Now we have come to the discussion on the Magitech of the Silver Sky the Magic as well. I mentioned
"Technology in The Silver Sky" I largely have the magic and magitech defined. However there is always room for the introduction of new ideas,refinement of current, the revision and reintroduction of old. How magic fit into the world was definitely something that I needed to be revised. Because magic as I had initially conceived it was in conflict with the vision that I had for the world.
The world of the Silver Sky Stories was initially envisioned as a high-magitech world, with magitechnical comparable to Star Trek. I hung onto to that idea for a long time,as I thought and rethought the world I knew that it couldn't be allowed to remain so high-tech and still tell the kinds of stories that I wanted. The level of magitechnology would have put more capabilities in the hands of the people than I wanted. So The nature and availability of magic had to change and more importantly the ability produce magic items had to be constrained. My options for restricting spellcraft was to either make it weaker or less abundant. I was comfortable with magic's level power, so those who could wield it would have to be less numerous than. I'd originally thought of spell casters at roughly five percent of the total population,with the aptitude for magic being far more common than those who are actually trained. Now they are at most a little over one percent of the total population and this still might be to numerous. I also felt it necessary to change certain aspect of the magic system, so that the limitation and mechanic were more clearly defined;indecently this made enchanting easier.
I took a page from Star Ocean,Iron Kingdoms and a project which I'm afraid
will never come to fruition. By introducing Glyphs/Runes to my magic system. There are six Prime-Glyphs,which were in the old system different disciplines. Radiance, Substance,Force,Life,Void,Spirit each and every person weather or not they are a practitioner,has at least one of these Glyphs engraved upon their spiritual essence;the glyphs simply take-shape in accordance with that persons nature. The number of Glyphs naturally present are commonly one,two or three, the possession of four Glyphs is rare,five is extremely rare and Hexers(the term for those with all six Glyphs) are so rare as to be almost mythical. The Prime Glyphs control how a practitioner, a Glyphigyst is able to wield the aether and without the correct Glyph the facet of reality that the Glyph corresponds to can't be manipulated. Prime-Glyphs are complex with different aspect of a Glyph representing different facets of it's dominion. The possession of a Prime-Glyph complete is a rarity, with certain aspects being more or less common than others; For example the Void Prime-Glyph's aspect of time is rarely manifested. Every Prime-Glyph has seven Core-Glyphs, which represent the fundamental manipulations of a Prime-Glyph's dominion and can be seen as analogues to musical notes. In to the Core-Glyphs there are twenty one Subaltern-Glyphs shared between the Primes. The Subaltern-Glyphs act as modifiers and connecters for the Core Glyphs. The most important thing to understand about Glyphs is that they do no exist the way that Glyph-casters perceives them. The Glyphs are the mortal minds best attempt at interpreting metaphysical phenomenon. When viewed through an Aetherscope the spell-fields woven by Glyphigyst look like waves composed of vibrating strings,instead of a collecting of letters.
The mass production of magic items still held the possibility of flooding the Silver Sky with magic. Before revising the magic system I had already taken an idea that I had seen elsewhere in fantasy, the production of magic items requiring certain rare materials and incorporated it my world. I had called the substance Aetherium and it was to be an unholy cross between Lyrium(Dragon Age) an Tiberium(Command&Conqour). It was to be the most valuable and insidious substance in the Silver Sky a living crystal that grew from the ground like a planet,but very slowly taking decades to reach a size and level of potency worth harvesting. Aetherium could also be grown parasitically. A germ of the crystal implanted in an animal would consume them like cancer,incorporating all of the host biomass into it's self. I soon realized the problems that this would cause. Not because of the incredible loss of life as rulers fed the undesirables of their societies to Aetherium and waged war to capture people for usage as host. It's the fact that those atrocities would have made magic item all to common.
So the nature of Aetherium and the cosmos would have to change.
Fulgurite a material created when a lightning bolt strikes sand would be inspiration for Aetherium's new form. Aether storms now occurred as a natural part of the cosmos and they rained down aether bolt. Matter struck by aether bolts is usually burned away. However there is a small chance that a minute percentage of struck matter's mass will be transformed into Aetherium. Aether storms occur semi regularly on planets as tension in the energy cycles vent. They are also signs the beginning and ending of planer conjunctions.
With Aetherium being highly valuable and people being rather ingenuitive it stands to reason that somebody would figure out how to cook Aetherium. There Aetherium plants working round the clock, burning matter away to produce the stuff. Researchers are always searching for more effective production methods, increasing the likely hood of Aetherium formation and the percentage of an objects mass that will be converted into the stuff. Now the existence of Aetherium plants might lead to the problem of magic items flooding the world. If it were not for the fact that Aetherium is far to fragile in it's raw state to use for anything other than ornamental purposes.To use Aetherium for any practical purposes it must be synthesized with other materials and compatible substances all tend to be rare.
Echanment(called Glyph-Engravment in the Silver Sky) and
Artifice are closely related disciplines. Both involve using worked Aetherium to manipulate Aether into producing stable effect-fields.
Enchantment is far simpler and expedient but very limited, Glyph-Engravers can cut spell-fields directly into Aetherium through their spellcraft in a process similar
to how vinyl records are created. An enchantment is a record of a spell and will play the spell when aether is channeled into it. As mentioned before enchantments are limited, requiring a medium of a size proportionate to the spell field to be engraved,unless the Engraver has a knowledge of spell-compression and that has a limit. An enchantment can only do one thing recreate it's spell and lacks any of the ability that a spellcaster would have to modify their spells or compensate for interference to avoid a dispelling. When an enchantment's spell is dispelled the physical medium is destroyed.
Artificing is the more complex and versatile of the disciplines but at the cost of expedience. At it's most basic the craft involves tempering Aetherium to conduct,resit,attract,store or focus aetheric currents. The composition of Aetherium-alloy effects these properties as does the percentage of Aethrium in the alloy. The more advanced levels involve the involves the creation of Aethereal-circuitry;An intricate and pain staking process. The configuration of the circuitry determine the nature of effect produced. One of the most famous artifacts are inhibitor spike, when driven into the chakra points they render spell casting impossible.
How does
Magic,Magitech and Enchantment effect life In The Silver Sky?
Magic is a river flowing through the world shaping it but not flooding it. Magic has always been a part of the world and has influenced every aspect of society. For example battle mages meant that massed armies were rarely used, for the same reasons that advancement in artillery ended the use of massed armies in the real world. laws,enforcement and the court systems developed around telepathy and psychometry. Life magic and it's ability heal and nurture allowed larger, healthier population at than would have been possible at equivalent time period on earth. Teleportation shrank the world in ways that wouldn't be approximated on earth until the invention of the airplane. Despite magic's presence civilization didn't under a magitechnologic revolution bypassing many developmental stages going directly from the bronze age to the information age. Mages are rare, their services secured by organizations and rarely did the average person have direct access to spellcraft. With the scarcity of Aetherium and the complexity involved in working the substance. Magic-items couldn't be mass produced and have through out history been big ticket items. Many a person in the ancient world went their entire lives without personally witnessing spellcraft or possessing a magic item. Yet the presence of Magic still impacted their lives. Stories of Mages doing things impossible for lesser, unmarked persons. Enchanted spires that loomed over fields and made the crops grow betters. Black-gates that let citizens move between the major cities and provinces of their nation. Sending spheres that let holders speak to one another over great distance. Iron-veils which protected major cities from extreme weather and invasion. Weapons of terrible power and numerous verity.
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