"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke
All that we call magic might more rightly be called physics.
In some worlds which are closer to the True Earth, creatures which we would call fantastic if not mythical roam freely, with their own capabilities and limitations. What we would call magic - ourselves being the smallest and most distant of all the worlds, and therefore the most mundane - is merely forestry or falconry to, say, someone from the Twelve Kingdoms. If anything, the fact that we have a distant memory of dragons speaks to something in our souls, of when we all knew that what we deem impossible was terrifyingly real.
In the Twelve Kingdom and other worlds, there is a greater intuition with nature, and nature itself is more playful. That which we might confine to the dead paper of allegory becomes real and flesh and blood in those worlds, so that if a man becomes monstrous it appears on his person or in his shadows. There is not a particular class of Sorcerers, as there are in other worlds, although those who try to change the physics and playfulness of the world are generally called Necromancers, and their manipulation of the world invariably leads towards decay.
In some worlds which are closer to the True Earth, creatures which we would call fantastic if not mythical roam freely, with their own capabilities and limitations. What we would call magic - ourselves being the smallest and most distant of all the worlds, and therefore the most mundane - is merely forestry or falconry to, say, someone from the Twelve Kingdoms. If anything, the fact that we have a distant memory of dragons speaks to something in our souls, of when we all knew that what we deem impossible was terrifyingly real.
In the Twelve Kingdom and other worlds, there is a greater intuition with nature, and nature itself is more playful. That which we might confine to the dead paper of allegory becomes real and flesh and blood in those worlds, so that if a man becomes monstrous it appears on his person or in his shadows. There is not a particular class of Sorcerers, as there are in other worlds, although those who try to change the physics and playfulness of the world are generally called Necromancers, and their manipulation of the world invariably leads towards decay.
Sorcery
In those worlds which are of an average height and smallness from the True Earth, there are some humans with the power commonly known as Sorcery: that is, the ability to manipulate energy and matter.
While all human beings have some capability to sense energy, only those with Sorcerous blood can also manipulate it. On the lowest level, all Sorcerers can see energies in the same way that every human recognizes matter. Sorcerers have the ability to dilate their pupils at will and to an extreme to allow a greater amount light in: an ability commonly called the otherSight.
While all human beings have some capability to sense energy, only those with Sorcerous blood can also manipulate it. On the lowest level, all Sorcerers can see energies in the same way that every human recognizes matter. Sorcerers have the ability to dilate their pupils at will and to an extreme to allow a greater amount light in: an ability commonly called the otherSight.
It is possible for a Mundane, or non-Sorcerous person, to dilate the eye, whether through the use of drugs or low lighting. When a Mundane does so, he may see through an Illusion more clearly - that is, he may see the energy emitted to create the Illusion - but not possessing Sorcerous ability, he will not be able to manipulate the image himself.
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Among those with Sorcerous blood, there is a wide variety of abilities. In general:
- Sorcerers are any humans capable of manipulating energy, and possibly matter
- Greater Sorcerers are capable of manipulating both energy and matter, even transforming one into the other and back again
- Lesser Sorcerers are only capable of manipulating energy, not matter. Their abilities may be helped by drawing on a Conduit.
- Greater Sorcerers are capable of manipulating both energy and matter, even transforming one into the other and back again
- Conduits are those with the ability to slip into the otherSight, but who are incapable of manipulating energy on their own.
- Dilutes are considered to have mixed Sorcerous and Mundane blood which has genetically lessened their abilities, so that they may only dilate their eyes at will, but cannot manipulate energy. They can be used as conduits.
- Ori (originally: Iaoratoli) are non-Sorcerous or mixed-blood people who nevertheless have a high energy signature that a Sorcerer may tap into. While they frequently cannot choose to go into the otherSight themselves, they can act as conduits and power sources for a more powerful Sorcerer. Unfortunately, their valuable but vulnerable state has led many an Ori to be simultaneously transformed by a Sorcerer into an Imbecile: that is, someone reduced to a childish state by Sorcerous cranial interference.
- Dilutes are considered to have mixed Sorcerous and Mundane blood which has genetically lessened their abilities, so that they may only dilate their eyes at will, but cannot manipulate energy. They can be used as conduits.
Types of Sorcery
Just as there are a multitude of ways a singer might sing, just as there is a difference between sport and dance and labor, so there are a variety of disciplines among Sorcerers. A few common practices are:
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- Illusion or Glamour is another means of manipulating energy to create the image of something which isn't there. This ability is also fairly common, although just as with any art, the verisimilitude of the Illusion is subject to the Sorcerer's attention to detail. Creating plain Illusions tied to a single object are simple, as are sloppy Illusions that we might call hauntings. Mainting an Illusion, animating it, manipulating sound waves, or making the Illusion of such concentrated light that it is visible even in daylight all require a greater effort, concentration and power. Some breakthroughs have occurred for simple recurring Illusions, such as changing the colour of one's eyes using low-energy magics.
- Simacrulums are high-level Illusions, typically of a human, which the Sorcerer may animate, make three-dimensional, or even capable of simulated speech. In rare cases, the Sorcerer may also manipulate the viewer's mind so that they believe a Simacrulum's touch.
- Domindium is the practice of manipulating the brainwaves in another person's mind. Since this requires a study of the brain in order to know what parts control what functions, and may be controlled merely by energy, it is technically a lesser sorcerous skill - although many fail to master it.
- Puppetry is available to those who hone their ability in order to control another person's actions by overriding their nervous system.
- Whispers are thoughts, typically verbalized, put directly into another person's mind. It takes a great deal of concentration to make this a two way system of telepathy, unless both Whisperers are Sorcerers.
- Ocularist is the practice of a Sorcerer picking up another person's vision as they receive it; literally "seeing through someone else's eyes." Like most Domindium, this is most frequently practiced between a Sorcerer and a Mundane or a Conduit.
- Spectres are Illusions put directly into another person's mind that only they can see. In this way, they may be far more effective than an actual Illusion which requires significant upkeep, since Spectres work with the person's imagination so that the victim provides dialogue, belief in touch, etc.
- Quiescence is the technical term for the means of making Imbeciles. It was originally developed as an anesthetic for medicinal sorcery, in order to shut off the nerve centers of the brain temporarily. Unfortunately, this branch of medicine was quickly co-opted for military and then lascivious purposes.
- Imbeciles are those people who have essentially been lobotomized by a Sorcerer. Most commonly, the Sorcerer would leave the Imbecile with a vague memory of his or her true self, while divorcing the Imbecile's capability and functioning from their power of will. The practice was originally developed as a means of torturing political opponents to the Sorcerers' regime, but quickly became a pastime as Sorcerers began making Imbeciles for use as sex slaves.
- Imbeciles are those people who have essentially been lobotomized by a Sorcerer. Most commonly, the Sorcerer would leave the Imbecile with a vague memory of his or her true self, while divorcing the Imbecile's capability and functioning from their power of will. The practice was originally developed as a means of torturing political opponents to the Sorcerers' regime, but quickly became a pastime as Sorcerers began making Imbeciles for use as sex slaves.
- Spinning and Unravelling began as a simple means of learning how to manipulate energy into matter, and matter into energy. Beginning with the matter, the Sorcerer takes apart the particles one by one (Unravelling), with the subsequent task of reuniting those particles properly again (Spinning). While Spinning and Unravelling are the source of all higher sorceries, like all power they quickly became the basis of torture among Sorcerers who frequently removed their enemies limbs and digits for sport.
- Spinning is particularly useful in the medicinal applications of Sorcery, since the creation of a limb where one was lost, the quickness of fusing together a cut, etc. have saved more than one life.
- Unravelling is the basis of all translocation, provided the Sorcerer is capable of spinning the translocated person back into one piece. The use of both Spinning and Unravelling have also been used in the rejeuvenation of dying tissue within the human body in order to sustain a longer life at good health. Hence the saying that you cannot trust a Sorcerer's age.
- Entanglement, like the physics suggests, is the exciting of two particles to link movement together over time and space. This was especially used in Tanglebooks, which linked sister books with magnetized ink and a metal stylo so that what what written in one book would appear simultaneously in another. Tanglebooks were capable of being used by Sorcerers or Mundanes, although generally only Sorcerers capable of entanglement could link any surfaces they liked, sometimes resulting in literal writing on the walls.
Consequently, although movement through space is still possible for Sorcerers, if they possess the ability to Spin and Unravel, movement through time at will is no longer possible, except as we move through the fourth dimension naturally. |
(c) Emily C. A. Snyder