Spellcraft

Introduction
Spellcraft or Magic sumarises all superficial abilites a mage can learn and use. Spellcraft possesses uncounted abilities of magical origin. The most powerful of them may even shape reality according to the casters desire.

History
Mages, kings and gods are using the powers of magic since the dawn of time. What abilites the sorcerers of old possessed is unkown however. After the Age of the Gods came to an end, all magical knowledge was lost.

Ascension of the First Cult
The first being recorded to explore magic and its powers was the godess Malach, Anima of sorcery. She lead the cult of magic when mankind was remade in the waters of Eoam. There she teached her scholars the first paths of spellcraft and the greater truths of the universe. It was Yasleid, her Eternal, however that simplified Malachs teachings and created the first grimoire that contained magical knowledge. This book, known as Alak Akasha, divided the energy known as Akasha into its five elements.

Reign of the Pratonians
After Caldors rebellion, the Pratonians became the main scholars of magic. Each of them possessed a high magical potential and the lifespan to master it. Although almost every Pratonian was a mage to some degree, the Gathali where the ones that conducted the exploration of the arcane the most. They brought forth countless powerful sorcerers, most of them surpassing any wizard of modern days. However, the greatest of them was Ur Assarach Gathali, 33rd Magelord of Scio Gathal. He devoted his life to the understanding and mastery of the material and immaterial universe and formulated the laws of Assarach. His book Asrai Arcanum is the main source of magical knowledge even in the modern times.

The golden era
After Aton united mankind among the laws of the Golden Contract, magic in all its forms was declared evil. After the growth of dark cults and inhuman creatures hiding in the shades of human civilistation, he decided that spellcraft was too dangerous to practice it openly. Only chosen priests, nobles and agents are still allowed to perform it while most humans grew to fear spellcraft as dark and despicable sorcery. Although those who perform the Forbidden Arts are usually killed on sight, many are secretly allowed to serve in the ranks of the Dawnbringers. The Eri Arcanum and the Eri Drakonis are the main orders in modern times still exploring magic among human civilisations.

Origin
The origin of magic lies deep in the true nature in the universe. Across countless centuries only a few have percieved the truth behind matter, magic and energy. What most believe to be stones, trees, worlds and even souls are in fact minor thoughts in the mind of the Allmaker.

Its exact nature is completly unkown, but scholars believe that the being known as Antediluvian got trapped in its own mind ages ago. This omnipotent being was the maker of the first worlds in the primordial time that existed before the Age of Gods. The Antediluvian as a being of absolute power and absolute knowledge seeked a way out of the eternal cycles of creation and destruction it had wrought to endure the eternity in its own mind.

At last the Allmaker split its mind in two, desiring to become a permanent part of its universe without the knowledge and power to change it at will. All of its knowledge became incarnated in the being known as Anacron, while the Antediluvian itself lost complete controll over its former psyche. Instead of forming a single god that could chase after the ideal of former omnipotence, it shattered into the gods of destruction and creation aswell as the countless souls and spirits between the worlds.

What once was the stable mind of a god became the shattered universe of material dimensions and uncontrolled void. Still its power was not lost but took shape in countless forms. What mortal minds interpret as matter, energy or movement are in fact nothing but energy. This thought-energy of the Antediluvian is called Akasha, also known as mana or magick.

Assarachs laws
In order to activly use and understand magic a wizard will need to understand Assarachs laws first. He formulated five laws that are mandatory for the usage of magic.
 * 1) Akasha is a constant force that can be subjugated to change, but never creation or destruction- Magic but also any action that includes the creation and destruction of objects is based on the change of Akasha in its major forms. It is impossible to truly destroy Akasha but through change it can form anything that can or could possibly exist.
 * 2) Akasha can only exist in five elements and can only undergo transformations between these- Assarachs second law is based on older magical studies that divide the universes energy into five forms or elements. These elements are disposed in a strict hierarchy. It is possible to transform them into each other, but only back- or forwards. The elements are Ater, Ikral, Deyat, Anamat and Makath.
 * 3) Every transformation of Akasha results in the growth of the fifth element- The fifth element, enthropy, is formed whenever energy changes its form. This means that every transformation will end up with less transformable energy then before.
 * 4) Every form of change in the universe is based on the transformation of Akasha- Every form of work, movement, growth or destruction can be broken down to the transformation of the elements. The connection of several forms of Akasha results in more complex processes. If one truly wishes to understand magical and material processes, Assarachs fourth law is essential.
 * 5) The limits of Akashas transformation lie in the casters mental and energetic capacity- All forms of magic have the central requirements of knowledge, creativity, willpower and internal energy. The caster is the center of any transformation as he himself is part of the energetic network he is about to change. The amount of energy that can be transformed depend on the amount of power a caster can gather and controll.

The five elements
To explain and understand the complex forms the mind of the Antediluvian is able to take, mages have divided Akasha into five elements. Yasleid was the first to use this classification, but it was Assarach that named them and provided a simplified explanation in the Asrai Arcanum. The elements exist in a strict order and an element can only be transformed into the previous or next. Makath, also known as the fifth or zeroth element is the only exception as its produced through every transformation.

Ater
Ater, which can be translated to all-power, is the most basic of the elements but also the most powerful. As the first element, it represents the origin of all other elements. Ater is nothing but Akasha in its purest form, energy that has taken no form. Ater can easily be formed into anything the caster can imagine but is extremly instable. The material worlds usually do not allow Ater to exist for long time as its absorbed or connected to other thoughts. Although creating Ater is usually necessairy to perform a spell, it is extremly dangerous. A caster needs to transform it in a new form as soon as he created it, or the consequences with the physical laws might be devastating. Ater is the main element in the ether and the reason it is so chaotic and strange.

Ikral
Ikral, the pratonian word for existeance, is the second element and the most common. Its simply Akasha in a bound form. Ikral always has a strict concept that can not be changed easily. Ikral itself exists in two forms, stable energy and energy performing a task. Matter as it exists in the dimensions is entirely composed of Ikral and so is electricity and heat.

Deyat
Deyat, which translates to web-work, is probably the element that offers a mage the most potential. Deyat are not direct thoughts but the connections between them. When two objects interact with each other, the energy is transformed into the third element before reforming into the second. Yet, Deyat also exists in a permanent state as a web that connects countless thoughts with each other. It is the key to a energetic system that is able to sustain itself. Deyat is the key to energetic transport across large distances. Deyat is the key to shape reality. The reason Akasha is so stable in material worlds is the thrid element that forms the laws of physics. Many have compared Deyat to the role of sanity and order in the mind of the Antediluvian. In the ether, where the thrid element does not form strict and stable networks, madness and chaos rule.

Anamat
Anamat, also known as the worlds soul, is the key element to magic. The fourth element represents the Antediluvians conciousness, selfawareness in its purest form. The Allmakers conciousness is shattered across the Inner Universe instead of forming a solid mind that is able to activly think. Anamat formed the souls and gods that give the universe its life. Its most common form is indeed the soul, but it also exists in an unbound form that processes its thoughts so slow it is unable to interact with Inner Universe. Anamat is represent in the material worlds but is most common in the ether where the souls siphon it in order to replenish themselfes. Whenever it merges together, it forms elemental spirits, Voidentities or even gods. Those lifeforms have no strict concept and their "body" mainly consists of the thrid rather then the second element. Anamat is the key to magic as it is literally the creative power of the Allmaker. The stronger or larger a mages soul, the stronger the change he is able to inflict upon reality.

Makath
Makath, which simply means enthropy, is the last element. No mortal mind every achieved true understanding of it. The most common explanation is what gave it its name: enthropy. Akasha becomes more and more chaotic every day as it slowly transforms itself into the fifth or zeroth element. Some interpret Makath as the universes knowledge, information in its purest form. Every transformation of energy creates a small record to be saved for eternity, telling the Antediluvians story in the form of a million shattered thoughts. Makath might be the reason why souls are able to retain the memories of past lifes or memory as a whole can even exist. The Garauth believe that the last element is the Antediluvians form of aging and the reason it is constanly created lies in its true nature. According to them, the Allmaker is slowly dying of old age and the universe will cease to exist one day. Yet, it is possible to reform Makath into other elements again, reclosing the cycle. This process is increadibly complex and usually impossible for even the brightest minds.

Powers
The powers of spellcraft are limitless as they can shape reality in any form the caster desires. Yet, mastering it to reach this powerlevel is almost impossible. Most mortal mages spend their entire lifes studying a single magical path and even at the point of their death, their controll of magic is still too little to have a huge impact on their universe. Although they are rumored to be able to crush entire cities with storms, incinerate armies or controll populations with their strange powers, most mages are very limited. Those who are gifted a longer life by the Born can grow into sorcerers wielding terrible force.

Learning magic
Every thinking soul in the universe is capable of learning and mastering spellcraft. Although most mages proclaim that their powers are based on predisposition, this is far from the truth. The size and strenght of a soul has a large impact on the magical powers one can master, but within a species they vary little. Yet the fact that magic can be learned by anybody is not common and without the necessairy knowledge it is impossible to achieve greater power.

Although this is not exactly classified as spellcraft, every living creature uses magic with each of their actions. Interacting with the material worlds is not entirely based on interactions between the second element, but also on minor transformations of souls. Every action is supported by ones soul that transfers a tiny piece its energy into the webwork of Deyat. This constant transfer that is the main reason for aging, superficially supports a mortals actions. This impact is usually extremly insignificant but plays a larger role for deeds that are achieved through fervor and superior skill. Desiring something to succed with ones very core already increases its chances. Actions that are fueled by willpower, superior skill and understanding of said action can have a larger impact. Those who are aware of this fact often train themselfes to imagine anything they do to suceed before attempting it.

The true power of magic is far greater however. The knowledge necessairy to become a mage can either be obtained from books or through meditation. Meditation supports understanding based on impression and individual interpretation. Yet, nowledge from books or teachers has more potential but can be harder to internalize. After mages have understood the basics of their art, their next step is to choose a path. Since magic is so hard to master and requires a extensive knowledge and understanding, most limit themselfes to a single way of bending reality.

Should a mage desire to fling a lightning bolt, he needs to know what electricity and voltage is aswell as how to guide it. Without this knowledge, the lightning is nothing but a illusion. Every mage has acess to the art of illusion, but most desire greater powers then this. For this reason, mages create and follow paths that deal with a single aspect of their enviroment. Even if they manage to learn new paths, they will usually think in the boundaries in the first path they chose. Should a pyromancer tear the soul from a mortal, they will appear burning inside out.

Using magic
Most wizards do not use magic in the orderly way their books teach them. Rather, they move and transform energy by instinct. The first step to become is mage is being able to transport energy across spaces. To do so, a caster needs to sense the surrounding energies before interacting with them. The easiest way to transform energy is through ones soul. Since every mortal being contains a fragment of the Antediluvian, every mind possesses omnipotence within itself. In order to use this power, they need to spread the energies of their soul to interact with anything outside of their own being. The further a soul is spread, the smaller the power it´s able to unleash and transform. For that reason, projectiles are more common then direct influence on the chosen target.

After a mage is able to spread their soul across larger distances, he needs energy to use and transform. Most young mages make the mistake of using the energy of ones own soul. This drastically reduces ones lifespan and power. Rather, mages try to transform the energies direclty surrounding their soul. Depending on how deep their understanding of said energies is, they are able to cast greater powers.

To determine the amount of energy a soul is able to influence, mages usually compare it and the transformed energy with a wage. Should the energies side be to low, the spell will always fail. Loosing energy before finishing all necessairy transformations can be extremly dangerous. For that reason, mages need to know their limits very well.

There are three other ways to generate energy however, which are far more complex. The first is to carry a item that can be transformed into energy easily and function as a local powercell. Since items able to carry Ater in a stable form are extremly rare, mages usually prefer materials that are composed of a few magical and chemical elements rather then many. For that reason, crystals and especially diamonds are favoured. The second is to enforce their own soul with the shattered conciousness surronding them. This means draining energy from the spirits to increase the limits of energy a caster can controll. The thrid is to draw energy from the ether rather then the material world. Since the ether mainly consists of unshaped Ater, it provides a almost limitless source of power. To do so, a mage simply needs to cut open the worldwalls and draw as much power from the rift as they can controll. This method is very popular and effective, but is also very dangerous. Usually, the worldwalls stabilise themselfes quickly, but as long as the connection between worlds is open, it possesses all the dangers of a wild portal. It might connect itself to another dimension or allow a entity lurking between worlds to slip in.

Those who reach mastery in the arts of magic are able to cheat the limits of their mind however. A mage with enough preparation and skill can cast their spells with almost unlimited range through channeling the energy across the webwork of Deyat rather then their own soul.

Although mages do not use their own power to fuel their spells, their casting is limited by their mental training. Transforming energy and giving it a new form consumes extreme amounts of focus. After a few spells, a wizard will find it far harder to concentrate which increases the chances of making a terrible mistake.

Dangers of magic
Using magic contains countless risks, especially when a mage is unaware of the limits of his power of understand. The most common mistake a caster can make is to spread their soul too far. Those who do so will essentially suffer the same fate of the Primordial Gods. While their body will simply congeal and die, their soul will loose its ability to activly think and joins the wild energies of the spirits.

Should a transformation fail, the construct of energies the mage prepared for their spell might collapse or have a unpredicted interaction with the world arround them.

Many mistakes linked to the superficial senses of a mage may result in shattering their mind or giving them more insight they can bear. This can lead to insanity either through a weak mind or a soul that is torn into fragments within a body and fails to process actions and thoughts correctly.

Those who transform the fourth element or the worldwalls themselfes can most likely cause the greatest harm. Some might accidently create spirits with a constant form or open a large and uncontrolled portal to the ether or other dimensions. This might allow dangerous entites or even the servants of the Kenos to enter the material world.

Should a mage be well aware of their limits and have anough training in the arcane arts, they are very unlikely to make mistakes. If not in a situation of enormous stress, a mage will always be able to perform his arts safely. Death through ones mistakes is only common among younger wizards.

The final path
The final path is a goal common among mages. Only those who know of the true nature of the universe can understand this path of absolute power. The final path, also known as the sixt element, is the possible recreation of the Antediluvian through a single soul. To do so, a intelligence would need to gather all conciousness existing in the inner universe to reform the Allmaker, only that he would be guided by the mind of the ambitious soul that absorbed all others. Some seek this path for ultimate power, immortality or because they seek to free the world from all evil.

It is factually impossible for a single soul to sucessfully become the sixt element, but entire factions seek to reach this greatest of goals. It was the main goal of the First Cult to use mankind to walk the final path and the Garauth use the power of Arafel to slowly consume and convert all energy in the universe.