magic

Magic has always been an abundant element of Azur. In some ages it has been more prominent than others where it has lain dormant, untapped by mortals and immortals alike.

Where does magic exist?

Magic lies in all things, its a formula that is woven through the fabric of the material world, through all things living and inert. It is a liquid, a life stream that flows, connected from one object to another, through plants, animals, earth and even Us.

Magic can be felt. Sometimes it is like the soft waft of warm breath upon the cool flesh at the back of the neck, other times it is a fiery electrical storm that sizzles and frys all who come near.

Magic can be heard.

How is magic used?

Even though magic is everwhere, it is not so easy to detect, harness or use magic and not everyone who has the magic gene has the ability or stength to becomes a mage.

There are two streams of magic, the one which flows outside of the body and that one that flows within. Races who have developed natural magical abilities or powers, have learnt how to tune into the stream that flows within themselves.

The stream that flows without, is the power source for mages and those who perform spells. Some races are able to harness this magic naturally, such as Vampires, Elfs and Drow, while others such as Ahns and Dwarfs have to harness the magic through the use of tools such as gems, wands, staffs and orbs.

There are three steps to controlling magic:
1. Detect - Elfs can detect magic easily and in perfect health they would not miss seeing a spell, but for most other races, detection of magic is not always o easy.
2. Harness - If the vassel is weak, then it will break. Those who try to harness too much magic, or if the magic stream is too strong then it can break a person. The ability to harness magic, is usually referred to when discussing the harnessing of magic within oneself, however, magic can be stored in tools often used to compliment other magic or be of assistance to those whose magic gene is weak.
3. Use - Using magic is by far the hardest of the three steps. Some people have learnt how to detect and how to harness. There are some vassel's who hire themselves to mages as an extra store of magic because they do not know how to Use the magic within them.

Using Magic

There are two different uses of magic: Power and Spells. Power is the magic that occurs when a person uses magic without any preparation. It comes naturally to the User. Whereas Spells require the User to prepare the magic for use.

Magic can be cast anywhere on Azur except on the alternate dimensions where differnent rules may exist. In the cities of Trehn, Casdtron-asp'd, Tier'Ne and Kharintel magic is strong and many mages gather in these centres to share knowledge.

Wild Magic

Wild magic is magic that a mage finds difficult to harness. Misusing magic can kill. Wild magic will occurs when a mage has not prepared their spell well or is not experienced enough to control the spell. Most often wild magic results in a spell backfiring or doing something odd but it can also turn create a mini electrical storm. Spells cast by Rogue mages have a higher chance of becoming wild magic.

Book of Spells

There are many books with Spells. Some are handwritten books that have been copied by generations of apprentices, while others are published books created for sale or rare magic books written by Delphians to record rare and valuable information, not meant to be common knowledge.

The Magic Gene

There are only two races that are not able to practice magic, Humans and Kender. Should they mate with another race that does have the ability to detect, harness and use magic, than their offspring could enherit the magic gene (50% chance). Should a Halfbreed mate with another Halfbreed, Human or Kender, the magic gene would weaken and it would be completey bred out in seven generations. Mating with a Human and or Kender would weaken the gene and remove it completely in four generations.

Even though the gene is inherited, it is not a guarentee that the person will be a successful mage. The gene has varying strengths and is much stronger in a family line where there have been mages in the past.

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