Magic in The Cryomancer

Mankind possesses an unparalleled ability to wield magic, surpassing every other race in Fardenrule. This superiority enabled them to conquer the realm. Now, in an age of relative peace, magic is integral to everyday life. It serves as a weapon against mythical threats, a tool for construction, a means to warm and feed the population, and a source of comfort, convenience, and entertainment.

Everyone has the potential to cast magic, much like everyone has the potential to be a chef, painter, or singer. Starting in late childhood, humans learn to cast simple spells, such as igniting a candle or freezing water. While at the Schooling Institute, teens specialize in a school of magic on what is called Specialization Day.

After completing their education, individuals may continue practicing stronger magic, or settle into the mundanity of daily life. For the average person baking bread or sewing clothes, the need to cast powerful spells like fireballs or hailstorms is rare. However, for those pursuing more dangerous lines of work, such as in the Seekers Guild or the Justicars Order, being able to freeze a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, or clone oneself to deceive a brutish ogre is not just helpful, it is essential.

Magic is categorized into thirteen schools: six elemental schools, three life schools, two applied schools, and two disparate schools.

Cryomancy

One of the six elemental schools, cryomancy stems from the Elemental Plane of Ice. Cryomancers wield this magic to cast a wide array of cold-based spells. A practiced cryomancer can fire missiles of freezing mist or razor-sharp ice, conjure and shatter glacial barriers, chill objects through touch, and control the will of ice elementals.

Cryomancy plays a vital role in the realm by preserving food with long-lasting cold spells. It also provides comfort in Fardenrule’s colder regions with cyro-wards and can be used for triaging injuries when a healer is not nearby.

Cryomancy has a uniquely close bond with hydromancy, and mages often train in these schools together because to conjure ice, one must first learn to conjure water.

Pyromancy

One of the six elemental schools, pyromancy stems from the Elemental Plane of Fire. Pyromancers wield this magic to cast various heat-based spells. A seasoned pyromancer can shoot missiles of roaring fire, ignite objects by touch, direct the pathway of blazing fires, and control the will of fire elementals.

Pyromancy is crucial for keeping the realm warm and lit, and is a vital fuel source for countless industries. It also provides comfort in Fardenrule’s hotter regions through the use of pyro-wards.

During adolescent studies, everyone learns to cast small flames to light candles, cook food, and provide warmth on cold nights. However, further practice is often left to dedicated mages due to the destructive nature of pyromancy when cast carelessly.

Naturemancy

One of the six elemental schools, naturemancy stems from the Elemental Plane of Nature. Naturemancers, more commonly referred to as druids, harness this magic to cast an abundance of nature-based spells. A worldly druid can attune to plants and animals, controlling or enhancing them. They can conjure vines that burst from the earth to ensnare foes, and control the will of nature elementals.

Druids are the shepherds of Fardenrule’s agriculture. They use their magic to ensure grains grow well. Their knowledge and manipulation of animal behaviour lead to greater yields of livestock, and their cultivation skills help supply the vast quantities of plants and herbs demanded by the Alchemists Guild.

A rare specialization of druids is shapeshifting—taking the form of other creatures. Most shapeshifters master only one or two animal forms, usually stags, owls, bears, wolves, or cats, but larger forms are possible with years—or even decades—of training.

Geomancy

One of the six elemental schools, geomancy stems from the Elemental Plane of Rock. Geomancers harness this magic to cast a variety of rock-based spells. An accomplished geomancer can conjure boulders to launch at foes, shift earth to create tremors, quakes, and landslides, turn their skin to impenetrable stone, and control the will of rock elementals.

Geomancy is a fundamental force in the construction and mining industries, frequently used to break down rocks or shape them for use in buildings. It is also widely employed to shore up rivers and terraform land.

Hydromancy

One of the six elemental schools, hydromancy stems from the Elemental Plane of Water. Hydromancers harness this magic to cast a variety of water-based spells. An experienced hydromancer can conjure water to cleanse the body, destroy objects with tremendous force, transfigure humans to breathe underwater, and control the will of water elementals.

Hydromancy is vital in Fardenrule’s food production, ensuring crops survive droughts by providing water, or by warding against torrential storms. Conjured water is safe for humans to drink, ensuring even the poorest dwellers never die of thirst, although its taste is often described as strange and unpleasant.

Considered the pyromancer’s bane, members of the Fire Brigade are skilled hydromancers, protecting Fardenrule from both natural and conjured fires.

Aeromancy

One of the six elemental schools, aeromancy stems from the Elemental Plane of Storm. Aeromancers wield this magic to cast a torrent of wind and lightning-based spells. A skilled aeromancer can stir mighty winds, strike foes with targeted lightning, and control the will of storm elementals.

Aeromancers are crucial to Fardenrule’s efficient sea-trade routes, manipulating the wind to carry ships around the coast with unnatural speed. Storm-chasers use their abilities to protect vulnerable settlements from incoming storms. Additionally, aeromancy enchantments are widely used throughout the realm, with lifting spells making heavy loads a weightless breeze to carry.

Restoration

One of the three life magics, restoration revolves around the empowerment of the body and soul. It is a school that can only be cast by humans and is the antithesis of blood magic. Those who practice restoration are called healers. Through its magic, healers can heal the body, provide strength and courage, and conjure radiant shields.

As with all three life magics, restoration has a complex language associated with it that poses a barrier for mages to overcome. Consequently, restoration magic is not widely practiced in general society. Yet, healers have always been vital to mankind’s success. They keep the population healthy and prevent countless deaths caused by wounds, sickness, and disease. However, healers are not all-knowing and can be ineffective against diseases they have not encountered before.

Many healers have attempted to apply restoration magic to slow down aging and prolong life. While effective in the short term, mankind has yet to achieve true immortality through restoration magic.

Blood

One of the three life magics, blood magic revolves around harnessing blood to cast terrible and formidable spells. It is a school that cannot be cast by humans, being exclusive to the demonic race. Blood is the antithesis of restoration magic, and is outlawed in all five provinces.

Although humans cannot cast blood magic directly, it can be accessed through potions and enchantments. Those who seek to understand and wield blood magic in any form are called warlocks. Warlocks typically possess knowledge of demonic spells within other schools of magic as well— a field referred to as demonology.

Necromancy

One of the three life magics, necromancy revolves around the manipulation of the soul and the desecration of the body. It is one of the two schools of magic outlawed in the five provinces of Fardenrule, as it is often associated with pain and suffering.

For those who do not fear its dark image, practicing necromancy allows for the casting of many powerful spells. Souls can be torn from physical bodies and bound to objects, preventing them from moving on to the Ethereal Plane. Bodies can also be resurrected by forcing souls back into them, creating mindless minions that can be controlled by the necromancer.

Necromancy also deals extensively with pestilence and disease. Necromancers can cast bolts that inflict weakness and a host of illnesses. Through their control of undead minions, they can spread diseases and cause outbreaks to desecrate healthy populations. Reversely, their understanding of plagues means they can offer solutions to outbreaks that would otherwise overwhelm healers.

Alchemy

One of the two applied magics, alchemy requires a vast knowledge of magic, herbs, and substances to create potions with limitless potential. All magical potions are derived from the non-applied schools of magic.

Potions can enhance skills a person does not ordinarily possess, cure ailments, or have sinister purposes such as bombs and poisons. Alchemists often specialize in other schools to create specific types of potions, such as elemental or life potions.

Enchanting

One of the two applied magics, enchanting involves using spells to imbue physical objects with magical properties. All enchantments are derived from the non-applied schools of magic.

Enchantments are rarely permanent; their duration and potency depend on the quality of the materials used and the skill of the enchanter. Objects suitable to be enchanting materials are as varied as herbs used in alchemy, but one example would be using sea shells as a conduit for a hydromancy enchantment.

Common enchantments include levitation, making an object float and feel weightless, and cold auras to keep food frozen. Adventurers often have their amulets and rings enchanted to enhance their strength in their respective schools of magic, and warding grants armour the ability to resist certain magics, making combat significantly safer.

Illusion

Illusion magic is divided into two distinct aspects: mental and physical. Mental illusion spells affect what a being sees and hears only within their own mind, creating hallucinations and thoughts not of their own. Physical illusion spells affect the physical world in a way everyone can witness, such as spectral clones, secret passages, and turning day to night.

Those who are well-practiced in illusion magic are called magicians. The school is regarded as a niche, with fewer practical applications compared to disciplines like cryomancy and naturemancy. However, magicians have their place in society. Artisan decorators often use illusion magic to create fantastical spaces for wealthy clients. The Syndicate highly values a magician’s ability to disguise objects in plain sight. Additionally, summoning clones to overwhelm enemies is a powerful spell in combat

Telemancy

Telemancy is the school of teleportation through portals and is unanimously regarded as the most difficult school of magic to cast. Portals cast by humans are a passage between two spaces in Fardenrule and must be maintained by the telemancer to remain open.

A portal’s stability is directly affected by the distance between the two ends, the telemancer’s knowledge of the area where the furthest portal is, and how much passes through them. In general, portals are considered an extremely dangerous method of travel, with unstable portals tending to sever limbs and damage inanimate objects.

Telemancy is neither taught by the Schooling Institute nor practiced by the general population. Becoming a telemancer requires years of dedicated, expensive, and difficult training. It is common for a major guild to have only one or two trusted telemancers within their province.

Telemancy crosses into the elemental magic schools by way of the elemental planes. Cryomancers and their counterparts learn relatively late in their journeys how to summon elementals into Fardenrule, and subsequently, how to create portals directly into their elemental plane.