The Elan

When The Creator formed the cosmos, He placed a portion of His self into everything to show His love for all of his creations. Of all the stars, rocks, rivers, plants, and animals He created, humankind received the most of His love. Humans came to call this intangible force the Elan. This magic stems from the giving force of The Creator. It flows all over the world and can be used to cast potent spells. This energy is latent in the world and can be used for good or ill. Since man first stepped foot upon Orrus, The Creator taught them how to harness the Elan to assist men. This gave man a small sample of wielding the power of their master. Eventually, the use of this “magic” as it was called was codified into lore and academic thought. Soon, the first schools that taught students how to harness the Elan emerged and these schools and curriculums still continue their traditions including the oldest and most respected school, The Grand Academy of Liggen in Kingsland.
Higher than usual concentrations of Elan, sometimes coalesce in specific areas around Orrus. Places sacred to The Creator or one of His Saints also contain much more Elan than normal. Humans tend to be able to inadvertently leave an imprint upon the Elan in an area. The power of the Elan waxes and wanes, ebbs and flows. Religion and magic have always gone hand in hand throughout the history of Orrus.
An area where a strong emotion was felt by many, such as a scene of extreme terror, lamentation, passion, or joy may leave a stronger imprint of Elan for a certain period of time. In addition, higher concentrations of Elan exist in more wild and dense areas. A lightly wooded area near a small town would contain less Elan than a dense forest thick with underbrush on the fringes of civilized areas.
If an individual wishes to harness the Elan, it is common law by all the civilized nations that the person must attend one of the sanctioned schools around Serrus to be qualified to practice magic. Persons not taught properly to wield the power of The Creator can cause much harm to themselves and those around them.
Wielding Elan, even properly, is extremely taxing upon a person’s endurance. Each student that attends and graduates from one of these schools is given a set of documents proving that they are legally allowed to practice magic. The Lantern Bearers are constantly on vigil for rogue mages as they are the most susceptible to the corrupting influences of The Void.