On The Nature Of Magic: Part 1
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: On the Nature of Magic: Part 1
Author: Selayna Silverleaf
Dedicated to all who strive in the pursuit of knowledge.
1. Scholarship
Many claim that the essence of magic is unknown and unknowable. They say that, "magic is here, do not ask why." indeed, while this is an understandable attitude in the layman, this view is held not only by the layman, but by many mages themselves. While such "mages" are often effective, they lack the depth of understanding that marks a true scholar.
2. What magic isn't
Let us first describe magic by what it is not. Magic is not an unknowable "black box" It is not simply a set of words and chemicals that people combine to form an effect. Magic is not limitless in power, yet neither is it limited in what it can do save for practical constraints.
3. What is magic (in brief)
Magic is a technique by which the mage is able to cause changes to occur. Some of these changes are subtle such as telepathy, while others are extremely violent such as an energy vortex.
4. Traditional magic theory
The traditional school of magic is that magic is a sort of "black box" wherein the mage uses certain reagents and utters certain words and a spell is formed.
Some Scholars of the traditional school have expanded this into a basic theory that certain words of power and reagents have specific properties and that is why the various combinations work.
For example the Word An is considered to mean negation while Nox stands for poison. The reagents garlic and ginsing are considered to have healing properties and are also used in this spell. Indeed, the "negate poison" spell does work, and it is that and many other similar examples that cause members of the traditional school of magic theory to have so large a following.
5. Flaws in traditional magic theory
Traditional magic theory suffices as an explanation of the basic eight circles of spells, but it does not satisfactoraly explain the plethora of other magical phenomina that are found throughout the world.
For example, there is no way according to traditional magic theory for my own immortality to be accounted for. I did not utter words of power nor did I expend reagents to become immortal, I simply am.
Another, less contraversial issue is the existance of magical weaponry and armor. By traditional magic theory there is no way for such objects to exist.
Indeed I know no spell that exists within the traditional eight circles of power that can enchant an object.
The most significant flaw in traditional magic theory involves the casting of spells by non human creatures such as orc mages, dragons, and gazers.
Creatures carry few if any reagents and do not utter traditional words of power and yet I can attest by personal experience that they can and do.