Magic in Mundus
Vis
Vis, also known as Quilor to the Elves, Rashak to the Daemons, Mana to the Occidentals and Qi to the Orientals. It is a raw energy that covers the world and can be manipulated to either bend or defy the laws of nature. Vis is to all, unattuned lifeforms, toxic, acting like radiation. It causes dangerous mutations in the body, as it attempt to adjust to the presence of vis. More dangerously it can also cause mutation in the Soul. This leads to one of three results:
Soul-Body Rejection: Where the mutations cause such a degree of inconsistency between the body and the soul that they both mutually reject each other.
Arcane Insulation: Where the Soul develops a layer of insulation to prevent vis from entering into the soul. This is fueled by the vis entering the body, which in turn prevents mutation of the body.
Arcane Adaption: The Soul develops a mutation, a sort of appendage, that allows it to store a limited amount of vis. This vis is then refined into numen, explained below, which can manipulate vis, and is used to prevent vis from entering the body, except to maintain the insulation, since it is required to protect the body from mutation. The only other exception is when vis is brought into the body to be refined into numen, to replace any that was expended.
Vis originates in the core of the planet. From there it flows to the surface, until it reaches the only point it can escape through the crust of Mundus, the Continent of Crepuscallatum. Therefore, since vis is dangerous to life, and because it so dense in Crepuscallatum that if vis was visible, you could not see your eyelids if you closed your eyes, the only type of animals alive are either semi-sentient, such as the divine wolves and eagles, or a completely docile due to: A, a severe lack of edible prey and B, a complete lack of predation. Therefore Humanity developed in Crepuscallatum, not only as the only sapient species, but without any predatory animals to threaten them. The presence of vis caused Humanity to develop on two evolutionary paths:
The Illuminati: The Enlightened ones, those humans developed the ability to manipulate vis.
the Impermeabilates: The Impermeable ones, those human who cannot manipulate vis.
Numen
Numen is a form of Vis, refined in the Castranumentis (The Stronghold of Numen), a section of the soul. Numen allows for the manipulation of Vis, and is specially tailored to each soul, meaning a person can only control their numen, not another person’s. The term assigned to magic users differs. In Crepuscallatum the term is Numenitas (plural: Numenitates). In Arcadion the term is either Magos or Magus (Plural:Magoi/Magi). In Kyrosid, all lands that believe in Kyros, name is Aposta (plural: Aposte). There are two Mores Numentis, Ways of Magic. There is the Mos Incantorum, the Way of the Incantors. The other is the Mos Geniorum, the way of the Geniuses.
The Glomus
The Glomus is the unit of measurement used for Numen and vis. Magic usage is measured is vis glomi, not Numen glomi. This is because different Magic Users have different vis:Numen manipulation ratio. The average ratio, for Incantatores, is 2:1, ie 2 glomi of vis can be manipulated by one glomus of Numen. The average ratio for Geni is 10:1. The record amount is linked to the familial heads Maximilii Regales who, due to their descent from Aevus the creator of Mundus, have a ratio of 1,000:1. The average Incantor has a 50 Numen glomi capacity. Whereas the Geni have an average 500 Numen glomi capacity. Also, on average, it takes one hour for an Incantor to refine another Numen Glomus, whereas it takes ten minutes for a Genius. For Numen to be refined the body must be in a restive state, ie: either meditating or sleeping.
Mos Incantorum
Incantorial magic is arcane style that requires some form of incantation. This can come in the form of either a spell, or the keyphrase for a scroll, arcane device or a ritual. It is used to indirectly manipulate the Numen since an Incantor cannot directly access their Numen. Scroll, Arcane Devices and Arcane Rituals are methods for storing a Modus, an Arcane Procedure. A Spell is a keyphrase spoken allowed that relates to a Modus written into the Index Incantorum, the Index of the Incantors.
The Modus: The Modus is a procedure that guides the Numen in manipulating Vis. An example is the Modus Incantamenti Globi Ignis (The Method of the Spell of the Ball of Fire, ie the Fireball spell). The Modus has the Numen manipulate the vis into collecting the nearby hydrogen in a dense mass with a radius of 2 Decacubiti (2.52 cm). It then ignites the ball of hydrogen and sends it forward at 20 Miles/hour (25.2 KM/H). This requires one glomus of vis.
To activate a Modus, the Incantor must rely upon a Numen Modus, also called a Medium. Spells utilises the Index Medium, which a series of Arcane Modi, written into the Index Incantorm, that draws the Numen out of the Caster to complete the spell. So when you cast the above fireball spell, you also, unknowingly, activate the Index Medium Modi. Scrolls utilise a similar Numen Modus, known as a Conceptual Medium. Rituals instead feature a Catalyst Medium, which is either an invocation of action conducted prior to the utterance of the ritual’s keyphrase. In an arcane device, such as a staff, there is a Focal Medium, such as a Focalising Crystal, which draws out Numen from the user and concentrates it into the Focal point, the Medium. Numen Modi draw Numaxium, Supreme Numen, from the Numaximacristallum, a large crystal underneath the city of Lux Invictum.
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Mos Geniorum
Genial magic is an arcane style does not require the use of the Modus. Instead a Genius directly manipulates his Numen, and there directly manipulates the elements himself. A common description of how Geni work can be split into three group. Subconscious Geni: this form of geni simply think of a concept, such as a fireball or sandstorm, as well as provide some form of scale and their subconscious will conduct the ‘dirty work’ of manipulating the Numen. Conscious Geni: this form of geni utilises their numen by, mentally, forming a Modus of their own, then executing this Modus. The average time associated with form a modus is around 2 seconds. The Third type is simple anyone able to do both of the above, this is extraordinarily rare.
Humankind, Vis and Crepuscallatum
In Crepuscallatum humanity’s division, between those have and have not got numen caused a great deal of tension, which peaked during the Saulican and Twilight Wars.
Saulicanism: Saulus was an Impermaebilas, impermeable one, who was born, lived and died in Carpathia. He despised the aristocracy of Carpathia which, like every other aristocracy or plutocracy in Crepuscallatum, was composed of Illuminati. Over his life he would write down his opinion and beliefs. Then one day he decided to organise his beliefs into a series of ideals. This document he wrote became known as ‘the Tenants of Saul’ and form the basis of his new philosophy, Saulicanism. The primray tenant being ‘all those that have numen must be regulated, for they have a power that is unnatural, and it will surely corrupt them’. This tenant would see many magic users bound in chains, and at one point, a mass persecution of infants born with numen.
Eventually Saulicanism gained influence in a small kingdom in the Aquitania. The King there had two sons. The elder was born to his legal wife without numen. The younger born to a servant girl with numen and who would never be legitimised, nullifying any legal claim he could’ve had to the throne. This caused a split in the Kingdom’s aristocracy. The traditionalists, who believed that the crown must pass to the eldest son, whether he had magic or not. The arcanists believed that a lack of numen was equivalent to being female, that is that he should only ascend if there is no other option, they made the case that the bastard child was, due to circumstance, rendered legible for succession. The resultant civil war after the king’s death saw the elder son coronated. His reign saw the rise of Saulicanism in his kingdom, and by the time of his grandson, it was the dominant philosophy in the Kingdom.
This led to a series of conflicts and war, referred to as the Saulican upheaval. The upheaval saw lands Aquitania, Carpathia and Alpinia ruled over by Saulican realms. Soon after the upheaval was over, the Saulican realms united together and waged war against the non-saulican realms, this period is referred to as the Saulican wars. The war eventually ended with all of Crepuscallatum, except for the city of Lux Invictum, ruled by the Saulican realms.
The rule of the Saulican realms saw the mass exodus of magic users to Aurorallium to the east. Their descendant now dwell withing the pro-magic empire of Arcadion in easter Occidens. Eventually the Saulicans waged war on Lux Invictum and started the Twilight wars.
Note: Crepuscallatum comes from crepusculum, meaning either dusk or twilight. This is because it is the eastern continent. Its other name is Terra Crepusculi, the land of the setting sun.
The siege is described by every successive historian and strategist to have studied it as being foolish to the extreme. The city is divided into three sections: the Urbs, inner city, densely packed with many five story buildings, called insulae. Suburbia, a maze of smaller single, or double, story houses. Campania, a collection of farms that produce enough food to feed the city.
The Urbs is protected by the Interior Muri Invicti, the Inner unconquerable walls. A set of three walls, the inner two are 28 acti (35.28 metres) tall and 10 acti (12.6 metres) thick. The outer wall is 30 acti (37.8 metres) tall, 10 acti (12.6) metres thick at the top and 16 acti (20.6 metres) thick at the bottom. In between the outer wall and the middle wall, as well as the inner and middle wall, are trenches, 10 acti (12.6 metres) wide, 5 acti (6.3 metres) deep. Near the top of the trenches are small, circular, holes, spaced 1 actus (1.26 metres) apart from each other. They are use to eject Grecian Fire Oil (Greek Fire Oil).
The Suburbia is protected by the Exterior Muri Invicti, the outer unconquerable walls. Featuring two fall, the outer wall is 26 acti (32.76 metres) tall, 8 acti (10.8 metres) thick at the top and is 12 acti (15.12 metres) thick at the base. The inner wall is 25 acti (31.5 metres) tall and 8(10.8 metres) thick. There is a trench, with the same design as the ones above, separating the two walls.
The Campania is protected by the Circumcastellum, the encircling fortress. It is made of a massive wall, 16 acti tall (20.16 metres), 3 acti (3.78 metres) thick at the top and is 6 acti (7.56 metres) thick at the base. At every Imperial Mile (1.26 KM) there is a Castrum, a stone military installation.
The siege ended after fifty years, at the end of which the Legions of Lux Invictum attacked the Saulican coalition forces, initiating the second phase of the Twilight wars. The wars themselves ended with the foundation of Imperium Maximatum, the Empire of the Supreme Ones, which has ruled Crepuscallatum since 1 Praesens. It also caused the formulation of the Magisterium to head the new Empire, and it would be headed by the Magister Maximus, the Supreme Master. The formation of the Imperium Maximatum caused the mass exodus of the Impermeabilates.