text | un: m.c.

[blackestwitch]

Two questions for you all. One of them minor but kind of personally important. The second more of an excuse for you to ramble at me.

Okay, first. How do people usually keep track of birthdays around here? Because I should be turning sixteen very soon, except now it's like May and I've lost a bunch of months. Do I have to do math to figure out when I turn sixteen or do I just keep saying I'm fifteen for another half a year? This is important. I could be driving.

Setting that aside for a moment, an open question. More of a request, really. Can you tell me about magic in your world? I always assumed magic was kind of a universal constant, but from what little I've learned, it seems like magic can come in many different forms depending on the world. So tell me about yours.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about my world's magic in return. I can't use it myself but I ran a podcast about it. Maybe I'll even compile the information I learn here into something like that.

Maddie out.

Comments

[honededge]

yeah, never said my world was a good one. just a magically active one.

[blackestwitch]

So a lot of magic, then.

What can you tell me about shamanistic and totem magic? It sounded like that's what you know about.

[honededge]

well

there are two primary forms of magic: shamanistic and hermetic. hermetic mages have a more scientific approach to magic, where they use their abilities to manipulate the world around them and view it as a tool. shamans get their magic from their totems and have a more naturalistic or spiritual approach to the whole thing. it's more of a way of life for us than just a tool we use in the field.

totems are a sort of abstract concept. you could think of them as gods, but they're more like sentient pockets of energy that have distinct personalities and by following in their footsteps, we're granted the magic they have domain over. most of them are animals, some of them are idols, which are more humanoid in nature.

my totem, for example, is bear. bear is a slow moving, easy going totem that values protection and healing. when the people he protects are injured, he's a fan of vicious retaliation. generally, he's considered one of the calmer and more collected spirits though - very wise and gentle. by aiming to protect others, valuing wisdom, and healing others when they need it, i'm following bear's guidelines and benefiting from his blessings. that's how totems work.

granted some stuff went down that turned me away from bear's path for a while, but i never gave up on him and he never gave up on me.

if i ever truly turned my back on bear and acted directly opposite to his guidance, i'd turn toxic. which basically means you're the polar opposite and use the powers you've been given for bad things instead of good. a toxic bear shaman would be hell bent on destruction, be very rash and quick to anger, things like that. i've heard of some shamans losing their powers if they start to turn toxic.

[blackestwitch]

So totem magic is basically channeling some energy based being, and you act in alignment with them to get the benefit. That's interesting.

Hermetic sounds interesting too. I know that one's not your specialty, right, but do you know where their power comes from? What magical force drives them? Why is theirs more scientific?

[honededge]

yeah more or less

hermetic magic is different in that the people who practice it see it as a predictable force that can be measured and controlled, while shamans tend towards calling it an art form. they apply scientific (or pseudo-scientific) theories to their magic while shamans treat it more like a religion. hermetic mages put a lot of value in rituals and incantations, things to focus the ambient mana in the world, instead of channeling directly from a totem.

plus they view it as a tool rather than a way of life. they can't summon spirits as well as shamans can, in my experience. i think it's because they're so detached from what they do.

all that said, they aren't bound by restrictions like shamans are, so i guess they have their benefits.

[blackestwitch]

Ambient magic, huh? Being able to do that where I'm from would be a major boon. Alas.

I'm used to magic being a more personal resource. The idea that anybody could use magic - even with training or by dedicating yourself to some mystic energy being - would be pretty outlandish where I'm from.

[honededge]

i mean, not EVERYONE can do it. just people who are magically active. but i dont know why some people are active and others aren't. never studied it that deeply.

but i get where you're coming from. if magic in your world is a personal thing, there's just no need to study or pledge yourself to external forces.

[blackestwitch]

Ah, so not everybody can do it. That's more in line with my world, then, even if you're right about that last part.

For a moment, I was imagining the look on the faces of some people back home, reacting to the idea of anybody having access to magic. It was nice while it lasted, even if I can't actually picture faces.

[honededge]

[Talon's fingers hover awkwardly over the keys for a moment. He can't just ask if she's blind, right? That's rude, isn't it?]

haha, yeah. i guess it must seem like a wild concept to a world like yours. to be fair, a lot of people are magically active back home, just not as many as you'd think actually take hold of that power and do something with it.

most magic users are either corp mages, working for big companies to guard against shadowrunners and security breaches (usually also shadowrunners) or are shadowrunners themselves.

[blackestwitch]

Okay next question, which might be dumb. But. What is a shadow runner?

[honededge]

nah, it's not dumb if you don't have them where you're from.

the short answer is "criminal mercenaries"

the long answer is that they're people who aren't legally allowed to work or live on the grid, so they hard commit to crime to survive on the underbelly of society. i was one before i came here, but i was private security before that. ironically enough, because that means my job description was "prevent crime" before it became "do crime".

a lot of them aren't that way by choice. you have a tag attached to you called a S.I.N. - a SIN - and if you erase it to avoid the consequences of your actions, regardless of whether or not you're forced to, you just have to be a criminal or die in the streets.

[blackestwitch]

That sounds astoundingly familiar to be honest.

[honededge]

does it? sorry to hear that.

it's not a very good system