User blog:Promestein/Agency

Magic is the science of researching, understanding, and utilizing the power of Fantasy to understand the laws of the universe and bend them to one's will. Magic, as with any science, is necessary to understanding, analyzing, and explaining the creation, order, and nature of the universe, including parallel universes and higher dimensions. Though separate from conventional science, magic is still, in the end, a science, as it is built around knowledge, observations, and understanding.

Magic, in itself, is not a force - it is the truest expression of Fantasy, which is the opposite, yet complementary and interconnected, existence to Reality. Understanding of Reality and its conventional laws - particularly physics - are necessary to the proper usage and mastery of magic. Although the existences of Reality and Fantasy are opposites, they exist within each other as interconnected natural laws - just the natural laws of different existences. Magic can be used to fill in the gaps that conventional science cannot, and vice versa.

Just as the application of conventional science requires mathematics, even if in its simplest, the application of magic requires it as well, as mathematics are beyond just a single world's laws.

Theory and Laws
Central to magical theory is its connection to Fantasy, and thus, its connection to emotion, drive, and belief. Magical laws are mostly focused around the effects that emotion has on Fantasy, and how Fantasy and magic interact with the conventional physical world.

The simplest, basest magical law has many names, and is often just simply called the First Law. The First Law states, simply, that magic is molded by one's thoughts and feelings, and the more intense one's emotions are, the more connected they are to Fantasy. When the First Law is in action, a mage will find that magic, generally, comes more easily, in all its forms - it becomes easier to understand, easier to use, and increasingly powerful, regardless of intent. Whether the emotion is love, hate, rage, happiness, sadness, or fear does not matter, as all emotions are real and genuine. This is typically a double-edged sword, however, and utilizing magic while under intense emotion can damage one's soul severely, potentially killing a mage if not properly maintained and utilized.

The Law of Will states that magic, by nature, is not normally transmitted outside of one's self through a medium or as a force. Simply put, magic just happens, after one internally decides upon what and how it should be used. There is no magical force, unlike the fundamental physical forces - magic occurs because one's will has been used to make it that way. Despite this, magic can exist in other forms, as a substance, as a force, and as energy - this, in itself, is a use of magic to make it deny its nature. It is generally easier to handle in these states, so pure, true magic is not used for general purposes. In addition, the magic in one's self is not infinite. A mage only has so much energy and willpower, and as these run dry, magic will become more difficult.

Lifeforms
Magical lifeforms are commonplace across the universe, complex masses of magic given shape and a soul. As opposed to conventional biological life, magical life forms cannot be classified based on relation. Magical creatures can only really be reliably judged on a case-by-case basis, though those that share features can be grouped together.

Usage
The usage of magic can be divided into two steps; Understanding, and then, Control.

The first (and arguably the most important) step in magic is Understanding. To properly use magic, one must first study Fantasy. They must study its laws, and how it affects the world. They must also understand the aspects of Reality they wish to defy or manipulate with their magic; a magic that is intended to center around quantum mechanics would be empty without an in-depth understanding of that branch of physics.

In the past, understanding was the biggest hurdle preventing the average person from approaching magic. The first mages arose after nearly thousands of years spent trying to touch magic through trial, error, and observation, and even after humanity’s first mages began to spread, language barriers, illiteracy, and complexity prevented the average person from grasping it. Even then, magical knowledge was less developed due to being around for only a short period of time. Now, in the modern age, magic is stronger, more common, and much more accessible due to the world’s advancements.

The second step in magic is Control. This is the actual usage of magic, calling upon one’s understanding, drive, and emotion to shape and manipulate Reality through Fantasy. Depending on the specifics, this may also involve rituals and/or incantations. In this stage, emotion and drive are central to the usage of magic; intense emotion and motivation makes one’s magic stronger and sharper, though it typically harms the user in the process, sometimes lethally.

Although this is the second step, it can be reached without Understanding through piggybacking on the understanding of others. However, magic in the hands of someone who does not understand is much less effective than it would be in the hands of a true mage.

The first time a mage truly uses magic, their essence is seared down to the soul by the action, and they are marked as a wielder of Fantasy. This mark manifests in the way of a complex system of pathways in their soul, through which they channel magic through their emotion and drive. This system is referred to as a magical array.

Although some people have a natural talent for magic, there are no real prerequisites for its use and mastery. All that is needed is a true desire and drive to learn magic, a desire that must be genuinely the user’s own; those with a lack of talent may have difficulty in learning magic, but it will never be impossible. Given dedication and time, anyone who truly wants to perfect magic can master it.

Applications
Magic makes one's will into reality. A mage can bend physical laws to their whims, break them in their entirety, and rewrite them. Fundamental forces, space and time, probability, causality - anything is possible through magic. Though, of course, to be used to its fullest extent, magic requires understanding of what is being manipulated, otherwise it is difficult to control and master.

Even minor magic used by inexperienced mages can bend the laws of the universe in absurd ways. A simple desire of “I want this person to die” can kill a target outright when put to use in magic, simply ending the possibility for life in all its forms, though this is somewhat difficult and generally less efficient for less experienced mages. It can also cause death by stopping the target’s heart, or bending probability, cause and effect to subtly guide a target to their death. Either way, mages can defend against such forms of magical attack.

When a mage with a particularly strong will and an intense desire to stay alive takes damage that would normally be lethal, they can, through magic, pull through and survive. The effectiveness of this varies depending on how strong their will and desire to stay alive is, the strength of their magic, and the extent of their wounds.

Its effects vary from simply surviving a few more moments, enough to fit in one last desperate attack; or, in other cases, the mage can keep on fighting as if they weren't wounded in the first place, though the wound will still claim them if they don't get it healed. Others still can survive for upwards of hours through nothing but their willpower; this sometimes overlaps with ghosts.

Personal Causality
Over time, the most experienced and powerful mages develop what is known as their own personal causality. It, in essence, makes a mage their own contained universe, with space, time, and possibility all their own. Through magic, a mage has complete control over their own ‘destiny’, unaffected by any notions of the ‘past’ and ‘future’. Even if magic would warp the past or attempt to foresee the future, the mage is unaffected and can act as they please.

Soul
The soul is the incorporeal manifestation of Fantasy within one's self, contained within the shell that is the body (whether the body is of conventional physical matter or something magical is irrelevant). The vast majority of all beings have a soul, though the mechanics of its existence differ depending on the organism and often even the individual, and the possession of a soul is necessary to the use of magic, as all emotion and willpower is derived from one's soul. In most cases, however, a soul is dependent on the body to give it form, and, without a body, will eventually lose itself and disperse. Therefore, a soul usually follows its body into death within a few seconds.

History
Souls were not originally a natural part of life and bodies. When the Big Bang occurred, billions of years in the past, it released a great deal of magic - much of which was presumably recycled from the previous universe's lifespan. As this magic emanated through the universe, it condensed and formed countless souls. These souls were originally independent existences, but, as they died, bred, and spread across the universe, they formed a symbiotic relationship with life, latching onto and becoming mutually dependent on bodies. Over time, many souls became an inseparable existence.

Despite this, independent souls still exist, though they may be rare, and drift through the universe in search of whatever goals they may have.

Functionality
Souls are the foundation of individual emotion and energy. An individual's emotions course through the soul, developing and spreading deeper into their existence over time - just as the body grows and develops, so does the soul. The soul reaches relative maturity at the same rate at the body. Any intense emotion tends to tax the soul, exhausting an individual, and extremely powerful emotions may even cause harm to the soul. Even after the soul recovers, it will still be somewhat tender until it is able to fully recuperate from the event. However, such experiences only serve to strengthen a soul, straining it and making it heal stronger and faster, just as one's body responds to exercise.

For this reason, traumatic experiences tend to have a profound effect on one's soul, scarring it deeply. As trauma is something that can never be truly, completely overcome, a soul can never rid itself of the deep scars which it causes, but they tend to be conductive to the use of magic, providing efficient pathways to spellcasting that will be molded into one's magical array if they have one. Even still, though the scars remain, the soul will reconstruct itself stronger, regardless of whether or not the individual feels stronger.

One of the most important parts of a soul is willpower. Those with strong wills recover from spiritual damage much more quickly, in addition to being considerably more capable when it comes to the use of magic. In addition, having a stronger soul tends to be associated with becoming a stronger, more willful mage, as one's willpower is extremely important in the control of magic. Those mages with exceptionally high willpower can even maintain their souls in the event of the death of their body, allowing them to find a new one, or, in some cases, simply create one. Even the strongest will isn't infinite, however, and, over time, without something to give it form, a soul will gradually become more difficult to keep in one piece.

Similarly, when an individual - whether they are a mage or not - dies while undergoing intense emotion, they will often become what is known as a ghost. Ghosts are not an existence distinct from a soul - instead, they are more of a state that a soul can exist in. Their soul is kept together by the intensity of their final emotions in conventional life, and depending on the circumstances, they may only last a couple of seconds before they let go of their emotions and let their soul drift apart. Many ghosts, however, last for much longer, often decades, if not centuries, working towards opportunities to tie up loose ends in life and pass on peacefully, or to locate a new body to keep their form. This is difficult for ghosts without magical ability, however, as they cannot interact with normal people, being incorporeal and invisible entities.

As most mages who participate in combat are more dependent on their soul than they are their physical body, most combat mages develop the ability to harm both the body and soul simultaneously with their magic, allowing them to kill other mages without worrying about their souls escaping. Even then, no single part of a soul is more important than any other, and the strongest, most willful mages could potentially exist as the smallest fraction, though this would cause them severe, long-lasting (if not indefinite) spiritual wounds. Similarly, mages learn to heal spiritual damage more quickly, and most magical healers heal both the body and soul.

Magical Array
When an individual uses magic for the first time, their essence is marked down to the soul by action, and they are marked as a wielder of Fantasy. This mark manifests in the way of a complex system of pathways in their soul, through which they channel magic through their emotion and drive. This system is referred to as a magical array. No two individuals have the same magical array; each individual's magical array develops differently, similarly to and in conjunction with their soul.

When a mage first manifests their array, they are typically left drained for some time afterwards, and their array is somewhat sensitive. The more a mage uses magic, the more their array develops, spreads and strengthens. A stronger magical array means faster, more powerful spellcasting is possible, and more passive spells can be easily maintained. However, one’s magical array can be burnt out and damaged by overuse of magic, which is much more likely when the user is feeling intense emotion. Disuse, on the other hand, leads to an array gradually weakening, though it will never disappear.

Still, a magical array will recover from harm over time, becoming hardier and stronger. Intensely emotional mages often develop redundant pathways, allowing them to keep up the use of high-level magic even when under extreme emotional strain for long periods of time, though such a feat would almost inevitably bring them near death.