Post by WildlingKing on Jan 22, 2019 23:36:48 GMT
Magic of Midvas
Magic exists in Midvas, and most of its people also know this much. However, practitioners of magic are quite rare, and even more rare are those capable of using magic for more than mere tricks. In theory anyone can learn magic, even if some are naturally more gifted in it. However, few ever actually get the opportunity to learn, and from those who do only few devote their lives to become masters of their art. Different kinds of magic are practiced by sorcerers, priests, druids, shamans, oracles, seers and tricksters around the world, and it is very rare for a magician to master more than one type of magic.
Clairvoyance
Clairvoyance, also known as Seeing or the Art of Prophecy, is one of the most commonly practiced types of magic in all of Midvas, as well as the most accepted. However, it is also one of the hardest to master, with even the most experienced oracles and seers sometimes misinterpreting their visions. There are many methods used for clairvoyance, the simplest of them being prophetic dreams, which may happen to even those unpracticed in the clairvoyance if they are in a particularly magical place or particularly gifted in magic themselves. However, these dreams are unreliable and hard to interpret, which is why most practitioners of clairvoyance usually favor other methods. Herbs, mushrooms or concoctions that put their user in a trance that gives them visions is a method especially favored by the seers and druids of the barbarians. However, perhaps the most sophisticated form of clairvoyance is the use of enchanted reflective surfaces. This includes mostly mirrors, but sometimes also water placed on an enchanted vessel. The more powerful the magic used in enchanting the object, the more useful it is for showing visions. Even someone completely untrained can get random glimpses of future from an object like this, but someone practiced in clairvoyance can use it with more precision and focus. Another method meant specifically for finding out a particular person’s future is blood tasting. However, since it is associated with blood magic, it has a more problematic reputation than other methods of clairvoyance.
Healing
Healing is a common and mostly accepted form of magic. Healing magic is trained by certain priests or priestesses for example. However, it is actually quite hard skill to master, and it takes years of practice to be able to heal with magic an illness that couldn’t be treated with non-magical methods.
Blood magic
Blood magic, also known as Dark Arts, is a powerful but also one of the most shunned types of magic. Any spell using human blood can be seen as blood magic, but usually the term is used when talking about blood curses. In these a sorcerer draws blood from someone in a ritual, instilling their magic into the blood. The intention and level of skill of the sorcerer influences what the blood can be used for, but so does the person the blood is being drawn from. For example, the greater pain the person is, the easier it is for the sorcerer to instill spells that cause suffering into the blood. Similarly, blood drawn from a child is the most suitable for making life prolonging potions. These rituals usually kill the person whose blood is being drawn, which is perhaps the main reason for its dark reputation. It is also said that practitioners of blood magic are inevitably driven mad sooner or later.
Mind manipulation
Mind manipulation, also known as the Art of Domination, is a rare and mostly shunned form of magic. As the name implies, it is the skill of using magic to influence, manipulate or even control another being’s mind. Manipulating the mind of an animal is easier than doing it with a human, which is why many practitioners of mind manipulation train with using their magic to tame wild animals. Attaching an enchanted object to the person makes manipulating their mind easier. These enchanted objects are usually rings or necklaces, but an even more powerful method is to make the person you wish to manipulate drink your blood. The use of mind manipulation is outlawed in most civilized places of Midvas, and even in the barbarian tribes it is usually shunned. However, there are some exceptions to this as well. Berekan druids for example are believed to openly use mind control on their chosen warriors, and in Therekia using mind control on animals is seen as acceptable.
Necromancy
Necromancy, also known as Corpse Whispering, is another rare and shunned type of magic. It is sometimes associated with Dark Arts, but it isn’t blood magic. In necromancy a sorcerer uses magic to fill a corpse with a false spirit, reanimating it and making it a slave to their will. How capable and durable the reanimated corpse is depends on the sorcerer’s level of skill, as does how well they can control it. For the average sorcerer it takes a ritual that lasts several hours to reanimate a single corpse, but there are stories from the Great Sorcerer Wars of Mysara about whole armies of undead controlled by powerful sorcerers. Necromancy is outlawed or seen as taboo in most of Midvas, but Berekan druids are known to use it openly.
Illusion
Illusion is one of the most common types of magic, often performed by tricksters for a small audience, either in exchange for few coins or as a distraction in thievery. However, an extremely powerful and experienced practitioner might be able to conjure an illusion so massive that it could distract a whole army. In general illusionists are at least tolerated in most places.
Elemental control
Elemental control is a fairly common type of magic, in which magic is used to control and move some element, usually fire or water. Most commonly such magic is used by tricksters to impress an audience, but it could be utilized in combat as well. A somewhat common way of doing this is to magically set one’s blade in flames. Most experienced practitioners of elemental control may for example summon balls of fire from thin air.