Magic Types and Rules
There are various types of magic present within the Lestaria Empire. Other than Soul Magic, which everyone masters the basics of (and soon moves on from unless specializing), there are certain types of magic that need precarious amounts of study in order to tap into. As someone learns more and more spells and practices to expand their mental limits, they are able to achieve more. However, unless special legal exceptions are made for important causes, one may only learn two types of magic, and are legally required to learn one. Any branch of magic that a person learns must be registered onto their public records. Any failure to comply with these regulations may come with forty to fifty years of prison time. It's said these regulations are put in place so that one doesn't overexert their soul, given that the only limit to one's magic is their soul...
In addition, the very function of magic itself is an interesting topic. Magic can only be used to harness certain ideas and elements, rather than being a freeform art. Many have tried to cultivate their own branches of magic, but fail, as whatever concept they’re trying to tap into seems too weak for their powers to harness. Many theorize that it has to do with a power an element or idea holds in the public consciousness, but even the greatest magical researchers have yet to find an answer.
Soul Magic - Soul Magic is the base form of magical power and the soul itself, applicable for a number of purposes. Often signified by a magenta glow, it is a general type that can be used for various purposes, but doesn’t hold a specialty in anything, for the most part. However, it is extremely useful as a healing tool, and is the most effective healing magic. It can, though, be used to move objects, provide a boost of movement, or just be used to fire energy at someone for an attack. Its versatility is its biggest strength.
Spacial Magic - A user of spatial magic is given two pathways to maneuvering space as they desire. For example, one can warp the space around them, move objects to an extent greater than with any other magic, teleport, create wormholes of their control, change the simple nature of objects-- there are many possibilities, but a wielder can only choose two spells to master. Although it seems weak because of that, the two options that a user picks can be used in a variety of ways if made use of creatively.
Tech Magic - Tech Magic is often perceived as an anomaly, though it is mostly used to hijack electric currents and radio waves in order to manipulate electronic devices. If these methods are combined with the right equipment and an experienced hacker, the possibilities are endless. Organic uses for these abilities when related to the brain and electric pulses are documented, but illegal outside of specific circumstances.
Axel Magic - Axel magic involves the use of opening portals to the in-between parts of dimensions, depositing a mass of unrestrained energy onto an opponent. That energy can also be manipulated to fuse with the wielder’s weapon, in order to deliver powerful blows.
Blood Magic - It involves the use of the wielder's own blood, though only a little bit. When it is fused with the energy of the soul, it can be used to deal much stronger blows. It is considered one of the strongest, most directly offensive forms of magic, though its nature makes it difficult to always utilize without issue.
Spirit Magic - Spirit Magic is different, where rather than relying on the power of your own soul, you offer hospitality to spirits to feed off of your soul in exchange for their power. The nature of the spirits inhabiting a person’s body changes what this power does, though the largest number of spirits a person can hold is around three. As they feed off of the energy a soul emits, any more than three will make it so your soul doesn’t produce enough energy to keep you alive as well, though some particularly voracious spirits may bump that limit down. As a note, when the spirit is not summoned, it is invisible.
Elemental Magic - This is a general label used to group all types of magic that use the natural elements, minus light and darkness. Fire, water, earth, ice, it all applies here. As one is better able to master it, their powers get stronger. As a note, legally speaking, manipulating one type of element counts for one of the two magical branches one is allowed to learn.
Time Magic - Unlike the other forms of magic, this one is not available to the public. It is a closely guarded secret, passed around in the Mallin family who are affiliated with the god of Time, Horrison. It is said that their power allows them to see the most likely paths that may occur based on whether or not an action is taken, such as sparing a criminal or building a new project. However, the larger the consequences of the action are and the farther it is in the future, the longer it takes to concentrate in order to receive the vision.
Weapon Magic - This magic has an odd form, where a weapon is sealed into a person’s body or carried in a different form, leaving only a symbol present on their skin or a 'ghost form' of it. If that symbol is touched by the person who placed it there or if the 'ghost form' is activated, then it summons a weapon that the wielder can use. It is a bit similar to spirit magic where it is limited by the excess energy that a soul emits, though in this case the energy is used to keep the seal intact.
Builder Magic - This form of magic is more obscure than most, as it grants the wielder a heightened perception of how objects fit together and can be used to build contraptions, along with the ability to identify objects that can be used for it. It is often combined with soul magic to easily grab and use objects for building purposes, but doesn’t hold much use in combat.
Sound Magic - This is a very new form of magic, where sound and music are used to influence the soul of an individual. This is moreso used to affect a person’s emotional state, though it may be used in both positive and negative ways. It is said that this form of magic can reach into the web of souls, pulling at the very strings of a soul and its connection to others.
Light Magic - Light magic relies on utilizing the very power of natural light. In order to reach its greatest potential, as much natural light as possible needs to be present. It can be used to create crystalized platforms called crystilare, along with manipulating pure light against others as a force. In addition, light magic users receive a boost of power if they are fighting against a force they are morally opposed to, for reasons that remain unknown.
Dark Magic - Dark Magic, on the other hand, uses the power of natural darkness, and so works best in the presence of as much shadow as possible. It can allow a wielder to fuse into shadows and sneak around, along with using the pure essence of darkness as a force.
Forbidden Magic - This is a general label for any kind of magic deemed too dangerous to use. These spells and artifacts almost always offer great amounts of power in exchange for little experience, with hidden clauses and caveats against the wielder that will inevitably lead to personal and wider scale harm. It is always labeled and outlawed so that law-abiding citizens can avoid it, though those that are looking for a quick ticket to power will always be lurking. It is advised to never, ever use this kind of magic, as it could endanger your life and the lives of those around you.
Magical Materials
Along with the different kinds of magic, any material can be infused with magic in some shape or form. Electronics built to be used with tech magic are always infused with power in order to interface with a person’s soul, allowing the wielder to use their magic to assist others in fights or communicate telepathically without having to use a physical earphone.
Another common example is infusing an object with simple attack spells, such as pure energy, or elemental spells. It is difficult to make a magical object capable of being used for complex spells, but it is not impossible. However, the stronger examples are always associated with Forbidden Magic, due to the power they hold.
Magic plays a role in people’s everyday lives because of magical objects. Medical technology always holds an infusion of soul magic, and sound magic is used to pacify panicking patients. Forms of elemental magic are used for construction and demolition, and the power of spirits opens the door for all kinds of purposes. Whatever combinations you can imagine, it is likely used. The more powerful a weapon, the more energy it needs to sustain it. Weapons that can performed near unlimited feats of magic often require an entire soul's worth of energy to function, so many rely on regular transfusions of power instead.
Beyond utilitarian purposes, though, magical materials used for offensive and obscure magical purposes are almost always tied with Forbidden Magic, or are highly regulated. As limits on the types of magic one can wield exists, objects that allow one to use a form of magic without learning it are limited to either emergency use authorized by the proper permits, or for research purposes only. For example, a wand that can manipulate water may be used as a fire extinguisher, or examined for its properties, but cannot be bought off the street legally. If one is to come into possession of a magical object that can perform spells without having registered it and having that status approved, it can be grounds for arrest.
Above all, a soul should never come into play in the production of a magical material. To do so would render the soul and its memories alive, sealed within a wellspring of magic. This would create something akin to a dangerous living weapon, and so each one found is neutralized or taken into special custody depending on the circumstances, with the latter being much less common.
Death is seen as a mercy due to what soul transformation does to a person's body--not only is it extremely difficult given the amount of soul energy involved, but it makes it so the body is unable to heal like a normal person's, cutting one's average lifespan down to the early 40s. One's sense of pain vanishes, and reliance on internal organs diminish, but without a suitable body to host the soul, one's autonomy will be lost one day. Older records of those who managed to recover their bodies after being turned into weapons describe the experience as one of losing all your senses, being unable to even stop your own life until your weapon form finally gives with erosion at work.
As tragic as it may be, though, the most common kind of illegal magical weapon found are those that use entire souls to power them. Otherwise, one may as well learn the spell themselves if they're going to need to recharge the weapon, no?
Connections of the Soul
The theory of the web of souls, while still debated among modern soul scholars, remains the most prevalent explanation for how souls are able to 'connect' their magic with one another. This theory proposes that, due to the way the ideas and perceptions travel to soul stones to create gods (read: gods of Lestaria) that all souls around one another have thin connections that exist as long as we perceive and recall one another. These connections grow stronger the more powerfully one connects with the other (usually through memories or emotions) and forms the basis for how we perceive the facts of the universe: what is around 'us'. This theory is contentious for how it fails to reflect non-sentient creatures, and though the existence of a soul is supported, it is unknown if everyone has a soul, where the soul is, or what it looks like.
The main proponents of this theory assert that souls exist on another plane of reality overlayed over ours much like the Spiritual Plane, explaining how we are unable to see these souls, but can utilize these connections. Nevertheless, the web of souls theory is the basis behind 'connection' magic: the idea that, by 'feeling' for another's soul, by using these memories and emotions in everyone's hearts, that they can combine their magic to perform feats behind the ability of a single person. Even opposing elements can be mixed to discover new attacks, new ways to heal, new ways to live.
Connection magic is encouraged by those in the Lestaria Enforcement Centre and the various Planetary Forces across the empire. It not only helps to make combat strategies more diverse, but unpredictable in the face of an unknown enemy. Research has been done over the past few centuries to discover the long term effects of utilizing these connections, or even learning about the nature of them through extensive use, but the field of soul studies has stagnated due to a lack of acquirable evidence.