The rules of magia, day 15

Last question on this topic:

What is the price magicians pay in order to be magicians?

In order to harness magia properly, a wielder usually undergoes several years of training to hone their skills and learn to manage magia induced fatigue.

My next set of questions have to do with magic users themselves

The rules of magia, day 14

Can the ability to do magic be forcibly taken away? If so, how and by whom?

Yes, but only when it is found that someone is using magia improperly. It is usually done by the Seer, by casting the spell Mystical Bane, a Spirit elemental spell that forms a magical lock around the target's heart, trapping the magia inside and preventing it from being sensed

The rules of magia, day 13

Can the ability to do magic be lost? If so, how -- overdoing it, "burning out," brain damage due to fever or a blow, magical attack, etc.?

While an innate power cannot be lost naturally, influencing powers can shift, making a person lose the ability to cast magia of one element, and gain the ability to cast magia of a new element (that still compliments their innate power)

The rules of magia, day 12

Does a magician's magical ability or power change over time -- e.g., growing stronger or weaker during puberty, or with increasing age? Can a magician "use up" all of his/her magic, thus ceasing to be a magician? If this happens, what does the ex-magician do--die, retire, take up teaching, go into a second career?

When someone's magia first awakens, it is not very strong--as the wielder grows and keeps using it, it will grow stronger.

Magia can never be used up, as the Twelve Stones are constantly generating it.

The rules of magia, Day 11

Are certain kinds of magic practiced solely or chiefly by one sex or another? By one race or culture or another?

Magia is practiced among both genders, but herbalism and potion making were traditionally female jobs untill around 200 years ago, when the rulers of the 5 races began recognizing male herbalists and apothecaries.

Likewise, all five races are able to use all three kinds of magic.

The rules of magia, Day 9

How much is known about the laws of magic? How much of what is "known" is wrong (as Aristotle's ideas about human anatomy were wrong, but accepted for centuries)?

Different races have different levels of understanding about how magia works, but what magia cannot do is universally agreed on. The elves and fairies rely on magia more in their cultures, so they are usually the ones that discover new spells and new ways to use it. All known information about magia, including all named spells and accepted uses, is compiled into a compendium each year--although it has been known to be updated more often when a major breakthrough is discovered.

It was once thought only a certain number of the Twelve Stones could be wielded, but this was quickly disproved when elven scholars found that all twelve elements were possible to wield. The spell list is constatly being revised as new spells are found and those that no longer work are removed (which it was thought there was only a certain number of spells. The ability to wield magia through weapons and other objects is also a recent development, as it was once thought that instruments were the only objects capable of channeling magia.

The rules of magia, Day 8

Does practicing magic have any detrimental effect on the magician (such as being addictive, slowly driving the magician insane, or shortening the magicians life-span)? If so, is there any way to prevent these effects? Are the effects inevitable in all magicians, or do they affect only those with some sort of predisposition? Do the effects progress at the same rate in everyone?

Since magia requires expending a little of your own energy with every spell, if you use too much magia too quickly (how much this limit is differs from wielder to wielder), you will tire from magia-induced fatigue, which require the wielder to rest for a while before using magia again. While you cannot die from using magia, it is possible to exhaust yourself to the point where you could die (which would require a long rest period)

There are charms that either reduce the symptom's severity or stop it from occuring altogether that are readily bought for a reasonable price, but the best way to prevent the fatigue is using your magia responsibly.

Everyone that can wield magia suffers from magia induced fatigue as some point or another, but how quickly symptoms set in depends on how long the patient has used magia, and is calculated under the presumption the user is casting spells without a rest. A new mage's apprentice might feel the first symptoms in twenty minutes if casting constantly, while a wizard that has casted magia for years might not feel the first symptoms for 2 or 3 hours. Keep in mind that physical fatigue and magia induced fatigue are two diferent things.

The rules of magia, Day 7

Can two or more wizards combine their power to cast a stronger spell, or is magic done only by individuals? What makes one wizard more powerful than another--knowledge of more spells, ability to handle greater quantities of mana, having a more powerful god as patron, etc.?

Two (or more) people can combine spells to create a new spell, but the individual components have to be cast by the people combining powers. They then have to name the combined spell in order to command the different magias to combine into the new spell.

A Singer's power level is determined by the number of spells they know, how long they have been wielding magia, and how much magia they can handle before magia fatigue sets in

The rules of magia, Day 6

How long does it take to cast a spell? Can spells be stored for later, instant use? Do spells take lots of long ritual, or is magic a "point and shoot" kind of thing?

Depending on how strong a spell you want to cast and the material of what you're channeling the magia through, the charge time is around 3-10 seconds. While most magia wielders choose to channel it through an instrument, magia is mainly a "point and shoot" matter. An "instant" version would be to wield a spell through a weapon--just name the spell and it will be cast

A Sampling from "Gemsinger" 's Spellbook

Here's a few examples of spells you might expect to see in "Gemsinger":


1. Lava Ring

Element: Fire

What it does: This spell surrounds the target with a circle of flames that burns whatever touches them. It can also be used to protect the caster and their allies.


2. Sapphire Calling

Element: Holy

What it does: One of a family of gem summoning spells, this summons a sapphire for the user to cast one Holy spell of their choosing, even if they don't have Holy magia within them. To do this, they name the spell they want to cast, and the appropriate magia is channeled through the stone. This is one way that magia users can safely wield an elemental outside of what they can normally wield.


3. Dark Spheres

Element: Darkness

What it does: Sends orbs of darkness energy at the target for damage.


4. Crystal Shields

Element: Ice

What it does: Creates a shield around the caster and his/her allies for a short time.

The rules of magia, Day 5

What does one need to do to cast a spell -- design an elaborate ritual, recite poetry, mix the right ingredients in a pot? Are there things like a staff, a wand, a familiar, a crystal ball, that are necessary or useful to have before casting spells? If so, where and how do wizards get these things?

All one needs to cast a spell is a suitable object to channel the magia through, usually a musical instrument or a weapon. (both of which are readily availiable around the world To cast a spell using an instument, the caster must name the spell, (you know you've named a spell when your instrument or weapon glows in the color of the element you're going to cast) then play a song--this song can be anything from random notes to special songs designed especially for this purpose. That said, not every form of music is magical--just playing something without naming a spell won't do anything.

If you're using a weapon to wield magia, just point at the target and name the spell. After a brief charging time (anywhere from 3-10 seconds, depending on how strong your spell is and the material your weapon is made of)

The rules of magia, Day 3

Where does magic power come from: the gods, "mana" (cf. Larry Niven's Warlock stories), the personal will-power of the magician, etc.? Is it an exhaustible resource?

Magia comes from the Twelve Stones, which are physical manifestations of the elements created by the High Goddess Meikon. (and correspond to the twelve birthstones of the Earth calendar) They are constantly generating this energy, so it never runs out.