sweet_love
10-18-2009, 05:05 AM
Magecraft
Magecraft, also known as sorcery, is the action of altering the properties of an object or a specific area of space using the user’s will. Magecraft can only be done within the laws of physics, as magecraft can only work within nature, not outside it.
How it works
Sorcery is used by a mage using his/her willpower to make certain reactions happen, or simply put, give a command. Sorcery can accomplish a feat like creating a fire simply by saying burn, if you know how the burning process works, even if very vaguely. Simply having the knowledge of intense heat creates fire can be used to burn objects. Because of its simple nature, not all magi are scholars, most magi are not, in fact. Knowledge isn’t really necessary for one to become a magus.
But knowledge is essential if one wishes to become a magus of a higher level. This is because when you simply give a command, sorcery is terribly inefficient and may not always have the exact result you desire. For example, if your aim is to simply burn off an open wound as an emergency treatment but you simply say burn with the intention of creating fire, you might simply burn the person alive instead, or burn the wrong place, and it would take too much mana. To be able to properly do it, you must know the chemical reaction actually works, and concentrate on exactly which area of the skin you wish to burn. This requires mathematics, chemistry and basic physics. Also, having a greater knowledge is useful because then, you can work out the fine details and remove any excessive parts in your sorcery to use as least mana as possible. But this may at times cause a problem, as it requires more concentration and may strain your willpower, burning you out quicker instead.
But knowing doesn’t necessary help sorcery, however, you must be able to consciously apply it to your concentration. If you don’t make use of the knowledge, then having it is same as useless. However, higher leveled magi or simply natural born scholars are able to apply the knowledge subconsciously, allowing them to do efficient sorcery with ease.
Cost of using Magecraft
Now sorcery isn’t free, it requires energy called mana. Mana is basically the mental force of a person, or the power of the mind. Because of this, mages usually need to have very powerful willpower to be able to use a lot or a large-scale magic. But because the limits of the mind differ from person to person and can grow exponentially without any real limits, a person might be able to accomplish feats such as stopping the earth from turning if their mind is strong enough. However, most people are nowhere near that level. This is also why people that are driven by a strong emotion or desire suddenly become powerful magi or why people who fall into rage suddenly become powerful in sorcery- their strong emotions or desires add to their willpower and increase the power of the mind giving them a fresh supply of mana to work with.
Now, although mana consists mainly of mind energy, it also consumes stamina as well, without exception. Exactly why or how it takes up physical energy is currently unknown, however it still is required for every magecraft done. Exactly how much or the ratio of stamina to mental energy is not definite and differs from person to person, from magic to magic. However, the amount of stamina required has never surpassed the amount of mental energy or even come close to it no matter who it was done by.
Limits of Magecraft
Sorcery is generally limited to the user's mana, and knowledge. The first is obvious as explained in the previous sections. The latter may seem obvious as well, but there are some fine details that must be gone through.
First of all, the knowledge that the user works through must be true knowledge, in other words fact. If the knowledge that the user works with is false, then something will go horribly wrong as it will collide with the laws of nature, although the feat can still be accomplished if the user's desire to is strong enough and the command is of a vague nature, giving it more leeway for the sorcery to correct itself and adapt with the laws of physics. If the actions done by the magi are too specfic, then the only possible result will be failure.
Following this, it is also impossible to use sorcery in a manner that it overrules the laws of physics- mainly The Law of Conservation of Mass, The Law of Natural Providence and The Law of Conservation of Energy. This is because the magi would obviously not know how to, unless they are able to transcend reality in which case there is a possibility they may gain a way to do so.
Another limitation that one may not know is that all magic that is done must affect the physical or chemical properties of an object. In other words, it must be of a substance that exists in reality. In other words, things like light and earth can be manipulated, but it would be impossible for one to manipulate conceptual things such as time, space, life and etc.
Following this, sorcery can be seen more of alchemy than true magic, although the fact that sorcery can manipulate energy and not only mass and elemental properties does make it fit into its own category.
Seals
Seals are a special type of magecraft that use a combination of certain symbols, which are what is referred to as seals, to guide their magic. Each of these symbols have a different meaning to them and it can be used to activate magecraft instead of sorcery. Seals are different from magecraft from the fact that they are limited by the symbols for activation of magecraft. Still, the symbols do not hold a specific command, rather a word, like 'fire' in which case the user is able to manipulate the word in whatever way he or she wishes to achieve the desired effect. In fact, a thousand different results can be achieved from one seal if the user is creative enough.
Seals are also different from the fact that they use 'Soul Energy' instead of regular mana. This soul energy is different from mana in the fact that the amount allocated to each person usually stays stagnant, because soul energy depends on their soul, not their mind which is much more turbulent. Although the soul can affect the mind as it sets a person's basic nature, the two are different things so 'Soul Energy' and 'Mana' are inexchangable.
When applied into reality, the largest difference from soul energy and mana is exhaustion. When you use up your soul energy, it is almost unnoticable- although masters of the art can always recognize it, while when you use up mana, you can feel the mental exhaustion. Draingage of soul energy can affect the user's mood, making them feel less spirited, but this can and usually is thought of as temporary depression and goes by unnoticed. This can be a serious problem, as when person uses up all of his or her mana, the most that can happen is them for to faint, although masters of the art can push themselves so far to the point of their death, but when using seals, even a novice can kill him or herself when drained of soul energy. This is because soul energy is directly related to the core of your soul, the basic fundemental part that animates your body and gives it sentinence, which makes it necessary for one to have to live.
However, setting aside these two main differences, the limitations and results of seals and sorcery are usually the same and can be treated as the same thing, and often is, when used in actual combat.
Magecraft, also known as sorcery, is the action of altering the properties of an object or a specific area of space using the user’s will. Magecraft can only be done within the laws of physics, as magecraft can only work within nature, not outside it.
How it works
Sorcery is used by a mage using his/her willpower to make certain reactions happen, or simply put, give a command. Sorcery can accomplish a feat like creating a fire simply by saying burn, if you know how the burning process works, even if very vaguely. Simply having the knowledge of intense heat creates fire can be used to burn objects. Because of its simple nature, not all magi are scholars, most magi are not, in fact. Knowledge isn’t really necessary for one to become a magus.
But knowledge is essential if one wishes to become a magus of a higher level. This is because when you simply give a command, sorcery is terribly inefficient and may not always have the exact result you desire. For example, if your aim is to simply burn off an open wound as an emergency treatment but you simply say burn with the intention of creating fire, you might simply burn the person alive instead, or burn the wrong place, and it would take too much mana. To be able to properly do it, you must know the chemical reaction actually works, and concentrate on exactly which area of the skin you wish to burn. This requires mathematics, chemistry and basic physics. Also, having a greater knowledge is useful because then, you can work out the fine details and remove any excessive parts in your sorcery to use as least mana as possible. But this may at times cause a problem, as it requires more concentration and may strain your willpower, burning you out quicker instead.
But knowing doesn’t necessary help sorcery, however, you must be able to consciously apply it to your concentration. If you don’t make use of the knowledge, then having it is same as useless. However, higher leveled magi or simply natural born scholars are able to apply the knowledge subconsciously, allowing them to do efficient sorcery with ease.
Cost of using Magecraft
Now sorcery isn’t free, it requires energy called mana. Mana is basically the mental force of a person, or the power of the mind. Because of this, mages usually need to have very powerful willpower to be able to use a lot or a large-scale magic. But because the limits of the mind differ from person to person and can grow exponentially without any real limits, a person might be able to accomplish feats such as stopping the earth from turning if their mind is strong enough. However, most people are nowhere near that level. This is also why people that are driven by a strong emotion or desire suddenly become powerful magi or why people who fall into rage suddenly become powerful in sorcery- their strong emotions or desires add to their willpower and increase the power of the mind giving them a fresh supply of mana to work with.
Now, although mana consists mainly of mind energy, it also consumes stamina as well, without exception. Exactly why or how it takes up physical energy is currently unknown, however it still is required for every magecraft done. Exactly how much or the ratio of stamina to mental energy is not definite and differs from person to person, from magic to magic. However, the amount of stamina required has never surpassed the amount of mental energy or even come close to it no matter who it was done by.
Limits of Magecraft
Sorcery is generally limited to the user's mana, and knowledge. The first is obvious as explained in the previous sections. The latter may seem obvious as well, but there are some fine details that must be gone through.
First of all, the knowledge that the user works through must be true knowledge, in other words fact. If the knowledge that the user works with is false, then something will go horribly wrong as it will collide with the laws of nature, although the feat can still be accomplished if the user's desire to is strong enough and the command is of a vague nature, giving it more leeway for the sorcery to correct itself and adapt with the laws of physics. If the actions done by the magi are too specfic, then the only possible result will be failure.
Following this, it is also impossible to use sorcery in a manner that it overrules the laws of physics- mainly The Law of Conservation of Mass, The Law of Natural Providence and The Law of Conservation of Energy. This is because the magi would obviously not know how to, unless they are able to transcend reality in which case there is a possibility they may gain a way to do so.
Another limitation that one may not know is that all magic that is done must affect the physical or chemical properties of an object. In other words, it must be of a substance that exists in reality. In other words, things like light and earth can be manipulated, but it would be impossible for one to manipulate conceptual things such as time, space, life and etc.
Following this, sorcery can be seen more of alchemy than true magic, although the fact that sorcery can manipulate energy and not only mass and elemental properties does make it fit into its own category.
Seals
Seals are a special type of magecraft that use a combination of certain symbols, which are what is referred to as seals, to guide their magic. Each of these symbols have a different meaning to them and it can be used to activate magecraft instead of sorcery. Seals are different from magecraft from the fact that they are limited by the symbols for activation of magecraft. Still, the symbols do not hold a specific command, rather a word, like 'fire' in which case the user is able to manipulate the word in whatever way he or she wishes to achieve the desired effect. In fact, a thousand different results can be achieved from one seal if the user is creative enough.
Seals are also different from the fact that they use 'Soul Energy' instead of regular mana. This soul energy is different from mana in the fact that the amount allocated to each person usually stays stagnant, because soul energy depends on their soul, not their mind which is much more turbulent. Although the soul can affect the mind as it sets a person's basic nature, the two are different things so 'Soul Energy' and 'Mana' are inexchangable.
When applied into reality, the largest difference from soul energy and mana is exhaustion. When you use up your soul energy, it is almost unnoticable- although masters of the art can always recognize it, while when you use up mana, you can feel the mental exhaustion. Draingage of soul energy can affect the user's mood, making them feel less spirited, but this can and usually is thought of as temporary depression and goes by unnoticed. This can be a serious problem, as when person uses up all of his or her mana, the most that can happen is them for to faint, although masters of the art can push themselves so far to the point of their death, but when using seals, even a novice can kill him or herself when drained of soul energy. This is because soul energy is directly related to the core of your soul, the basic fundemental part that animates your body and gives it sentinence, which makes it necessary for one to have to live.
However, setting aside these two main differences, the limitations and results of seals and sorcery are usually the same and can be treated as the same thing, and often is, when used in actual combat.