Magic of Arcanthea

Magic lesson time. Three-quarters of Arcanthea’s population can’t light a candle with magic, which explains the prevalence of tavern brawls where drunk idiots claim they “totally have magic powers.”

Fyrie plays skeptical notes in a minor key

The fundamental truth about magic: your potential is determined by the three moons’ alignment at birth. No amount of training, prayer, or bribing can change what those celestial assholes decreed. I should know—I’ve tried all three extensively.

Look, the moons decided you get magic or you don’t. If you don’t, there are excellent career opportunities in engineering, farming, or becoming an adventurer who relies entirely on sharp steel and poor decision-making.

Magical Disciplines

Celestial Magic

My theoretical specialty, drawing power from celestial bodies (especially Mystra). Healing, enhancement, wards, barriers—protection and amplification magic that fluctuates with moon phases. Useful for keeping idiots like me alive despite our poor choices.

The discipline requires understanding lunar cycles, celestial alignments, and the patience to work with forces that don’t operate on mortal schedules. Most practitioners spend decades mastering the relationship between cosmic movements and magical output.

Force Magic

Raw magical energy shaped into concussive blasts, protective barriers, enhanced physical prowess. What I actually use most often because it’s simple, direct, and doesn’t require remembering complicated lunar calculations while people are trying to kill you.

Force Magic is the blunt instrument of the arcane world: no subtlety, no finesse, just power applied to problems until they stop being problems. Most combat mages rely heavily on Force work because elegance means nothing when something’s trying to eat your face.

Shadow Magic

Darkness manipulation associated with Animus. Concealment, shadow-stepping, or summoning dark creatures. The magic of secrets, hidden movements, and things that prefer not to be seen.

Not inherently evil—despite what ignorant villagers believe—but definitely associated with professions that work better in darkness. Assassins, spies, and theatrical performers all find Shadow Magic useful, though the last group rarely admits it.

Divination

Future, past, and hidden knowledge perception. Accuracy depends on Chronos’s favor and practitioner skill. I avoid it because I have enough anxiety about my current disasters without worrying about future ones.

Seers claim their visions are gifts. Having met several, I believe their visions are elaborate justifications for vague pronouncements that can be interpreted however benefits them most. Some genuinely talented diviners exist, but they’re outnumbered by charlatans.

Illusion

Perception manipulation and reality editing. From parlor tricks to elaborate mind-altering deceptions. Dangerous territory.

The best illusionists make you believe things that contradict your own memories. That kind of power requires strict ethical boundaries that many practitioners choose to ignore.

Psionic Magic

Mind manipulation through mental energy weaponization. Telepathy, thought control, telekinesis, mental shielding. Heavily regulated in most nations because violating someone’s mind crosses lines even I won’t cross.

The few legal applications include emergency communication, therapeutic memory work under strict medical supervision, and criminal interrogation with extensive legal oversight. Everything else tends toward slavery with extra steps.

Elemental Magic

The classical disciplines, each with distinct personalities and practitioners.

Air Magic

Wind and weather control that powers airship technology. I’ve got enough talent to manage basic flight enhancement and wind-reading, useful for aerial navigation and dramatic cape flourishes.

Air mages tend toward restlessness and wanderlust. Something about commanding winds makes people resistant to staying in one place. The discipline emphasizes flow and adaptation, which attracts certain personalities and repels others.

Fire Magic

Flame and heat command. Destructive fireballs for combat, controlled flames for forging. Most dramatic element, least forgiving of mistakes.

Fire mages either learn perfect control or die spectacularly. The discipline doesn’t permit casual practice, even small errors can cause catastrophic damage. Those who master it become invaluable in combat and industry alike.

Water Magic

All forms: ice, liquid, vapor. Adaptable and patient, finding every weakness until it wins. I use it primarily for practical applications like staying hydrated during long quests and creating dramatic ice sculptures when I’m bored.

Water magic rewards patience and adaptability. Practitioners learn to flow around obstacles rather than smashing through them; a philosophy that extends beyond magical practice into general life approach.

Earth Magic

Solid, reliable, unyielding control over earth, stone, metal. Dwarves excel here, combining Earth magic with engineering. I have minimal talent but enough to sense mineral composition, useful for avoiding cave-ins and identifying valuable ores.

The most stable elemental discipline, Earth magic attracts methodical personalities who prefer building to destroying. Aegis Frame construction relies heavily on Earth mages for structural reinforcement.

Bladesong (My Personal Innovation)

Here’s where I get personal. Bladesong is an ancient martial art of Celinestria’s followers: elegant swordplay merged with arcane magic and melodic movement. Most practitioners died during Asloth’s rise, leaving the art nearly extinct.

I learned fragments from old texts in Father’s library and developed my own interpretation, creating Astral Bladesong through trial, error, and Fyrie’s musical guidance. The advanced form requires a singing blade, cosmic energy merged with combat technique creating visible starlight trails.

Fyrie’s melody becomes complex and beautiful when discussing Bladesong, our shared art

Key Astral Bladesong Stances

  • First Light: Opening defensive stance for observation and preparation.

  • Midnight Crescent: Aggressive assault with sweeping attacks.

  • Twilight: Sudden strike position for precise attacks.

  • Celestial Arc: Aerial maneuver fusing Force Magic with blade work.