Magical Theory

'''Note: this article is a discussion of magic from a theoretical and lore stance. For mechanical information on performing magic, please see Magic. '''

This relates to the Magical talent.

Magic; an Introduction
Regardless of what some people might think, magic exists. Magic at its core is the act of asserting your will over the will of the universe and changing the rules, if only for an instant. To open a locked door without the key, one simply has to use magic to tell the door that it is unlocked. The more you change, and the further from the truth it becomes, the more magical energy (or mana) is required. In essence, this follows the rule of equivalent exchange. To clarify how the consumption of mana is calculated, consider this simple logic. If one wishes to heat up a room, a logical solution would be to create a fire. If you are using magic to create a fire in the middle of the room, you must maintain that spell as long as you wish for there to be magical fire. Furthermore, all fire requires fuel, which determines how hot it burns and for how long. If you are powering this directly with your mana, you are going to run out very quickly indeed. This is inefficient. More efficient, however, would be to heat up the surface of a nearby wooden chair in order to start combustion. Then, the spell need not be continued because the fire is obeying the rules of the universe: it is burning a chair. Typically, the magical energy comes from one’s own energy reserves or in a pinch, life force. In a word, magic is difficult. It requires large amounts of mana (as compared to amounts possessed by the average person), intense willpower, unbreakable concentration, and a deep understanding of the sciences. While it is real, magic isn’t worth the effort. It is far, far easier and more efficient to do things by hand. So people thought before the age of magic. Then, we discovered loopholes.

Symbology
The first shortcut we found was when we realised that “willpower” can be synonymous with “belief”, and so we realised that magic can be (slightly inaccurately) summarised as [MAGIC = ENERGY + BELIEF]. People are filled to the brim with belief. They believe that the world will behave in a certain way. They believe that bad things happen to bad people. They fall prey to all kinds of cognitive biases.

They believe in symbols, and superstition. For example, they’ll tell you that you must never break a mirror, a solitary magpie brings sorrow, whatever you do you must never ever walk under a black cat. That sort of thing.

It goes further. Symbols have associations. This symbol 🗲 for example might mean lightning, electricity or raw power. Bones are invariably associated with death for entirely understandable reasons. People love symbols. People thrive on symbols, metaphors, analogies, and other such fancy branches of ideocraft. It has been argued that people are defined by symbols and belief.

The healers of old realised that if we held something that we felt represented healing (such as a red cross), we could use it as a focus to heal somebody. You don’t need to hold the idea of healing in your mind, because the symbol does it for you. You use the prop to create a strong image in your head of healing so you can focus your willpower on exactly what you want the spell to do. Poetry and fancy words also do the trick, if done right. You get the idea.

The Problem of Mana
Even if we could direct spells a little more easily and not have to worry so much about the willpower, there was still the problem of energy. Where does the magical energy to fuel spells come from?

Well, that’s the funny thing. It turns out that mana is what happens when matter begins to understand matter. Simply by studying more magic, you gain a better understanding of magic and so your personal pool of mana grows. Furthermore, multiple people can come together to pool their energy to cast larger, more powerful spells, though again this is often not worth it. The amount of mana you have at your disposal could be considered an easy way to determine the power level of a magic user. However, sometimes mana is innate. For instance, one who is very closed-minded and believes magic does not exist can actually negate magic. If [MAGIC = ENERGY + BELIEF] then if somebody has a naturally large pool of mana but believes magic does not exist, they are using that mana to assert their will over the other person’s belief. This is, ironically, a form of magic. It again boils down to a battle of willpower rather than belief. This is simply an example of how magic works. If 9 people believe that magic does not exist and 1 person does, that sole magic user has to overcome an incredible battle of willpower in order to do anything in front of them. It would require a phenomenal amount of energy.

Fortunately however, there is a solution. Certain things; certain concepts or emotions go beyond what your mind can readily grasp. These are innately very powerful and can be used. Things like death. Love. Vengeance. The idea of time. Warfare. Knowledge. The wonder that a child has for the world. This leads us nicely onto the next section where we will discuss how people learned to outsource their willpower.

Gods
Ah, the gods. Not particularly anything exceptional, really. You could also call them demons. Angels. Witches. Any other word like this. These creatures require a special introduction and definition. They were once mortal. However, their magical powers extended the lives of their bodies unnaturally, until they existed in concept only, existing only as magical entities like any magical creature (like fairies). That is to say, they were fueled purely by their own belief in themselves, or perhaps others belief in them. As their magic powers grew, they eventually gained complete dominion over an aspect of magic such as time, vengeance, death, and so on. They became synonymous with that thing, gaining titles such as Lady Time, The Queen of Wonder, Mistress Vengeance, The Lady of Death. The Father of Life, and so on. In this, they gain power from belief in their domain, and since they hold dominion over common concepts, they are some of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. After all, everybody believes in these things and accepts them as a fact of the universe. They are synonymous with the rules of the universe.

Any magic done using these magical domains is done with the permission of the god in question, or their representatives. Some gods have rules governing their magic. The Lady of Death rules that you cannot give life to the dead, or death to the living using her magic. Here is where we come to the cutting edge of modern magical theory. By using a combination of the willpower of the gods with symbolism, personal mana, and a bit of dramatic flair, one can do incredible magic. In a way, it’s like a prayer. Some like to wave objects they consider meaningful and shout about their purpose, what they want this spell to do, asking for a god to permit them this magic. Some sit more quietly with runes, a book, and quiet chant. Some take to magic like lawyers and work out the best deal with the subordinates of a god. Often, a god will want an offering of some sort and it is up to the judgement of the caster to choose something fitting because they’re unlikely to tell you before you cast the spell.

Some Parting Words
Hopefully this short history of magic and explanation of magical theory has left things a little clearer to you, dear reader. By the end of this, you should understand what magic is, how most magic is cast, and an idea of what gods may exist in this world.