PROLOGUE
(written by Iris)
Magical Theory
To make sure anyone reading this is on the same figurative page as I am, I've decided to type out a short discussion on my understanding of magic. This varies depending on what books I've been reading, but for now, here it is.
First of all, an important point. Someone unacquainted with magic may not understand why I'm doing this. They may think that magic has no rules and isn't real, and therefore "magical theory" is a contradiction in terms. I assure you, nothing could be farther from the truth. There are rules, and it's real, just in a different sense than what most of us are used to. Try and treat it as though it was a different dimension with totally different rules. So, suspend your disbelief and read on.
As far as I'm concerned, there are two types of magic. There's the academic (or more or less what you generally think of when you think of magic. I'm sure you know, the snap your fingers, say a word, and POOF). And then there's the delightful type of magic we call ambient. This magic is less famous. It deals more with tapping into the magic of everyday things, such as plants, thread or metal.
Now, what does this have to do with our world? In Emelan, (or any of the countries in that "dimension") there's more or less a balance between the academic and ambient magics, with academic being more widely known and recognized. Also, the magic is what some might call "normal" with there usually being many with the same gift. (This is not to say that there aren't exceptions, I believe that there's only one dance mage, but I could be mistaken). Well, in our world this balance is a bit out of whack. Most of the academic mages are gone. Most of the "normal" (academic, ambient, or otherwise) mages are gone too. As to what happened to them, I'm not sure, but I've got a few theories. Most likely we never had them or they could have been weeded out. (Salem witch trials, anyone?) Whatever the reason, we don't seem to have them.
Actually, we don't seem to have too many mages, period.
Or at least none that are recognized. . .
Magical Theory
To make sure anyone reading this is on the same figurative page as I am, I've decided to type out a short discussion on my understanding of magic. This varies depending on what books I've been reading, but for now, here it is.
First of all, an important point. Someone unacquainted with magic may not understand why I'm doing this. They may think that magic has no rules and isn't real, and therefore "magical theory" is a contradiction in terms. I assure you, nothing could be farther from the truth. There are rules, and it's real, just in a different sense than what most of us are used to. Try and treat it as though it was a different dimension with totally different rules. So, suspend your disbelief and read on.
As far as I'm concerned, there are two types of magic. There's the academic (or more or less what you generally think of when you think of magic. I'm sure you know, the snap your fingers, say a word, and POOF). And then there's the delightful type of magic we call ambient. This magic is less famous. It deals more with tapping into the magic of everyday things, such as plants, thread or metal.
Now, what does this have to do with our world? In Emelan, (or any of the countries in that "dimension") there's more or less a balance between the academic and ambient magics, with academic being more widely known and recognized. Also, the magic is what some might call "normal" with there usually being many with the same gift. (This is not to say that there aren't exceptions, I believe that there's only one dance mage, but I could be mistaken). Well, in our world this balance is a bit out of whack. Most of the academic mages are gone. Most of the "normal" (academic, ambient, or otherwise) mages are gone too. As to what happened to them, I'm not sure, but I've got a few theories. Most likely we never had them or they could have been weeded out. (Salem witch trials, anyone?) Whatever the reason, we don't seem to have them.
Actually, we don't seem to have too many mages, period.
Or at least none that are recognized. . .