Magic is the bonding agent of creation. The physical, spiritual, and mental are bonded with a force that is equal in source, but different in nature. This trichotomy has been the source of a great deal of discussion, often heated, about who can and cannot control the magical forces of nature not to mention what this force is.
One thing that all are agree on is that Aer designed magic with a purpose in mind. As the Annals of Life say: "And everything created existed lifeless. When Aer saw that his world had no life, he established within it that mysterious power as manifested in the physical, spiritual, and personal. And as he is, so it was — three in one essence. And behold! It was alive!" With the power of the life forces in hand, the Creator added a great deal of responsibility. In the beginning, humanity was granted power over all the areas of magic, but as time went on and people moved away from the Creator, the knowledge of magic also diminished. Now, certain people are more attuned to certain energies than others.
There are three types of magic in Taranth: elemental (physical), cerin (spiritual), and psionic (mental). Each is controlled by certain energies placed by the Creator to be used in service to all the people of Taranth. Elemental magic is the energy that binds the physical world, cerin is supplied by the spiritual energies - those that bind the unseen world together. Psionic energy is what binds living organisms, specifically sentient life. All of these work together, they are inseparable and can theoretically be harnessed by anyone, but because of the state of sentient life on Taranth, few have had the ability to do so. Some monsters and inhumans can employ two or all three types of magic, and the Dark Ones may employ all three at a masterful level.
Because of the prophecies that surrounded the Scourge from the north, magic has been held under suspicion for the past thousand years. Only a few years ago, while most places openly employed cerite and marseal, they were looked on with caution at best and fear at worst. Until only seven years ago, the practice of psionic magic was outlawed throughout the kingdoms and enforced by Sae Darrin itself. There are those, however, who feel that magic is of great value to life and actively pursue it, although this is usually reserved for those who actually have an understanding of it.
Today, magic is still feared on the whole, but now is held in a sort of awed fashion rather than terror. There are still areas in the Kingdoms that have outlawed the practice of magic believing that if humanity wouldn't have tampered with it in the first place, the Scourge would have never occurred. Even though the Guardians have been re-established, psionic practice is often regarded with fear because it appears like they can wield magic at will with no regard to established principles.
History of Magic in the Kingdoms
Before time, there was Aer, and apart from him there was nothing, and from him all things have come. He sat alone in his throne in the Halls of Eternity with no beginning and no end. And his power spread out into the Expanse.
From the power of his being spread out into the Expanse came the land. It spread out before him in fine threads and cords, which as he spoke were formed. He sang through the expanse and it obeyed. So fine was the work of his voice that his very energies obeyed and from his speaking came the earth. The beauty of his creation so pleased him that he continued to speak, now from the two powers, and behold! a voice joined his. Again, another joined him and the halls of Eternity were filled with voices all singing to Aer for he had created them with his voice.
When this had been done, the songs of the Spirits stopped and the voice of Aer shook the earth with three-part harmony. "Upon this earth shall I work with my hands and there begin two like me." And so he left the Halls of Eternity for a time and with his hands formed the dust. When he had finished, he looked to the Halls and saw the Spirits watching. From the Halls he pulled the voices of the Spirits. From the water he made the dust mud. As the chords of energy flowed from the Halls and the light from the earth moved about at his command and sweetness of his breath poured from the Creator, they met and wove around the clay. As they struck the model of man, the very sparks of magic lived and gave watch to the creator.
And Aer himself breathed on the form of man he made from the earth and the man lived.
When the man had waken and lived, Aer spoke unto him thus "Today you have been born. From the Spirits of Eternity, and the energy of the earth, and the power of my breath. You shall be called First-man, which in the ancient tongue means greatest one for you are the greatest of my work. Today you have become like me, for I am three." -- From the Annals of Light
According to the Annals of Light, magic was the first thing that was created and from that energy, Aer formed all that is. Originally, humanity was capable of controlling all three aspects of magic and used it as a tool to better themselves and bring glory to Aer. As time went on, the Accuser came to man and told them that Aer had granted them the power to use magic so that they would eventually realize that they themselves could become gods. So they set out to learn to become gods themselves and found that they could no longer control the energies as efficiently as they once could.
The separation that happened between Aer and humanity cause the need for a mediator between the two and so Aer created the elves. To this day, elves are the most powerful magic users in the Kingdoms, but they too failed to fulfil their role properly when the corrupt spirits manifested themselves and took wives from the elvish race. The result of that union was the Dark Ones, beings that were both fully immortal and innately powerful in all forms of magic.
Due to the corruption and power of the Dark Ones, Aer led his people into battle. With the reduced magical abilities of both the humans and the elves, another race was created by Aer who would act as the trigger of magic. So it was that the dwarves were created and established the Guardians, an order of psionic warriors dedicated to the preservation of good. After the Rage of Spirits, the dwarves also fell from their position when they interfered with the affairs of the humans. As a result all their magical potential was taken from them.
During the time of War, when humanity settled in the different regions they are now found, prophecies began to circulate about a Scourge that would come. It was said that the scourge would come in the form of psionic warriors. In response Sae Darrin outlawed the practice of psionic magic. Entire bands of mercenaries dedicated themselves to the eradication of psionic beings, not realizing that they themselves may actually possess the talent.
With the banning of psionic magic, other types of magic became the target of hostility. Although their practice was not outlawed and many kingdoms hired them, magic users became more and more mysterious. During this time, two major guilds were established, the Cerite and the Marseal. These two guilds would become the authority on the remaining types of magic.
Time carried on and the prophecies of the Scourge became more myth than truth. People adapted a new belief: that so long as Sae Darrin stood, there would be no Scourge. As the knighthood grew in power, so did the hostility toward magic users, especially psionicists. Bands of outcast psionic users began a long quest to re-establish the lost Guardians and train to fight when the Scourge came.
When Sae Darrin fell, the kingdoms were shaken. Vast armies of psionic warriors lead by Dark Ones went out into the kingdoms and gathered many of them. Two of the elemental towers were destroyed and with a poorly trained magical force, the dark armies easily routed their opposers.
It was at this time that the third son of Sae Darrin, Aaron Valociek allied with a band of deemen lead by Destin. Together, they united the kingdoms and fought against the Accuser and his Dark Ones, re-establishing the Guardians and breaking the barriers that the Marseal and Cerite had established so many years before.
Today, although the Cerite and Marseal are still established guilds, the practice of psionic magic is no longer outlawed. Even though the re-established Sae Darrin kingdom lead by Destin has issued this decree, there are those who still shun it's practice.
The Three Types of Magic
Kingdoms End is a magic rich environment, indeed all of creation is held together by it. The practice of magic is, in essence leaning how to manipulate one or more of the three main energy sources. These sources are cerin, elemental, and psionic.
Magic users of all shapes and sizes manipulate one or more of these energies. Wizards and clerics all manipulate cerin, but some specialize in different areas such as Alteration or Enchantment. Elemental wizards tap into the physical energies of creation and specialize in one of earth, air, fire, or water. Those who control magic using the powers of their minds are called psionicists and are the most feared of all the magic users on the planet.
Cerin
Magical energies that manipulate the spiritual world are called cerin. This type of magic requires years of intense study and memorization in order to learn and practice. Normally men are more attuned to this energy than women, although there are women who study within the Cerite.
People who study in this area use wizard spells. By calling on the spiritual energies, they can create seemingly impossible things out of nothing. They can throw lightning from their finger-tips, charm people, even create a sphere of light. In order to work this type of magic, the user must study the actual workings of the spiritual world and the formulas for re-creating those effects in a physical manner. Often it requires verbal and physical commands combined with components to make it work. This means that if a wizard is bound and gagged, it is very un-likely that they will be able to work their magic.
This form of magic is taught by the Cerite. Not all wizards necessarily belong to this order, but the vast majority have at least studied under them. One of the common practices of the Cerite is to be on the lookout for those who may be inclined toward this talent and take them to one of their schools for formal training.
A sub-category of cerin are the clerical orders. They too get their abilities from the spiritual world, but usually come to them from their god. Those who follow Aer receive their powers from Aer himself and do not require anything in exchange, although misuse of their power can result in them not receiving spells. Clerics who follow anyone else get their power by petitioning their god, often at a price.
Elemental
The physical world is bound with energies that are specific to their basic element. There are four elements: earth, air, fire, and water each one uses a variation of the same energy. Because the energy is the same, all these elements can theoretically be controlled at the same time, but practitioners find it difficult to manipulate opposing energies effectively. Thus, those who specialize in fire can manipulate earth and air with some effort, but cannot manipulate water. The leader of the Marseal normally can control all the elements, although manipulating their opposing element does take effort.
Elemental magic appears to be a limited school, but in actuality it is very powerful. Most often, women are more attuned to this style of magic than men, but there are men who practice it. Those who control elemental magic can throw fire-balls, walk on water, hold people, and even cause volcanoes to erupt!
Unlike the control of cerin, the ability to manipulate elemental magic is often innate. Normally, those who show signs of the talent are taken to the nearest tower where their ability is identified and they are then trained properly. Those who don't receive formal training are called naturals and normally find it difficult to advance levels because they have to learn on their own how the energies flow. Most of the time, people who show signs of the talent seek out the help of a tower on their own.
Elemental magic is looked on with more fear than cerin due to the simple fact that it doesn't require any verbal, physical, or ingredient aspects in order to make their magic work. However, they are not as feared as the psionic practitioners because it is understood that they are manipulating nature. They can be stopped from casting and can have their magic dispelled also using any sort of dispel ward or spell.
Psionic
Because it requires nothing more than a mind, the psionicsts is often feared through the kingdoms. By using the energy of their minds, the psionicists taps into a resource of magic. The actual process of the magic has been lost long ago, but those who master it claim that they use all the types of magic and more because they sub-consciously know how all magical energies fit together. In effect, they manipulate the laws of reality.
Since the re-establishment of the Guardians, people are no longer as fearful in searching out their psionic potential. Almost all sentient life contains psionic energy to some degree, but few know how to use it or even realize it is there. Those who are sensitive to it are beginning to seek out the help of the Guardians in receiving training.
There is no stopping the casting of psionic spells. This is part of the reason why they are so feared throughout the Kingdoms. You can bind them, gag them, or strip them naked and they can still use their magic. Only those who are acutely aware of the attacks of the mind can fight them off, or cast counter spells on them.