Magic

Magic is the term used to describe a primordial power that drives the universe. There are some demigods, humans, and monsters who can tap into this power and use it for devastating effects.

What is magic?
Magic is the powerful energy that generates the universe. Magic is endlessly shapeable, manifesting itself in thousands of ways, spells, and effects. Everything in creation has some kind of magic applied to it, be it fire, the gods, darkness, or even weaponsmithing. The trick is to untap this power in the proper ways by the proper soul. There are two kinds in which magic kinds fall (their effects not mentioned, as those are mentioned below).

Arcane Magic
Arcane magic is magic that comes from within you, and is not derived by veneration of some kind. This magic creates the most flashy effects. There are two general means of learning arcane magic: Inner and Outer. Those who cast magic by the Inner way do so by their souls, choosing the right spell at the time. Inner magicians are called sorcerers. The Outer way means that you learn your magic by education of some kind. Outer magicians are called wizards.

Divine Magic
Divine magic is magic derived by veneration of the gods, nature, good, evil, the cosmos, war, or some other ideal. Though this kind of magic doesn't have two kinds of learning (it's all Outer; you receive your spells by praying each morning, or by meditating to nature or the like), there are two broad groups of users: clerics and druids.

Magic Schools
There are nine schools of magic, in which spell effects fall: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, Transmutation, and Universal. The last one is used to describe certain powerful spells who can cause a multitude of effects. Some schools of magic also have subschools, described below.

Abjuration
Spells that protect, block, or banish. They create physical or magical barriers, negate magical or physical abilities, harm trespassers, or even banish one back to the Underworld. Common uses include dispel magic, protection from fire, and Sphere of Protection.

Conjuration
Spells that call some creature or energy from somewhere. There are five subschools.
 * Calling. With this spells, you call a creature from another world (like mount Olympus or the Hades).
 * Creation. You shape the raw magic to create something, like a bike, a sword, or a globe of energy (mind you, the last example is not an evocation spell, though the line is thin).
 * Healing. Restoring one's energy and lifepower, some very powerful spells even go as far as challenge Hades in contest of souls. Healing magic can only be cast by divine spellcasters
 * Summoning. You summon a creature from somewhere. The difference between calling and summoning is that calling is for more powerful creatures, and you can't control a called creature.
 * Teleportation. A teleportation spell transports one or more creatures or objects a great distance.

Divination
Divination lets you perceive something. It can be used for scrying on an enemy, perceiving the immediate future, or contact a god. An oracle always is a divination effect.

Enchantment
Enchantment spells meddle with one's mind, influencing or controlling one's behavior. There are two subschools.
 * Charm. A charm makes one become friendly toward the caster.
 * Compulsion. A compulsion spell forces one to do what the caster wants.

Evocation
By far the most recognized school, evocation spells manipulate energy to produce an effect. The flashiest and noisiest of the schools, common spells are the classic fireball and lightning bolt.

Illusion
An illusion spell deceives the senses or minds of others. It can create fake images of people, copy an evocation, making one's senses turn wild, and so on.

Necromancy
Necromancy concentrates on the energies of life and death, weakening one's lifepower, animate corpses to do their bidding, or trap one's soul in an object to prevent it from reaching the Hades. Necromancers are often (but not always) evil.

Transmutation
Transmutation spells change the properties of some creature, thing, or condition. It can double your size, fasten you up, slow an enemy, or let one change into another being.

Universal
The few spells of the universal school can produce a lot of things. Examples include the famous wish, or the spell permanency.

Special Ways of Magic
At heart, these special ways don't differ from normal magic, but the way of invoking the effects is different (except the elemental powers and the magical abilities, who follow their own rules as described on their pages).
 * Runes. Runes are a special way to use magic, and it's among the more common of the special ways. See Runes for more information. An user of rune magic is known as a runecaster
 * Pact Magic. When drawing the right seal, inchanting the right words, and doing the right thing, a user of pact magic (known as a binder) can call a demon, angel, monster, or a vestige (the essence of a soul long lost) to him. Then, he strikes a bargain. The creature called may inhabit the binder's body for 24 hours, and in exchange, the binder gets some of the special powers of the creature.
 * Truenames. Truenames are the secret names of everything in existence. There is a Truename word for Zeus, ally, screaming orc army, or even hellfire-forged stygian steel longsword with the Hagalaz rune. Using these truenames is tricky, but the effects (if all the pronouncing went smoothly) are huge. An user of Truenames is known as a truenamer
 * Elemental Powers. Hereby, you draw raw power from the building blocks of the universe. An user of elemental powers is known as an elementalist
 * Monstrous Magic. Orcs, elves, dwarves, and a lot of monsters have inborn magic in them. Though these magical abilities often produce something like normal magic, their ways are entirely different. See each individual page description for more information about their magic.
 * Demigod Powers. These powers are not divine magic, as they aren't granted, but rather arcane magic, as you are born with it. Still, a lot of abilities don't have counterparts within normal arcane magic. An user of demigod abilities is known as a demigod :)
 * Magical Music. The greatest artists (often childs of Apollo) who are also spellcasters can blend their music (or dance or sing, for that matter) with their magic into a whole new dimension. It follows the rules of Inner arcane magic, but has a large set of new and special effects, all concentrating on the music itself, the music instrument, or the minds of the listeners. An user of magic/music blend is known as a bard

Famous Spellcasters

 * Circe (sorcerer)
 * Paracelsus (wizard)
 * Merlin (wizard)
 * Plato (wizard philosopher, specialized in divination)
 * Völund (the best magic item forger in Norse mythology)
 * Medea (both sorcerer and cleric; as she worshipped the dark magic goddess Hecate)
 * Azhag the Slaughterer (infamous orc warboss, specialized in Necromancy)

The Science Behind Magic
Yes! Magic can be explained by science... to an extent.

It is simple what magic is. It is an electro-magnectic ray that can manipulate atoms in ways unexplainable to humans.