Mar 26 • The City of Gate
An extract from “A Treatise of the Nature of Magic” by James Aster, Professor of Immortality Studies at Granma’s Academy of Magic.
The fundamental key to understanding the nature of magic is to grasp the relationship between its natural states. Just as water flows through us all, so too does magic, and that flow can be directed and controlled. While many lack the training or intelligence to know that they wield magic, many will use this natural source of magic to empower their actions. A brutal thug might channel their ‘rage’ into their blows. A healer directs the energies to banish illness and repair wounds. A performer channels their ‘gift’ into their music to engage an audience. All of this can be done because of the fluid state of magic. However, much more can be accomplished by those who have learned what magic is from those who came before and verified these teachings through study, experimentation and further development to draw their own conclusions.
There are several ways that one could enhance and amplify one’s personal reserve of magic power for spellcasting, self-improvement and the creation of magical tools. The first comes naturally to many untrained spellcasters. Just as plants and other creatures might draw moisture from the air, so too can a wizard draw upon the ambient energies of life itself to restore their expended energies and bolster their reserves. An exaggerated form of this can be seen in undead creatures like the lich and certain varieties of vampire. While one should be careful not to take too much energy from the life around you, most mortals lack the capacity to drink the ambient energies so greedily.
Of course, there are times when the ambient energies in a given environment are insufficient. There might be a dearth of life energies due to the presence of undead, or simply because there have been many magic-users present in the area. Just as there is no moisture in the desert, there can be no life to draw power from. It’s in those instances that a smart wizard will have prepared themselves in advance and created items that contain stored power. The materials needed to contain such energies are detailed elsewhere in this treatise, though it’s worth mentioning that the greatest material for this purpose is lykocite, otherwise known as lifeglass. The reason for this is simple. Lykocite is magic in crystalline form, just as ice is the solid state of water.
As noted by many others and by me elsewhere in this document, lifeglass is a hazardous substance and must be handled carefully to prevent the gemstone from absorbing too much. It can behave much like salt crystals, absorbing moisture to grow. A lyocite shard will absorb ambient life energy and grow. It must always be properly contained. In addition, storing magic in an item designed to allow its user to access the power at a later time has other hazards to consider. In particular, if it is taken from the wizard and used against them. Some will try to hide or disguise the item in clever ways. Despite this, many items of power end up in the wrong hands.
Magic items also suffer from having a limit to how much power they can contain. This is where the wisest of wizards can look upon the clerics for inspiration. They draw their power from a god or goddess. This deity also receives prayers and offerings from loyal worshippers, further feeding more power into this being. This becomes an almost self-renewing source of power, providing that you keep the favour of your patron deity. This brings us to the main downside of this approach. The entity develops a personality and will of its own and may choose to cut you off from its power if you displease it. Sometimes, simply being aware that it is a construct of human will and imagination will be enough to displease it. The divine prefers to believe themselves the creators of us, not the other way around, as it truly is.
To a lesser degree, any mortal with any degree of confidence can find themselves gaining more power and influence over others as they gain followers and renown by performing great deeds. Some powerful leaders make unconscious use of this phenomenon, others do so consciously. They raise some of their followers up to act as lieutenants, ensuring that the populace continues to be grateful for their ruler. Heroes do this also. Their very presence diminishes the accomplishments of those around them.
There is, however, a solution that can be drawn from all three of the options in combination. In this treatise, I will elaborate on each of the points I have made here, explaining in detail how each of these things can be done, and giving further illustrative examples along with the results of my extensive experimentations. I hope that you will draw the same conclusion that I did, that the only guaranteed way to gather a reliable source of power is to encourage a group of people to gather life energy by giving them the means to be happy and healthy, and make use of magical items and lieutenants to ensure that all their gratitude and worship goes to you, their divine ruler, protector, and source of all things good.
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An extract from “A Treatise of the Nature of Magic” by James Aster, Professor of Immortality Studies at Granma’s Academy of Magic.
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