The people of Verdant were originally unable to use any sort of magic to speak of, until one fateful event. The Gods sealed each other away in magic, impenetrable domes that unbeknownst to them slowly filled with the world with their magic.
After a millenia of the domes’ formation, people began to be born with the ability to use magic. Each person is born with trace amounts of one element but many are unable to utilize this energy in any way and those can, do so at different levels of proficiency. Some users can’t bend the element, instead using their magic energy to enhance their physical capabilities. This is often referred to as Internal Magic. External Magic, meanwhile, involves bending the element they were born with and using it to their benefit. The stronger a mage is, the more control they have and the bigger the effects are.
Enchantment: Magic can also be used to create sigils that infuse the user’s element into an item or an area, giving various boons that can be activated by even non-casters. Stronger effects can require several mages of a sufficient, equal level to actually create.
Overuse: There are also “penalties” that users suffer if they overuse their magic. Internal Mages are quicker to exhaust themselves, but External Mages suffer more severe consequences.
Nature
This allows the user to manipulate nearby plantlife to their bidding, often times causing them to perform unnatural actions. An example of this is causing a cactus to shoot its spines, which have been hardened by the magic to even penetrate armour. Trees can grow in size and twist their branches to follow an enemy, and vines can bind them into place.
Weaker Nature mages need existing matured flora to be around so they can manipulate it, while stronger user need but a seed or a bud that they can immediately grow. They often carry seeds with them to use, should there not be any usable plants near. One rule all Nature mages must follow is that they can only use their magic on deciduous plantlife.
Enchantment:
Overuse:
Earth
With it, users can manipulate the very ground beneath them. They can raise platforms of earth and rock that be used for protection or even for transport through otherwise difficult terrain. They can shape and position them however they please. A simpler use is to cause chunks of rocks to barrage enemies.
Stronger Earth mages can affect gravity itself, although to a limited extent. They can make a small radius difficult to even stand on and some are known for flying on piece of earth they’d broken off.
Enchantment:
Overuse:
- The user’s skin hardens and the muscles become unresponsive.
Fire Fire magic is a school that allows the user 2 options. The first is to, as before, manipulate what is nearby- take control of bonfires or flames to throw at your foes or use their internal energy to use the magic around them and shape it into fire. This allows the user more control and can even clad their entire body, or parts of it, in flame as a cloak. Because they use their own energy as a conduit, the fire is harmless to them, but expends their stamina at a more rapid rate.
Fire magic facilitates blacksmithing and all arts that rely on a hot fire, so many Fire users become craftsmen.
Enchantment:
- Be used as heating in homes in place of a fireplace or for heating water. Used in spas and saunas for that purpose.
Overuse:
- The user experiences a heavy fever, making them much weaker physically.
Water Water magic may also be used to control nearby liquids or form it from it from energy. It can be used to shoot torrents of water, manipulate it to entrap others in a sphere of water, or split a river for safe passage. It can even be used to produce rain to a limited extent.
Weaker mages can utilize water as a projectile, while stronger mages cause tidal waves to sweep enemies.
Enchantment:
Overuse:
- User suffers from severe dehydration.
Ice Mages who use this type of magic to command or create ice, and even snow, to various effects. A caster can freeze ground to make it difficult to traverse, freeze people and objects into place, use ice projectiles.
The area one can affect and the size of the projectiles increases with the abilities of the mage using the Ice magic.
Enchantment:
- Keep areas cold/freezing. Used to store and preserve meats and other produce, as a substitute for refrigerators.
Overuse:
- User is overcome with a severe cold, trembling uncontrollably.
Wind These mages are considered to be more versatile and useful, because their element can naturally be found everywhere, meaning the users don’t expent as much energy when fighting. Wind magic can be used for something as simple as creating a breeze, forming gusts of wind to push people and objects, to something as devastating as creating tornados. Stronger Wind mages have enough control over the element that they can use it to soar through the skies.
Enchantment:
Overuse:
- User becomes extremely exhausted.
Lightning Because of the rarity of lightning out in the natural world, most mages can only use Lightning magic by converting the energy of the world, meaning they exhaust their reserve quicker than most other mages.
Weaker mages can send a slight jolt through someone at close range, while stronger mages can send bolts of lightning to strike their foes. Stronger Lightning mages can use natural lightning storms for devastating attacks. It’s because of this that armies avoid fighting when storms are raging, to avoid enemy Lightning users.
Enchantment:
Overuse:
Light (Healing) The ability to heal wounds and even cure other ailments and diseases.
Weaker mages can only use it to cure minor cuts and bruises or the common cold, while stronger mages can even bring a person from the brink of death by healing the most grievous injuries.
Enchantment:
- Imbue an item with healing magic, acting as a first-aid kit. Because of the workings of Healing magic, the user needs to manually command their magic to use it. A sigil infused into an item has a limited number of charges that can be used by non-Light users.
Overuse:
- Wounds appear over the caster’s body and begin bleeding.
Death Used solely by the Chumoi, servants of Cheren, God of the Afterlife (or Death, depending on who you ask), it allows them to reap the souls of the deceased and grant them safe passage to Cheren’s realm. There, their soul is transferred into an energy that sustain the realm, while dreaming blissfully. The unattended dead have a chance of disrupting the world’s energy and form spirits, although there would need to be large number of them for that to happen.
Enchantment:
Overuse:
Shadow The normal denizens of Verdant can not be born with the ability to use Shadow magic. The only ones are Upirs (vampires), Volaks (werewolves), and Yaga (witches) to various dark results.
Upirs and Volaks are able to turn others into mindless thralls. Upir can bring back corpses in the form of Ustrel, while Volaks- turn people into werebeasts. They, along with the Yaga can also actually manipulate shadows, giving them forms and using them as weapons or as cover. They’re also known for inflicting curses and diseases by making people incredibly sick or even numbing their senses.
Enchantment:
Overuse:
Submitted June 13, 2017 at 03:31AM by Cranesbill http://ift.tt/2s46zFx worldbuilding
