Magic & Misc Info

The most essential step to the learning process is developing a Casting Philosophy.  Every mage has a particular mindset that works best for them when performing it, something that they draw their motivation from at the root of their being.  Some people draw from knowledge of the structure of the world, some people draw from their emotional state/inherent stubbornness, some people from their spirituality, etc.  Half of learning magic is figuring out what works for you specifically and then translating the things you're being taught into something that works with your personal method.

Categorization

Magic is generally agreed to come in 3 genres: Force, Transformative, and Spiritual.  Give or take the token outliers, all specializations fall into one or more of these categories.

Force Magic, also known as Physical or Physic magic,  has to do with physically moving matter, or 'editing' the default physics of the world.  Force magic can be utilized to levitate or change the weight of objects, speed or slow movement, expand or crush something, etc.

Transformative Magic, also known as Chemical or Alchemic Magic or Alchemy, has to do with changing the properties of matter at a basic level.  Transformative magic can be utilized to generate heat/cold, change a substance's state of matter(liquid/solid/gas/etc), alchemize new materials, break something down to its base components(ex: separating water into hydrogen & oxygen), etc.

Spiritual Magic, also known as Metaphysical or Psychic Magic,  has to do with manipulation of raw magical energy without using it to actually change anything physical, as well as interact with things outside of the physical plane.  Spiritual magic can be utilized to store magical energy in objects for future use, 'summon' demons, provide extrasensory abilities, etc.  Manipulation of souls also falls under Spiritual magic.

The Limits

Theoretically, magic can probably do anything.  Realistically it is limited by the power requirements becoming prohibitive(ex: using up ambient magic faster than it can replenish itself), lack of knowledge in certain areas, and societal taboo(ex: the soul/mind-manipulation & demonic aspects of spiritual magic tend to be frowned upon).

Trivia

• Reflections-of-Nothing are a common phenomenon in mages: they look similar to a ring light's reflection, just without there actually being a light.  Typically only shows up when the mage is actively casting.

About

CoL is an international, Stratah-based organization of mages that was founded on the idea that knowledge of magic and the world isn't worth anything if it isn't shared.  They encourage and provide platforms for sharing ideas and working together with magical peers, initially in the form of a university but over the centuries they've established a multitude of libraries for spreading knowledge both magical and mundane to those who otherwise wouldn't have access, as well as clinics & support networks to help people suffering from magical afflictions, on top of expanding their training/exchange programs.

History

Before CoL came to be, magical knowledge was a closely-guarded secret, cultivated over generations in (mostly) wealthy/noble families.  Those who studied it rarely shared their findings with anyone but their heirs, and even those who were members of covens were resistant to letting their rivals/peers know too much.  It's unknown the amount of knowledge lost to time purely because of mages dying without passing on their work.  

Laharr wasn't the only one frustrated by the gatekeeping & elitism & sheer waste of it all, and they were able to revolutionize the world of mages by letting the secrets of their own family's magical style flow into the world and convincing like-minded mages to do the same.  Those of Laharr's Coven would teach anyone who wanted to know, be it a commoner with no magic experience or uninitiated mages who were just there to be suspicious and/or take everything to fortify their own power.

With the inclusion of lower-class people the Coven expanded rapidly and those still clinging to secrecy either eventually saw the appeal of such a massive network of mages all working together or just followed the zeitgeist to stay in fashion since magic isn't something they can lord over the plebs anymore anyways.

The first CoL campus was founded on Areoreos, chosen for the culture of encouraged sharing already existent on the island, and has been a major factor in the growth of power and population of the city-state.

Membership

While they still stand by the idea that knowledge should be shared freely, nowadays they require registration as a member for the sake of keeping track of resources and statistical data among other things.  Membership requires no prior magical knowledge or experience, and is comparable to getting a library card.  There are some limitations but for the most part members are allowed to use any CoL-owned facilities (libraries, clinics, learning centers, etc).

Certification

CoL Certification is generally accepted as the bare-minimum mark of competency for a mage, and getting work in a magical field without CoL Certification is difficult at best & has sketchy connotations.  Almost any CoL-owned learning center can administer the test for basic certification, but for specialized certification one might have to travel for their testing.

All human and fae individuals are made of a body and a soul, connected with an anchor.  Breaking the anchor results in death, however anchored souls are extremely difficult to damage directly.  Anchor degradation tends to just happen over time, but factors such as disease or heavy damage to the body speed up the process.  A Fae's soul can be weakened with iron, and human souls can be fucked with if you get permission.

Human Souls

Humans have souls in the metaphysical plane while their body and consciousness live in the physical plane.  Humans souls are generally completely incapable of sensing their surroundings.  If a person's soul is awake they often exhibit extrasensory abilities as a result of their soul transmitting information from the metaphysical plane through their anchor.  While they don't really have a solid appearance, humans souls are usually represented as either balls of light or deformed humanoids(ie, furries).

Ghosts are detached human souls(whether they're detached from death or from fae theft is irrelevant).  They tend to disappear soon after being cut off from their body, just because it's so goddamn boring on the other side when you have no sensory input and only yourself for company, and if you stop willing yourself to exist you don't anymore.  Ghosts that linger are almost always either awake or cannibalistic.  Soul cannibalism  usually happens as a result of two souls accidentally bumping into each other & being so excited about not being alonein the void anymore that they cling so hard they fuse together, but it can also be a malicious & intentional act to absorb another soul.

Since they inhabit the same plane there is interaction between fae and human souls; Stronger fae will corral and raise ghosts so they can use them as servants or batteries(the more individuals meld together, the less sure of themselves they tend to be, and the more easily manipulated).

Fae Souls

Fae have souls in the physical plane while their 'body' and consciousness live on the meta plane.  They can expand their anchors to create bridges between worlds, called faerealms.  Fae souls tend to look like/function as fantastical creatures (sphinxes, qirin, chimeras, etc).

Humans have a history of pursuing and harvesting fae souls, mainly because they tend to be pretty and shiny.  Fae souls are kept either as trophies or exotic pets or livestock, depending on the circumstances.  Detached fae souls tend to lose their luster, and a good deal of bodily control & common sense.  Unless protected from predators & babied back to health they tend to die of starvation/thirst/exposure because they Don't Know They Have To Eat/Drink/Find Shelter, but they rarely regain the magnificence they had when they were properly alive.

About

The accepted moral authority of Belvite.  They arbitrate conflicts as needed and serve as town guards, among other things.  What passes for law enforcement when there's not really an actual set of laws.

The Oath

Belles are the arms of justice; compassionate, reliable, incorruptible.  They hold peace and the safety of their charges above all. Should they fail to keep to this code they will be punished with death at the hands of Justice.

It sounds like a bunch of metaphorical flowery bullshit but actually, very literally, if you swear into the Belles and then abuse your power, a great beast named Justice will hunt you down and relieve you of your duties via removing your head from your body & then dumping the rest of your corpse in town square so everybody knows you're a huge piece of shit.

History

Founded nearly at the same time the town was by [unnamed] family.  Due to the feminine name and the fact it was founded by a woman, there is a misconception that it only allows women, but Belles have always allowed people of all genders into their ranks.

There is no record of Justice as an entity until ~100 years ago,  when it culled nearly half of the Belle population after a period of rampant corruption and abuse.  No one is quite sure what it is(presumed demon) or where it came from, but its interference with the way things were going was welcomed by the townspeople.  The remaining Belles were less enthusiastic about it, because it's a big scary monster they have no way of tracking or controlling that is bent on keeping them in check, but  it was embraced as a mascot/member of the group anyways.  If for nothing else than to salvage their public image afterwards.

About

The shepards are a niche fae group, one of few tenuously labelled as benevolent towards humans.    Shepards consist of many nomadic groups that travel [main, unnamed continent of the world], preaching environmentalism and indebting humans to them as a way to leverage them into change helping those in need.

A pretty recent development, considering how long humans and fae have clashed.  Not particularly popular among fae circles, human cultures tend to vary their perception of Shepards drastically between cultures (typically the more imperialistic or anti-magic a place is, the worse their reputation is there).

Philosophy

They believe faekind failed the world by not taking a mentor role to humanity when it first started exhibiting higher intelligence, and could have prevented humanity's damage to the world had they done so earlier. While a lot of their actions involve educating and helping humanity, ultimately their goal is balancing the world. And sometimes that is best done by...Not helping humans. Or actively sabotaging them, which they tend to keep hush because they very much want to keep as good a public image with humans as they can(while there aren't any pure-sabotage Shepard groups there is an abundance of malevolent fae groups whom they will assist if it's the right thing to do, balance-wise).

Recruitment

Varies by group.  The preach-heavy ones tend to attract plenty of human volunteers, the action-heavy ones tend to request payment in the form of new recruits from any human settlements they help.  Recruited humans are put to work at whatever task they're able to do that helps keep the group operating.

Druids

A rare few humans* earn the title of Druid and are taught the ways of fae spellcasting.  Mainly they work as assistants to the fae doing field work, and also serve as stand-in leaders when no one else is available to manage a group project.  New druids are noteworthy (among Shepard circles, their identities are not to be broadcasted elsewhere typically).

Druid magic involves healing and life and raw elemental components, it is mostly a lot of training extrasensory abilities. While ultimately they tend to just act on the decisions of the fae overseers, they're still taught to strive for balance and carefully consider their actions & the possible consequences so being able to observe a situation through as many venues as possible is essential. The use of their flashier spellcasting is a heavy and serious thing, using their power to show off is extremely frowned upon.

*rare because they have to earn trust from their fae keepers, have a decent amount of magical aptitude, and consent to extensive & painful  sealing to both help them channel & prevent the secrets of fae magic from falling into unworthy hands(via preventing them from speaking of it to other humans & also destroying their bodies upon death or probing).