at a time. Without practice they can go a few minutes longer than the average person.

Fire:

  • Physical Center of Tension: Solar Plexus
  • Source of body dynamics: Energy
  • Personality traits: Impulsive. Extroverted.
  • How it works: Combination of mental and wand use
  • Other info: Fire sorcerers do not burn as easily as others do and with practice will have a greater heat tolerance.

Wind:

  • Physical Center of Tension: Center of chest, heart
  • Source of body dynamics: Resiliency
  • Personality traits: Flighty airheads. Whimsical. Not always very realistic.
  • How it works: Combination of mental and wand use
  • Other info: With practice they have the ability to hover a few feet in the air; this also aids in tricks like jumping, flipping, etc.

Fauna:

  • Physical Center of Tension: Shoulders and back
  • Source of body dynamics: Love
  • Personality traits: Introverted. Prefers to be in the outdoors and prefers animals to people.
  • How it works: Completely mental power
  • Other Info: Often friends with earth sorcerers. They have a connection with animals. It’s not that they can make them do what they want or control them, just that they can communicate and more often than not the animal will be willing to assist a fauna sorcerer.

There is a sixth gift of prophecy, but as it is incredibly rare (1-3 every 75 years) and once it is suspected that might be their gift the sorcerer is taken away, the details are not listed.

How the gifts work:

When a sorcerer’s magic first starts to show, they will show an affinity for all five of the gifts. Very minor, maybe a little bit of wind picks up when they’re frustrated or a wild fauna might come up to a sorcerer looking to be petted. As the sorcerer ages, their affinity for a particular gift will strengthen while the rest will slowly weaken and, ultimately, disappear.

By the age of 16-17 their strongest gift should be clear. At the start of the year there is a ceremony where 11th years get to formally announce what their gift is going to be. It is also the year they get to start taking classes specializing in their gift whereas previously they were required to take lessons in all of the gifts (the reason being it’s important that they have a basic understanding and respect for all of the gifts).Once your gift is declared and the ceremony is complete for all declaring students, the lining inside the student’s cloak will change color to reflect their gift (blue for water, red for fire, green for earth, grey for wind, and brown for fauna). These cloaks are often worn not worn into adulthood, unless in magical only locations, many sorcerers finding other means of indicating their gift (i.e. jewelry).
 
Magical Creatures

Caddy
Plesiosaur-looking water-dweller with the head of a horse or sometimes a camel, small flippers in the front, and either a large pair of flippers in the back or a powerful tail with a flipper on the end. Relatively peaceful, but will attack if provoked. Found in North America in most large bodies of freshwater.

Hapyxelor
Another water-dweller. A small walrus-like creature that inhabits pretty much all bodies of freshwater in North America (rivers, ponds, lakes, etc.). It has three beady green eyes and a singular large tooth right at the front of its mouth. The tooth was widely used as an ingredient in potions back in the 60s, but after overhunting the Hapyxelor was placed after protection. Will not approach non-magic individuals, but enjoy seeking out and playing with sorcerers.

Wendigo
Could be confused with abnormally large men if it weren’t for the intense smell of decay that always accompanies them. Extremely emaciated with rotting, yellow skin and sunken eyes. They enjoy feeding on unsuspecting sorcerers and are very dangerous in groups. Found in large, cold forests in North America.

Waheela
Gigantic wolves with wider-heads, spread out toes, and long white fur. They have the propensity to rip off the heads of lone sorcerers who wander to far into the forest after dark. Found deep in the forests of North America, but will stray closer to civilization during the night.

Adlet
Could be mistaken for human if it weren’t for their legs being replaced with dog legs. They run fast like dogs and in packs and enjoy eating human flesh. Can be found in forests on the mountains all over the world, but a few tend to stray into warmer areas.

Jackalope
A typical pet of magical families. They are large rabbits with deer-like antlers. Once a year, Jackalope’s shed their antlers and because of the magical properties of them, it is not uncommon for a sliver of Jackalope antler to be used as a wand core. Found all over the world.

Will-O’-The-Wisp
A mysterious orb of glowing light that is typically found in marshes and swamps. It will often show sorcerers the way home if they are lost.

Púca
Shape-changers that shifts into the form of a horse, cat, rabbit, raven, fox, wolf, goat, goblin, or dog, the most common being a large black horse with glowing eyes. They are mischievous in nature, but do no real harm. More commonly found in Europe, but there are a few colonies in the Americas.

Mermaid
Beautiful women waist up, fish waist down. They’re known for their beautiful singing voices that they use to try to lure men into the sea. Their taste for human flesh often make said men “mysteriously” disappear. Found all over the world’s oceans, they are distantly related to the friendly freshwater Naiads. The scale of a mermaid is known for its magical properties and is commonly used as a wand core.

Naiads
Protectors of sources of freshwater all around the world, Naiads take the shape of beautiful young women. They are very helpful to sorcerers, as long as the sorcerer does not disturb their chosen domain, and often provide assistance when one attempts to travel through their water.

Carcolh
A gigantic serpent/mollusc-like creature. It’s long, serpentine body carries a large shell on its back, and its gaping mouth surrounded by several long, hairy, and slime covered tentacles that could extend for miles. These appendages stretch out from the cave it inhabits for a long distance and laid upon the ground among its own viscous slime. They ensnare and drag back to its abode anything within reach and then swallows its victims whole. Often found in large caves or underground in places where there are few humans, their slime is used in very advanced potions, which often sends sorcerers on dangerous excursions to collect some.


Orniormabichus
Incredibly smart and relatively friendly, many Orniormabichus families share close bonds with the sorcerer world. They are large, platypus-like creatures with thick white hair and a sharper bill that they use to search for bugs (the giant ones that live under ground). Orniormabichi are also able to transfigure themselves into any inanimate object that they wish, and because of their close bonds with sorcerers they often use their ability to the sorcerers' advantage.
 
Familiars
What is a familiar? Familiars are most commonly cats (and they tend to make the best ones), though some very powerful historical sorcerers have used other creatures and animals. Familiars choose their owner rather than the other way around and a bond is created between sorcerer and familiar. Familiars who have chosen a sorcerer cannot be used as a conduit by anyone else and a sorcerer cannot just choose an animal to act as a conduit; without the bond, the attempt could be deadly to either animal or sorcerer or both.

How does this bond work? The bond between animal and sorcerer runs deep and lasts for life. There are many cases where the death of a sorcerer has caused the death of a familiar, because for some the bond is so strong. In most cases the familiar has an innate urge to protect the sorcerer in any way possible and more often than not the familiar will pass before the sorcerer, though the death is often just as painful. Professor Klein, a specialist in familiar magic, has described the loss of a familiar as "akin to losing one's limb". The bond, though, does extend the life of the familiar and can extend the power of the sorcerer.


What are familiars used for? Some spells require a lot of energy and a lot of stamina, using a familiar as conduit for a spell can help relieve some of the pressure that is on the sorcerer by using some of the energy of the animal rather than overexerting themselves.
 
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