Principles of Magic

How magic works: magical energy, lifeforce, Prime energy classes, costs, casting, and magical schools.

Main entry: Magic System

• Sources of Power PrincipleWhere magical power is accessed from, including ambient magic, ley lines, divine provision, bodily channelling, and stored energy.
• Prime Energy Classes PrincipleThe ten classes of magical energy, one for each Prime, that underlie all magic; scholars hold that a spell which cannot be traced to one or more of them does not belong to this world's magic.
• Lifeforce PrincipleThe settled balance of Prime energy each living being carries, inherited with its kind; it shapes healing, affinity, and the cost of magic, and it is neither a soul nor a measure of virtue.
• Biological Affinity PrincipleHow species, bodies, and lifeforce patterns influence magical casting, efficiency, risk, and school affinity.
• Casting Methods PrincipleThe major ways spells are cast, what each method is good for, and how method changes efficiency, speed, stability, and scale.
• Costs and Side Effects PrincipleWhat magical casting costs, where loss occurs, and what short-term and long-term side effects may follow.
• Divine and Traditional Magic PrincipleThe relationship between ordinary mortal casting and divine magic, including shared laws, major differences, and practical consequences.
• Dark Magic PrincipleNot a substance or a school but a judgement of use: magic whose cost falls on those who did not agree to pay it.
• Mythic Traits and Demigods PrincipleRare mythic traits, their relationship to ordinary magic, and the distinction between trait-bearers and demigods.
• Medieval Ordinary Access Reference PrincipleA technical, era-scoped reference defining what each Prime Energy Class can achieve at ordinary/folk scale during the Medieval Era, and where it crosses into notable practice that someone forbids or…