What to Expect from Mages (Patreon)

Another worldbuilding post. This time, I want to go a little deeper into how I see more advanced magic working and what you can expect from it later in the story.

Some of the rules will remain hidden for quite a while, mostly because explaining them now would involve spoilers. Still, this should give you a much better understanding of how magic works on Erador, especially human magic.

Other races may follow completely different paths, while Monsters operate according to their own rules.

Circles

Let’s start with what we already know.

Spells are divided into what are commonly called Circles.

First Circle spells mostly require releasing mana in the correct pattern while maintaining the proper speed and stability.

An example would be Flaming Fist, a basic offensive spell capable of seriously injuring someone, but unlikely to kill a healthy opponent outright.

Second Circle spells introduce true matrices, built from multiple threads of non aspected mana before Aspected mana can be channeled through them.

An example would be Flaming Arrow. This is already a spell capable of causing severe injuries and, with a good hit, killing someone on the spot.

Third Circle magic makes the process considerably harder by adding another dimension to the matrix. This is one of the reasons why almost every Mage who seriously pursues magic eventually assigns Spellcasting.

A good example is Fireball. For an ordinary person without high Vitality, appropriate Skills, or magical protection, a direct hit will almost certainly be fatal.

Aspects Are Not Absolute Restrictions

Before moving on to the higher Circles, there is one important thing to remember.

Having an Aspect is not an absolute requirement for casting magic associated with it.

A mage with sufficiently high Mana Manipulation, Spellcasting, and enough training can learn spells belonging to Aspects they do not personally possess. That does not mean it is easy.

A mage using one of their own Aspects will usually spend less mana, find the spell easier to control, and benefit from additional bonuses granted by Skills, Specializations, and other parts of their build.

The higher the Circle, the more significant this difference becomes.

This is why Healers exist who do not possess the Life Aspect at all. They may spend years specializing almost exclusively in Life magic, and some of them eventually become capable of discovering the Aspect itself.

Most mages, however, still focus primarily on spells belonging to their natural Aspects. They are easier to learn, more efficient, and generally work much better with the rest of their Skills and Specializations.

Professions and Magic

Professions provide specific bonuses depending on the path someone chooses, but they do not replace training or experience.

Two people can possess the same Profession, the same Aspect, and even similar Levels, yet still end up as completely different Mages depending on their Skills, Specializations, and what they have actually spent years practicing.

The System helps. It does not do all the work for you.

Combining Aspects

Combining Aspects is another separate field of magic.

Someone can be an excellent Fire Mage and an excellent Air Mage while still being terrible at combining the two.

It requires understanding not only each Aspect individually, but also how they interact with one another. Most commonly, this involves combining two separate spells into a single effect, potentially multiplying what either spell could accomplish on its own.

This requires extremely high Mana Manipulation.

Interestingly, Spellcasting is largely useless here, because the mage is not simply recreating an existing matrix. They need to actively manipulate multiple magical structures at the same time.

There are, however, other Skills that can make this considerably easier.

Aspectless Magic

There is also Aspectless Magic.

Rather than relying on a specific Aspect, it is based directly on controlling mana itself. Because of that, it requires an exceptional level of Mana Manipulation.

You have already seen an example during Ramsy’s test of Arien, when he deflected Arien’s spells with his hand and eventually simply caught his Fireball.

More advanced techniques include things such as Mana Armor, Implosion, and some other interesting things :).

Aspectless Magic can be incredibly versatile, but it is also one of the most demanding forms of magic when it comes to raw control.

The Academy Does Not Represent the Average Mage

This is something that is easy to forget. The Academy is an extremely prestigious institution. Even the Old Houses, with enormous resources, private instructors, and entire armies of experts at their disposal, still prefer to send their children there. Because of that, the students who survive all the way to the end and graduate after the Tenth Year are not representative of the average mage on Erador.

Students who leave earlier are not simply discarded either. Many join the army, Explorer teams, serve one of the Factions, or find work with private organizations.

An average professional mage will usually be somewhere around Level 25 to 45, depending on age, experience, and how dangerous a life they have led. Most remain around the level of Third Circle Mage, although within their own Aspects many can learn selected Fourth Circle spells.

And this is where something the Academy cannot easily teach becomes increasingly important.

Experience.

A mage may not possess Reyna’s or Effie’s talent, but someone who has spent twenty years fighting Monsters, entering Portals, or surviving actual battles can still be far more dangerous than a brilliant student.

Fourth Circle

Fourth Circle is where knowledge alone starts becoming insufficient.

The matrices become complicated enough that attempting them without very high Precision and Mana Manipulation becomes extremely difficult. Then there is the cost. Even practicing a Fourth Circle spell can consume enormous amounts of mana. A mage therefore needs either high Vitality, Meditation supported by multiple Specializations, or access to expensive potions, mana crystals, and other methods of restoring mana.

Mental Skills can also become extremely useful. Spells such as Inferno or Chain Lightning do not cast themselves.

By the time they graduate from the Academy, only the most talented students reach the title of Fourth Circle Mages.

Even for them, however, this is only the beginning. Portal raids, expeditions into the Lost Provinces, work for the Factions, wars, and other dangerous assignments give them opportunities to gain experience, Traits, Skills, and further Levels.

The Gold Tens usually require their mages to reach at least this level.

Fifth Circle

The Fifth Circle is where we begin talking about Great Mages.

Even among people who assigned Spellcasting and dedicated their entire lives to magic, relatively few ever reach this point. 

Every Fifth Circle Mage is incredibly valuable. A single one of them can change the outcome of a battle, a Portal raid, or an entire military operation.

Because of this, Great Mages usually enjoy significantly more independence than ordinary members of the Factions. Instead of simply serving an organization, many work with them on something closer to a partnership.

They are also considered strategic assets of the Kingdom and receive special protection from the Crown.

And their magic finally begins to look appropriate for that reputation. Spells such as Withering Field, Abyssal Sphere, and Sun Spear are capable of devastating the surrounding landscape.

Sixth Circle

Sixth Circle...

Well.

That is where we stop.

Anything more would start getting into spoilers. ;)

One last thing worth remembering is that a spell’s Circle primarily describes its complexity, not its absolute power. A highly skilled mage using a Third Circle spell can still be far more dangerous than someone barely capable of forming a Fourth Circle matrix.

Aspect compatibility, Skills, Specializations, available mana, experience, and simple proficiency with a particular spell all matter.

So, as usual with EoN, a bigger number does not automatically mean someone wins.

If anything still seems unclear, feel free to DM me and I’ll update the post if needed.