IV. Magic

There are traditionally four branches of magic, each based upon a single element and hence two of the Laws. Each of these is quite distinct from the others, and the practitioners can often develop a different view of the laws and elements.

MAGECRAFT

Mages are powerful, but limited. A mage can only affect objects which he specifically knows about. He can easily control and alter those whom he knows well, but he cannot directly affect an adversary unknown to him. As a result, few people will socially associate with them, including other mages. They tend to be a studious and secretive lot.

1) The Law of Knowledge: 'To know and to control are the same'

In general, your understanding of an object and the object itself are two distinct things. However, in principle if you knew absolutely everything about an object, that object would be a part of your Substance -- i.e. the image in your mind is the object itself. At that point, it would be an extension of you like another arm, and controlled by your mind.

This law is also held to imply that knowledge in general about an object gives you lesser degree of dominance -- but this is a more philosophical conclusion.

2) The Law of Mnemonics: 'The more you know, the more you know'

All information about an object is linked within the general idea of that object. This law suggests that if you have sufficient knowledge about something, then you can intuit further information.

The sum total of all knowledge about a being, in turn, is contained in a single mnemonic - what is called the Truename of that being. The truename is a symbol which grants access to the sum total of all information of a being. It is possible, using knowledge of the being and a certain amount of skill, to gain access to the truename of the target. When done, this knowledge about a being then rushes through the mind of the person that tapped it. However, a mere mortal is strained to remember even the smallest fraction of that onslaught.

The more active technique is a binding. Again the mage guesses the truename, but while the information rushes past, the mage physically creates a representation of it - a spoken word, a written rune, or a articulate gesture. Then the mage incorporates into that symbol a command.

While the truename itself cannot be changed (a different symbol would no longer be the truename), it can be circumscribed to limit what the target can do. This effect will last only so long as the physical symbol is around. A gestured binding ends as soon as the mage stops holding the pose. A spoken binding ends after a few minutes. A runic binding lasts as long as the rune is around, however.

More complex than a binding is a transformation. For this, the mage must summon two truenames at once. Then, he represents one symbol inside  the other symbol. The inner object then appears like the outer object -- exhibiting its appearance and characteristics. However, in reality the transformed object is still whole. Thus, a man can be transformed to a mouse, but that mouse will still have inside of it the man.

An important limitation is that mages cannot affect themselves. If any mage summons his own truename, then he becomes 'self-bound'. He becomes fixed in his current state: unable to age, learn, or grow. He cannot summon truenames, and it is not clear whether he is even conscious anymore.

MYSTICISM

The general principle of mysticism was to follow a mythic path of enlightenment. A mystic would sit in contemplation or enact this story. By expanding upon each detail, he would gain steps of power. Adding to this, he could explore his path for information on the outside world.

3) The Law of Reflection: `Self-contemplation is the path to perfection.'

`Enlightenment' is the term frequently used to describe the consequences of this law. Thinking about yourself increases your own Substance, making one into a different and greater being. Thus the self-absorbed and the egotistical often actually are greater than their less ambitions kin, although that power has its price.

4) The Law of Abstraction: `That without is also within.'

Since a conscious being is a participant in the world-dream, solely by his thoughts he has access to all the outside world. This is the basis of true intuition. However, using this effectively is extremely difficult.

CONJURATION

5) The Law of Conception: `To imagine and to create are the same.'

Imagination is the spontaneous generation of a new idea - the spark of a new entity. The world accepts new ideas, and thus ideas that are imagined fully enough become real. A talented individual who can do this can create a new being just by imagining it. Such a newly created being is called a conjuration.

6) The Law of Belief: ``New creations are nameless: shaped by their environs.''

Newly conjured creations are fluid - they cannot be exactly defined or named. A new conjuration is molded by the belief of its environment: its creator, its surroudings, anything which it affects and that which perceives it. Any conjuration can be rated on how well it fits into its surroundings. If it matches well, then the environment will tend to accept it and mold it into something it believes in. If it matches poorly, it will be molded until it is unrecognizable, at which point it is destroyed.

HOLISM

On the other hand, there are venturesome mages who seek to extend the principles of their craft beyond the truenames of solitary objects to Words for universal principles. They generally attempt bindings of Essences by incorporating the essence itself into the symbol. Thus they might inscribe a rune and light a candle at the center in an effort to bind the Essence of Fire for some purpose.

The results of these efforts has generally been marginal at best, and marked by some spectacular failures in the awakenings of elementals. It is sometimes said that the efforts have failed because they have ignored the Law of Personification.

7) The Law of Essence: `Equality is illusion; Singularity real.'

That is, any two things which are exactly the same are actually different aspects of one concept, a single, more universal entity. Just as there is a truename for individual entities, there are Words for more universal qualities. For example, individual fires are all just different aspects of the Word 'Fire'.

8) The Law of Personification: `That which is, is mind.'

All things in the world are potentially sentient, the Words included. Manipulation of the Words means often means dealing with the results as sentient beings. The Words for Emotions were called Demons, and the Words for Substances were called Elementals.

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John H. Kim <jhkim-at-darkshire-dot-net>

Last modified: Sun Nov 10 10:34:08 2002