Buried under the ruins of the world of The Dead Wastes are secrets to the manipulation of magic. Many of these are dark secrets better left undiscovered. To the uninitiated, all methods of manipulating arcane energies are commonly referred to as sorcery, but there are many paths of working magic; sorcery is but one method.

The people of Lyrdonia have a deep mistrust, fear, and sometimes hatred of the arcane.  After all, magic caused the collapse of at least one civilization and magic caused the death and destruction that still persists to this day in the Dead Wastes.  Most people feel that no good can come from performing magic and anything touched by magic is corrupt and brings evil upon those involved or even near the event.

The mistrust is well warranted as during the dark period between the fall of the Nadori and the rise of Aurincia, many sinister entities utilized magic to enslave villages and used the innocent to fuel their malicious rituals.  Many of these entities were sorcerers, calling upon the arcane energies of their nefarious heritage to give them power.   Corrupted power.

Paths of Magic

Below is a selection of known and rumored methods of manipulating magic.  There are most certainly older, forgotten sources of arcane power and no doubt new methods will be discovered in the future.

• Alchemical – The science of extracting the phenomenal properties of elements
• Divine – The miracle of channeling the will of the gods
• Eldritch – The power of places gained usually from events that has taken place there
• Psionics – The ability to effect the environment through will alone
• Resonance – Strange effects created through voice, chord, and rhythm
• Ritual – Rites of intricate and involved procedure that often take hours if not days
• Sorcery – Spellcraft gained through blood or pact
• True Name – Undeniable control over things by the knowledge of true names
• Wizardry – An almost mathematical invocation of magic using complex words and symbols
• Witchcraft – Magic gained through the consort of spirits
• Wylder – The power to manipulate the power of nature

Arcane Corruption

Performing magic is not without consequences.  Channeling arcane energies can leave lasting marks upon the user.  Some practitioners of magic assuage this corruption by passing it on to other things, such as the surrounding plantlife or even other people (the virgin sacrifice is a well known legend for a reason).  However, these defilers usually end up attracting worse things than arcane corruption.

Arcane corruption takes many forms, some spellcrafters end up acquiring strange physical features: scales, goat irises, claws, vestigial wings and tails, or even tentacles.  Not all spells cause such disfigurements, but the more potent a spell is coupled with how quickly the spellcaster wants to manifest the power increases the likelyood to accrue arcane corruption.

Listening to: Carcass – Swansong – Black Star

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