Tome:Quintessa's Unified Theory of Magic

Quintessa’s Unified Theory of Magic

To preface:

Most of my life has been devoted to understanding the functions and methods used to control magic, most notably dark arcane magic. I studied the spoken words of magic, vibrations created by speech that could bend reality. I studied countless runic alphabets, arranging the symbols to do things that I myself would have never been able to with my own will. I have studied necromancers, pyromancers, telemancers, tempests, mystics, and all other forms of wizardry you can name. I even branched out and studied magics that I personally had no talent for, divine magics wielded by paladins and templars, and the forces of nature bent to the whims of druids and rangers. I even studied the Sage Forest’s own Eternal Tree, tracing out its influence in the Weave of magic, noting its interconnectedness with all the forces of existence. It has been these experiences that lead me to challenge the current understanding of magic and categorize it in a unified theory, regardless of the source be it arcane or divine. What I record next is the consolidation of my findings.

The Old Schools of Magic:

All magic, regardless of variation, can be divided and categorized into schools. Historically there were five arcane schools of magic, conjuration, illusion, ‘mancy’, ‘materia’, and ‘true arcana’, but this categorization is reductive and often contradictory. For instance, mancy is not a true school of magic but rather the culmination of several different schools. ‘True arcana’ as well fails to accurately describe the basic phenomena of magic, as there is no ‘false arcana’ in opposition and thus the term means nothing at all. Even the phrase ‘materia’ means very little when it comes to the practical use of magic and figuring out how the different forces relate to one another. What I propose is a more efficient model that every caster can easily understand.

The Eight Schools of Magic:

Conjuration- This school is focused on instantaneous transportation, conjuring manifestations of creatures, energy or objects, and object creation. Various healing spells are also part of the conjuration school, however of the core arcane areas of study, these spells are generally restricted to bards. In ancient times this school was referred to as Summoning, the act of conjuring one or many creatures from one area of spacetime and bending the Weave to bring these creatures to you. Most if not all things brought forth by this school fade away or are banished back to whence they came once the spell’s duration ends. Casters who specialize in this school are known as Conjurers.

Illusion- This school involves the ability to change the appearance of something, by creating a phantasm, and was often referred to as the ‘phantasm school’ in ancient times. At its core the illusion school is the manipulation of perception, emotion and cognition, and its variants between casters is nearly endless. Casters who specialize in this school are known as Illusionists.

Abjuration- This school is focused on protective spells, as well as spells which cancel or interfere with other spells, magical effects or supernatural abilities. Casters who specialize in this school are known as Abjurers.

Transmutation- This school focuses on the ability to change matter, and spells in this school alter the properties of their targets. In ancient times this school was often referred to as Alteration. Casters who specialize in this school are known as Transmuters.

Divination- This school is focused on acquiring and revealing information, and in a broader sense is the backbone to runic magic as well since basic utility spells such as Detect Magic, Identify and Read Magic all fall under this category. Casters who specialize in this school are known as Diviners.

Enchantment- This school is focused on affecting the minds of others including influencing or controlling their behavior, and in ancient times was called Charm magic. The Enchantment school refers specifically to mind-affecting compulsions and charms, causing the target to act more favorably toward the caster. Compulsion spells can force the targets' to act in a certain way or avoid certain actions, affect the targets' emotions or affect the targets' minds in other ways. Casters who specialize in this school are known as Enchanters.

Evocation- This school pertains to creating matter and energy called up out of nothing and was referred to as Invocation in ancient times. The classic spells magic missile and burning hands, both of which call up destructive energy with which to attack enemies, are both examples of evocation. Other casters channel positive energy to heal wounds, such as druids and clerics. Casters who specialize in this school are known as Evokers.

Necromancy- Necromancy spells involve death, undeath, and the manipulation of life energy. Casters that specialize in this school are known as Necromancers.

Of further note:

There has often been much debate in my area of expertise of the exact nature of magic and the effect it has on the world around us. Magic gives us the ability to do tremendous things and oftentimes it is seen as this unknowable force, something mysterious and dangerous, but what some forget is that all forces, even magic, follow a set of rules that the Gods themselves set out for us. Let’s take the famous ‘Sorceress’ Staff’ thought experiment for example. When she snaps her fingers her staff magically appears in her hands. If you ask her where it came from she tells you: “It comes from my special place where I keep all my special things.” From whence then did it come? Some scholars speak of ‘blurred lines’ in magic, but this is because of the flawed understanding of conjuration magic and the contradictions created by the ‘materia’ school. There are no blurred lines in the science of magic. This Sorceress is either a Conjuror, summoning the staff from some other place, a Transmuter, creating the staff from some tangible material, or an Illusionist, creating a deception that the staff is real and in her hand. And when this Sorceress twirls her staff and creates a fireball, this same method can be used to identify and definitively categorize what this mage is doing. This however does not limit the caster from utilizing multiple schools, for instance the Sorceress could create a ball of fire using magic from the Conjuration school, essentially making the fire appear seamingly from the aether. In the next breath the same caster could then use a spell from the Evocation school to transform her raw mana into magical fire. An Illusionist, similarly, could create a phantom flame that burns just as well, or a Necromancer could create shadow fire utilizing the Black Tides. Those scholars who speak of blurred lines have fundamentally misunderstood the basic nature of magical practices, labeling things ‘impossible to know’ when we have barely scratched the surface of understanding.