The nature of magic is bound up in philosophy and the dual nature of the universe. On the one hand, magic does exactly what it is supposed to do — when a wizard casts fireball for example, then a sphere of flame erupts in the area. If a Tashi casts a heal spell, cuts and injuries mend themselves, restoring a person to health. On the other hand, magic does exactly what it is NOT supposed to do — it creates an opposite effect. A fireball creates a ball of flame — and it creates an occurrence of water elsewhere in the universe. A heal spell mends wounds — and it causes death to something, somewhere.
It is this reactionary duality that makes the study of magic a study in philosophies, and gives Wizards and Sorcerers a moment of pause when casting a spell. The Ancients of long ago first realized this interplay between daily life and magic, and the ideas found in their writings have become the foundation stones of all the major philosophies across the land, both in spellcraft and in daily life.
The first great civilization, the Ennu Empire, pioneered harnessing the laws that govern reactionary magic. While many of their insights and secrets have been lost, the Ennu harnessed the dual nature of magic to create the many potent spells and glyphs, as well forge magical metals that were harder than adamantium and ever-sharp. The Ennu also used the concepts behind the dual nature of magic as inspiration for the Code of Law, a document that is still quoted in nations of the modern day. With so much rich history, it is no coincidence then that the arch stone leading into the main lecture hall of the Academy of Mystics in Pelios glows with the ancient Ennu runes “Ormoch esdaedi al’ ormach” — All gives rise to All.
Cahedrists point out that most of the 121 Stellar Points that governed the later Wyntiri Empire also gave a nod to the dual nature of magic, and share much source material from the Code of Law. Late Wyntiri magic philosophy moved away from this position to some degree, and and instead espoused the new idea of “The Grand Spiral”, a concept that basically held that the universe is heading toward arcane apocalypse, and every spell cast hastens that day.
By the time of the Or-Kish Empire, the original understanding of the Ennu had faded to ancient history, but there is no doubt that the systematic hierarchies of magic laid out in the twelve Or-Kish Tomes of Magic directly credit the wisdom of Ennu. Unlike the civilizations that went before them, the Orks were driven to document and catalog their discoveries and studies, and while many libraries and books were burned in the Empire’s final days after the release of the Shadow Plague, still many have past down to the present day, to be combed through by members of the Cahedra, the Academy of Mystics, and the Colleges of Bards.
Even if the average farmer is not familiar with ancient history or the High Ennu Tongue, there are few across the land who do not find some aspect of their lives touched by the dual nature of magic: for every action, there is reaction. It is this belief that has laid the cornerstone of daily life, even for those outside the traditional realms of magic.
By tradition, farmers start their growing each season by burning a section of their crop, believing that the reaction for their fiery destruction will be an adequate watering of their fields. Leading up to impending battles, soldiers are encouraged to visit the Temples of Passion and the Tashi of Ambyrlee to engender new life so as to be more successful in their slaughter on the battlefield.
Magic still follows the hierarchy laid down by the Orks in their authoritative Twelve Tomes of Magic, though unfortunately, only copies of eleven of the twelve have survived. Today, the Academy of Mystics has diligently begun the process of recataloging all magic currently known.
While there is not a complete record, the fundamental principle set down by the Orks has survived, referred to time and time again through the Tomes: “Fire creates water. Healing gives birth to death. Every good act creates one evil.”
Cahedrists and Academy Scholars have commented much on this proverb, but its simplistic, yet profound implications remains more than a little disturbing. How should magic be used? Should a mage heal the sick, knowing that by his hand, a life may be elsewhere snuffed out, or should he harness the power of magic for wicked acts, so that goodness may prevail? Perhaps more practically, should a wizard cast fireballs to protect his friends and fellow adventurers, knowing full well that he may be causing a flood elsewhere, ruining the crops and homes of innocents?
It is questions like these that form the basis of most philosophy and ethics courses required of all Wizards and Sorcerors who attend the Academy of Mystics, and any who wish to be bestowed with their own orh-lode must satisfactorily address the Council of the Arcane, discussing their personal interpretations of the Orkish axiom.
Of course, not every spellcaster attends the Academy, and at the end of the day, magic remains tremendously useful. For good or ill, the casting of magic remains a prevalent part of society (except perhaps in Regimantis).
In much the same way that a loaf of bread is made up of flour, water, salt and yeast, so too are magic spells made up of constituent energies. In essence, the Tetramatrix is a structure of four spheres, each connected to the other by invisible strands to create the shape of a pyramid or tetrahedron. Each of these Spheres represents a portion of the fundamental forces that are combined through the laws of magic to ultimately create a finished “spell.” The four fundamental spheres of the Tetramatrix are named Ethos, Corporealis, Elemendi, and Vita.
Each sphere contains amorphous energies of opposing forces — referred to as “quadrants” which are used to manifest a magical effect. Energies that are utilized are referred to as “front facings”, energies that are not used are called “dark facings” Most spells are nuanced, and draw from two or more spheres in order to create the very specific effects that are commonly known by spellcasters across the land. For example, the spell “fireball” draws its power from the fundamental sphere of Elemendi, in the quadrant of fire. To a smaller degree, it also draws energy from the sphere of Ethos in the quadrant of chaos, from Corporealis in the quadrant of magic, and from Vita in the quadrant of Light.
To understand the Aftershadow that a fireball creates, a scholar examines the dark facings of the spell’s spheres. In the same example above, the dark facings of a fireball would be water, law, nature and darkness from the spheres of Elemendi, Ethos, Corporealis and Vita. The manifested aftershadow emanating from these quadrants is what would be unleashed upon the universe as a consequence of casting a fireball. With such multi-faceted formulas, aftershadow manifestations are often complex, highly unique, and never entirely predictable (like a snowflake or a fingerprint!). Nonetheless, the Academy and the Cahedra continue to try!
Good/Evil; Law/Chaos; Barriers/Force
This Sphere harnesses the underlying, essential, and axiomatic forces and barriers of the universe. Ethos’s two main opposing sets are Good and Evil and Law and Chaos. Along the dividing lines of these quadrants are smaller, subquadrants of Force and Barrier. Ethos is often called “The Great Sphere”, because most spells draw their constituent energies from it to at least some degree.
Fire/Water; Earth/Air
This Sphere coalesces the raw elements of the universe to create and transmute energy and objects. Elemendi’s two main opposing sets are Fire and Water and Earth and Air. Elemendi is the Sphere most commonly called upon by adventuring or warring Wizards — it is the power of this Sphere that fuels explosive fire spells earthquakes, lightning storms and tsunamis. Elemendi is also the power behind all creation spells, as well as all transmutation spells.
Body/Mind; Nature/Magic; Teleportation/Divination
This Sphere interacts with the intelligent and organic forces of the universe, bending and enhancing thought and being. Corporealis’ two main opposing sets are Body and Mind and Nature and Magic. Corporealis is used for all types of body and attribute enhancements, as well as for charms, compulsions and fear. Corporealis is sometimes called “`The Sphere of Magic” because it is primarily responsible for “pure magic” spells, including teleportation, divination and identification spells.
Life/Death, Healing/Disease, Light/Darkness
This sphere creates, instills and drains life, light and undeath. Vita’s two main opposing sets are Life and Death and Healing and Disease. Along the dividing lines of these quadrants are smaller, subquadrants of Light and Darkness. Vita is responsible for healing, summoning and curing disease, as well as inflicting wounds, raising the dead, and creating plague rot. Vita is universally referred to as “Life Giver” by Tashi, Necromancers and Wizards, since it is the prime power for summoning creatures, as well as the path to both mortality and undeath. Vita is also responsible for focusing and quenching light and darkness, both necessary components of life and death.
And now a word concerning those who command illusionary magic, called Shadari, Illusionist, Umbrmancer, Elfspawn, Shadowspider, Rift-Lich… or worse.
Illusionist magic is widely regarded as a magic of pure evil, historically assumed to be created by the Elves, or more recently, associated with the Ibn-Or. Bottom line, such spells should certainly be avoided by those who are law-abiding or of pure spirit. Whether this is true may be debatable, but it is dangerous and almost universally taboo to espouse other viewpoints. As a result, illusionary magic is punishable in all civilized lands by beatings, the stockades, hanging or burning at the stake. This only reinforces the morally reprehensible nature of the magic, and has done so for many, many generations.
Even so, to those who disdain societal strictures, or who desire the mercurial nature that such spell peril holds, Illusionist magic is powerful and attractive. Shadari magic (as it is properly called) needs no orhlode to focus its energy (even at the highest levels); it operates outside the realm of traditional magic and the Tetramatrix (as defined by the Academy of Mystics and the Maughtheni Cahedra) and draws power from the shadow planes of If, the realm of the Ibn-Or, as it filters through the mental systems of its intended victims. To those who have lived through the Shadow War, the idea that Ibn-Ori essence would be forced through their consciousness is anathema enough (though this description and understanding is not known by many outside of highly educated circles. Most just know it as “elfmagic” and “evil/tainted”.)
As such, transmission and learning of Shadari spells is a highly covert affair. Scrolls, books, wands, or any item that might be deemed “Illusionist” cannot be legal sold or traded, but should be destroyed and burned. Failure to do so is highly suspect, and is a sure and swift way of being brought to a magistrate (or torturer). Active study is fraught with danger, so Shadari live double lives, using their other classes or professions as a cover to their passion for the Illusionary Arts.
If you listened to talk in taverns, the role of illusionists in society is to sow fear, discord, mistrust and chaos. This is not without its truths; many (if not most) illusionists practice the Shadow Arts for personal gain, or to take advantage of those around them with weak minds.
Players who learn or cast a Shadari spell are forever embarking down a road fraught with peril, intrigue and mistrust. Other player characters need only whisper to a city guard or pass a discrete message to a magistrate or passing Sigil Lord to begin a cycle of suspicion and perhaps punishment. This makes an Illusionist character exceptionally wary of his comrades and leads to mistrust, deception, and manipulation.
Shadari spells are not on the Arcane spell lists, though they do exist in the campaign. Like all dangerous, illegal, immoral, and harmful things, they must be sought out and purchased with a price, weighing the consequences of power today over life tomorrow. The infamy of invisibility is the stuff of bedtime stories told to frighten bad children. Persons found employing that spell, or other spells that are taken to be illusionary in nature, will be sentenced to local prisons at best. (There are some cities where the penalty for Elf-magic is a swift burning or confession on the rack.) Some magistrates who are less familiar with the nature of magic may err on the side of caution, fearing to punish a caster who may not be casting a true illusionary spell; on the other hand, there are plenty of magistrates who would rather err on the side of justice and law, and make sure that no illusionists practice their dark arts during their watch. Higher level illusionist spells, such as Demi Shadow Magic, which mimic normal magic, will probably be dismissed as a strange strain of Higher Magic and may escape notice, but few are the Illusionists who reach such a level to cast such spells.
Because of the underground and mistrusted nature of their Arts, Illusionists usually communicate with each other through code, and often leave messages in complex, highly symbolic illustrations. To an outsider, or a casual observer, the art seems nonsensical, surreal, or just a little odd. To a fellow Illusionist, however (and to many Silent Brothers), the image has very exact meanings. Some Illusionists have even been able to publish spellbooks under the cover of being Ya’avin books of illuminations and art.
Orh-lode are pieces of meteoric rock. It is not a natural resource, and deposits are incredibly rare. Very soon after the Mage War ended, research began in earnest to find ways to mitigate the growing effects of aftershadow, and the dampening properties of orh-lodes was discovered.
The earliest references to Orh-lodes are found in the fragments of Or-Kish stories told of the cataclysmic end of Ancient Ennu. According to these legends, a great meteor fell from the northern sky and crashed down near the site which would, thousands of years later give birth to the Or-Kish Empire. Or-Kish forgemasters used the material to fashion a number of armor, weapons and rings. Those few known Orh-Kish items that were forged of such material were quickly acquired and melted down, and much of the existing amount of the material in the world soon became accounted for. Much of this amount was acquired by the mage-dominated nations of Callen Moor and Bramm, who commissioned their used in large Orh–Towers. The remaining amount remained in the hands of the Academy of Mystics.
In the years since, small portions of this orhlode material are bestowed on Academy students or graduates when they have proven themselves worthy, capable and responsible (not necessarily in that order) enough to a council of their peers and elders, and have graduated from the ethics-based education of magic at the Academy. Each piece is numbered and uniquely sigiled and registered, and is fashioned into an amulet worn about the neck. Theft or sales of Orh-lodes is serious business — the Academy employs an elite division of Sigil Lords to hunt down, bring to justice, and reacquire all missing orh-lodes.
They remain the property of the Academy, even after a graduate’s death. (Graduates are expected to put in place instructions to their servants or family to return them once they pass away.)
While magic is difficult to cast in most places, Callen Moor has developed nationally governed monuments referred to as “Orh-Towers” that create a favorable field for spell-casting for those in its radius. These towers are heavily guarded by Rainbow Crown guards; they are also viewed by most Moormen as the standing achievement of their nation’s prowess.
The towers operate using large amounts of orhlode, working in conjunction with powerful Maugtheni glass lenses to help magnify and project aftershadow dampening qualities up to a mile or so from its center. Most orh-towers are constructed within the center of the city to allow citizens to use magic within the city walls (and usually for a short distance outside the walls as well). This “dampened land” as it is referred to, is at a premium, and generally owned by nobles of the prominent Houses or powerful guilds.
Orh-Towers exist only in large or wealthy cities, such as Pelios, where the Academy of Mystics is headquartered.