Magic Theory

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Magic Theory

All magic is powered from the ley lines and the power that pools within. Only those that can tap a line can do magic. Demons, witches, elves and humans.

Ley Line Magic

Only castable by humans, elves, witches, and demons, this magic draws directly upon the Ley Line as the caster's source of power. Typically, one has a familiar through which the line energy is forcefully filtered, which also takes any magical smut that might be accumulated through use of the line. The familiar also has the benefit of allowing the caster to draw power from distant lines through the familiar and store energy within the familiar, an important skill as you cannot tap a ley line from over water or from great distances. While it is possible to act as one's own familiar, this knowledge is restricted to a very select few.

Unlike earth magic, not every effect can be created by ley line magic, only allowing energy, illusion and transformation. Despite this drawback, it has the advantage of being significantly cheaper to practice because only a familiar is required, as well as far more useful if you need something done quickly. Ley-line spells can be stored in charms, when not used directly off an energy source; otherwise they can be invoked through gestures and thought.

Oftentimes those preparing a ley line charm use a bubble to keep anything that might muddle or contaminate the charm out of their space.

Earth Magic

Earth magic is the creation of charms and artifacts that channel magic energy to accomplish a task. The ley line energy is naturally filtered and accumulated by plants and animals which are used as ingredients. With the proper formula, ingredients, and time, any effect desired can be created with charms or potions. Each charm or potion has to be kindled by the blood of a witch to make it active. Earth magic can be stored in almost anything, but redwood retains the spell the longest. Witch kitchens are notoriously earthy, as some of the things that will ruin a spelling attempt the fastest is metals. Copper has no effect, but iron and steel will do odd things to your spell, and it's better to throw the spell out than attempt to use it, as it may backfire and do something unintended. Wooden bowls must be throughly doused in salt water after a spelling, as the wood will retain the spell. Unlike ley line charms, earth magic spells can only be broken by salt water, and barring that the effects of each spell are permanent.

Earth magic takes more preparation than ley line charms and wild magic, as the ingredients must be gathered and it is very easy for something that isn't an ingredient to get into the mix and spoil the whole spell, leaving the witch to start over again. Due to the serious nature of the black charms, black earth witches are rarer, since the requirements are far more distasteful and repulsive than the ley line requirements.

Wild Magic

Wild magic is a kind of raw energy that can be channeled into doing what the caster wills. It is typically used by elves, channeled through song. Wild magic can be used directly off a line or stored in charms, and generally acts for a shorter duration, albeit perhaps more effectively, than witch magic. All wild magic works off the boon of the elven trickster goddess, a proven deified hivemind, instead of an omnipotent god. The more in tune your intended spell use is with the goddess, the more likely it is to work properly. It is canonically stated that often there is a price for elven magic, a sacrifice in her name, for her. this can be as mild as a trinket or other object, or as serious as animal slaughter, which normally falls under the umbrella of black magic.

Demon Curses

The combination of earth and ley line magic produces a demon curse. Like white magic, any effect is possible, and usually the component cost is much lower and the flexibility much higher at the cost of always producing magical smut for its unnatural nature. Demon curses can typically be stored indefinitely and activated as easily as a thought trigger-word. Demon curses, like ley-line magic, can be stored in potions or gestures and thought, and in some cases require candles and magnetic chalk or inscribed metal. Demonic charms and potions must be invoked by demon blood.

Magical Actions

There are numerous spell actions that are generic and not associated with any one type of magic.

• Setting a bubble

Setting a bubble is an easy practice. You tap a line to set it, and it creates a complete sphere around the person who set it if not set to a chalk or ash circle. If the person has drawn up a circle, the bubble will appear then instead of around the caster. Bubbles also reflect the aura of who made it, and all possible smut accumulated on said aura. 

If anything breaks the security, a bubble can be taken down by force. Things like cell phones, water and gas lines, or other electricity wires can make a bubble weak to various influences. Normal objects or people simply touching a bubble will not disrupt a bubble, no matter how compromised it is, but magical attacks or heavy objects like cars will pop a bubble that's compromised. 

If a bubble is clear of influence, nothing but a round of witches working in concert will break it. Additionally, a witch will break their own circle by touching it and an easy method of making a witch or elf drop a bubble is to shove them into it.

• Tapping a Ley Line

Tapping a ley line [connecting to one] is a standard for all magic users, even earth witches, as it has various uses. All witches, elves, and demons can naturally tap a line, and some humans can be taught to. Witches are said to smell more strongly of redwood when they tap a line, and elves of cinnamon and wine. Demons on the other hand, smell like sulfur, the predominant and prevalent smell of the Ever After. Another signifier of someone tapping is that their hair floats like there's a strong updraft. For someone with short hair this is minimal, but anyone with long hair is obvious if they try and discreetly tap a line.

Tapping a line cannot be done over water, as water dilutes a ley line. Even being on a bridge over a small pond can make tapping a line difficult, and the farther out you get the more impossible it becomes. A witch or elf carted out on a yacht would be completely unable to tap a line. Familiars and ley line spindling are the only remedies to this.

• Spindling Ley Line Energy

Spindling ley line energy is an extremely rare practice, as very few on the reality side of the lines know how to do so, and you will have to ask a demon to teach you. Demons have a foreboding practice of only letting people they intend to snatch know how to do so, as it is one of the necessary skills for being a demon familiar.

When you tap a ley line, normally they energy remains open to you as long as you are connected to the line [or a familiar] Spindling, on the other hand, lets you take up a chunk of the energy and hold it in your chi for later use. It takes exposure to it over time to be able to hold more ley line energy in your thoughts, and if you try and harbor too much, it can burn your synaspes.

• Second Sight

When a witch or other magic user taps a line, they can see auras and other things connected to the ley lines. Demons, elves and witches are confirmed to be able to see through ley lines to the Ever After, whereas pixies, humans that have been trained and banshees can only see auras. If someone capable of seeing through ley lines stands in a ley line directly and taps a line, they can see through into the Ever After, a blasted and ruined version of reality. Any magic user that is connected and standing in a ley line is also visible by people in the Ever After, usually a demon as jumping into the Ever After is difficult. For this reason standing in a ley line and tapping a line is discouraged and children are taught to avoid doing so like the plague.

Magical Paraphenalia
There's assorted magical paraphenalia, some of it specific to a certain type of magic.

• Familiar

Familiars are par for the course if you use a lot of ley line spells, or draw a lot to invoke any other type of magic. They can be any animal, the more intelligent the better. It's said that the intelligence determines how much energy the animal can safely withstand, and it appears to be true, as demons are notorious for using sentient people as familiars, since their magic is remarkably potent.

Familiars can allow you to tap a line if they are near one, negating the weakness of being over water. The spell to bind an animal as your familiar is tricky, but their are courses at the university that will teach you. It is required for high level ley line classes that you have a familiar.

• Chalk; Cremation Ashes; Magnetic Chalk; Blood

There are certain ingredients that can increase the power of a set circle, and the more potent they are, the stronger any planned circle will be. Chalk and Magnetic chalk make reasonably powerful circles, but are unlikely to hold a witch or demon. Ashes can hold off most witches that attempt to break a circle, but only a blood circle can hold a round of witches or a demon. If you don't take the proper precautions, you can find your circle broken at an inappropriate or unfortunate time.

• Elven Spelling Cap and Ribbon

Elves have their own unique spelling tools, in the form of a spelling cap and a small ribbon to wear like a bowtie. They use it for communing with their goddess.

• Calling Mirror

A calling mirror is a mirror someone inscribed with a pentagram and charmed into being able to tap into the demon collective. Often the used mirror gets a reddish sheen under the surface of the glass if the charming is done right, making everything in its reflection tinted red. Demon summoners use this to contact demons without having them pop over, although to run the risk of having them do so anyways.

• Wands

Wands are notoriously expensive and powerful for their price. They are made of high quality redwood and their sale is highly regulated, as any spell can be put into a redwood wand and stay far longer than most other spells.

• Store Sold Charms

Most powerful witches sell their charms commercially, both to warlocks [unskilled witches] and the rest of Inderland. Most if not all are put into redwood discs, most with some sort of tie or thread to keep them on your person. If a charm isn't touching your skin, it won't take effect. Often mass produced charms are of the harmless variety. [Makeup charms, magic testers, etc.]

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Magical Alignments
Oftentimes, magic is strictly separated into white versus black magic.

• White Magic

White magic on an extremely simplistic measures, is magic that doesn't break the laws of nature very badly. Your makeup charms and gentle spelling often fall under this umbrella, but there is a decent array of white magic that can harm and kill, but is still classed as white because of the lack of smut it takes to cast it. See the spellbook for more spells and their class.

• Black Magic

Black magic is magic that requires smut to cast, and said smut stays on your soul/aura indefinitely. Often black magic is more repugnant, as most of its ingredients are morally wrong. Candles made from unborn pig fat, cremation ashes, etc.

• Demon Magic

Demon magic is an oft unconsidered side in this story, as all demon magic breaks the laws of nature due to its cross between ley line and earth magic. Even the morally just curses in a demons repertoire will leave smut on the soul, and it is a direct contradiction of most witches views on white vs black magic.

• Elven Magic

Elven magic exists on the opposite of the scale, as its effects hardly if ever inflict smut upon the caster, even if the spell is a horribly amoral one.