Magic and Psionics on Dragondeep
The word ‘magic’ is a blanket name for any ability that is not physical skill based. Some animals and entities are ‘magical’ by virtue of their construction, creation, or inherent abilities. But the term is often misapplied to creatures which can naturally ‘do’ things such as breathe fire or survive in odd conditions. The magic used by many different cultures on Dragondeep generally comes in two types: innate and learned.
Innate magic is powered by will alone, and cannot be gifted to anyone else, the user has an ability and when they cease living things that relied on it cannot be continued. It is also often referred to as either Psionics or Elemental magic, depending on how they’re used or by whom. While some Psionic powers affect other people or the world around them, psionic powers themselves cannot be ‘transferred’ to another being (well, the personality and will force might be able to jump from one person to another, but that’s not really ‘teaching’, more ‘possessing’).
Terms for the people who do this form of magic are called Psionicists, Elementalists, or commonly, Elemental mages (as distinguished from a general mage). Elementalists might also be found among spell-casters, who specialize in one type of spell. When there is doubt, the overall culture or species should be taken into account, to determine whether they’re a spell-caster or a psionicist.
Learned magic includes Spell-book type casting, ritual magic, and any kind of magic information that can be given from one person to another no matter the means, which also includes imbuement of items or ‘enchantments’. The magic power behind spells is considered an ‘infinite’ supply – anyone with the ability or skill to tap into it can do so provided they have done ‘the right spell’. Thus, when a mage dies, their magically empowered items or objects, and sometimes even long term spells, usually but not always continue to function long after they are gone.
Those who concentrate on spells and externally powered magic are often called Mages, Wizards and a number of other terms specific to their type. (Summoners, Necromancers.)
Regarding a third option – many cultures still retain a religion in addition to their magical talents or documentation. Because the Gods did exist here, it’s assumed that some of those cultural traditions are also based in reality. Not all of them are, but they certainly enough of them can claim to worship some deity or other and not get ridiculed for it. Only the Dragons would openly berate a religious sect – because to them, ‘worship’ equates directly to ‘enslavement’.
However, feats which any society might consider ‘miracles’ or ‘divine’ magic are not. These are considered a strong form of Innate power, but with a simple social restriction that the user believes they are channeling a deity. Often enough, the powers that this individual or group may use overlap many different Elements, and can indeed be very powerful. But the powers themselves, any Jewel Witch or Lumin psionic specialist would be able to prove, come from within the one performing the ‘miracles’. It may be possible too that the individual can tap into a group, which makes ‘worship’ all the more important to them. The flipside of the ‘beatific priest’ is the ‘purposeful deceiver’ who knows they have this ability, and uses it to dominate – just like the Gods. It’s no wonder the Dragons dislike organized religions…
Almost every culture around the world has some form of magic. Most tend to concentrate on only one or the other of the two types. Dragons and dragonkin, the Lumin, Starcourt and Ravenhill Elves, and a number of Undead or Necromancer folk are able to do both. Generally speaking when an individual can do both types, neither is going to be at a strong level. There are notable exceptions around the world and among any given culture which ever has done so.
There is always debate about whether one form of magic is stronger, more important, more useful, or indeed was developed before the other. For the most part, highly learned scholars of any given magical bent hash it out over coffee and crumpets. Less highly learned scholars – or more likely practitioners of those same magical types – hash it out in public while dueling. Overall, it’s thought that while Psionics have existed genetically longer, the practice of spell magic has been more refined over the same time period. Plus it’s known that since some cultures arrive with one or another type, there really is no way of knowing for sure ‘which came first’, because none of them came from Dragondeep.
It is considered improper in most cultures to ask outright what magic someone may be able to use if for no other reason than the person in question might not have any, and that’s a serious social faux pas in almost any area. Waiting to see what they do, however, is hardly against the rules! It can be expected in certain areas that almost everyone does one type of magic over another, and therefore the unique folks can easily be seen. Most cultures don’t have a ‘magical registry’ to keep track of individual mages, but libraries and historical documents usually have information about that when a mage makes a name for themselves.
Mages and Wizards often run schools for instruction on general magic, as well as highly detailed ‘graduate level’ courses and tutoring for those who can handle difficult spells or stand the chance of creating their own new ones. Most cultures which have magic of this sort, usually have a school in every major township for lower powered or younger students, and a major university or seminary found in very large population areas. Psionicists are strictly up for tutoring individually, because of the nature of the personalized skill required.
Because most cultures on Dragondeep do perform magic feats on a regular basis, and the entire history of the planet is simply bathed in magic, any population that refuses its use, or denies it entirely, is usually seen as a laughable bunch of crazies. Not only is there real magic, but there were real gods here. Denying magic, it’s said, is like denying the voice of a Dragon. Even if you’re deaf, you can still feel the ground shake with it!
It is not just improper, but often times illegal, to use one’s own magic on someone else, in someone else’s presence, to their possessions, or in their home, without their permission. After all, they got that chair to grow in exactly the right spot with the right color of blossoms overhead, it’s not your business to decide to make the red flowers turn yellow or even the seat spread a bit to accommodate your fat butt. People who do such things are rarely asked back in social situations.
Most cultural centers around the world have specific laws governing magical issues, including wand waving or bold Psionic use. Tolerance for other cultures only goes so far, when someone invades a town and starts raising their dead or causing villagers to burst into flames. The most typical response to any of those situations is to be forcibly removed – but in some cases, pitchforks and torches get passed around.
Magic use is often coupled with items; foci are used in many forms of spell-magic. It is likely that on some of their original home worlds, some magic would not work when highly technological items were around, the opposition of one versus the other. But on Dragondeep that is not necessarily the case. The Jewel Witches and the Lumin are notable exceptions in that their Psionic energies are actually focused by their diadems and connections, and both of their cultures – and the Clockwork – utilize anything and everything at their disposal.
Many times, different styles or origins of magic powers overlap and emulate one another. A spell weaver might emulate a tracking power that a Psionicist uses, while an Elemental psionic senses a ping through their shaped items in the same way a mage might have enchanted an object to activate on cue. So in practice, whatever flavor of magic works best for the setting is what gets used more frequently. If that means “use the phone instead” … then there you go.