Magic

Legalities
Magical Items
Parameters
Types of Magic
Chaosian Magic

The laws of nature and physics in Shadow Star are the same, relatively, as in Earth - except when they're affected by magic. It's magic that makes centaurs, werebeings, phoenixi, etc possible. Magic is part of every day life. It helps in building structures and buildings, it aids in farming and weather, it works with mining, and so on and so forth. It's an integral part of Shadow Star. The nature of it, its uses, and so forth are described below.

Legalities of Magic

Magic is perfectly legal, except for the Forbidden Magics (Torture, Compulsion, and Chaotic). Attitudes differ everywhere towards magic, much like attitudes towards technology differ everywhere on Earth, but magic is mostly accepted.

Torture magics are just that: magic used in torturing a person. Compulsion magic is any magic used to make a person do something against their will, generally involving either psionics or Chaotic bloodmagic.

Magical Items

Magical artifacts are fairly common - some more so than others. Most of them are made by Enchanters, a faction of the Mages' Guild. It takes spoken spells and alchemic magic to create a magical artifact. If an already-existing object is spelled, then the magic is only temporary. So to make a spell on an object permanent, a mage must be involved in every part of the object's creation.

For instance, with weapons, a mage (usually one of the Enchanter faction) must be involved in every part of the making, spellcasting in the melting of the metals, in the forging, in the cooling, through all parts of the weaponmaking. It's highly draining, and good magical weapons are hard to come by and highly expensive. Ask before having your character own a magical weapon.

Some mages enjoy art, as well, and often combine magic and art- magic paint, brushes, wood, clay, etc.

Types of Magic

There are several types of magic and methods of using such. There's healing magic, elemental magic, alchemical magic, psionics, Chaotic magic, and realm magics.

Alchemical Magic: This is the magic of items and their use. There are many items and materials that hold magical value and can be used in spells, potions, and so forth. Materials are combined into potions, or used as aids for spellcasting, or consumed for their magical effects. Enchanters use alchemical magic in some of their workings, and Alchemists of course use almost nothing except alchemical magic.
Pieces of magical creatures (such as bonds) are the most magically potent. Unicorn or maricorn horn isn't too hard to find- horns need to be trimmed, and though wild unicorns just file their horns on a tree, a mage will always be happy to use magic to file it down and sharpen it in exchange for the filings. Dragon claws are gained when a dragon breaks a claw or needs it trimmed. Scales are shed; teeth are lost. Unicorn hair is shed or cut. Gryphon claws, kraenon fur, flamecat claws... Sijaer tentacles and teeth are rare and hard to find, as are dralk antlers and scales, though flaret fire and hippogriff fur is a bit easier.

Chaotic Magic: Chaotic magic finds its energy source from pain and blood and is highly illegal in Shadow Star. Sex can also be used as energy, though it's not strictly a Chaotic energy source. A Chaos mage will torture a person or creature, using their own given magic or a magical device to collect the intense dark energy of the being's pain (usually in a jewel) to boost the Chaos mage's energy later. Blood is used almost as an alchemical item, or to write magical runes, that sort of thing, in order to cast magic. Necromancy is one specialization of Chaos mages, for instance, and heavily utilizes blood and pain energies. Chaotic magic leaves a nasty aura that can be sensed by almost anyone with a bit of Talent, trained or not.

Elemental Magic: Elemental magic is not well understood. Elementals can use their magic without barely a thought. It's not a magic that can be taught or learned, only one that comes with the species. To elementals, using elemental magic is like breathing - it comes with hardly a conscious thought and just as plentifully.

Healing Magic: Healing magic is a breed unto its own. Healers can't look onto a spell scroll while they heal, so they have to use healing magic. It's partly spontaneous spellcasting, but no one has quite figured out what the rest is. It's almost psionic. Healers, without quite realizing it, direct cells to reproduce faster and where they need to. They can kill malignant cells and breed needed cells. It's complicated and not quite understood, but not too hard to use.

Psionics: Psychics are a rare type of mage, few and far between for the most part, that don't use magical energy per-se, but mental power to fuel their abilities. They range from abilities in telepathy and empathy to the kinetics, like pyro-kinesis and tele-kinesis and many things between. For some reason the ability of psychic capabilities only appears in human or occasionally half-human/humanoid species, like mers or elves, more likely if mixed with human.
Although psychics come from the more fleeting mortality races, there aren't many on the island, or the world itself. Possibly 20 to 30 at most on the island, the numbers of higher mastery tapering sharply the better the skill.
Often a child with the gift develops tiny cases of psychic powers early in life, such as reaching for toys and having them finish the last inch themselves, small simple and often unnoticed things. Around age 10 or so the powers begin to manifest more strongly, until a final lashout strikes near puberty or at the beginning. At this point, it's clearly evideent the child has the gift, and parents usually send them to the nearest higher ranked psychic for training and control before the kid blows the house to peices or scares everyone out of their wits.
There they are tested to see what capabilities the child may have and to what extent their powers can reach. The child is taught to horness their skills and improve upon them, learning what they can in every branch before specializing in their forte once they reach the second level. At this point they begin traveling, usually with their mentor/teacher and master their skills more till they reach their pinnacle at that level or gain the next advancement, where they are set free to learn what they can on their own, since the teacher is now finished or of equal rank.

Ranks: A psychic's rank is clearly visible when their auras are showing, which either is willed into visibility or triggers on its own under high psychic stress. It is obvious when a psychic acheives their next rank as their aura shifts colors.

• Pink (Beginner): All psychics begin at this level, unweildy in their skills, and often dangerous or at least volatile. They are taken by a mentor of third level usually, and are taught how to master or at least control/suppress their powers. They also learn the extent of their skills and what they are capable of doing. A scant few remain at this level all their lives, not stron enough in power to advance, but most reach at least the second rank.
• Light Purple (Intermediate): When a psychic has learend full control of their powers and reaches some level of mastery over them as well, they soon shift to this level, aura a soft pastel purple. This is when they begin to learn and master their highly developed skills, and specialties. They learn practical uses and implimentations for their skills. A good deal of lesser powered psychics finish off at the crest of this level, their pwoers not strong enough to cross the threshold into the next level fully, even when mastered, and so their aura fluctuaetes and swirls between the two hues. Still powerful, as they are, they do seem to be smaller fry compared to those that carry on.
• Deep Purple (Trained): If a psychic is strong enough and trains harder, their aura will deepen to a strong amethyst and be freed from their training, as most mentors are of the deep purple level. These psychics are few and far between, but not as rare as the mastered level, where there are usually only about 3 or 4. These psychics dabble in mixing and experimenting in combinationsa of powers, seeing what they can acheive and produce, as well as wander the world, aiding people, and taking on apprentices. Only under hard studying can one acheive the final level and have their aura shift its last time.
• Blue (Master): These psychics are the strongest of all, often having talents in a wide swath of skills. They often wander and remain in large cities where others can reach them for aid, if the need arises. Only a scant few exist, the most commonly known is Jeremiah Kisaji, the Water King and Kinetics Master.

Most psychics know at least a hint into other realms of psychic capability, while others can't learn but one or two types. For example, Jermiah is able to use most types of psychic forces, from pyro kinesis(fire weilding), to cryo kinesis(ice weilding) and the classic telekinesis, but he cannot use a single skill within the telepathic area, he cannot send mental messages or even single thoughts, nor create illusions or anything of the sort.
All psychics know two skills though, trained from Intermediate and on: Teleportation and Void use. Teleportation is the ability to transport yourself and possibly others long distances immediately. As the higher your rank and power goes, the further you will be able to travel, Light Purples being able to travel up to 500 yards, Deep purple 750 yards and Blue up to a mile in one shot, carrying a decent amount of other stuff as well, although other people can be risky as the transportation can affect the passenger. The other skill is Void use. Each psychic has a small pocket in the Void realm which they can use to store items and other things. This pocket also grow larger with practice and rank, storing bigger items for longer. Note that this is also the realm that the being known as Void exists and has been known to engulf part or all of a psychic's stored items is passing, feeding of their existance. It is rare, but known to happen, so noone puts full trust in the void pockets or places living things in there.

Realm Magic: Magic rooted in the four realms (fire, air, land, water) that affects that realm only, or uses that realm in its effects. This is more of a way to categorize, comprehend, and learn magic than anything else. A lot of mages start out with realm magic, usually the magic of their native realm, as it's easiest to comprehend and generally has a wealth of spells, from very basic to very complex. Air magic can create windstorms, coax a storm from the sky, and so forth; land magic can aid in growing plants, or causing earthquakes, or carving irrigation ditches; fire magic can involve lighting a candle, or throwing a fireball, or enchanting a fireplace to burn without firewood; water magic can be used to create a magical dam, or combine with air magic to create a storm to end a drought, or purify water.

Parameters of Magic

To use magic, a person must have some level of Talent. Talent is the raw, innate ability to use magic. This Talent never changes, though it can be burned out of a mage by use of too much magic. Some mages have very little Talent, and can only do minor spells, such as various spells of perception. These generally go into healing or alchemy, where magic isn't necessarily needed. There are people who have no magical Talent, and people who have immense Talent. Humans generally have a sizable Talent, as do elves, dragoons, and merfolk. Centaurs (of any realm) are almost always Talentless, for instance. Species also determines to some degere what kind of Talent a person will have: for instance, humans are moe likely to be psionics, merfolk attune to water magic the easiest, etc.

The limits to magic's power is the spellcaster's Talent, energy, and knowledge. There may be no limits to magic, but no one has ever been Talented enough to reach magic's limits. Magic power comes from personal energy (given magic), the gods (clerical magic, which can be used regardless whether the person has a Talent or not), the mind (psionics, though it's debated whether psi is actually magic), or blood and pain (Chaotic magic). Sex can also be used as an energy source, nominally used by Chaos mages, though it's not strictly Chaotic as a source of energy.

Four strongly Talented mages, linked together, can block another mage from magic or cut the mage off altogether - forever. Magic is somewhat addictive, and the loss of it is painful. Some mages, cut off from their magic, will kill themselves, although the loss is not nearly as great as a bond's loss. If a mage uses up all of his/her energy, right down to cutting into the energy they need to live, they can die or be "dried up"- cut off forever from magic.

Spellcasting

Spellcasting is a bit complicated. One way of casting a spell is to just thrust out energy from within- it's uncontrollable and dangerous. If untrained, a Talented person can do this spontaneous magic unintentionally. People have died because of spontaneous magic. There is a form of spontaneous spellcasting that can be controlled; however, it is very draining and not easy to control. It takes a lot of willpower and intense concentration.

With training, a mage will learn to spellcast in other ways. Spells are recited in magespeak, and are usually long and involved. However, once someone cites a whole spell but leaves just one word out, called the trigger word, then merely reciting that word will activate the spell. It can only work once, though, and then the mage has to work the spell again.

Similarly, gestures may be used in a spell, but always with a spoken part. A trigger gesture can be rigged as well as a trigger word. Some spells can be worked in just a sentence or two- sometimes even extremely dangerous ones. Very skilled mages can boil complex spells down do a few words and gestuers. Alchemists mix together the right ingredients and state a spell or use some gestures.

Amazing magical acts have been done through the linking of two highly Talented master mages. Mages can link together temporarily to cast stronger spells, and some very powerful spells require four or five mages working together.