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"Hear me, my peace-drunk brethren! You are being led astray by your weak and frail leader Queenchief Nuria. She colludes with the ponies to declaw you, to dull your fangs! Long ago the Kirin struck fear into any country touching the sea! We were rulers of bloodied coin and had respect! but now, now the ponies, the weak cowardly ponies try to take away your culture! They deny us our heritage! Join me! join me and I'll show you the true path to power! Through blood! Carnage and gold! I defeated your 'queen' in single battle... She has failed you and grown soft with her 'peace.' a lapdog for her Equestrian masters! It is time for the Kirin to return to the forefront, through fire and blood!"- The Warlord Ashwrath gave this recuitment speech in the kirin city of Aeros with a retinue of strange uniform looking kirin. Many are worried of the violence to come and are already petitioning Equestria to intervene.
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| Welcome to Multa Saecula. A set of worlds aside from just Equestria itself. Many generations ago, the plane that housed Equestria; Terra, created magical portals to other dimensions. These dimensions are Lux, a land rich with magic, yet constantly under threat from the same. And Tenebris, a dark plane where only the strong and willful survive.
These realms have existed together peacefully so far, commencing in trading, the sharing of culture, and immigration. Though their political views are much different than that of Terra, they find a way to coexist, sometimes reluctantly. Walk into this set of worlds and discover what adventure, romance, or tragedy, awaits you.
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The Physics of Magic; Magical energies and how they work
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Topic Started: Sep 18 2016, 02:58 PM (550 Views)
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Lord Faye
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Sep 18 2016, 02:58 PM
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Magic is a term that is intertwined with the deepest parts of Equestrian history, and plays a part in almost every race upon the surface of Equestria. While obscured in varying amounts of myth and legend, at the core there is always a grain of truth about how magic works. Nearly anything is accomplishable through magic and with varying degrees of success, however in the end it boils down to a simple formula with some very complex ingredients.
What is recorded here is not the only way to do magic, and it's not even necessarily the most common or popular way of understanding it. But it is a standardized method and it's here for people to use if they want to.

The Spheres
The six spheres theory is a theory of magic suggesting that all spells draw on one or more of six forces Every sphere has three disciplines which are the different factors that draw from each sphere. While hardly a direct choice, every factor of every spell falls into one of the eighteen disciplines. The six spheres and their disciplines stand as, clockwise from the top:
Mythos, the strange; black, with the disciplines of Anima, Change, and Shadow Arcana, the core; white, with the disciplines of Space, Energy, and Mind Animulus, the heart; purple, with the disciplines of Love, Empathy, and Sin Atmos, air & water; blue, with the disciplines of Wind, Water, and Lightning Ardor, fire & ice; red, with the disciplines of Light, Heat, and Inferno Terra, earth; green, with the disciplines of Stone, Body, and Nature
The six spheres are found in nature in differing concentrations though they are either more or less apparent in different environments. A general rule of thumb is that the six spheres are each found where their basic effects are most abundant.
Magical Arts Magic is wielded in a variety of ways by the various species that inhabit the planes, and some ways are more subtle than others.
- Instinctive Magic is the kind of magic that is an everyday occurrence for nearly everyone, less a practiced skill like riding a bike and more like contracting the muscles in the proper way to pedal. You don’t have to consciously shape the magic or anything like that to make this kind of magic work, it’s simply a function of biology and instinct, and even the sorts of active cases like kirin firebreath require merely a desire to use it for it to pour forth. However, that also means that this sort of magic is racial and hereditary, you can’t just learn a new form of instinctive magic.
This kind of magic includes pegasus weather crafting, earth pony magic of all sorts in the show, and unicorn telekinesis. Noting the latter is important: Just because you can’t learn new forms of instinctive magic doesn’t mean you can’t refine and shape the ways you use the ones you do know, just like some unicorns can’t do much telekinesis and some can use it to fly around.
- Magecraft is the word for what most people would consider spells, woven together on the fly by unicorns and autarchs with the knowledge and talent to do so. To be clear: Magecraft requires a horn to serve as a primary foci for the spell, and it is in the horn that all the spellweaving is done. But cloudwalking spells and wing spells and all other sorts of specifically unicorn and autarch magic are done through magecraft. If it involves lighting up your horn and it’s not telekinesis, it’s this category of magic.
Of note: of the three spellcasting types, Magecraft is always the most time-efficient and, being more rigorously studied, is usually the most energy-efficient way of creating a given magical effect. One only needs knowledge and power to cast a spell, with no real prep time or other work.
- Mysticism is another form of spellcraft, and is commonly held to be a lesser form of magecraft. The fact that this viewpoint is primarily held and espoused by autarchs and unicorns is probably explanation enough for why it is deemed such. The worst thing is that they’re kinda right. While Mysticism, as a category, consists of magic that doesn’t require a horn, it’s time-consuming to cast even the simplest spells, and it lacks the oomph of magecraft, as its applications in combat are so limited as to be nonexistent, not that anyone would bother trying to use a spell that takes five minutes to cast in the middle of a fight.
There are, ultimately, various subforms of Mysticism, but all of them revolve around one thing: focusing the caster’s mind and body into a trancelike state, allowing them to use their mind as the foci of the spell. This typically involves some kind of ritual specific to the spell that, if done improperly, may cause the casting to fail. Nonetheless, Mysticism is a popular practice in many cultures, particularly for zebras and other societies that have need of magic but lack unicorns and autarchs to do the magic for them.
- Item Magic is a very broad category and includes all forms of magic that are ultimately based in having something other than the caster be the actual source for the spell. Whether that means a magic circle drawn in chalk or a magic wand enchanted to cast a spell on command, or even a sword that shoots lightning, it’s item magic. Anyone can use item magic so long as they know how to use the item in question (and proper activation is typically determined by the enchanter), so it is somewhat popular as consumer-grade magic, and item magic on the whole is the very basis of magitech.
The fact that certain arrangements of mundane items, like a carefully-drawn chalk circle, can create magical effects, is also a big part of what creates Places of Power, locations where the flow of magic is strong and energy is recycled into the various elements. A mystic grove that radiates with Terra isn’t a grove because of the magic that lives there, but it is particularly magical because of the way the plant life and the earth around it for miles are arranged. The holy grail of item magic would be devising a way to create artificial places of power, an art thus far unknown to the world.
The Six Spheres Mythos
”Mythos is the wilderness of magic. You cannot hope to control it, though you might shape it.”
Mythos is the sphere of the strange; the unknown and the unknowable. It is the sphere of mystery and oddity and forces not entirely natural. It is found in the dark places of the world, but it is also found in the brightest, where inspiration and ideas flow forth unabated and where the unknown becomes known.
Anima is one of the truly powerful disciplines and governs the soul itself. Spells that use the discipline of Anima govern the creation of living beings, animation of inanimate objects, and the creation of undead. However, with life comes death, and similarly Anima also governs over killing spells that attack the soul of a target directly. The Balefire explosion in Hoofington was a rather vicious example of Anima turned in reverse, as it burned the residents of the city down to their very essence.
Change is a discipline mostly known for its passive use by zebrakind. All magic drawn by zebras is drawn from the earth; however, their natural aptitude for Change passively transforms the absorbed Terra into the forms required for their peculiar spellcraft. Besides that ability, change can be one of the most potent of the disciplines, and is used widely across all forms of transmutation and is also the guiding discipline for Changelings’ inherent ability to alter their shape by memory.
Shadow is the discipline of darkness, of the things that are simply wrong with the world. Besides covering magic that governs actual shadows, concealment, and darkness, Shadow magic also empowers many forms of dark magic and, by also covering metaphorical shadows, it serves as a cheap and easy way for a caster to create an inversion of a spell without having to actually alter it by transforming the spell into the shadow of itself. In theory, Shadow magic would be the base of any form of postcognition, as one could use it to observe the shadows of the past, though such spells are almost as rare as actual time travel.
Arcana
"The Arcane is the first thing you learn if you intend to bend reality to your will."
Arcana is found regardless of location in average supply as it is a by-product of magic itself. When a spell is cast, it expels arcane energy along the way—accounting for why most spells have a relatively limited range—and over time, all other elements decay into arcana, providing a relatively constant background level regardless of location (although it is particularly plentiful around magic schools). Eventually, Arcana breaks down to small amounts of ley, which tend to be drawn back to fonts of magic where the energy can cycle through again.
Space is a very straightforward and yet powerful discipline governing the use, control and travel of physical dimensions. Commonly used in the form of teleportation, the discipline of space also covers things such as gravitational manipulation, so-called ‘hammerspace’ and growth or shrinking spells.
Energy is the broad discipline that governs the power imbued in objects and beings. It can be used to feed and grow plants and existing creatures, or give a second wind to a tired companion. However, the majority of the time Energy is used in the process of enchanting as it also oversees the magical process of Enchanting, imbuing energy to an inanimate object and allowing that object to hold said energy.
Mind is an internal discipline related to the consciousness of the caster and those around them. It is related primarily to mind magic, but also plays a role in spells that require a mental image to be drawn, such as magical constructs or memory projection. Mind is a discipline that is often used unknowingly or unintentionally as it has such a wide range of relevance.
Animulus
"Animulus is your heart and soul. You feel it, don't you? Use it."
Animulus is a little-used magic due to being drawn entirely from within the user. Animulus is the sphere of emotion, and relies on the potent will and energy generated by the feelings of the caster, and in comparison to other spheres, it simply lacks the brute power to become the center of one’s magical studies. It takes truly exceptional emotions—such as in the cases of King Sombra and Nightmare Moon, known for anger and envy foremost, or more recently the Elements of Harmony falling under the discipline of Love—to actually make this sphere truly directly useful.
Love is arguably the most potent of the three disciplines with deep roots in historical sources as a driving force for incredibly powerful spells. Among these are both the resolution of the Canterlot Changeling Incident, and the repeated outstanding performances of the Elements of Harmony. However, as a fuelling force it is rarely potent enough compared to jealousy and anger however it is easily manipulated as a target, as some potions and spells generating a feeling of love towards a target or predetermined parameter are common.
Empathy is a discipline that does not often generate spells directly. Though there are a few spells for calming wild beasts or linking minds, Empathy is mostly used with spells that require an alignment between two different entities. Empathy is used in any situation where two things need to be brought closer to each other- in terms of mentality, physiology, or something as simple as making two watches work in synch.
Sin magic draws on the darker emotions of the heart—like rage, lust, envy, or greed—almost like a twisted, perverse version of Love magic. While it can be used to evoke emotions like hate or apathy in others just like Love, making it directly dangerous, it is more often used as a catalyst. These dark feelings can impair or enhance the effects of a spell, altering it to the caster’s mood and in some cases causing catastrophic changes. It is believed that Sin magic was deeply involved in Luna’s metamorphosis to Nightmare Moon, altering her both physically and mentally.
Atmos
"Atmos...the wind and the water. The magic that divines the storm."
Atmos is the sphere of magic pertaining to the sky, and increases in volume at higher altitudes. It is commonly a driving force behind weather and is passively exploited by both gryphons and pegasi, for weather manipulation and flight. It is also in above-average concentration below water, increasing in density with depth and forming the basis for the magic used by undersea races.
Wind is the discipline related to air and its components. Whether it is being directed, gathered or dispersed, Wind as a discipline covers all gaseous particles that make up the atmosphere. It is the primary component of the Utter Flutter, a strange ability possessed by Flutter Ponies, as well as the discipline responsible for Atmos gathering in the event of a tornado or storm cell.
Water is related to control of fluid substances and their manipulation. Commonly seen in cloud walking and forced rain, Water can also relate to evaporation or condensation, separation of different components of a fluid, or even the detection of a specific chemical in a body of another fluid form.
Lightning is a fairly straightforward but very often used discipline that relates to the manipulation of electrons and ionized particles. Once again, it is seen most prominently in use by pegasi, able to cause a cloud to cast lightning simply by willing it into a kick, though it has many applications varying from discharging an object to creating magnetic forces, as well as the many uses for lightning as a weapon.
Ardor
"Ardor...I will explain Ardor simply. Handle with care."
Ardor is the sphere of both flame and frost, and is infamous for both combat and beauty. The three disciplines of Ardor are light, heat and inferno, and it carries a broad range of spells due to control over these primal elements. While most spells cast some form of light or heat, the spells specifically for that purpose all draw on Ardor. It makes a common appearance on the field of battle, as fire and ice spells are usually relatively simple and require no extra components to do their purpose.
Light is a powerful discipline governing all manipulations of radiance and visible light waves. Illusions, illuminations and invisibility fall under the discipline of Light and it is usually a simple process of shaping the way it moves, and is, moreover, basically harmless. For this reason, unicorns typically learn light magic before learning any other form of magecraft.
Heat is a discipline rarely used to create heat or flame, as in these regards it is strictly inferior to the discipline of Inferno. However, it is Heat that forms the basis for cold magics, as frost spells and ice attacks all require a manipulation of heat to avoid melting under extreme conditions, and to even create the necessary ice in the first place.
Inferno is one of the most dangerous disciplines of them all due to its aggressive and uncontrollable nature; it is the art of making fire from nothing but magic, after all. All use of Inferno must be handled with extreme care; as fire directly from Ardor has a greater potency than natural sparks and can easily spark an uncontrolled flame. While fire is mostly considered destructive, however, the Inferno does not only cover the creation and use of flame, but also its nullification.
Terra
"Terra. Earth, Body, Nature. Both stubborn and malleable, if that's even possible."
Though the term Terra may mean earth, the magical sphere relates to much more. It is the sphere of nature and the body, shaping and sculpting plant and beast to their ideal forms as easily as it does rock. It is found in places where the ground and nature are strong, such as forests and even in caverns deep below the surface, while it is quite rare in urban centers (Canterlot’s mountainous location being an obvious exception).
Stone is the discipline from which Terra gets its name, and is the art of shaping the earth itself. Rocks, sediment, and even metals heed the call of Stone magic, softening, hardening, and shifting at the whims of the caster.
Body is a rather more esoteric discipline than the very solid art of Stone, focused on enhancement and impairment of physical abilities rather than brute shaping of the world around the mage. While it might seem that Change magic could cover it just as well, Change magic would be more akin to transforming into another shape, whereas Body magic involves directly making the body of the target stronger, faster, more durable, or even the opposite, weakening a target if used offensively.
Nature is related primarily to the growth and control of plants, and as a discipline is primarily practiced by farmers, particularly earth ponies, who use it instinctively in their fields. It can be used to make crops grow bigger than they otherwise would, or even grow in conditions that should, by all rights, be downright inhospitable to the plant in question. More skilled users can even make plants grow from barren dirt, or even create new breeds of plant from whole cloth.
Ley
Ley energy is not its own field of magic. Instead, Ley energy is a highly concentrated storm of all six magical spheres. It pours forth into the world primarily from from the Ley Lines, however, it is also found in small, unusable concentrations everywhere as a decay product of Arcana. Ley is, theoretically, the best possible fuel for any kind of spell, allowing incredibly strong casting with relatively low requirements.
However, Ley, in any usable quantity, is too much power—around a hundred times that of an equivalent amount of sphere-typed magic—to control easily. It overloads attempts to use it through one’s horn, releasing far more energy than the caster usually intends and typically damaging them in the process. Additionally, Ley is corrosive once it reaches any useful ambient quantity, reacting with any physical objects it encounters. Containers used to try and trap Ley have all reacted in varying methods, from shifting into facsimiles of violent living beasts, to bursting into flames or turning into varying elements, or far more unreal results, such as one often-cited incident involving two scholars, a small tarantula and a brass barrel. The reactions with living creatures are far more subdued due to the resistant nature of the soul. Ley will tear at the soul of those who comes across it physically, creating sickness and fatigue at first, but when the soul is burned to the barest resistance, the magic is finally set loose upon the body, and depending on how charged the Ley is, this process can take anywhere from minutes to mere seconds. Most commonly, those caught in Ley Lines, or even worse, a rampant Ley Storm, will suffer the simple fate reliant on Mythos, magic turning their body to nothing little by little, however, anything is possible with all six spheres combined, so the magical damage can vary from rampant growth until one’s internal organs are crushed, to transmutation into stone or sand, or even painful death as one catches fire from the inside out.
The only way to truly capture Ley is with magic. The issue with this particular solution is that the container must either be made of a highly magical material, or be imbued with enough energy to resist the Ley, a feat in and of itself, really, which very few unicorns or autarches can actually accomplish.
Credit to Liquidnightfury and Brony Khaos for putting this together, separately and iteratively
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Aether Polemeios
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Mar 23 2018, 11:49 AM
Post #2
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The prevailing theory of magic is widely accepted the world over as being universally true… For unicorns. For millennia unicorns were the undisputed masters of applied magic. Their spells: complex and world changing. Feats such as moving the sun and moon are some of the extreme results of applied unicorn magic. However, an oft overlooked observation is that magic permeates all living beings on Terra. Every individual born on idyllic Terra has an innate magic churning within. Earth ponies can grow food at a blinding speed and expertise far surpassing other race’s own farms. Pegasus are able to fly despite having an incorrect wing span to carry their weight and mass. Even still it is possible to fly at such insane speeds that the very sound barrier breaks in their wake. How is this possible, if only unicorns have the usage of magic from their horns? Dragons come to mind with this question. Their magic is wide spread unrestricted in strength and lack any manner of subtlety, much like their stereotypical pride. This very same innate magic exists in the smaller races. With training and force of will all races, including unicorns albeit to a lesser extent, can tap into and unleash this inner power. This type of magic is uncontrollable and indeformable, it simply acts. When a practitioner uses this kind of magic they direct their innate pool of energy to act upon the world but after doing so they have no control over the magnitude of the effect, sapping the user of stamina proportional to the ‘spell’ cast. This wild form of magic is seen as irresponsible to most unicorns and others with a deep understanding of applied magics. Autarches on the other hand find this kind of magic fascinating, as they themselves cannot tap into a latent magical pool.
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