Magic on Galwyndor - during the time of the Everwind Series - is outlawed and regarded by most of the population as a myth. According to lore, its use and study was widespread during the time of the Befores (people from antiquity) until it was universally outlawed for fear that magic would destroy the world. A massive campaign was undertaken to seek out all magic users with the aid of powerful eggs called Eari Stones, and all who practiced magic were put to death. An unintended side effect of this was that any races with more than a trace of magic were also killed. This included the Inar and the Meninar.
A scattered number of groups and individuals have attempted to learn, revive, and restore magic throughout the ages up to the current time with no success due to the existence of the Eari Stones. The Arkaeni are dedicated to revival of magic. It was believed that magic was impossible, but recent developments have proven that it can be done with limited but devastating effects. The drug adoxipham is believed to be infused with magic.
Nature of Magic
There were different beliefs in the ancient world about the nature of magic and where it came from, how it worked, and how best to use it. Each school of magic taught its own particular system and methodology, but similarities existed between all the schools. They all agreed that magic was an energy, force, or resource that was widespread and could be harnessed and used. They also all knew that magic had different properties depending on where it was sourced from, and thus different types were used for different things. For example, the Runesworn understood that Bone Stray, which came from the earth, worked best for runes used with objects made from metal or stone. The other schools understood similar concepts, but have different names for each type of magic or beliefs about how it works optimally.
Magical Substances
A number of magical substances exist, which were used for different purposes besides the use of simple energies like fex and vorsys. Many of these had specific properties that lent themselves to the creation of magical items. Vorshards, for example, do not contain vorsys, but are nevertheless found to be rich in non-magical energy. These were also thought to be responsible for sparkingall life on the planet. Vordark Crystals are concentrated vordark energy, and were very dangerous to magic users, as they would kill any users who expended magical energy in their proximity.
Magic Schools
Several magic schools existed, which had different specialities and methods for teaching. At the time of the Great Purge only two generalist schools remained; the rest taught specific trades.
- Eari - generalist
- Draol - generalist
- I'dunal - perciperation
- Runesworn - enchanting, runes
Eari and Fex
The Eari school taught that magical energy possessed different properties based on where it was gathered from. There were several types of energy, called fex, each named after gods from the Grellist pantheon, and they viewed these from a more scientific perspective.
- omnifex - combined of all the sources
- drenifex - sourced from earth
- orifex - sourced from air
- helifex - sourced from water, which they used mostly for making potions
- gernafex - sourced from plantlife, which they used mostly for making potions and items
- antifex - a type of energy that was devoid of fex, and created a pull effect for magical energy
Draol and Vorsys
The Draol school taught that magical energy called vorsys permeated everything as a result of a cosmic battle between two vordragons. Unlike the other schools, the Draol did not differentiate between different types of magic, but viewed it all as being simple vorsys that could be obtained from different sources. Where the other schools viewed the source as being imbued with the essence of the energy, the Draol believed it was the source that imbued the vorsys with its characteristics. So, for example, where the Runesworn might believe that metal was imbued with the essence of Bone Stray, making that the magical energy of choice for making runes for that substance, the Draol thought that the vorsys that worked best with metal was that which was found in the earth, as it had been imbued with earthen characteristics.
The Draol, therefore, were the only ones who would use any sourced vorsys for any task if a more optimal source was unavailable. The Eari argued that this was impossible, and that the Draol were mistaken. They posited that because the Draol hoarded magic, that any successful use of the improper magic source must have been because they already had it within and didn't realize it.
The Draol held that those capable of wielding magic were born with higher than usual amounts of vordark energy, which was unleashed on the world from the blood of the vorwyrm Dekilia. This energy, which acted as a vacuum, sought to attract and consume vorsys, which is why magic users could collect magic.
Runesworn and the Strays
The Runesworn taught that magic came from different energies that were released during creation; these magical energies were called the Strays. This idea was taken from the Grellist mythos. There are five types of magical energy, called the Essences of Grellis, or Strays. These five essences were released, or strayed, when Grellis created the world, and they are said to permeate all of its creations, as well as the creations of the celestial gods. These essences are Soul Stray, which is the highest and purest form, with the four minor or lesser essences being Bone Stray, Breath Stray, Blood Stray, and Skin Stray, which were all released during the creation event.
- Soul Stray - Known to Eari as omnifex, Soul Stray is the purest and more powerful essence of Grellis, as it contains a portion of the soul of Grellis. This was solely used to create the Eldinar race of beings, who predate the gods. The other creations, such as the earth, air, and water, contain only a portion of Soul Stray with the rest coming from lesser essences. Even the gods do not possess only Soul Stray, but half omnifex and half another essence.
- Bone Stray - One of the lesser essences of Grellis, which was infused in the earth when a piece of Grellis broke off during creation. This was used to create the god Drend, and thus all the creatures Drend created. It permeated throughout the earth.
- Breath Stray - One of the lesser essences of Grellis, which was infused in the air when Grellis cried out in pain after the earth broke off during creation. This was used to create the god Orend, and thus all the creatures Orend created. It permeated throughout the air and all the creatures of the sky.
- Blood Stray - One of the lesser essences of Grellis, which was infused with the water when Grellis bled after the earth broke off during creation. This was used to create the god Helirend, and thus all the creatures Helirend created. It permeated throughout the water and all of the creatures there.
- Skin Stray - One of the lesser essences of Grellis, which was cast upon the surface of the earth during creation. This essence was used by the gods to create plantlife and some creatures.
The Embers
In addition to the Strays, Grellis imbued some of its creations with Embers, which are required for creation. Embers are akin to a spark of life, another type of essence of Grellis, that when combined with another essence, can bring new things into existence. There are two types of embers: inward and outward. It should be noted that the Eldinar were imbued with neither of these embers.
- Iember - The first of the embers is the Iember, or inward ember, which Grellis imbued into the etherwood tree, the nurlworm, the espitris, and the flidfish. These embers enable a creature to self-replicate, but do not allow for creation of other species. Grellis provided the gods with a piece of its heart called the Emberdel, which was only to be used on their creations to imbue them with inward ember so that they could self-replicate. The only celestial being to use the Emberdel against protocol was the angel M'ranin, who used it to beget her seven children, the Fouled Seven. As a result, her and her offspring were all banished to the Shadow Lay for eternity.
- Oember - The second of the embers is the Oember, or outward ember, which Grellis imbued into the gods. These embers allow for creation of other species and things, but not self-replication. If they wish to give their creations the ability to procreate, they must imbue them with Inward Ember using the Emberdel.