As every physician knows, the world we live in is comprised primarily of magic, and Ilandria is I assure you no exception. Magic beams down from the sun to imbue the crops with life, is ingested by the livestock to dwell in their flesh until it is combusted in the guts of men to give them nourishment and when they die, they return it to the earth. Magic lives in every blade of grass, and sways every wave that crashes on Ilandria's shores. Magic enables everyone's lives--everyone touches it, and is touched by it.

But those who can push and pull on the forces that wrap around us are rare and sparkling gems. Dangerous, mysterious, powerful. The workers of magic are sorcerers.

Magic in Ilandria is traditionally divided into two categories and five elements. However, in recent centuries several scholars have agitated for the consideration of a third category, discussed in brief below.

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The two categories of magic are known as High Arcana and Low Arcana.

The vast majority of magic practiced in Ilandria falls under the auspices of the Low Arcana, with the tacit implications of "trivial" and "base". Of course, the man who can learn to harness even Low Arcana is rare indeed. Low Arcana is not without its advantages. Spells of the Low Arcana can be cast quickly and without special preparation, as long as one can channel enough mana. This means that all combat magic belongs, by necessity, to the Low Arcana.

The High Arcana is far rarer and more powerful. Spells of the High Arcana cannot be cast in combat and require ritual and preparation. However, their effects are significantly more far-reaching and profound than burning a foe or hastening an ally. High Arcana sorcery is "global" magic that can effect the patterns of weather or the flow of time itself!

The defining characteristic of High Arcana magic is that the magical effect accomplished is greater than the caster's mind can withstand. The very act of casting a spell of the High Arcana erases it from the mind, and a spell of the High Arcana cannot be RECALLED after it is cast. In order to cast it again, it must be learned anew!

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Besides this as Low or High, Ilandrian magic is also divided into five Elemental Schools.

The Elemental Schools are Sun, Moon, Earth, Air, and Water. The Sun school also includes its aspect, Fire. In the same way, the Air school includes its aspect, Electricity and the Water school includes its aspect, Cold. No school is limited to its aspect, however, and the fact that the Moon and Earth schools lack a distinct aspect is in turn no limitation.

Every spell of the Low Arcana belongs to one and only one element.

Spells of the high Arcana can mix elements from several schools, or even more often, embody ALL of them.

On the Creation and Learning of Magick:

Firstly, only a rank novitiate would speak of the "Creation" and "Learning" of Ilandrian Magic as two separate things. The act of creating a spell is the same act as the act of learning it. The act of learning a spell is the same as the act of creating it. In the same way that an arcane scroll, a mental capacity, an incantation, and a plume of fire are all a spell.

Secondly, this discusses only the creation of magic of the Low Arcana. The creation of High Arcana spells is highly speculative.

Ilandrian spells are created using Power Runes. There are seventeen known Ilandrian Power Runes. Five of these are the Elemental Runes, which you may think of as "adjectives". The remaining runes--many of them lost to time and antiquity--are the Runes of Intent, which you may think of as magical "verbs". By combining an Adjective with a Verb, you create a magical phrase--or in other words, a Spell. To do so, you must combine an Elemental Rune and a Rune of Intent with a blank leaf of Paper; the connecting siguls must be writ in Demon's Blood Ink. The resulting product is a Scroll, which when read, will teach one of the sixty known spells of the Low Arcana--which one depends, of course, on which runes were combined. The process of reading and memorizing a Scroll destroys it, as well as all of the elements used in its creation.

The true arcanist must experiment with spellcraft and explore every possibility in order to master the potential of the Low Arcana.

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On The Modern Heresies:

As mentioned earlier, recent scholars have posited the existence of a THIRD category of Ilandrian magic. That THIRD category is Alchemy. As all of the flora and fauna of Ilandria are innately magical, the creation of a potion is no different from the creation of a spell; the mortar and pestle and retory and alembic and calcinator and cauldron all serve to free the magical reagents from a physical component, to combust and combinate in air. Thus the act of creating a potion is no different than the act of creating a spell. The act of drinking a potion is the act of learning and of casting in one--it effects the user like casting, and it destroys the product in the same way that learning a spell destroys the scroll.

But several learned arcanists have refuted the contention that Alchemy on its own constitutes a school of magic. While admittedly the combinative processes of alchemy are comparable to those used in the spellcraft of the Low Arcana, ingredients and the resulting potions do not belong to any particular elemental school. Likewise, alchemy and the resulting potions and poisons can be used by ANYONE. True magic can only be performed by a practitioner of The Art. It is known.

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Further Reading. If interested in pursuing magic as a career or a serious scholarly interest, you may wish to consult the following texts, all of which can be found (or will eventually be found) in the game world of CODENAME: THE GREATEST GAME THAT EVER WAS OR WILL BE.

Magic of Ilandria by Esther Selenor
The Grammar of Magick by Jolfryd Thuffay
The Joy of Alchemy by Gracie Kleever

-Ilandrian Faith-

Leaving aside abhorrent demons and ancient and debased deities are FOUR good and true deities worshipped by the human people of Ilandria.

They ARE:

Tayne - god of commerce, trade, coin, and tithes. Patron of men and merchants. Associated with the arcane or intellectual pursuit of magic.
Lorelin Longstride - god of forests, beasts, fishing and hunting. Patron of elves and rangers. Associated with the druidic or naturalist pursuit of magic.
Krogann - god of earth, stone, metal, mountains, mining and smelting. Patron of Dwarves and smiths. Associated with the divine pursuit of magic.
Gwynnialea- goddess of farms, fields, plants, the seasons and the harvest. Patron of alchemists. Associated with the alchemical art of magic.