Magic

Boda's Gift to Cynos

"Magic isn't power. It is a tool with which one can attain power. Magic is malleable, like clay, and with it, one's only limitation is their own imagination." - Emperor Ondeddu

Magic, also known as arcane magic or lunar magic, is the practice of manipulating arcane energy to affect reality. A gift from Boda the Moon, her wish is that mortals play and experiment, pushing the limits of reality and inventing wondrous new abilities.

Boon of Chaos

Fundamentally different than Ashra's gift of divine power, arcane magic was presented to mortals as a starting point, without any instruction or restriction. The earliest mages were delighted and terrified of their newfound talents, and it was a long time before they were able to harness the arcane without injuring themselves. All the same, the practice of arcane magic became commonplace in most regions of Cynos leading up to and after The Impact.

Arcane energy itself comes from Boda's celestial body, the Moon. Each night, her moonlight infuses the planet with magic, revitalizing it. Many mages would perform their rituals at night or otherwise under the Moon's glow, believing that direct connection with Boda would strengthen them.

The Arcane Flood

After Boda's death in 0 ABD and the resulting impact of her body upon Cynos, the entirety of her magical stores exploded upon the planet at once, overwhelming and supercharging it with an unprecedented amount of arcane energy. Referred to as the Arcane Flood, this event saw Cynos' practice of magic reach an all time high, even as entire civilizations were wiped out by The Impact and the ensuing Great Winter. The previously-rare Moon-Touched were being born with much greater frequency. However, the surge of power was not to last; with Boda gone, arcane energy would never be regenerated, turning magic into a non-renewable resource that would one day run forever dry.

The Eight Schools of Magic

As an aspect of Boda herself, magic is divided into eight schools, just as Boda's own lunar cycle is divided into eight phases. Each of her phases encompasses a school of magic, as follows:

Illusion: The New Moon

Illusion is the art of masking, disguising and distracting. Just as Boda seems to vanish into the night sky, Illusionists can hide the truth from onlookers by obscuring reality, distorting the senses, or fabricating false images.

Conjuration: The Waxing Crescent

From nothing, something. Conjuration is the art of transporting matter from place to place, between planes, or even manifesting it from nowhere, just as Boda makes her first appearance in the night sky.

Transmutation: The First Quarter

The school of Transmutation teaches casters to alter the physical world as they please. People and objects alike can be transformed, just as Boda's transformation from invisible to visible is well underway.

Evocation: The Waxing Gibbous

The practice of Evocation is that of dominance, just as Boda overtakes the darkness that obscured her previously. The caster seizes the very elements of reality and bends them, exercising their will upon the world.

Divination: The Full Moon

Divination magic is centred in revelation. To the diviner, there is no place that need go unseen, and no thing that need go unknown. As Boda fully reveals herself to Cynos, so too does Cynos fully reveal itself to her.

Abjuration: The Waning Gibbous

Following her battle to brilliance, the darkness flanks Boda, creeping up to win back territory from behind. The Waning Gibbous reminds us of the importance of safeguarding that which is important to us, and the school of Abjuration provides the tools to do so.

Enchantment: The Third Quarter

As the darkness persuades Boda to allow its return, so to does the school of Enchantment allow casters to magically convince, compel and even control others.

Necromancy: The Waning Crescent

The body of Boda appears to dwindle, brought to the brink of death by darkness. Necromancy grants power over the dead, granting a renewed purpose to otherwise spent lives. However, just as Boda's crescent has yet to completely vanish, Necromancy can also be used to seize those who flirt with death and hoist them back to the land of the living.

Manifestation

An aspect of Boda, produced by her celestial body and gifted to Cynos.

Localization

Post-Impact, centralized in eight gargantuan lunar fragments called Shards of Boda.

A depiction of the Eight Lunar Schools of Magic.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane