Blue Magic

Monster Magic

One of the rarest forms of magic presented in the many reasonable races of Isekai is that of Blue Magic, the magic of monsters instead of men. It manifests in many ways, dragon fire, hearty exoskeletons, razor claws the rend and tear. Few in the world practice this color of magic as one may need to sacrifice life and limb to gain such power.

Due to the dangerous nature of Blue Magic, practitioners are limited, not only in their numbers but also in their specialties. Few dare to dabble with those creatures such as Dragons and Hydras that offer the strongest magic if one survives. Even this rule has its exceptions, which can be found in the Mage Darius Nizz.

Nizz is an unprecedented practitioner of Blue Magic and has aided its study greatly with his perchance for dangerous situations and the lack of self-preservation that is commonly found in most reasonable races. While Blue Magic has been roughly codified in this tome, more research is necessary to fully understand what this color of magic can truly do.

— Chapter 4 of The Spectrum of Magic, Colors of Magic

Method of Acquiring

Blue Magic does not naturally exist within most of the humanoid species of the world, nor can it be learned through memorization and practice. Blue Magic is learned by those with an innate tendency towards it, through sheer experience that is often comprised of experience as the target of an innate ability harnessed by a monster. Often referred to as Monster Mages, Blue Magic imitates the strengths and special characteristics many creatures have to include Undead, Dragons, fey, fiends, prehistoric creatures, and more. While it seems incapable of mimicking outright spells and effects that can be classically learned, as proven through rigorous experimentation, it has the ability to mimic fantastical powers as if they were natural to the practitioner of Blue Magic. This is a highly dangerous form of magic to learn as many often overestimate their aptitude in seeking out exotic power as well as their physical constitution, it is not a path for those that fear pain.

Method of Use

Blue Magic is primarily invoked through somatic means, mimicry of mannerisms from which the ability originates, and dramatic reenactment. Due to the limited number of successful Blue Mages, the application of Blue Magic often seems as strange and individual as the person that has mastered it though it seems to fall into three broad categories. The categories of application are manifestation, ethereal mimicry, and physical adaptation.
Those adept at manifestation will project a creature's ability in much the same way that the creature does. A Dragon's breath can be manifested by someone who is able to harness Blue Magic, lives through the ordeal of a breath weapon, and has the aptitude to understand its inner workings. In truth, manifestation is as much intellectual effort as it is the talent of survival.
The art of ethereal mimicry is such that a Mage projects arcane energy around their body to assume a similar shape to that of the original creature whose power they are invoking. In the case of a Megalodon bite, for instance, blue energy will form around the user in the shape and size of said creature to allow them to reenact the power as a spell. This usage is often accompanied by dramatization of the act.
Physical adaptation is the act of consuming monsters or their products, those that are often not considered safe for consumption in an effort to gain their passive characteristics and resistances. An example of this would be consuming Wyvern venom in an effort to synthesize it internally and gain a resistance to it. This is a highly dangerous and unreliable methodology that even the most practiced of Blue Magic users will warn against.

Characteristics

Blue Magic has no set characteristics, some have called it the magic of the monster world or the Animal Kingdom. In truth, it is a magic that allows a humanoid creature to mimic the strengths and talents of many non-humanoid creatures or those that exhibit supernatural abilities. This makes the magic incredibly varied but unreliable to learn, as though many may wish to harness the power of a Basilisk's stare there are few that would be able to survive it and understand it enough to synthesize it. Many magical Scholars and even battle-ready Mages would rather learn a different color of magic to achieve comparable effects. The primary characteristic of Blue Magic that allures many naive and aspiring Mages is the thought of endless, varied, and complex abilities that can be used in quick succession without the use of verbal spells or readily recognizable somatic practices.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane

Related Professions

Blue Mages

History

Blue Magic was often theorized as existing, a working explanation that satisfied a lack of knowledge early on in the fields of biology and arcane mutations. Many creatures in the world, of the non-humanoid variety, exhibit talents that rely on unique physiology or the invocation of powers that appear to be beyond their knowledge or capacity. An example of such would be elemental spirits, these creatures harness immense power but often they have no true control over it as it is a byproduct of their existence. Such creatures simply exist with immense power and while logical explanation exists, for a time it was attributed to be a specific type of magic that humanoid creatures were unable to harness.
The modern notion of Blue Magic morphed from the old understanding when the first Blue Mages became more than the survivors of trauma and calamity. They were first supposed to be mutants, strange circumstances leading to abilities that could not be replicated. The current understanding of roots, stems, and the Spectrum of Magic allows us greater insight into this. Those original survivors of Dragon attacks, sea serpent ambushes, or deadly poisons were unaware of their predisposition to Blue Magic. Their unparalleled luck in survival granted them access to imitate the abilities that they survived when combined with intense, traumatic memories. This was unreliable at best and often led to unfortunate circumstances where an ability was critical to manifest and one of these 'survivors' could not manifest it consistently due to a lack of understanding. In this way, the early accidental Blue Mages would find an early end soon after finding their fantastical ability.
Blue Magic is still not a formal practice today. In some circles, it is considered a joke as no sane person could embark on such a path wherein the method is constant exposure to dangerous stimuli while maintaining mental clarity. Blue Magic is rare to see and knowledge of it beyond tale and legend is consolidated in a few learned Scholars around the world. No academy will encourage the study of Blue Magic as a formal pursuit beyond curiosity due to the dangers therein. Young Mages that feel drawn to it can usually be dissuaded with an outing to a dangerous area or an examination to prove that they do not have the rare predisposition to Blue Magic and would likely die before their bodies adapted to harness it. The only prominent and proficient Blue Mage of the era hails from the Human Empire, a man who was turned away from the Starlit Academy early in his career as his experiments and studies proved not only dangerous but successful. Darius Nizz holds the status of a Lord in the Human Empire and the status of a 'threat under watch' from the Council of Metallic Dragons due to the fact that he has survived powerful breath weapons and mastered them, 7 of the natural breath weapons of prominent Metallic Dragons. Because of this, it has been ruled by the Council that Blue Mages are to be avoided by Metallic Dragonkind.

Blue Magic Spells

Basic

Novice

Moderate

Advanced