[Dragon Earth]The Three Ladies Return

[mythusmage]

As noted in post #7 of this thread, Folds sometimes come together in patterns. Weaving and dancing among each other. The vast majority are transient. Short lived things soon broken. But there are 5 basic patterns that last.

Note that it is the patterns that last. The Folds that made up the patterns but a moment ago are not the Folds that make up the pattern now. Old Folds travel on, new folds take up the pattern, and a Fold that was once a part of one pattern can become part of another.

Each Fold also curves space-time. Curves it in the 10 spatial dimensions that exist in the world of the Fold. When in one of the 5 patterns the curvature takes on a certain 'shape'. Space-time becomes curved in a certain way, ranging from the precipitous walls of the weak nuclear force, to the gentle slopes of gravity.

In other words, unlike the real world the universe of Dragon Earth has 5 forces. Along with the weak nuclear forces, the strong nuclear force, electromagnetic energy, and gravity there is a 5th; magic.

The patterns, the twine, come together in larger patterns. What we know as superstrings. With branes as an emergent property of these patterns. Superstrings then coming together into the patterns we know as quarks, subatomic particles, atoms, and the whole nine yards. What we call matter, mass, and energy are emergent properties arising from the patterns and their interactions.

Which all means that everything in the world of Dragon Earth is, in a sense, magical. But how magic works must wait for my next posting.

 

[Zappo]

I know that I am just an annoying nitpicker, but the weak nuclear and electromagnetic forces are currently believed to be the same ("electroweak") force.

Well, actually I'm just wondering about the next posting.

 

[mythusmage]

I know that I am just an annoying nitpicker, but the weak nuclear and electromagnetic forces are currently believed to be the same ("electroweak") force.

Well, actually I'm just wondering about the next posting.

Last I heard, the weak nuclear and electromagnetism were the same energy, if you looked at them the right way. For daily use you can consider them separately.

As to my next post ... I got distracted. But since my site host appears to be down and I can't post to my blog for the nonce, I'll see what I can do.

 

[mythusmage]

Recap

The Dragon Earth universe is an expanding object. An object that has the properties of a solid, a liquid, and a gas. It is a compressed object, with the compression producing twists in space-time known as Folds.

These Folds are lone objects by and large, but on occasion they will come together in patterns in which the Folds orbit about each other. Most such patterns are unstable and have a short life. A rare few are stable and form what is known as Twine. Twine in turn sometimes form rare patterns of their own, a scarce few of which are stable enough to form what we know as Super String, from which the quarks and the matter and energy familiar to us come.

Now that we're caught up we can continue with...

The Gods Themselves

There are other Fold patterns as well. While not as stable as the patterns that, ultimately, make up matter and energy, they do have some degree of stability. These sometimes become part of a larger pattern, much as Twine becomes part of the larger pattern that is a Super String, which in turn become part of the even greater pattern known as a Quark. These patterns on occasion become self sustaining. Rebuilding, reconstituting themselves. Some of these develope to the point they can literally reproduce. That is, have children. A rare few develop self awareness, and a rare few of those become fully sapient. It is this last who are known as the gods in the universe.

The Dragon Earth universe is also an object within a much greater realm. The realm of possibility. This universe is one of an infinite number of possible universes, each with differing qualities; some subtle, some glaringly obvious. We know it as the Multi-verse.

Finally the Dragon Earth universe has a part that liess beyond the physical. The realm of spirit. A place where dreams come to life. Where souls go after death. Where the physical universe is a testing ground, a place of instruction. It is the home of those known as the gods of the universe, and He who is God.

With that we now end this posting. When we return we'll be looking at at how things hang together theologically speaking.

(Yes, this is relevant to how The Three can be as they are. For their nature is established by the nature of their world. Either that, or I'm full of it. )

 

[mythusmage]

The question now arises, how does Dragon Earth magic work? I haven't the foggiest. On the simplest level it involves the user manipulating magical energy to produce a desired result. It's the bloody details that get me, for the simple reason I don't live on Dragon Earth, and know nothing of how magic works there.

A distinction must also be made regarding psychic abilities and spells. The former being what comes naturally, the latter being what is learned. A psychic ability is an innate talent an organism is born with. Some species (the basilisks for example) have a psychic ability. A spell is a mechanism for manipulating magical energy to produce a desired result.

[sidebar]
Since I like the word, I use 'heka' (hey-kah) as Dragon Earth's name for magical energy. It comes from the Ancient Egyptian "hekau' (hey-kow), or "words of power". I first learned of the word in Gary Gygax's Dangerous Journeys: Mythus.
[/sidebar]

Heka is manipulated, shaped, woven, carved, molded into the proper form to produce a desired result. In the case of a psychic ability this manipulation is unconscious. In some species automatic. In the case of spells the caster must guide the shaping, usually through gesture, word, and the use of materials somehow connected with the desired result. It is possible to cast any spell through 'imaging', but this is difficult and takes practice.

There is one thing to note about heka, you can't use it up. Unlike the mana of Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away Dragon Earth's Heka is not a non-renewable resource. It is part of the basic foundation of the Dragon Earth universe. Which means it's part of everything. Too, when an ability is used or a spell cast only a minute fraction of the available heka is used. This is the reason for Detect Magic. I'll explain.

Most everybody has the ability to detect raw magic, unshaped, un-directed heka. It's that strange feeling one gets when things are quiet and one is not really paying attention to anything. Detecting magic, seeing if you would, where heka has been shaped requires the shaping of heka so it 'highlights' (for lack of a better word) where (if any) heka has been shaped in the immediate area.

Another thing to keep in mind is that heka does not power the effects created, it merely makes the effects possible. Magic, in short, makes it possible to do things not possible to do otherwise.

At present the scientists of Dragon Earth are in the early stages of reforming the Laws of Magic. But for our purposes the classic 7 laws will suffice. They are...

1. The Law of Sympathy,
2. The Law of Antipathy,
3. The Law of Ritual,
4. The Law of Change,
5. The Law of Emanation,
6. The Law of Conduction, and
7. The Law of Obstruction.

In my next post we'll be looking at the first law.

 

[mythusmage]

The Law of Sympathy

This is the magic of things that resemble the target of the magic (similarity), have some sort of connection to the target (contagion), or bring to mind the desired result (evocation).

The first is known as homeopathic magic. In it one uses items that are like the subject in some manner. That are similar in some way. The poppet is one example, being a doll given some resemblance of the person to be dweomered. Another example would be a miniature sword used in a spell to impart some magical quality to a full-sized weapon.

The second is known as contagious magic. Here the caster uses an item or items that have some sort of connection with the intended target. Either through once being in contact with the subject, or through once being a part of the subject. Nail clippings, hair, even an old comb can do the trick.

The last is called evocation magic. Here the item evokes, brings to mind a desired result. A feather for flight, or a medal of valor for courage.

The three are not mutually exclusive. One can use all three in the same casting. A poppet for instance could be made to look like the intended target to satisfy for similarity and evocation, and have some of the target's hair to satisfy contagion. As a matter of fact similarity and evocation are usually conflated in most worlds.

BTW, what is known as evocation magic in standard D&D® is considered a part of conjuration on Dragon Earth.

Next time around, the Law of Antipathy

 

[mythusmage]

The Law of Antipathy

This is concerned with that which is apart from, dissimilar, and or opposed. It is the magic of serparation, of opposition and difference. It has three divisions.

Dissimilarity, Heteropathic Magic is the first. This is the magic of difference, of that which is not alike. As opposed to Homeopathic Magic, the magic of the alike. Here material is used which differ from what is to be affected. A smoldering coal vs. a cube of ice. A living rose versus an undead wight.

Heteropathic Magic has two forms, innate and engendered. Innate means the quality in inherent to the object. Heat and light to fire, cold and dark to water. Engendered means that the desired quality is imparted by means of dweomercrafting to an object or subject. Using a dead rat in a casting to ward away live ones for example. The quality of being dead being 'engendered' in the deceased animal, as opposed to an organism's normal living state.

Opposition, Repulsion Magic is next. This is the magic of that which repels. That which drives off. The magic of shunning, of ostracism and anathema. Warding and protection magic is often of this type.

Things which disgust the intended subject are often used in Repulsion Magic. Living things often repulse the undead, so the living rose mentioned above can also fulfill this requirement as well as the first.

(You'll note that our rose also invokes evocation magic, being emblematic, evocative of life and the living. In this case the Law of Antipathy takes precedence. The matter of the invocation of mutiple magical Laws will be dealt with in the last posting in this particular series in this thread.)

An item may be repugnent, threatening, or opposing. Life opposes death. Foul odors are repugnant. A sword can threaten. A holy symbol for example covers all three. The holy opposes the profane, is abhorrent to the profane, and threatens the profane. So if the living rose just happens to be a holy symbol for the one weilding it, the poor wight is in big trouble.

Quarantine, Isolation Magic is the final form the Law of Antipathy takes. This is the magic of separation. Of keeping things apart. It is not the same as the Law of Obstruction, which deals with energy. Isolation Magic deals with the physical. It separates and keeps separate objects. A spell which purifies a substance is an example of Isolation Magic.

A temple of a faith that uses living roses as a holy symol incorporating a rose bush in a dweomer intended to keep undead creatures from a place of meditation and rest would be using those roses for Heteropathic Magic, since being alive it is dissimilar to the undead; Repulson Magic, since it repels the undead; and Isolation Magic, since it keeps the undead from a place they might otherwise intrude upon.

And that, in brief, is the Law of Antipathy. When next I write we will concern ourselves with the Law of Ritual.

 

[mythusmage]

The Law of Ritual

This law is concerned with getting it right. Of making sure the right actions are taken at the right time, the right words said at the right moment. It is involved with procedure, instead of subject, material, or any other concern involved in spell casting.

It also differs from the other 6 laws as to the manner of its invocation. When a casting is simple (a gesture, some words, maybe a focus or component) then one of the previous laws takes precedence. It is only when a casting is complex, involves many actions, many different materials, much chanting etc. that the Law of Ritual comes into play. In such case this law takes precedence even over the laws that come after.

The Law of Ritual means that things must be done right, and in order. Gestures must be done right, the proper materials used, the right words said properly. Mistakes can be fatal. In other words, spell coding on Dragon Earth is fault intolerent.

This makes life different in many ways on Dragon Earth. Errors are anathema, and mistakes are usually corrected quickly. Editing and proofreading is meticulous, nigh obsessive. After all, a typographical error in a book of spells could kill or injure many people. Communicaton as a whole tends to be very precise. People avoid obscurity or confusion of meaning as much as possible. Gestures are precise as well. For making the wrong hand movement when dweomercrafting could be even worse than saying the right word the wrong way.

The Law of Ritual even applies when improvising magic. More so in fact. For when making it up on the fly it becomes vital to insure that one's words are clear, one's gestures are neat, and one's intentions are focused. If the caster has no idea what he means to say, how to say it, what items to use in the casting, or how to make the appropriate gestures in the right way, he really shouldn't be casting spells.

In short, the Law of Ritual insures that the people of of Dragon Earth take great pains with how they express themselves. How they communicate, since bad habits in one field of endevour have a tendency to show in others.

How a spell is cast, how and when the words are said, the gestures are made, the material used, is the province of the Law of Ritual. A magic user ignores this at his peril.

Next up, the Law of Change.

 

[mythusmage]

The Law of Change

Physical and temporal change is the province of this law. Either change in type or appearance, change through the passing of time, or change in an object's state. There are two areas under the Law of Change, Metamorphic and Motive.

Metamorphic Magic deals with altering an item's nature. From rock to wood, or from primate to rodent. Or by slowing down or speeding up the effects of the passage of time. Through this an object's duration can be extended or truncated.

Motive Magic deals with the state of an object, in motion or at rest. This is the magic used to put an object in motion, or to bring a moving object to a halt. It is the magic of so-called perpetual motion machines, the dweomer that imparts the ability to move to animated objects and constructs.

The Law of Change is not only concerned with facilitating or accelerating change, but with impeding or delaying change. Any magic which slows down or stops time falls under this Law. A casting that makes the subject relive a day over and over again is governed by the Law of Change.

That is the fourth of the Laws of Magic. Next up, the Law of Emanation.

 

[mythusmage]

The Law of Emanation

Here we are dealing with the flow of energy in the natural state. It is the magic which allows the taping of such flows for a desired purpose. Electro-magnetic for light or a motor, or heka to power a magical toy. Spells that fall under this law are those which draw upon stores of energy found in natural features such as waterfalls, windstorms, and ocean waves.

Next up, the Law of Conduction