Intro
In times long past, magic was wild and unknowable. Strange happenings were explained away through folklore and myth, and Waywardians lived in fear of their world. However, many pioneering researchers dedicated their lives to unravelling the mysteries of magic, leading to a boom in magic science following the Magic Revolution. Rigorous testing and cooperation between research teams across the land has gradually led to the widely accepted taxonomic classification of five types of magic. Some magic classes are more better understood than others, and research is ongoing to further divide these classifications into subgroups.
Elemental -
Subclasses
From the myths woven of elden heroes wielding legendary powers to the treacherous crags of Thunderfalls, this is a magic many are most intimately familiar with. Waywardians have coexisted with elemental magic for aeons, and the land is filled with the hum of the elements. Some elemental magic may be indiscernible, such as whisper on the breeze or the frost glistening in the morning, whilst others are tumultuous, like a blazing wildfire or the searing strike of lightning. Regardless of its type, elemental magic is regarded as wild and untamed, symbolising the raw power of the wilderness.
Life -
Subclasses
Life magic draws from the enigmatic essence of all living beings, and is deeply connected to the cycle of life and death. Omnipresent, it can be scented in the quiet beauty of a blooming flower, felt in the gentle thrum of your own heartbeat, and observed in the decay of a corpse relenting its soul. All organisms are deeply, innately connected to life magic, and although the cycle is inescapable, some may be able to bend its song. Folklore and myth speak of rare individuals who have the power to undo the most grievous of wounds, or who could command a legion of forest animals. Even the bones of those long lost possess the potential to dance if one so desires to call upon them.
Celestial -
Subclasses
Concerned with the ethereal and intangible, celestial magic burns in the primaeval stardust of the chosen few. This eternal magic was the first of its kind, born of supernovae and gravity at the very beginning of time. Rarely observed, the workings of celestial magic remain a mystery to this day. Strange happenings are rumoured to occur in line with the lunar cycle; a full moon may invoke flashes of moonbeams in even the darkest of places, whilst objects can suddenly begin to levitate under a crescent moon. Some claim that the stars and their light are acts of divine magic beyond our reach, and that one could never hope to grasp what is unknowable. For many however, the swell felt in the soul when looking up at a sky full of stars is all the evidence needed that celestial magic never left.
Transmutation -
Subclasses
Reality can be whatever you so desire, if one drinks deep in the magic of change. Transmutational magic can bend matter at a whim; a house of stone may suddenly become wooden, a horde of lizards may don feathers rather than scales, or an enchanted coin stolen from a merchant’s table may suddenly curse the thief with perpetual holes in their pockets. Local folklore tales often personify transmutational magic as an act of a trickster animal or god, causing mischief and pranks wherever they go. However, one would do well not to underestimate the true power of transmutational magic. Life is inherently fickle, and mastery of the magic of ever-change is a mastery of reality itself.
Sensory
Rather than drawing from a reservoir of wild magic in the environment, sensory magic is alight in the very fibres and sinews of one’s body. Legends tell of kittens born radiating with magic who are deeply in touch with not only their own flesh and mind, but those of others too. Senses are enhanced for some, with vision like that of a falcon, whilst others can flood a room with joy or sorrow. Those walking through a village may turn the corner to find that they are witnessing a vision of an event that unfolded years before, or an item that is gently brushed against may spark a premonition for the future. Sensory magic is the comfort found in a long forgotten memory, the trust in your sharpened instincts, and the very heart and emotion that colours one’s lives.