#askmagic

[loominggaia]

What's the most powerful recorded usage of magic ever cast on Gaia?

This is a difficult question to answer because , even small spells can have immensely devastating effects, depending on how they're used.

I would say overall, the most powerful spells are collaborative ones. That means multiple mages combine their powers to cast one mega-spell. Divines can also cast enormous spells on their own, but when multiple divines collaborate, it leads to some epic stuff.

Chieftess Serafeen is trying to open a portal to the moon. To do this, she's harvesting magical energy from thousands of fae prisoners and routing it through her body, which will allow her to cast the world's biggest teleportation spell if she succeeds.

Reaper, Divine of Death, once implanted another divine's soul into a monster. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but such a thing is insanely difficult to do. As far as anyone knows, this is the one instance it's been done successfully.

During her conquesting years, Titania casted a necromancy spell that spread over 1/3 of Umory-Ond, raising hundreds of thousands of zombie thralls all over the region. This legendary spell marked her official takeover of the continent, and its horrific consequences were what finally snapped her out of her greedy mindset.

Sovereign has been known to cast some monstrously epic hydromancy spells, flooding entire cities with giant waves or disabling thousands of enemies at once by pulsing the water in their bodies. His body is not in great shape though, and these spells seem to take a lot out of him every time.

Green Witch used a botanical spell to Build a Wall(tm) around Spriggan's Sanctum. The wall is fifty men tall, made of thorny vines as thick as an ogre's arm. This wall is so grand that it's considered one of Gaia's world wonders.

That's all I can think of at the moment!

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic #askhistory

[mags-the-dragon]

Do dragons have to be organized? I see y'all with neat hordes in boxes and it kinda makes.me ashamed that my executive dysfunction has buried my horde under a mess in my room that even now it's hard to get myself motivated to clean up.

I hope they don't have to be organized! The main reason I haven't posted a picture of my hoard yet is that it's scattered to hell and back. Don't worry about being neat, just be dragon!

#askmags #dragoncore #hoarding #hoard questions

[grim-objects]

Welcome Ask the Donut boy Mags anything UuU

Don't mind what it is.

#ask blog #send me asks #ask me anything #asks #ask me stuff #ask me things #ask away #magstimer #mags timer #mags #askMags

[loominggaia]

aveture aww I missed this poll. Though with photomancy could you control other forms of light too, like UV or gamma rays?

Yes! I think photomancers can manipulate all forms of visible light, though more powerful forms require more schooling/arcane conditioning.

Novices can manipulate benign forms of light, but grizzled old sorcerers can blast you with freaking turbo-cancer beams.

I'm telling you guys, photomancers are not to be trifled with! Other 'mancers make fun of them, but they really, really shouldn't...

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic #askphotomancy

[loominggaia]

What Gaians need to do to use magic?

Gaians must go through a process called "arcane conditioning", which is performed by an experienced mage. I wrote more about this in another post <---

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic #askgaian

[loominggaia]

What is your biggest design philosophy and approach to magic within looming Gaia? It’s lore/ mechanics/ and effect on the world and peoples within it?

I think these systems should be complex enough to be interesting, but not so overly-complex that they become tedious.

If my magic system and world mechanics start looking like math equations, I know I've taken it too far into a direction I don't want to go. I like to keep things fun and whimsical, but not so whimsical that they don't make any sense.

I guess "Grounded whimsy" is my main design philosophy. I myself get frustrated when a series' magic system is too loosey-goosey and feels like nothing matters, because anything is possible whenever the plot demands it.

But I also get frustrated when it's so grounded in logic that it may as well be a science, which sucks all the wonder out of it. So, I try very hard to keep a balance between the two for Looming Gaia's universe.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askworldbuilding #askmagic

[loominggaia]

What are Lamai’s Dark Shaman’s like? Are they just your typical necromancers, or is there something particularly unique about them as a group/people? Do they worship Necrom instead of the typical Vermism, making them heretics?

In Lamai Nation, I imagine the term "dark shaman" is a general term that means "mage who uses forbidden magic". Some spells are illegal to cast in this kingdom. For example, lobbing a hazard spell at someone, using telepathy to alter someone's free will, or any form of necromancy.

Necromancy is a hot topic in particular, especially in Lamai Nation. Raising zombies or otherwise tampering with the dead is illegal and considered very taboo here, yet it's still a rampant problem in this region.

There are secret networks of necromancers in Lamai Nation, and yes, many of them are operating in the name of Necrom. This kingdom's unique attitude towards corpses kind of feeds into this problem.

Dead bodies are not cremated here--in fact, the notion is considered offensive in Lamaish culture. Instead, they are recycled by specialists, who take the bodies apart and make things out of the skin, bones, organs, etc. for a fee.

Sometimes these specialists are in cahoots with dark shaman cults. Instead of recycling the bodies, they just sell them to the shamans, who practice their dark rituals on them. This usually happens to the bodies of unloved Lamaish people, who have no families or friends to claim their recycled parts, or whose families are too poor to pay for the recycling service. In these cases, the body-recyclers do the service free of charge, but keeps all the harvested materials and sells them for profit.

Or, like I said, they sell the whole body to the dark shamans, which is easier and more profitable.

Strangely, death is one of Lamai Nation's biggest industries. There is a whole facet of the economy built around the death of its citizens and the rituals around it. One side of this economy is legit and performed by licensed shamans, but the shadier side is performed in secret by their dark, unlicensed counterparts.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askculture #asklamai #askmagic #askreligion #asknecromancy

[loominggaia]

Are there any fantastical metals/minerals on Gaia, such as adamantium or mithril?

Good question! I can't think of any examples at the moment, but it's something that might come up in the future.

In the World of Looming Gaia, certain minerals have properties that they don't have in the real world. Gems and crystals have different magical effects, for instance. That's why they're used to craft magical objects and potions. And of course iron repels magic.

So while things like rubies and diamonds aren't really fantastical, they do have some fantastical properties in this series.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askworldbuilding #askmagic

[loominggaia]

Given that elves are the most avid lovers of sweets, do any of Gaia’s other peoples love sweets almost as much as elves do? What about less?

Elves are stereotyped for loving sweets, and there is a real reason behind this: elves are inefficient spell-casters. This means they can cast more potent spells with less effort, but as a result, their arcane energy drains faster than other species.

Arcane energy is directly tied to calorie intake. And when these excess calories run out, the spells resort to eating the elf's fat and organs. This is why elves struggle to gain weight, but have no trouble losing it.

Excessive spellcasting can seriously damage an elf's organs and cause a condition called "arcane burnout". If severe enough, it can be fatal. This condition isn't exclusive to elves--all magic-using peoples can experience it--elves are just more susceptible to it.

What does this have to do with sweets, you ask? Sugar and carbs are very dense in calories. Elves (and all magic-users) rely on excess calories to cast spells. So, loading up on sweets is the most efficient way to fill up the ol' magic tank.

Fae bodies process sugar more gracefully than commoners and gaians. They don't experience the same tooth-rotting, pancreas-destroying consequences that other peoples do. As a result, they can eat cakes and candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day of their lives and remain healthy.

Fae are stereotyped for "loving" sweets because they eat a lot of sugar. In reality, their crazy sugar consumption is more about efficiency than love. (Although many fae do indeed have a sweet tooth, just like anyone else!)

A note about Gaians:

Commoners can't use magic, but gaians can if they choose to. However, gaian bodies don't process sugar with the same grace that fae do, so they can't get away with cramming sweets down their throat all the time without suffering health problems.

This makes gaians less efficient spellcasters than fae, because they have to keep a balanced diet while also making sure to have enough excess calories to cast spells.

There are many gaian mages who decide to eat like crap to get ahead in their magic studies, and this may work for a while. But it's only a matter of time before this diet catches up with them, and if it continues for too long they will be in rough shape.

This is one of the main reasons fae have an edge over gaians in spellcasting.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic #askbiology #askcuisine #askelf #askgaian #askfae

[loominggaia]

Kind of a terrible question, but if a divine had an organ removed and donated while they were alive and kept living for some time after that, like years, what happens to that organ when the divine dies? Is it now part of the recipient's body after that amount of time? Or is Billy Joe Mituzu about to collapse from sudden total loss of kidney?

That's actually a super interesting question! I think divine bodies have some quirks that prevent them from being exploited like endless organ factories. I feel like if the divine was killed, the donated kidney would probably disintegrate with the rest of their body. Anything that's part of the divine--or was once part of them--disintegrates and returns to the cosmos, where it gets reconstituted into a new resurrected form.

But I think most likely, being a divine screws up their blood type and it makes their organs unsuitable to be transplanted into mortals in the first place. Apparently there is something very "off" about Isaac's blood, because it killed a lich and poisoned a vampire. As we know, Isaac was forged using the blood of at least one divine (Karenza).

Magic in general has quirks like this. Whenever some sorcerer thinks they unlocked the secret to "infinite gold" or "everlasting food" or "free immortality", their spells start malfunctioning for no apparent reason. But the reason is that magic knows when someone is trying to use it to upset the balance of Gaia, and it will not allow this. It does not allow any one person or creature to become too powerful. That is why arcane colleges stress the importance of respecting magic and using it ethically. It can backfire in unpredictable ways.

Mr. Ocean alluded to this phenomenon in "Troubled Tides" when he said...

“Magic can do anything. The question is: does it respect me enough to obey my command?”

This is also demonstrated in "Knowledge and Power", when Destiny's magical Tome of Infinity refuses to tell Isaac everything he wants to know. It also does this to Evan in "Evangelites Skip, Matuzans Sway".

Now, back to Isaac for a moment, because he is the best (possibly only?) example of a person who had pieces of a divine transplanted into him.

We know he was literally made from the blood of Karenza and Darshaan. We don't know Darshaan's status currently, but we do know for sure that Karenza is a divine. She has not been killed since Isaac's creation, so we don't know what would happen if she was. If she died, would Isaac die too? Or because Isaac's body currently houses her soul, is he now considered "detached" from her?

Not even Karenza herself knows the answers to these questions. No one does, and unfortunately the only way to find out is to see it happen...

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askhealth #askdivine #askmagic #askbiology #askisaac #askkarenza

[loominggaia]

Do Communion members behave alike because of telepathy or the indoctrination? is losing ones identity by overusing telepathy possible outside of it?

It's a little of both! I imagine it starts with typical indoctrination, then as the followers develop their telepathic powers and connect with The One more and more, they genuinely begin losing their sense of self on a cognitive level. They can no longer tell where their own consciousness ends and the consciousness of The One begins. But this isn't distressing to them; in fact, it's their main goal! Individuality is a sin in this religion. Communion followers wish to let go of all independent thought and become a giant hivemind.

Abusing any type of magic can have negative consequences, and telepathy is no exception. What Communion followers experience is not new or unique to them; any telepath who spends too much time in other peoples' heads can begin losing their sense of self. They become mentally detached from their bodies, experience things like dissociation, personality changes, and even hallucinations. Advanced cases can drive themselves to total insanity.

This is why it's important to always practice magic responsibly! But some mages just don't have enough sense, or maybe they just can't resist the call of the void. Communion members abuse their powers intentionally, but in a somewhat controlled manner.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic #askreligion #askcommunion

[loominggaia]

can a goblin be controlled by having their name mispronounced? if not, do they ever exploit it with bizarre spellings?

I think the name must be pronounced properly. It's theorized that goblin names are only 2 syllables or less so that even babies can pronounce them.

However, the spelling of the name actually doesn't matter! The name will look different in every language, and may be spelled differently based on who writes it. What's important is how clearly its interpreted by the goblin.

#ask #asklanguage #askgoblin #askmagic

[loominggaia]

In which kingdom mages have best lifes?

I think this depends on what kind of magic you want to study. Some kingdoms have restrictions on some types of magic, while other kingdoms have looser or no restrictions.

For example, necromancy is illegal almost everywhere. You can't legally practice necromancy spells in any kingdom...except Unseelie Court. Unseelie Court has no restrictions at all, you can freely practice all spells here, no matter how dangerous or taboo.

Because of this, some would say Unseelie Court is the best place for mages. However, this "no rules" approach also creates a more chaotic and dangerous environment. Most arcane colleges don't want to operate in this land due to the danger. So, if you're practicing a controversial school of magic, Unseelie is the best place for you. Otherwise, it kinda sucks.

Mogdir Kingdom has the best arcane colleges in the world. But this kingdom does have some restrictions in place, meaning you can't just pick any type of magic you want, and also the colleges are very expensive.

Matuzu Kingdom also has very good magic schools. They are cheaper than those in Mogdir, but there are even more restrictions.

The Empire of Damijana actually has great arcane colleges...problem being, they have the most restrictions of all. You can only choose from a very narrow selection of spells to study.

Lamai Nation, Folkvar Kingdom, and Etios Nation have okay colleges. Graduating from these may not carry much weight in other kingdoms. These schools are not very prestigious. Mages can make an honest living in these lands.

Zareen Empire has very few arcane colleges, and those they do have are severely underfunded. Magic is not appreciated in this kingdom, and so many spells are outlawed that it's hard to make a living as a mage.

If you want to be a mage in Yerim-Mor Kingdom, good luck. The colleges were mostly destroyed in the Gold River War, and the only places to learn magic anymore are secret underground classes held by Morite rebels. Matuzan invaders and the Cult of the Crescent squash down magic use to oppress the Morites, so anyone who practices it openly is in danger. The only "safe" way to learn magic here is to join the Morite military, where you can be trained in hazard spells. But then you will have to use these skills to fight on behalf of a doomed kingdom, so it's basically a waste.

Magic is totally illegal in Evangeline Kingdom. There is no life for mages here outside slavery.

Now, let's talk about the Aquarian Alliance, because it's a whole separate beast. Arcane college is FREE in this kingdom! Yes, totally free, for all Alliance citizens! The schools are decent to high quality, there aren't many restrictions, you can study many types of magic and practice them freely...so what's the catch?

Well, there's the whole "terrorist nation" thing...The Aquarian Alliance is an enemy to all other Great Kingdoms. Other nations don't recognize Alliance colleges as valid, so your degrees will be worthless if you move to another kingdom. If you want to be a mage in the Alliance, you are stuck with the Alliance until you die. There is no taking your skills on the road or operating in other lands to make more money. The Alliance won't let you have dual citizenship anywhere; you can only be an Alliance citizen, or else you are a traitor.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic #askculture

[loominggaia]

So Mr. Ocean can liquify people?? wtf that's horrifying...

Yes he can! But this power isn't unique to him; any sorcerer who has mastered hydromancy can do this. Those who master waterbending eventually move on to other fluids, including those in a person's body. By vibrating bodily fluids hard enough, a hydromantic sorcerer can basically liquefy someone from the inside out. Horrifying indeed!

I will mention that this spell isn't used very often though, because it takes a ton of energy to cast and it's usually overkill. Mr. Ocean once used it to subdue Mr. Roach, but...well, Mr. Roach is a divine, so of course Ocean's going to pull out the strongest spells he has to deal with him.

But in general, sorcerers prefer to conserve their energy as much as possible. They do this by casting weaker spells that just disable their enemies, rather than killing them and pulping their corpses. Most of the time there is just no need to take it that far.

A good example is the battle from "Troubled Tides". In this battle, there was an undine using hydromancy to disable enemy soldiers, by pulsing their bodily fluids and causing them to pass out. She could have easily killed them if she wanted to, but she knew she had a lot of enemies to deal with, so she used the weakest spells she could get away with to stretch her power further. She disabled the enemies, then relied on her army of dorikori to kill them while they were down.

Long story short...Yeah, Mr. Ocean can liquefy people, but only as an absolute last resort. He's more likely to make his enemies piss themselves or get really dizzy or something. He takes the least harmful approach whenever possible.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askliterature #askmrocean #askmagic

[loominggaia]

How would conjuration style magic work in Gaia? Would the objects & entities summoned by the spell be real things, pulled from different locations towards the mage? Or would they be magical constructs, spells manifested into physical form that fade once the spell ends? What would be the limits of conjuration magic be?

In the World of Looming Gaia, "conjuration" is just an umbrella term that refers to a wide collection of spells, and these spells may cross different schools of magic.

In the context of magic, conjuring something means to pull it seemingly out of thin air. This may involve casting illusions, forging monsters or constructs, or even teleporting something from one place to another.

Examples...

The Divine of Hate conjures undead by casting necromancy spells over swathes of land, causing old corpses to animate into soldiers.

Mr. Ocean conjures illusions made of light. These are not living creatures, but mere projections that he puppeteers himself.

Master terramancers can conjure stones in the shape of a golem and puppeteer it, kind of like a remote-controlled robot. Other elemental sorcerers can do similar things with fire, ice, etc.

Master teleportationists can conjure people and objects by teleporting them from far away. Say they are a thousand miles away from home, and they realize they forgot their hair brush. If they know exactly where it is, they can teleport it from their house to their current location.

Divines forging monsters can also be considered a form of conjuration.

Generally speaking, most conjurations are just illusions. However, depending on the strength of the spell, these illusions can go beyond just what the eye sees. A master's illusion can be detected by all the senses; it tricks the victim into thinking it has a smell, a taste, a sound, and can even inflict imaginary pain. For example, a sorcerer conjures an illusion of a lion and sends it to "attack" someone. In the victim's mind, they are really being torn apart, and they even feel the pain and believe they're immobilized. They look down at their body and see that it's shredded to pieces. But in reality, they are perfectly fine and the lion exists only in their mind.

Some people have the power to resist illusions like these, but it takes experience and a very strong will.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic

[loominggaia]

Are the runes, spells & schools of magic legitimately parts of the magic of gaia? Or are they just mortal constructs, crafted by peoples to better understand & utilize their arcane powers?

Magic is simply a form of energy that is native to Gaia. Just as wood can be turned into lumber, paper, and pulp, magic can be converted into many different forms too. Many of Gaia's beasts instinctively utilize magic to survive.

Peoples, too, have learned how to use magic in various ways. In the earliest times, fae mages knew only the rudimentary spells they were born with. But they used their great intelligence and curiosity to experiment, and through experimentation they were able to branch out and invent new spells. Generations of mages expanded on what their ancestors had learned, and over thousands of years, some very complicated spells have been designed. With each passing generation, spellcrafters figure out new ways to achieve things that were once thought impossible.

Mr. Ocean had some dialogue about this in "From the Ashes":

...“When I was young, back in ancient times, my people believed that magic could only do so much. They said the rain would come and the rain would always be. They said the things you are, are things you have to be. But these limits lied with them, not with magic…”

[...] “They only knew the small world around them. I was the first of the Tekeetians to explore your land of Terria, and the limits of my world became so much larger. I came to know the properties of air, of light, of fire, in ways which my people had never known before. In my explorations, I discovered a way to dispel the rain.”

 [...]“I slithered to the surface with eight tentacles, and two of them became legs. The thing I was then is not the thing I am today. My peoples’ understanding of magic was primitive in those days. Perhaps I am wrong—my brain is growing mold, after all—but I have lived for over a thousand years, and I have watched as the limits of magic are pushed back further and further to such a distance that I must doubt the limit exists at all. I think it only exists in the minds of people. Perhaps those who fear the idea of unlimited power, or those who lack the imagination to innovate. A stagnant puddle is more comfortable than rolling waves, but it will not take you anywhere you haven’t seen before.”

Basically Mr. Ocean is saying that he has watched magic evolve significantly within his lifetime. What was thought impossible in his youth is now possible in his old age, thanks to arcane innovations.

Now, as for runes and sigils, these are just arbitrary methods of spellcasting and spellcrafting. Today they are considered the "standard" way that most magical colleges teach, but they are definitely not the only ways. Spells can be casted and crafted through song, dance, ritual, art, thought, basically any way you can imagine. All over Looming Gaia, you will find different cultures who cast and design spells in different ways.

Just as you can shape wood into a sculpture using a knife, fire, sander, or hammer, there are also many "tools" you can use to shape magic into a spell. Runes and sigils are just the more popular ones.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

#ask #askmagic