Magic 201

This blog is still a work in progress.  You can read what's here, but I will remove this warning once the blog is complete.

Stop!  You should not read the coursework on Magic 201 until you've read and understood Magic 101.  Take the following test.  If the answers are not obvious to you, then reread Magic 101 and come back here.

Pretest

1. True or False.  Dragons conciously use mystic energy to generate the properties of their breath weapon.
2. The most powerful magic spells are cast by elves, humans or dragons?
3. True of False.  Hand gestures are required to cast spells and thus tying a wizard's hands is an effective defense against their use of spells.
4. True of False.  Mystic ability appears to run in families and thus may be  a genetic trait.
5. Name a technique for making spells easier to cast.

It's kind of fun to assume magic is real and that studying it is a real thing.  I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them.  Alright, the answers are 1. False, 2. humans, 3. False/True.  There are actually two parts to this question and I guess the best answer is false, because hand gestures are not required to cast spells.  However, tying a wizard's hands would be an effective defense against all but the most experienced wizards, so that is mostly true. 4. True, 5. As already indicated hand gestures help, as do certain chants, but the most effective way to make spellcasting easier is practice.

If you breezed through the above quiz, congrats.  You may now move on to the following paragraphs.  Let's start with emotions.  As indicated earlier, it takes intense concentration for a wizard to harness mystical energy and shape it into the result of the spell being cast.  Emotions often disrupt this concentration, and thus spells cast while the wizard is in a highly emotional state will often fail.

Novice wizards will often try to suppress their emotions in order to maintain their concentration.  The most experienced wizards do not suppress emotions, but rather they learn to compartmentalize them.  They are able to feel and react emotionally on the surface, while their mind is intensely focused on the spell.  It takes years of training and practice to become good at this and only the most experienced and powerful wizards can master it.  And even an experienced wizard can occasionally slip and let emotion creep into their subconcious.  Thus, emotions are often considered the bane of wizards and many end up being portrayed as aloof or emotionless.

Khanite is a natural, but rare, element.  The one place it is found in abundance is the mountain range for which it is named, The Khanian Mountains.  This element has a unique property that nullifies any mystic energy within its vacinity.  The larger the amount of khanite present or the higher its purity, the larger the area in which mystic energy is nullifed.  Such is the concentration within the Khanian Mountains, that no magic spells can be cast within the mountains.  Even the most powerful wizards cannot overcome the absence of mystic energy.

Magical artifacts are devices constructed by wizards.  Generally, they can only be constructed by the most skilled wizards.  Their construction involves taking ordinary items such as rings, wands or really any physical object and then binding a specific mystic energy configuration into the object.  A wizard with knowledge of how the artifact works can then call upon this energy at will to execute the spell integrated within the object.  Think of it as a wizard downloading an app into an object and then executing said app at a later time.

Most mystical artifacts can regenerate their abilities many times over and have near limitless use.  Some objects, such as the communication balls developed by Winsey can only be used once and then disintegrate into dust.  Sorry for the spoiler if you haven't yet started reading the series, but it truly is a minor spoiler and doesn't really reveal any of the plot.

Practicing magic is somewhat of an art.  Think of it like an artist.  All artists can be considered creative to a certain extent, yet some focus on painting, some focus on sculptures, some on music and so forth.  Only a truly gifted artist is talented in all these areas.  The same is true of magic.  Different wizards can have an affinity for certain spells.  One example is Sara.  While she learned all the basic spells taught at the Mystic Academy, it wasn't until she began focusing on spells of illusion that truly became a master.  Druids are a type of wizard that have an affinity for spells attuned to nature.  This helps explain why some wizards are adept at some spells, while others may struggle with those same spells.

I think that's enough for now.  I'm going to defer the residual effects of magic to the level 301 course.  Yes, there is still much more to learn about magic, but much of it will not be revealed until Volume 7 of the Verdan Chronicles.  At that point we can take magic to a whole new level.  In the meantime, if anyone finds these blogs useful I'm inclined to provide some coursework around Divinity and Religion in Verdan and Monster Lore.  Both courses could be very interesting.  Thanks for reading and at this point you should have all you need to know to understand how magic is used in Verdan.