World Building magic rambles.
Aug. 25th, 2004 12:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparkindarknessOk, Kami asked me to explain how Darren’s powers worked and whether he needed training... This actually spurred a world building ramble, so I’ll put it as a post instead..
Ok, my own head’s squeaking getting round it all, and I am SO bound to forget some of it.
Firstly there are 3 primary sources of magic, 90% of all magic draws its power from one or more of these sources (it’s possible that the remaining 10% also does, just that Clan Camaalis - the foremost researchers, haven’t yet figured out the connection.)
The First is the Power of Earth (AKA The Power of the Mother/Lady).
The Second is the Power of Realms (AKA The Power of the Father/Lord).
The Third is the Power of Self (AKA - The Power of the Divine/Humanity/Soul/Camaalis. Yes, Camaalis, they ARE that arrogant).
Together they are also the Power of Three - but that’s another issue.
The First Power, the Power of Earth, is the power inherent in the world, all around, filling everything, connecting everything. It is the power of the elements, the power of all that grows, the power of all that dies. It is the power that moves the winds and the power of the very cycle of life and death. It is a power made up of the world and permeating through the world. It is not the single violin of a single soul or entity playing, but the full mighty orchestra of all things, seen and unseen, of the world playing in awe inspiring harmony. It is the World, and every touch of it reminds the magician of the sheer might of the Mother and their place within the glorious tapestry of all that is.
Some magics which draw entirely, or nearly entirely, or possibly entirely, from the First Power are: Elementalist (all of them, most Elementalists focus on one element - especially outside the Camaalis), Herbalists (mostly), Augurs, Sky Striders (Weather wizards), Life/Death Weavers. Magicians of the First Power are generically called Wizards or Witches.
The Power of Realms comes from other realms (wow, that was a leap of logic, right?) A simple way of describing realms would be dimensions, but that's not exactly popular with most magicians. Parallel worlds exist alongside ours, the myriad realms of the Spirit Worlds, the dark Underworlds, the terrifying Infernal Realms and the downright weird Dream Worlds, to name but a few. Each of these realms has its own power and denizens (in much the same way as the Earth does, but to a lesser degree). There are so many of these realms that despite millennia of trying, no-one has ever listed all of them, in fact many believe they have barely scratched the surface. Some realms are pretty well mapped, but most contain secrets still to be plumbed. People who draw on the Power of Realms either draw directly from that Realm’s power/features or from the power of the denizens of that Realm. Usually a bit of both. The Power of Realms is all that is other, the alien, the mysterious, the dangerous and the shocking. It is surprising and vibrant and mysterious. It is terra incognita, the uncharted lands, the great unknown, the great unknowable. Magicians who draw down the Second Power are filled with the passion and bravery of the Father, the mighty audacity to face down the unknown, the reckless spirit needed to pierce the great mysteries, the burning heart of one who stands alone no matter the consequences. It is mystery and power, fire and strength, the piercing gaze and the wandering feet, the reckless laugh and passionate dance. It is the casting down of limits, the burning of tradition and the refusal of laws and rules.
Some magics that draw entirely, or nearly entirely, or possibly entirely, from the second power are: Shamanism (duh), Necromancy, Medium-ship, Dreamer, Seer, Infernalist, Celestial. Magicians of the Second Power are generically called Priests or Clerics.
The Power of Self is the power that all people, all beings possess within themselves. Some argue that it is part of the Power of Earth, but most dispute that. The Power of Earth is all that is, but the Power of Self is extremely personal, linked intimately to the magician in a way that is completely alien to the ‘small part of the whole’ that touching the Power of Earth brings. The Power of Self is a power that rests within the magician. In part it is one of the powers that rests within all people that is magnified, emphasised or trained beyond normal levels. For example, a Mentalist has merely magnified the power of will and consciousness that rests in all people. The Power of Self elevates the Soul, people drawing on the Third Power feel themselves raised up, strengthened. They feel their power echoing into the world, they feel their power shine through them and over all around them. The Third Power burns from deep within, is more a part of the magician than even his own body or mind, more personal than even his deepest thoughts. It is his in a way the other powers never can be. It is him written large, it is the greatest part of him made manifest, it is a loud, echoingly powerful voice with which he screams “I AM!” to the world.
Some magics that draw entirely, or nearly entirely, or possibly entirely, from the Third Power are: White Mage, Mentalist, Telepath, Empath, Sorcerer, Oracle, Mystic Voice, Shadow Touched, Illusionist, Most psychic abilities. Magicians of the Third Power are generically called Mages.
On Education:
All powers and magics benefit from training and education - from meditation and practice to book reading and education; but if you are a talent in a power you technically don’t need it. In theory.
The First Power is pretty dependent on education. Without education and training and lots of study, your magic is going to be on an instinctive level only. It takes a powerful skill and great knowledge to be able to control the forces of the Earth, without them, well you may be able to call some of your power, but you’ll never come close to realising your true potential. In addition, because your power is instinctive, it's also going to be largely uncontrolled (this is one of the reasons why Clan Camaalis insist on the Path Lighting at age 6, before power has manifested to any great degree). This is severely not a good thing. Angry Elementalists tend to accidentally incinerate things.
The Second Power is much the same on education, but with an important difference. It comes with its own trainers. A Shaman can technically learn his craft from spirits, and Infernalist from Daemons, a Necromancer from powerful and informed undead. But there’s a catch, see, before he’s received any training the Priest is going to be ignorant of the customs, behaviours and expectations of these entities (spirits can be very easily offended if you don’t offer proper chimminage, and making deals with daemons without realising you’re making a deal is officially not a good thing). The Priest is also not going to be able to control these entities, which with spirits can be dangerous and with daemons and the undead can be positively suicidal, unless he has some other power which may serve (example: Darren summoned daemons and undead to teach him Infernalism and Necromancy. He survived the experience and gained a good education by basically threatening everything with horrible painful destruction by Sorcery. No, it wasn’t good etiquette, but Sorcery can make up for many a faux pas, and who needs manners when you‘ve got death threats?)
The Third Power is instinctual. It is the Power of Self, and who can ever teach you about yourself? Actually, many people can, as any psychologist is like to tell you (and not just to make you come back). You can realise your full potential as a Mage without any training (though meditation, reading the experiences of Mages of similar powers and even psychoanalysts help a great deal), but you are likely to miss some part of your power or potential from simple ignorance or lack of connection - A Mystic Voice who doesn’t realise their creativity, the power to evoke reality through imagination and talent can actually be achieved through instruments as well as song, for example. But in general no-one actually teaches you these abilities, it’s more a case of support, advice, mentoring and guidance than actual training or teaching.
One thing that Clan Camaalis has noticed over the years is that Mages who aren’t trained, or are poorly trained tend to be a little... unstable. Psychological disorders abound, especially megalomania, paranoia, phobias anti-social disorder and deep obsessive and compulsive behaviour. One problem that must be dealt with quickly is low self-image - a Mage who doubts is weakened, sometimes incapable of using their power. After all, this is the power of the self, and if you doubt your abilities how can you really take advantage of them? Such Blocked Mages need to be coaxed back into a high self-esteem - without pushing them off the path to megalomania. Yes, mages do need a VERY careful upbringing (BTW, it also means that technically Darren’s father’s tactic of torturing his Sorcery out of him could have actually worked).
One of the worst afflictions a Mage can suffer that Camaalis has come across rarely and shallowly (they’ve rarely encountered and are utterly ignorant of the extreme version, they only have knowledge of the beginnings of the condition in fairly weak Mages) is a Mage who utterly despises, fears and denies their power. In effect they despise, fear and deny a major - the most major, part of themselves. That alone is crippling psychologically and emotionally; but it’s worse than that. This is one of the most integral parts of them, one of the most integral parts. It constantly calls to them, they crave it, crave it worse than any drug. They need it beyond all reason, they can’t resist forever...
Unfortunately, when their resolve cracks, it shatters. Not only have they never been taught to control themselves, but they’ve denied themselves any experience of this incredible side of them. They can’t control it, and they can't control themselves. It overwhelms all their senses, their mind, their normal thoughts - because they’ve never learned to integrate and tame the power, they actually become it’s Avatar in all but name. The general rule is lots and lots of repression, then a sudden, orgiastic explosion of incredible power and a rush of alien, completely extreme thought as they lose all balance. Needless to say this fuels the fear/hate/denial. It doesn't help that the sheer joy of relief of finally letting go brings ecstasy that further fuels the addiction/need.
Tying things up
Brief points:
It is VERY rare for a magician ability to be JUST a Mage or JUST a Wizard or JUST a Priest. A Shaman is 99% a Priest, but the enhanced spiritual awareness is actually Power of Self. A Necromancer is primarily a Priest, but he holds the power of death as well, which is the Power of Earth. Still, most fit nicely into a pigeon hole and are PRIMARILY of one of the three. This is considered quite acceptable by Camaalis who view it as proof that all things are connected together and that the Three are entwined. As a secondary point, yes that means a non-educated Mage will usually not be able to master his abilities because he hasn’t been taught the extensions of his magic that are of the First or Second Powers. However, they CAN usually make very good instinctive guesses.
If a Magician has multiple powers (as is common among the Camaalis - though 3 is the maximum) they get the title of their dominant power. So Darren is considered a Mage, even though he has 2 magics from the Power of Realms, because his Sorcery is his dominant power.
The Power of Three. This is very rarely achieved. If three magicians, one from each Power (i.e. a Wizard, Priest and a Cleric) all work together in a similar magic (say a Necromancer, Sorcerer and Death Weaver all working towards some death magic) then their powers are increased by a huge amount. Basically by a bare minimum of a factor of 10 - when the Lord, Lady and Self work together it is frightening and aw inspiring to behold.
There are some powers that are all of the Powers in fairly equal measure. Some Camaalis argue these aren’t real magics at all, but merely extensions of many different magics, but most deny it because there are people who clearly have a talent for these magics. These are magicians like Enchanters, Alchemists and Rune Carvers. They usually use objects or substances as a focus for one (or more) of the Three Powers. These magics require MASSIVE amounts of training and education and are extremely flexible, if weaker in any field than that field’s ‘specialty’ (e.g. it’s very stupid to enchant a sword by binding a daemon into it if you intend to fight an Infernalist) . E.g. a Rune Carver can control/summon creatures of other realms with the right rune combination, and just as easily call the element of fire with another or enhance his psychic perceptions with another. These ‘generic’ spell casters are called Channelers. NB: Most other spell casters have access to these powers in a limited way themselves - a Sorcerer will us runes of darkness, an Elementalist potions of various elements, etc.
The other 10%? Well, Camaalis isn’t sure about this, there seem to be some powers that are either of all the Powers or none of them (Channelers for one). Another is the Word. The theory behind it is that concept creates word (description). A person sees a box and lo, conceives a word to describe said box with. The Word is like a reflection of that - it is language that changes concept. Words that change reality (this is the theory anyway). Namers are EXTREMELY rare to the point of being nearly unknown and require exceedingly intensive training. Camaalis is slooooowly building a dictionary, but the trouble is that merely being able to pronounce the word isn’t sufficient - you have to truly and utterly understand the concept - which generally means that only Mages who specialise in that area can actually use the Word - trouble is one or two words don’t do much but focus and enhance. So Mages will use the Word, but all it does is build on what they do anyway (when Darren says something unpronounceable with his magic he’s either talking with daemons/undead or using the Word). In theory a very talented Namer is exceedingly powerful. What does this mean for the Three Powers? The best theory is that the connection - that which links everything together - the All, is actually a Power in and of itself - or the Rule of Three itself...
Ok, have I missed anything?
Ok, my own head’s squeaking getting round it all, and I am SO bound to forget some of it.
Firstly there are 3 primary sources of magic, 90% of all magic draws its power from one or more of these sources (it’s possible that the remaining 10% also does, just that Clan Camaalis - the foremost researchers, haven’t yet figured out the connection.)
The First is the Power of Earth (AKA The Power of the Mother/Lady).
The Second is the Power of Realms (AKA The Power of the Father/Lord).
The Third is the Power of Self (AKA - The Power of the Divine/Humanity/Soul/Camaalis. Yes, Camaalis, they ARE that arrogant).
Together they are also the Power of Three - but that’s another issue.
The First Power, the Power of Earth, is the power inherent in the world, all around, filling everything, connecting everything. It is the power of the elements, the power of all that grows, the power of all that dies. It is the power that moves the winds and the power of the very cycle of life and death. It is a power made up of the world and permeating through the world. It is not the single violin of a single soul or entity playing, but the full mighty orchestra of all things, seen and unseen, of the world playing in awe inspiring harmony. It is the World, and every touch of it reminds the magician of the sheer might of the Mother and their place within the glorious tapestry of all that is.
Some magics which draw entirely, or nearly entirely, or possibly entirely, from the First Power are: Elementalist (all of them, most Elementalists focus on one element - especially outside the Camaalis), Herbalists (mostly), Augurs, Sky Striders (Weather wizards), Life/Death Weavers. Magicians of the First Power are generically called Wizards or Witches.
The Power of Realms comes from other realms (wow, that was a leap of logic, right?) A simple way of describing realms would be dimensions, but that's not exactly popular with most magicians. Parallel worlds exist alongside ours, the myriad realms of the Spirit Worlds, the dark Underworlds, the terrifying Infernal Realms and the downright weird Dream Worlds, to name but a few. Each of these realms has its own power and denizens (in much the same way as the Earth does, but to a lesser degree). There are so many of these realms that despite millennia of trying, no-one has ever listed all of them, in fact many believe they have barely scratched the surface. Some realms are pretty well mapped, but most contain secrets still to be plumbed. People who draw on the Power of Realms either draw directly from that Realm’s power/features or from the power of the denizens of that Realm. Usually a bit of both. The Power of Realms is all that is other, the alien, the mysterious, the dangerous and the shocking. It is surprising and vibrant and mysterious. It is terra incognita, the uncharted lands, the great unknown, the great unknowable. Magicians who draw down the Second Power are filled with the passion and bravery of the Father, the mighty audacity to face down the unknown, the reckless spirit needed to pierce the great mysteries, the burning heart of one who stands alone no matter the consequences. It is mystery and power, fire and strength, the piercing gaze and the wandering feet, the reckless laugh and passionate dance. It is the casting down of limits, the burning of tradition and the refusal of laws and rules.
Some magics that draw entirely, or nearly entirely, or possibly entirely, from the second power are: Shamanism (duh), Necromancy, Medium-ship, Dreamer, Seer, Infernalist, Celestial. Magicians of the Second Power are generically called Priests or Clerics.
The Power of Self is the power that all people, all beings possess within themselves. Some argue that it is part of the Power of Earth, but most dispute that. The Power of Earth is all that is, but the Power of Self is extremely personal, linked intimately to the magician in a way that is completely alien to the ‘small part of the whole’ that touching the Power of Earth brings. The Power of Self is a power that rests within the magician. In part it is one of the powers that rests within all people that is magnified, emphasised or trained beyond normal levels. For example, a Mentalist has merely magnified the power of will and consciousness that rests in all people. The Power of Self elevates the Soul, people drawing on the Third Power feel themselves raised up, strengthened. They feel their power echoing into the world, they feel their power shine through them and over all around them. The Third Power burns from deep within, is more a part of the magician than even his own body or mind, more personal than even his deepest thoughts. It is his in a way the other powers never can be. It is him written large, it is the greatest part of him made manifest, it is a loud, echoingly powerful voice with which he screams “I AM!” to the world.
Some magics that draw entirely, or nearly entirely, or possibly entirely, from the Third Power are: White Mage, Mentalist, Telepath, Empath, Sorcerer, Oracle, Mystic Voice, Shadow Touched, Illusionist, Most psychic abilities. Magicians of the Third Power are generically called Mages.
On Education:
All powers and magics benefit from training and education - from meditation and practice to book reading and education; but if you are a talent in a power you technically don’t need it. In theory.
The First Power is pretty dependent on education. Without education and training and lots of study, your magic is going to be on an instinctive level only. It takes a powerful skill and great knowledge to be able to control the forces of the Earth, without them, well you may be able to call some of your power, but you’ll never come close to realising your true potential. In addition, because your power is instinctive, it's also going to be largely uncontrolled (this is one of the reasons why Clan Camaalis insist on the Path Lighting at age 6, before power has manifested to any great degree). This is severely not a good thing. Angry Elementalists tend to accidentally incinerate things.
The Second Power is much the same on education, but with an important difference. It comes with its own trainers. A Shaman can technically learn his craft from spirits, and Infernalist from Daemons, a Necromancer from powerful and informed undead. But there’s a catch, see, before he’s received any training the Priest is going to be ignorant of the customs, behaviours and expectations of these entities (spirits can be very easily offended if you don’t offer proper chimminage, and making deals with daemons without realising you’re making a deal is officially not a good thing). The Priest is also not going to be able to control these entities, which with spirits can be dangerous and with daemons and the undead can be positively suicidal, unless he has some other power which may serve (example: Darren summoned daemons and undead to teach him Infernalism and Necromancy. He survived the experience and gained a good education by basically threatening everything with horrible painful destruction by Sorcery. No, it wasn’t good etiquette, but Sorcery can make up for many a faux pas, and who needs manners when you‘ve got death threats?)
The Third Power is instinctual. It is the Power of Self, and who can ever teach you about yourself? Actually, many people can, as any psychologist is like to tell you (and not just to make you come back). You can realise your full potential as a Mage without any training (though meditation, reading the experiences of Mages of similar powers and even psychoanalysts help a great deal), but you are likely to miss some part of your power or potential from simple ignorance or lack of connection - A Mystic Voice who doesn’t realise their creativity, the power to evoke reality through imagination and talent can actually be achieved through instruments as well as song, for example. But in general no-one actually teaches you these abilities, it’s more a case of support, advice, mentoring and guidance than actual training or teaching.
One thing that Clan Camaalis has noticed over the years is that Mages who aren’t trained, or are poorly trained tend to be a little... unstable. Psychological disorders abound, especially megalomania, paranoia, phobias anti-social disorder and deep obsessive and compulsive behaviour. One problem that must be dealt with quickly is low self-image - a Mage who doubts is weakened, sometimes incapable of using their power. After all, this is the power of the self, and if you doubt your abilities how can you really take advantage of them? Such Blocked Mages need to be coaxed back into a high self-esteem - without pushing them off the path to megalomania. Yes, mages do need a VERY careful upbringing (BTW, it also means that technically Darren’s father’s tactic of torturing his Sorcery out of him could have actually worked).
One of the worst afflictions a Mage can suffer that Camaalis has come across rarely and shallowly (they’ve rarely encountered and are utterly ignorant of the extreme version, they only have knowledge of the beginnings of the condition in fairly weak Mages) is a Mage who utterly despises, fears and denies their power. In effect they despise, fear and deny a major - the most major, part of themselves. That alone is crippling psychologically and emotionally; but it’s worse than that. This is one of the most integral parts of them, one of the most integral parts. It constantly calls to them, they crave it, crave it worse than any drug. They need it beyond all reason, they can’t resist forever...
Unfortunately, when their resolve cracks, it shatters. Not only have they never been taught to control themselves, but they’ve denied themselves any experience of this incredible side of them. They can’t control it, and they can't control themselves. It overwhelms all their senses, their mind, their normal thoughts - because they’ve never learned to integrate and tame the power, they actually become it’s Avatar in all but name. The general rule is lots and lots of repression, then a sudden, orgiastic explosion of incredible power and a rush of alien, completely extreme thought as they lose all balance. Needless to say this fuels the fear/hate/denial. It doesn't help that the sheer joy of relief of finally letting go brings ecstasy that further fuels the addiction/need.
Tying things up
Brief points:
It is VERY rare for a magician ability to be JUST a Mage or JUST a Wizard or JUST a Priest. A Shaman is 99% a Priest, but the enhanced spiritual awareness is actually Power of Self. A Necromancer is primarily a Priest, but he holds the power of death as well, which is the Power of Earth. Still, most fit nicely into a pigeon hole and are PRIMARILY of one of the three. This is considered quite acceptable by Camaalis who view it as proof that all things are connected together and that the Three are entwined. As a secondary point, yes that means a non-educated Mage will usually not be able to master his abilities because he hasn’t been taught the extensions of his magic that are of the First or Second Powers. However, they CAN usually make very good instinctive guesses.
If a Magician has multiple powers (as is common among the Camaalis - though 3 is the maximum) they get the title of their dominant power. So Darren is considered a Mage, even though he has 2 magics from the Power of Realms, because his Sorcery is his dominant power.
The Power of Three. This is very rarely achieved. If three magicians, one from each Power (i.e. a Wizard, Priest and a Cleric) all work together in a similar magic (say a Necromancer, Sorcerer and Death Weaver all working towards some death magic) then their powers are increased by a huge amount. Basically by a bare minimum of a factor of 10 - when the Lord, Lady and Self work together it is frightening and aw inspiring to behold.
There are some powers that are all of the Powers in fairly equal measure. Some Camaalis argue these aren’t real magics at all, but merely extensions of many different magics, but most deny it because there are people who clearly have a talent for these magics. These are magicians like Enchanters, Alchemists and Rune Carvers. They usually use objects or substances as a focus for one (or more) of the Three Powers. These magics require MASSIVE amounts of training and education and are extremely flexible, if weaker in any field than that field’s ‘specialty’ (e.g. it’s very stupid to enchant a sword by binding a daemon into it if you intend to fight an Infernalist) . E.g. a Rune Carver can control/summon creatures of other realms with the right rune combination, and just as easily call the element of fire with another or enhance his psychic perceptions with another. These ‘generic’ spell casters are called Channelers. NB: Most other spell casters have access to these powers in a limited way themselves - a Sorcerer will us runes of darkness, an Elementalist potions of various elements, etc.
The other 10%? Well, Camaalis isn’t sure about this, there seem to be some powers that are either of all the Powers or none of them (Channelers for one). Another is the Word. The theory behind it is that concept creates word (description). A person sees a box and lo, conceives a word to describe said box with. The Word is like a reflection of that - it is language that changes concept. Words that change reality (this is the theory anyway). Namers are EXTREMELY rare to the point of being nearly unknown and require exceedingly intensive training. Camaalis is slooooowly building a dictionary, but the trouble is that merely being able to pronounce the word isn’t sufficient - you have to truly and utterly understand the concept - which generally means that only Mages who specialise in that area can actually use the Word - trouble is one or two words don’t do much but focus and enhance. So Mages will use the Word, but all it does is build on what they do anyway (when Darren says something unpronounceable with his magic he’s either talking with daemons/undead or using the Word). In theory a very talented Namer is exceedingly powerful. What does this mean for the Three Powers? The best theory is that the connection - that which links everything together - the All, is actually a Power in and of itself - or the Rule of Three itself...
Ok, have I missed anything?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-25 04:07 am (UTC)*griiiiins* adam was a Namer, then?
gen 2:19-20 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
nifty. i like the concept of the 3, and the intertwined nature of magic-working. and darren's issues make a hell of a lot of sense. the caamilis level of arrogance is such that it's both very attractive and maddening. on one hand, you wanna squish it; on the other, once you've done it, you look at the broken mess and you feel rotten for shattering such a lovely work of art.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-25 10:26 am (UTC)Thank you for prompting me to get my head together on this rather than having vague ideas and assuming 'magic works'.
Yup, that's what Camaalis think - legends of a past Namer of great power.
Darren's seriuously screwed up beyond his angst, his angst makes a good cover though. Camaalis? Frustrates me - I want to scream they're not perfect, not all powerful, not all knowing... and I get 'who says?' in return.