Auricula
a tropics girl at heart
IC :: CS :: INTEREST CHECK
Dreams of Dust ;
smoke & mirrors
filler text
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INFO
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GENERALMagic exists and is a norm, but it is treated as a separate social entity, for the world of magic is extremely exclusive. You are either born into it or educated within it, but the path of education is very selective and even more competitive. A child’s eligibility into magic education is based on their innate talent and potential, based on a free government-run magic aptitude test offered to all children at the age of five. If they pass the requirement and choose to walk down the difficult path of magic acquisition and refinement, they are granted entry into an academy. Oftentimes, entrants to the academy are chosen by the educational board, and are based off the results of the aptitude test.
However, magic is still not completely accepted; in fact, it is still rejected by certain groups who consider it a taboo. Magicians have been banned from creating a city for their own benefit in fear of giving them too much autonomy and power. As a result of this, a few major cities have become hubs for them, some of which include New York City, London, and Singapore. These hubs hold many magic-related businesses and the academies can only be found in those cities.
The roleplay will take place specifically in Singapore, with the potential of branching out to Malaysia and Thailand. The stance of the former country leans towards supporting the magicians, whilst Malaysia projects an intolerant public image but secretly wield it for personal benefit. Magicians are generally accepted in Thailand. Generally speaking, in every country, there is a separate bureau for magic-related business in the government, but only half of the executive positions are taken by magicians. Despite their arcane powers, magicians are still bound by their country’s laws and are not treated any differently from ordinary citizens... on the surface, anyway.
SOCIETYHIERARCHY & LAWSThe magic society is known to be elitist. The stronger one is, the more respected they are. Furthermore, the type of magic used is also another factor though it doesn’t play a huge part. The laws governing the magic world is not universal as it depends on the country’s bureau. There is an unspoken law, common sense even, for magicians to abide by however. To do so would be to be labelled a criminal and issued a death row sentence. People of this caliber naturally fall at the lowest rung of the ladder. For the oblivious, the law is one cannot use banned magic. The department of magic administration oversees everything magical-related but can work with other departments if there are overlaps.
THE DARK SIDEThe black market of the magic world. The main currency used is Aurum. Access varies from country to country but generally, the most common entrance ways are underground establishments like clubs, bars, and massage parlours. Establishments like these have a specific mark known only to magicians on their door signage. Despite appearances, the Arcane Table does not put much effort into clamping down onto the dark side of the magic world as they themselves utilise it. In fact, two of the Arcane Table representatives stand at the peak.
EDUCATIONWhere you get educated affects your standing in society to a degree. There are five academies in total and the five fall into a strict hierarchy. In descending order:
1. Coleston Institution for the Gifted (Known to accept only Red-Violet and Violet magicians; elitist beyond belief; based in California, USA.)
2. Akiba Academy (Accepts Blue-class and above magicians; extremely popular among Red-class item enchanters; based in Tokyo, Japan)
3. Godfrey Academy (First inclusive academy; has an extremely rigorous curriculum; Andraste trainees are sent here for education; based in Exeter, England)
4. He Yun Institution (Accepts Blue-class and above magicians; average; based in Singapore, Singapore)
5. Kelsey Linnay Institution (Founded by a prominent magician of the same name; the second inclusive academy; where all the rejects go if they don't want to give up sorcery; based in Sydney, Australia)
Education can begin as early at age five. For most people. they start at the age of six and devote the next 16 years of their life to learning magic. Of course, the subjects taught are not just limited to magic. The scope does narrow the older they get, however. At ten years old, mages will select their first specialisation but they will only learn the very basics and still be exposed to the other forms of magic. They may switch specialisations at the age of twelve. At eighteen, magicians will decide on a second specialisation. The exception to this is Coleston Institution. Their students choose their second specialisation at fifteen and a third at eighteen.
It is, naturally, possible to transfer schools if one shows significant improvement and skill. Though with the continental change taken into account, most people don't. Furthermore, an offer letter must come from another school first.
ASSOCIATIONSAssociations can be explained simply as social groups. Guilds are the official version of it and every country has one. It is not a must for a magician residing in their country to join it but highly recommended. Guilds keep members up to date with events and inform them of any major changes in the society. Guilds also have branches in the main cities. On the other hand, clans are the unofficial version. They must still be registered however, but under the Guild. Clans are much smaller in number and is seen as a 'friend group'. However, there are certain clans which are large and have made a name for itself. Those clans are called companies and are global. Guilds preside over clans. For example, a clan registered in France will have to follow any regulations set by the France guild.
THE ARCANE TABLEThe Arcane Table, otherwise referred to as AT, is made up of the most elite of sorcerers who are seen as the unofficial leaders of the magic world. It is an open secret in both worlds. The Arcane Table’s purpose is to protect the magic world from being completely dominated by the non-magic world and pushing for rights. Duties are disseminated and officially, each member of the Arcane Table functions as a sole entity though some may collaborate together. The deeper inner workings of the council is known only to those who are privy to it.
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MAGIC
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GENERALMagic in this world follows one law: to produce something, something of equal value must be sacrificed. The higher a magician’s class is, the more legal restrictions are imposed on them. However, there are ways around certain limitations thanks to the dark side of the magic world, which has proven nigh on impossible to bring under control.
Two distinctions exist: Legal and banned magic. The former is self-explanatory. The latter is magic that, if performed, would break the physical law of the world or have the potential to bring pure destruction upon it. Despite the dire consequences, it is still possible to access the forbidden texts with the right connections.
Legal magic is broken down into several categories. Within each category, there are branches of magic. Over the course of a lifetime, mages can only really master two branches (with exceptions). The truly talented ones are able to master three. Each mage chooses a branch to specialise in at an early age, and learn it up till they enter a university whereby they can decide to specialise in a second branch. It is possible to use basic spells from other branches one did not specialise in, but the rituals must be performed fully which can be time-consuming as they are often extensive. Also, most mages do not use spells outside of their specialisations as the sacrifice for the rituals is their life-force.
Usage of magic is like learning a science. With every spell comes a ritual and the ritual must be performed in order to realise said spell. Furthermore, the more complex a spell, the longer and more complicated a ritual is. However, specialisation takes that away. A grimoire has been written for each branch of magic which removes the rituals. It allows for a simple utterance of an incantation and items as sacrifice for the realisation of a spell. However, the items used as replacements must be proportionate to the scale of the spell and a mage’s innate talent affects the kind and quantity of the item used as well.
Generally speaking, an item must have value. The most valuable quality is “life” which is why using live people and animals is not allowed. Other than that, an item’s value must be appraised. Appraisal is used to decide the value of an item and it is a simple spell any mage can use. Appraisal must also be done before the item can be used as a replacement. It is not uncommon for mages to walk around with a pouch of appraised objects. The currency assigned to the value of an appraised item is Aurum. The higher the Aurum value, the more valuable an object is. Life has immeasurable Aurum. Aurum is also the main currency used in black market trading.
There are two rules one must abide by when using items as sacrifices however: one, the number of items used must be proportional to the scale of the spell (innate talent, once again, changes the amount you must use); two, the more valuable an item is, the fewer of the item you need to use. What is the number of items you must use for a spell? That is entirely up to trial and error. It differs from mage to mage.RANKING SYSTEMPower scale (Ascending): Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green, Blue, Red, Red-Violet, Violet
- There is a noticeable power jump between Blue and Red-classed magicians
- Red, and Red-Violet and Violet magicians have a severe gap
FORMS OF MAGICLegal Magic
Taken from the powerlisting wiki.
>> Category
Branch
>> Abjuration: The ability to protect and heal.
*Abjurers are highly respected in the community, especially the highly skilled ones as they are able to perform feats short of miracles.DefenseHealing
>> Conjuration: The ability to create, summon, and transport living and non-living beings.
Teleportation
>> Divination: The ability to gain desired information by reading the past, present, or future.Extrasensory Perception- Many skillsets exist under this. Refer to this under variations for a more detailed explanation.- Diviners often choose to wholly specialise in this at the cost of not being able to use any other magic. This is because the value of a diviner rises with their mastery of this power. That is, if one chooses to turn divining into their job.- There are those who choose to hybridise. Hybridisation means only two skillsets can be learnt (primary and secondary).
Often used to detect magic in the area. Extremely skilled practitioners are able to discern each magician’s unique magic aura in the magic signatures left behind.
>> Enchantment: The ability to place someone or something under a spell.Emotion ManipulationItem Enchantment- The spell ‘Appraisal’ falls under this and is a basic spell any mage can use with negligible cost.
>> Nature: The ability to control the forces of the natural world for a variety of effects.Animal-based AbilitiesElemental Manipulation- Fire, Air, Water, and Earth- Mages either go all in in specialising, or pick only two elements so that they can specialise in something elsePlant ManipulationWeather Manipulation- Mages who choose to specialise in this tend to go all in due to the complex nature of it.
>> Transformation: The ability to alter the forms or structure of objects.*The techniques and theory behind using this on living beings is not taught, and is in fact banned.TransmutationShapeshifting
Banned Magic
Any magic related to the Illusion category
- Illusion-casting- Subjective RealityCreation
Life and Death
Mental Manipulation *Formally banned but government officials and Andraste handlers have the option of learning this
Time-Space
Summon
Possession
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ANDRASTE
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Creators: Astralis & Jin
Objective: To shape magicians from a young age into eliminating any undesirable elements from the magic world that could hamper the progress and purpose of the Arcane Table. Also to eliminate any non-magicians who come too close to the secrets of the magic world.
Target Group: Children aged five showing the potential to be Yellow-Green to Red-class magicians. Anyone who surpasses the Red rank will be removed from the program.
Methodology: First of all, the circumstances of the children will be made known and presented as it is: they were either adopted from the orphanage, or their parents sold them. Handlers will be assigned to the children at a 1:2 ratio as caretakers. Each handler is also a close associate of the Arcane Table and are able to utilise mental manipulation magic to slowly condition the children to Andraste’s purposes.
The children will be made to attend an inclusive elite escalator magic academy. As the curriculum of such schools is extremely rigorous, those who get kicked out from the school are also summarily expelled from the program (what happens to those who are, no one knows). Red-class and Red-Violet-class tutors are also hired for the children to ensure they reach their full potential and to minimise them from falling out of the school program.
After graduation, the newly graduated batch will be able to choose which region they wish to reside in and oversee. From that, the individuals will be grouped according to region. They will be made to register their group as a clan based in a specific country in that region. Depending on the region size, there may be more than one clan overseeing each region but generally, there are a minimum of three clans taking care of one such area. Outside of their designated role as a ‘protector’, an individual may take up another job, recommended to be part-time due to the time commitments an assignment requires when it comes up.
Additional notes: The children will be taught that becoming a Protector is their duty that no one else can fulfil. They are conditioned to accept the Arcane Table’s methods as the only right way and that it is their obligation to carry out the objective of the Andraste program. Anyone who starts to show signs of dissent will first be treated to a ‘therapy’ program and if they do not recover, the person will be killed off.
Being a Protector is the equivalent of holding a job but as the cases assigned are sometimes infrequent, the income isn’t the most steady (but immense). Income earned from this job is based off ‘commission’. They are paid a hefty base amount for taking the case (they cannot reject it), and with each case, the amount paid differs depending on a variety of factors. This is why a part-time job is necessary.
Once part of Andraste, an individual cannot leave. They are beholden to work as a Protector until they either a) die or b) reach the age of 70. They may not form close relationships with people outside of the program, and steps are taken to ensure that the most contact the participants have are all with each other. A strong sense of loyalty and family is instilled into each individual to prevent any betrayals. But as with all brainwashing, it is not perfect and those who lapse will be summarily disposed of.
Of course, all the darker sides of Andraste are kept a secret from the participants.
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