Magic

Magic in Zol emanates from The Trinity from its metaphysical source within the Prime Material Plane. It manifests in 3 ways called The Wills.

It is the poorly understood force that drives everything in Zol.

• Observance, which is magic lent by beings of great power or derived from a spiritual bond formed with the soul of the world itself, The Trinity. Each individual who utilizes this will does so in a manner that is entirely unique to them. It can manifest as a radiant light that guides those who are lost, a dark power that draws in the vulnerable, and everything in between.
• Viridescence, which is magic found everywhere in nature. A source which requires great understating of, or domination over the natural world. This power allows anyone to bend nature to their will, and even bend their own form to that of the natural world.
• Arcana, the unbalanced, untied, and chaotic power that saturates Zol. Arcana can be harnessed in an uncountable number of ways, but even scratching the surface of just one of these methods requires great knowledge, talent, and years of practice; however some gifted individuals can perform these acts based on their innate ability alone. Study of the Arcane can show one the great and wonderful secrets of the world, but can also drive some to madness.

The Wills come from The Trinity and the rules that bind it called The First Tongue. This binding formed the very stone, sea, and sky of Zol. As well as the Magic that resides in it. By this rule, all magic in Zol must adhere to The Wills even if it hails from outside Zol.

The First Tongue itself is a power one can learn to control. It allows one to bend the rules of Zol, as it is in its essence the rules themselves. Individuals who achieve full and uncontested mastery over a facet Zol may discover a piece of The First Tongue. In doing so they can perform wonderous feats of magic akin to that the Gods. This is the rarest and most difficult skill in all of Zol.

As use of The First Tongue is nigh impossible, other methods of harnessing the wills are utilized by the bulk of magic wielders in Zol. These other methods are:

• Vizir, a fragment of the Trinity that exists in all beings. When harnessed it allows one to access The Wills in a minor way.
• The Old Tongue, the language that followed The First Tongue. While it is not nearly as powerful, it is much more diverse. It allows one to wield The Wills in a major way. Knowledge of this force may come with great secrets and dark truths about Zol.
• Lent Power, is power given by some wonderous source or great being other than The Trinity. When this power is bestowed upon an individual, it allows for them to channel the power of a greater being through their Vizir or learn The Old Tongue through a divine entity. This power cannot come from outside of The Trinity entirely. As all magic in Zol must be passed through it before reaching its intended target.

The people of Zol largely base their society and culture around some sort of magic. Safety and technology at a high level depend almost entirely on magic. This creates a strange dynamic for most of the population as only about 5% of individuals have the capacity to harness magic via gifts or training.

Casters are revered and feared because of this. The cultures and mythos of Zol are so intertwined with magic that no belief or practice is without mention of it.

For almost all of history, one could not access magical power unless they followed the specific known rules, bore some gift, or possessed an item that had undergone Enchantment via superbly powerful magic called Imbuement Perpetuum. This was all changed when the great arcanist Maalvern discovered Iron Light and established the trade of Artificers.

Iron Light is a sub section of the minor will of Arcana. It allows one to extend their Vizir into an object, and produce a magical result. This is done by using rudimentary runes inscribed in iron plates, allowing for a more simplistic production of magical objects. This invention revolutionized Zol.

While powerful, Magic is not a boundless tool. In all cases, a Caster acts as a conduit for The Trinity. Acting as this conduit requires capacity and fortitude called Equipoise, respective to the given task.

Equipoise is a medical term used to denote the balance of ones homeostasis, mental state, and magical capability. It is a careful balance that the body strives towards at all times. Every being has a different level of this balance. Some beings can withstand more imbalance than others.

Use of any Magic, save for The First Tongue, directly interferes with one’s Equipoise. This can manifest as the body dropping in temperature, exhaustion, hunger, nausea, weakness, dizziness, and temporarily decreased magical ability.

It is common for novice mages to become bedridden for a few hours after their first use of magic. Skilled mages do not even notice these negative effects when using simple spells.

Equipoise can be trained like a muscle over time, and seems to have no upward limit. This skill is thought to be parallel, or even interchangeable, with the strength of ones Vizir.

When one stops using magic, the body does what it can to return to a normal Equipoisal state; however it cannot recover lost energy. This means a body can only take so much stress before it needs hours of rest paired with nutrition to regain lost Equipoise.

Stress can be mitigated by expanding one’s Equipoisal capacity. If an individual has great skill, or some innate gift they can use magic in more efficient ways to lessen the equipoisal imbalance. The amount of magic a Caster can use before causing permanent damage to themselves is referred to as their equipoisal limit.

If one does reach their equipoisal limit, they are not cut off from magic. They are instead punished greatly by any further usage. This is called Magical Backfire.

Much of what is written and taught about Magic comes from Academic Arcanists. In modern times, the public understanding of Magic is somewhat biased towards the academic perspective. Clerics, Druids, occultists, Witches, and many more have perspectives of magic that differ greatly, and even sometimes contradict the academic perspective.

Most cases of Magic usage outside of academia are not recorded, tested, and debated like they are in Academic Arcana. This is because each usage is much more individualistic and personal. There is also much less need for it as these groups tend to begin their journey with gifts, or help from an outside source. The most obvious exception to this is The University’s Viridium and Observum; the two most organized institutions of their respective wills.

The usage of magic gives off a unique informational Energy signature no matter the source, will used, or the Caster themselves. These signatures are called the Schools of Magic and they tell much about the nature of the magic being used.

Many believe magic to be an all encompassing force to describe Zol, but there are some who believe there is other power within the world that does not come from Zol and even operate outside of The Trinity. Any academic evidence of this is purely theoretical, and is largely viewed as some portion of The Trinity that is not yet understood. Some theologians however, claim to be quite sure of these sources of power. A large example of this is that of the Church of The Hum in Holyfield

The popularized theories for other sources are:

• The Hum - a strange force that exists in Holyfield
• The Mortal Coil - the force of life and death itself. Many Believe it to be part of The Trinity, but others disagree based on the nature of the Planes and Necromancy.
• The Anger of the Stars - a strange phenomenon observed as power that radiates from somewhere deep in The Cosmos.
• The Anti-Trinity - a mythical force associated with The Shroud of the Void