How does magic work in your setting? I had an interesting idea
So, there are 8 elements, set up in opposites: fire/ice, lightning/water, dark/light/ and earth/air. Of which you're aligned to one or two elements. But here's the thing though, the reason you're better at casting X element is because you're aligned to 1 concept, of which X element is an aspect. So for example, your power is not that of earth, but of life's will to survive and evolve, which most easily manifests itself as earth (fire's not the hardest for you either). Of course, you don't know this when you start casting, you just know you can manipulate earth. Once you DO learn your true power, though, you become exponentially stronger since now you know how you should be casting and the kinds of things you should be able to do, like evolve nearly indestructible armor plating onto yourself.
Sometimes it's more abstract, like the above example, but other times it can be simpler, like energy manifesting itself as lightning or the flames of hell itself being the cause of your fire. The more directly related your true alignment is to the element you're trying to cast, the more powerful the basic element would be (the energy-aligned example-mage would have stronger lightning magic than the magic of the earth-aligned example-mage) but more abstract alignments have more potential to be abused, once realized. If your alignment is with the element itself, you'll know
>>46417640
Magic in my setting is whatever the fuck it wants to be.
Most of the time it's linked to higher brain functions and your state of mind of when you gained your magical ability.
If you are unlucky, it's mapped to your lower brain functions or some random muscles. So a magical mutant could have the shitty lot of causing explosions whenever he flexes his biceps or expel most kinetic energy from his body when he flexes his kegel muscles, which causes instant hypothermia but is very useful while on fire.
In the most basic form it's will made manifest. Some call it the tools of the gods, and the language of dragons. The giants of ancient times codified it into runes, and the elves have spun it into an art.
>>46417640
Arcane spells are quasi-independent things that squirm and writhe when contained to the page in written form.
Some say they are living numinology that tweaks the world around them in their death rattles as the wizard purges the spells from their mind.
Some say the spells themselves are not powerful, but rather it is the belief of so many wizards in the power contained in the spells that gives them their strength to bend the world, others say the spells are truly alive, more so even than people are for indeed the spells are thoughts and dreams that give the universe shape itself, and thus warp that universe in a feedback loop through their repetition and casting by we mere dream players upon the Spells' stage.
Systems of magic are tied down to culture and geography. Without a magic circle written in the right form, on the right object, or in the right region, it just won't work.
I fluff magic as an underlying force in the universe, expressed through thousands of different ways, retroactively created by the Mortal Races.
You believe so it works so you believe.
There's 12 schools of magic.
Artes Magicae/Elementalism.
Alchemy.
Theurgy.
Thaumaturgy.
Witchcraft.
Psionics.
Glamour.
Chaotick Sorcery.
Bardistry/AnArt.
Druidry.
Spellcasting.
Enchantment.
>>46420891
The artes magicae were a sort of Renaissance-Society Approved magic. A consolidated series of schools that all operating off the same principles of controlling the natural positions and states of things, symbolically. If water flows downhill, a Hydromancer can decree where downhill is. The Artes are Necromancy, Pyromancy, Geomancy, Hydromancy, Aeromancy, Chiromancy, and Biomancy/Scapulimancy.
>>46420558
I might steal some of this. Will being suffused into spell-work can sometimes make magic spell entities.
I've used the system from Coiling Dragon
The universe is comprised of
The Seven Elemental Laws
Earth
Wind
Fire
Water
Lightning
Light
Darkness
And
The Four Great Edicts
Fate
Destruction
Life
Death
I fluff magic as not being one universal force.
That is, there are a lot of supernatural powers in the world, some natural and some not, and their effects are referred to as "magic" as a blanket term. However the magic of the astrologers comes from an entirely different power source and obeys different mechanics than, say, necromancy or alchemy or witchcraft.
Some of these powers are similar to each other, and some interact or even share certain rules, but under the surface level they are distinct and what works for one will not necessarily work for another.
>>46424076
Spells manipulate the laws and edictsThe Edicts are much harder to learn and therefore practitioners are rarereventually both warriors and mages get to the point where they can study and meditate on the Profound Mysteries Of The Laws the sixor in the case of wind and darkness nineto create custom attacks and abilites
>>46424259
Profound Mysteries are aspects of the Laws for example the Profound Mystery of Explosion for Fire or the Profound Mystery of Worldwalking for Earth
