https://phoenix.backorder.gr/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Wiz+Ardon+the+Peculiar+EnchanterPhoenix Project (name subject to change) - User contributions [en]2026-05-05T11:48:08ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.42.3https://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=The_Wizard&diff=36The Wizard2025-05-02T18:40:03Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>== The Tailor's Tale ==<br />
<br />
But before all that, he was a simple poor tailor's assistant/servant (the assistant was poor, not the tailor) in a poor old country in a medieval continent. The tailor would overwork him, having him work till late night often. One of these nights he was working on an order from a rich gentleman/knight/nobleman who had requested clothes that would make him amaze the attendees of his next ball. The tailor had long gone to sleep, the moon had risen and gone back down again and the young man was still at it lest he doesn't finish in time and is punished by his master/employer. All the light he had in the all-consuming dark was a small fire produced by a little bit of raw ashstone. <br />
<br />
And at that time, the young boy had a streak of inspiration. Perhaps, due to a sudden ambition to create the best product he could or as a means to try and get the job done faster so he could manage to get a couple hours of sleep before he had to be up again; he took a bit of the Devil's Ash, imbued the thread with it and whispering words for charisma and making an impression, sew it in the clothes.<br />
<br />
The next day, the clothes were prepared for delivery and the assistant received a beating for wasting precious medstone. And it might have ended there, but as luck would have it, the gentleman's ball (were they balls in medieval times or is there a different term for the meetings of the noble/rich in those times) was truly a success and the man excitedly told his friends where he bought the clothes that had so much helped impress the world.<br />
<br />
Soon afterwards another knight arrived to the tailor's shop having a strange request. Referencing his friend's success he asked clothes to be made of the same sort such that would convince a woman that most detested him to marry him. If they managed to do that, he promised to make this shop the richest and most famous in the country.<br />
<br />
The tailor agreed for of course how could he not say yes to such an offer. However, he soon came to despair realising that nothing he created seemed to fit the description to be able to change hearts in such dramatic manner. Fearing to report failure, for the knight was rumoured to be an ill-tempered man, quick to anger and possibly having killed his servant, too, the tailor eventually turned to his assistant, asking for his help: if he had done something special last time, could he do it again? The young man, seeing the opportunity, asked for better working conditions and pay as well as getting the credit for making it. If he got that, he would quickly whip up the most charming clothes the tailor had ever seen. Agreeing to the terms and supplying the ashstone, the tailor let his assistant do his magic, almost literally, and soon enough the knight was given the product he requested and some time later, the news of the man and his loved one's engagement were heard.<br />
<br />
True to his word, the knight spread word of the shop's achievements and the tailor who'd made it happen. Indeed, feeling indebted to his benefactors, the man traveled the country and visited friends, acquaintances and more, as if to let everyone that was someone know who was the root to his happiness.<br />
<br />
Sure enough, the success of the shop and its two tailors, now partners, was great and they became renowned nation-wide. They got many jobs, of all sorts, and created the most fashionable garments in the land. They quickly became truly rich and the business increased yet. And one day, a new request came, perhaps the biggest of them all. The king of the land, fearing a rebellion from the lower classes, asked to be dressed in garments that would allow him to win the kingdom over.<br />
<br />
The former boss wondered if something of the sort was even possible, but the young man gladly took the job. Although a difficult project, the craftsman was finally satisfied after ten days of work. The King was sent his clothes and was able to come out and speak to his people once again, miraculously appeasing the at the time angry masses.<br />
<br />
Peace came unto the kingdom for a while despite the poor state the lower classes were in. And right when the nobles of the land thought everything was right in the world, the young tailor suddenly closed shop and disappeared.<br />
<br />
It wasn't long afterwards that things changed.<br />
<br />
Just as tranquility had come over the kingdom so suddenly, chaos broke out perhaps even more abruptly. If the people were angry before, now they were infuriated, hating the king with a nasty vengeance. Historians would always be baffled at this turn of events, for there was no known trigger that brought about such sudden change. The masses simply snapped overnight. People rebelled and after rapid developments, before anyone knew it, the king was dead.<br />
<br />
The dreaded knight also surprisingly found himself jilted and put in prison, a strange development considering the kind of influence he had that'd allow him to avoid repercussions for many of his actions before.<br />
<br />
And in the end, the original nobleman was left wondering if all of this could have been avoided, for he very clearly remembered that before his friend, let alone the king, visited the tailor he had made sure to come back and complain about how despite his new clothes' original success, soon afterwards he'd found himself met with an unhappy wife, his servants showing their disdain of him and his friends distancing themselves from him; a turn of events so horrid he could only blame it on something so magical as a set of clothes that makes people like you.<br />
<br />
But the Tailor was nowhere near to see the final developments. He knew that his "enchantments" of the garments he created were nothing like the "solid" unchangeable magic items most craftsmen made, ephemerally created through the flimsy means of words and ideas, he understood that their nature could easily be changed by the demeanour of the people using them. The hypocrisy of people wanting to be liked, but doing nothing to be likeable showed and their true nature was eventually imbued into the fabric of the clothes, replacing his words of charm and they ended up wearing their true heart on their sleeves, one might say.<br />
<br />
Knowing that after a point, the Tailor anticipated what would happen, used his clients and when the time came, bailed, left the country and using the money he'd accumulated reached Modern-Land. There he received education beyond what he could ever get in his home land and also among other things met the Doctor (and stole a couple of magistone rings from them in the end).<br />
<br />
At some point after he left his home land, the Tailor also began swallowing a little medstone every day, just little enough so he wouldn't die. Over the years, consuming it essentially turned his very body into a medstone tool. But the trick is in how flexible that becomes. One of the main components for creating an ashstone tool is something to define what kind of magic that tool can perform (e.g. carving a symbol of fire on a tool obviously makes it fire-based, though how specific things get after this depend I guess). This component doesn't have to be completely literal or an objective representation of something or maybe not even physical at all. The idea is that the medstone is "clever" enough to understand what you mean at the time of binding it, as long as you at least provide something. The quality of your description of what you want, however, is usually going to be influencing the quality of the tool as well. In the case of the Tailor's first enchantments for instance the Tailor's words, the concepts he described with them (or perhaps it's based on the state of his brain at the time of speaking the words, if you want to see it in a more scientific/physical manner; I don't know I'm really trying to find a way to make this work) became that component. Because they were so ethereal, that's also why the clothes' magic was so easily changeable.<br />
<br />
What I'm getting to though, is that when the Tailor turned his own body into a refined magistone vessel, the "element" component or whatever you want to call it became what he has on his mind. Whatever he's thinking at the time completes the "tool" and if he activates it, he can cast any type of magic he wants. And that's the trick he uses that makes people think he has attained Free Magic, earning him the title of The Wizard.<br />
<br />
However, this power did not come without its costs. If you recall, there were two main interpretations/theories/records of how medstone was created. One was pretty scientific and relied on the idea that if you mixed the right substances, chemistry would do the rest (probably). On the other side of the spectrum, was the myth of two spirits clashing and basically merging to bring forth the material that is ashstone.<br />
<br />
What's the reality here is integral to understanding what magistone really is and how it works. But to that I don't think there is or should be an answer. We can wonder as much as the characters. What's important is that one interpretation based on the second theory suggests that the Heart of the Land (which is what some people call what makes ashstone work) is basically the essence of spirits inhabiting the ashes. The Wizard is one of the people subscribing to that kind of theory and that's why he believes that consuming the medstone for years caused him to be possessed by 13 demons. He may be right, but of course another interpretation is that the substance affected him neurologically and that's what unhinged him. Either way, he's not necessarily the most balanced person and although for the most part he's seen working together with the protagonists or other people that are probably usually seen as the ones "morally right", he's still probably a cold calculating manipulator that uses them as pawns for his own plans that may usually align with the general good or some of the protagonists' goals, but might not always do so and the reasons he does stuff isn't necessarily out of the good of his heart.<br />
<br />
And I think that's more or less the idea right now.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Nine Sages]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=The_Wizard&diff=35The Wizard2025-05-02T18:39:34Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>== The Tailor's Tale ==<br />
<br />
But before all that, he was a simple poor tailor's assistant/servant (the assistant was poor, not the tailor) in a poor old country in a medieval continent. The tailor would overwork him, having him work till late night often. One of these nights he was working on an order from a rich gentleman/knight/nobleman who had requested clothes that would make him amaze the attendees of his next ball. The tailor had long gone to sleep, the moon had risen and gone back down again and the young man was still at it lest he doesn't finish in time and is punished by his master/employer. All the light he had in the all-consuming dark was a small fire produced by a little bit of raw ashstone. <br />
<br />
And at that time, the young boy had a streak of inspiration. Perhaps, due to a sudden ambition to create the best product he could or as a means to try and get the job done faster so he could manage to get a couple hours of sleep before he had to be up again; he took a bit of the Devil's Ash, imbued the thread with it and whispering words for charisma and making an impression, sew it in the clothes.<br />
<br />
The next day, the clothes were prepared for delivery and the assistant received a beating for wasting precious medstone. And it might have ended there, but as luck would have it, the gentleman's ball (were they balls in medieval times or is there a different term for the meetings of the noble/rich in those times) was truly a success and the man excitedly told his friends where he bought the clothes that had so much helped impress the world.<br />
<br />
Soon afterwards another knight arrived to the tailor's shop having a strange request. Referencing his friend's success he asked clothes to be made of the same sort such that would convince a woman that most detested him to marry him. If they managed to do that, he promised to make this shop the richest and most famous in the country.<br />
<br />
The tailor agreed for of course how could he not say yes to such an offer. However, he soon came to despair realising that nothing he created seemed to fit the description to be able to change hearts in such dramatic manner. Fearing to report failure, for the knight was rumoured to be an ill-tempered man, quick to anger and possibly having killed his servant, too, the tailor eventually turned to his assistant, asking for his help: if he had done something special last time, could he do it again? The young man, seeing the opportunity, asked for better working conditions and pay as well as getting the credit for making it. If he got that, he would quickly whip up the most charming clothes the tailor had ever seen. Agreeing to the terms and supplying the ashstone, the tailor let his assistant do his magic, almost literally, and soon enough the knight was given the product he requested and some time later, the news of the man and his loved one's engagement were heard.<br />
<br />
True to his word, the knight spread word of the shop's achievements and the tailor who'd made it happen. Indeed, feeling indebted to his benefactors, the man traveled the country and visited friends, acquaintances and more, as if to let everyone that was someone know who was the root to his happiness.<br />
<br />
Sure enough, the success of the shop and its two tailors, now partners, was great and they became renowned nation-wide. They got many jobs, of all sorts, and created the most fashionable garments in the land. They quickly became truly rich and the business increased yet. And one day, a new request came, perhaps the biggest of them all. The king of the land, fearing a rebellion from the lower classes, asked to be dressed in garments that would allow him to win the kingdom over.<br />
<br />
The former boss wondered if something of the sort was even possible, but the young man gladly took the job. Although a difficult project, the craftsman was finally satisfied after ten days of work. The King was sent his clothes and was able to come out and speak to his people once again, miraculously appeasing the at the time angry masses.<br />
<br />
Peace came unto the kingdom for a while despite the poor state the lower classes were in. And right when the nobles of the land thought everything was right in the world, the young tailor suddenly closed shop and disappeared.<br />
<br />
It wasn't long afterwards that things changed.<br />
<br />
Just as tranquility had come over the kingdom so suddenly, chaos broke out perhaps even more abruptly. If the people were angry before, now they were infuriated, hating the king with a nasty vengeance. Historians would always be baffled at this turn of events, for there was no known trigger that brought about such sudden change. The masses simply snapped overnight. People rebelled and after rapid developments, before anyone knew it, the king was dead.<br />
<br />
The dreaded knight also surprisingly found himself jilted and put in prison, a strange development considering the kind of influence he had that'd allow him to avoid repercussions for many of his actions before.<br />
<br />
And in the end, the original nobleman was left wondering if all of this could have been avoided, for he very clearly remembered that before his friend, let alone the king, visited the tailor he had made sure to come back and complain about how despite his new clothes' original success, soon afterwards he'd found himself met with an unhappy wife, his servants showing their disdain of him and his friends distancing themselves from him; a turn of events so horrid he could only blame it on something so magical as a set of clothes that makes people like you.<br />
<br />
But the Tailor was nowhere near to see the final developments. He knew that his "enchantments" of the garments he created were nothing like the "solid" unchangeable magic items most craftsmen made, ephemerally created through the flimsy means of words and ideas, he understood that their nature could easily be changed by the demeanour of the people using them. The hypocrisy of people wanting to be liked, but doing nothing to be likeable showed and their true nature was eventually imbued into the fabric of the clothes, replacing his words of charm and they ended up wearing their true heart on their sleeves, one might say.<br />
<br />
Knowing that after a point, the Tailor anticipated what would happen, used his clients and when the time came, bailed, left the country and using the money he'd accumulated reached Modern-Land. There he received education beyond what he could ever get in his home land and also among other things met the Doctor (and stole a couple of magistone rings from them in the end).<br />
<br />
At some point after he left his home land, the Tailor also began swallowing a little medstone every day, just little enough so he wouldn't die. Over the years, consuming it essentially turned his very body into a medstone tool. But the trick is in how flexible that becomes. One of the main components for creating an ashstone tool is something to define what kind of magic that tool can perform (e.g. carving a symbol of fire on a tool obviously makes it fire-based, though how specific things get after this depend I guess). This component doesn't have to be completely literal or an objective representation of something or maybe not even physical at all. The idea is that the medstone is "clever" enough to understand what you mean at the time of binding it, as long as you at least provide something. The quality of your description of what you want, however, is usually going to be influencing the quality of the tool as well. In the case of the Tailor's first enchantments for instance the Tailor's words, the concepts he described with them (or perhaps it's based on the state of his brain at the time of speaking the words, if you want to see it in a more scientific/physical manner; I don't know I'm really trying to find a way to make this work) became that component. Because they were so ethereal, that's also why the clothes' magic was so easily changeable.<br />
<br />
What I'm getting to though, is that when the Tailor turned his own body into a refined magistone vessel, the "element" component or whatever you want to call it became what he has on his mind. Whatever he's thinking at the time completes the "tool" and if he activates it, he can cast any type of magic he wants. And that's the trick he uses that makes people think he has attained Free Magic, earning him the title of The Wizard.<br />
<br />
However, this power did not come without its costs. If you recall, there were two main interpretations/theories/records of how medstone was created. One was pretty scientific and relied on the idea that if you mixed the right substances, chemistry would do the rest (probably). On the other side of the spectrum, was the myth of two spirits clashing and basically merging to bring forth the material that is ashstone.<br />
<br />
What's the reality here is integral to understanding what magistone really is and how it works. But to that I don't think there is or should be an answer. We can wonder as much as the characters. What's important is that one interpretation based on the second theory suggests that the Heart of the Land (which is what some people call what makes ashstone work) is basically the essence of spirits inhabiting the ashes. The Wizard is one of the people subscribing to that kind of theory and that's why he believes that consuming the medstone for years caused him to be possessed by 13 demons. He may be right, but of course another interpretation is that the substance affected him neurologically and that's what unhinged him. Either way, he's not necessarily the most balanced person and although for the most part he's seen working together with the protagonists or other people that are probably usually seen as the ones "morally right", he's still probably a cold calculating manipulator that uses them as pawns for his own plans that may usually align with the general good or some of the protagonists' goals, but might not always do so and the reasons he does stuff isn't necessarily out of the good of his heart.<br />
And I think that's more or less the idea right now.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Nine Sages]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Nine_Sages&diff=34Category:Nine Sages2025-05-02T18:34:28Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>Also, I had the idea of having the Nine Sages of [Something] (number also pending, if we want to change it), who are nine medstone crafters (that is refiners) who are renowned in the world as "the best" at refining ashstone and making tools with it.<br />
<br />
If we do something like that, I already have some ideas for some of them, e.g. the Blacksmith who made the Black Knight [actual name to be determined]'s armour.<br />
<br />
#The Blacksmith - Medieval<br />
#The Wizard - Medieval (also known as The Demon and formerly as The Tailor)<br />
#The Druid - Medieval(/Celtic)<br />
#The Doctor - Modern<br />
#The Alchemist - Southernmost Island<br />
#The Mechanic - Steampunk<br />
#The Engineer (?) - Youmoto<br />
#The Shaman (unless I change this to something more informed of African cultures) - Modern<br />
#+ 1 more<br />
<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Garth_the_Fiercest&diff=33Garth the Fiercest2025-05-02T18:31:22Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with " === Name === Garth the Fiercest === Role === Anti-Hero === Other names === Fiercest Unwilling Herald === Gender === Male === Age === Teens? Category:Characters Category:Protagonists"</p>
<hr />
<div><br />
=== Name === <br />
<br />
Garth the Fiercest<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Role ===<br />
<br />
Anti-Hero<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Other names ===<br />
<br />
<br />
Fiercest<br />
Unwilling Herald<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Gender ===<br />
<br />
<br />
Male<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Age === <br />
<br />
Teens?<br />
<br />
[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Protagonists]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Youmoto&diff=32Youmoto2025-05-02T18:29:28Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "Category:Locations"</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Locations]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Medstone&diff=31Medstone2025-05-02T18:28:16Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>This is confusing and needs to be organised. It might also contain outdated information as well as unanswered (or answered) questions.<br />
<br />
This might need to be separated in two pages, one about Medstone, one about [[Magic]]. Maybe even more to distinguish between Medstone and non-Medstone materials.<br />
<br />
Unlike the [[Magic Basics]] page, this is going to be a thorough exploration of the topic of Medstone, all its variants, and other types of Magical or Mediating Materials. Not all of this will be always relevant, but the intent is to have the lore established for whenever and wherever, if ever, needed. For now, I will be compiling existing materials in one place. In the future, I might synthesise this in better or more expanded form. Information here is as always still subject to change.<br />
<br />
== Magical and Medium Materials ==<br />
<br />
*Blackstone - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative/Corrupting)<br />
*Yellowstone/Amberstone/Philosopher's Stone - Type Altering (Triggered: Transmutive)<br />
*Redstone (till we get something better) - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative)<br />
*Moonstone (might as well call it that) - Type Altering (Unknown Properties)<br />
*Rich Oil (don't know just something I came up on the spot) - Type Productive (Triggered, Natural: Self-productive, that is it produces more of itself deep in the earth)<br />
*Medstone/Ashstone/Magistone/Devil's Ash - Type All (Triggered)<br />
*Refined Medstone(/...) - Type All (Passive, Triggered)<br />
*Experimental Substances attempting combination of the above different than Medstone - Usually failures (they either don't work at all or the effects fail to combine and are pretty weak).<br />
<br />
By the way, the listed sub-properties of each are the ones that have been confirmed, but not necessarily the ones they're limited to (e.g. any one of these could possibly have natural magic effects, only they've not been observed so far)<br />
<br />
== Altering vs Productive Magic ==<br />
<br />
== Types of Altering Magic ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Transmutive<br />
*Mutative<br />
*Corruptive(? should this be different from Mutative?)<br />
*Should there be more?<br />
<br />
<br />
== Types of Activation ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Natural<br />
*Passive<br />
*Triggered<br />
<br />
== Black Goo ==<br />
<br />
Now on the matter of the "Black Goo", what is it? Where did it come from? Like blackstone, somethingstone and yellowstone, the "Black Goo" is also a pre-medstone substance, but of a different nature. Whereas the "stones" have altering powers generally and came from the meteors which crashed on the earth and altered it, the "Black Goo" on the other hand is naturally produced in the depths of the earth and gushes out in the North, possessing productive powers. When combined "Black Goo" and alienstone together form the much stronger medstone that can both produce and change. Hurrah! Human magic is born!<br />
<br />
== Moonstone ==<br />
<br />
I also mentioned something about the moon. See Sci-Fi-land is a bit jelly because they don't have much ashstone, so they want more. Importing it is a bit of a difficult process since the other lands aren't much inclined in giving it. So, Sci-Fi-land thinks "We're clever enough. We can make our own". They study medstone and the volcanoes whence it came from to discover the truth about it and how to make it. So they then go searching for the materials. "Black Goo" exists plentiful in the North, though fools who don't understand its value usually just burn it. The South, however, is nearly run out of yellowstone and what is there the locals keep to themselves. The Sci-Fi people, though, know about the meteors. Still, taking advantage of that info is gonna be hard. Somethingstone is mostly in the hands of the "Egyptians" who are recluse people who don't usually allow foreigners in their lands and wouldn't give up their holy artefacts anyway. The Darkness of the Sea, on the other hand is a considerable risk in acquiring the blackstone (combined with the difficulty of searching for it in the depths of the ocean). They'll still try, because they're greedy, but they've also found an alternative solution.<br />
<br />
A theory exists that suggests that when the three meteors fell to the earth, there might have been one or two more that crashed on the moon instead. And that is why it's imperative to go to the moon and find that source of alienstone. And while talk of going to space might come in rather early in the story, I think these kind of developments, of this search really happening and the heroes and readers hearing about it would come a lot later (after a whole bunch of foreshadowing through talking about the ventures to the moon). And yet even if/when they actually get the alienstone from the moon, another issue stands in the way for our sci-fi friends. We like to make things hard for them after all.<br />
<br />
Even after acquiring it, a problem arises. The medstone they make isn't working. At first, they think it's an issue of analogies in composition, but then they see the alienstone isn't working alone either. I've said so before, I believe, but ashstone or alienstone or the Black Goo aren't the source of magic. They're merely the medium. Where exactly it comes from is uncertain, but perhaps a good guess would be to say from the hearts of the earth or from the spirits residing in it that embody the medstone and make it work. Or it could be anything else. But the existing hypothesis becomes that the alienstone and thus the ashstone produced lack the Heart of the Land. Yellowstone, previously, and the Black Goo have existed on the earth for ages and perhaps it's something from it, the so called Heart of the Land that awakened them. Now, will they be able to awaken their own alienstone in the future? Maybe. We'll see. This is very much in the brainstorming stage still.<br />
<br />
And a note just in case this wasn't clear, all of these names of stones and goos I used now are placeholders to help conversation. We'd hopefully find better names by the time we need them.<br />
<br />
== Magicians ==<br />
<br />
Now for what a magician is, I think the question lies on what exactly is the requirement for being able to activate magistone. I can see a few different scenarios:<br />
*Everyone can. Everyone potentially could, it just comes down to who is willing to use it, learn to use it and acquire it raw or refined. It's ambiguous whether you can call anyone a magician.<br />
*Everyone can if they study (and/or train) hard enough. There's something in the process of using ashstone that makes it a rather hard art to learn and therefore only a few choose to commit to it. In this case, those people could very well be called magicians [personally not a fan of this one, because I can't quite find what would be the complication of using magistone that would require such intense studying]<br />
(Note: when I first wrote that I didn't much consider the training factor; if the issue is that it requires a lot of training to use medstone right, that would probably make more sense; though that could still be combined with something else to a lesser degree of training though)<br />
<br />
*Only the ones born with a certain natural talent to connect with the Ashes can do so. Would be called magicians [Also, not a fan of this one, because it feels too arbitrary; in other cases I wouldn't mind natural-talent-based magicians, but I don't feel it fits here]<br />
<br />
*The resonance with ashstone, for those who have it, isn't natural, but acquired through some method. I originally had considered the consumption of a small amount of medstone (which could have been risky) as a possibility, but for reasons that will become apparent in just a little, I am no longer in favour of that idea as I'd like to use the medstone-consuming thing for something else.<br />
<br />
*Everyone can use medstone, but different people resonate more with different types of medstone. There are some that can only use one or two types well, while some may resonate with lots of types, but not as much as the former -it is also conceivable that one may not resonate with any kind of medstone though that would probably be pretty rare, if it happens. That could be considered as arbitrary as the previous one perhaps, but I think not necessarily. While the previous choice simply separated people between magicians and non-magicians, the lines here are blurrier and the distinctions multiple. It could be said that the differences are based on the person's heart of hearts or whatever (you know what I mean). Similarly to how people have different patronuses in Harry Potter or different semblances in RWBY and it's based on their personality/soul, but at the same time you can't exactly tell the rules of how it works. I also find that a system like that is pretty convenient. It allows for all-rounders if we want them, but at the same time it limits most people to one or two effects they can use better, making for a more interesting variety where each person has a limited skill set and they must make do with that and strategise around it. It also allows for people who don't use magic at all, because they're not very good at it or they haven't found any refined ashstone they resonate with. Perhaps, we could add a little training factor for controlling it and there'd be a reasonable amount of people who don't typically use it (unless it's a passive magistone tool, which also I suppose could happen and wouldn't need activation per se, but would instead work all the time, probably providing an effect to itself or to its surrounding area; that would then make for a nice family-friendly tool for all to use -should they find one).<br />
<br />
The thing is, though, it's not exactly certain whom we should call magicians in a scenario like that. Is it everyone who uses (active) medstone? Just the all-rounders? Is it actually the refiners of ashstone who in the first place make the tools (and who are quite rare, because that at least would be a difficult art to learn and master)? Or is perhaps no one a magician since they can't freely manipulate magic? I think it's interesting that we could potentially (emphasis on potentially, we don't have to) give any character some ashstone tool providing them with an ability (and also entry to the Tournament if they want to) but without having to treat them as magicians. Or at least that's how I see it.<br />
<br />
== Human, Natural and Free Magic ==<br />
<br />
Since I touched on the subject of freely manipulating magic though, I would like to add that what I've said so far is about what we shall now for simplicity's sake call HUMAN MAGIC. Other types of magic that may or may not appear might not exactly work like that.<br />
<br />
'''FREE MAGIC''' or '''TRUE MAGIC''': This isn't something that has actually been confirmed to exist, but is rather an ideal, something desired, but not ever found. As I've explained beforehand, magic as humans know it comes with some restrictions, more or less depending on what we decide in the end. As such, there are many people who do not see the users of ashstone as true magicians and therefore nor do they see their magic as true magic. Some of those people then seek that ideal of True Magic, the free magic that really allows one to manipulate nature according to their whims. There may often be examples of things that look like Free Magic when you don't understand how they work, but eventually just turn out to be clever ways to use medstone (e.g. the aforementioned "wizard" who seems to be able to cast magic without medstone, but is in fact eventually turned out to have been consuming little amounts of raw Ashes over the course of his life -little because it's also toxic to ingestion- so that he himself becomes the medstone; or a technique that might be used by the nobility of sci-fi-land (who might be more traditional despite the sci-fi-ness of their land) where they use quasi-refined medstone ink to write logographs of their language and upon writing the character the refinement process is complete as the character itself provides the last component which is the idea of what the desired effect is: the result is that the ink can be used for any effect (depending on the character drawn) as if raw ashstone was used, but has the power of refined ashstone). I don't think we're ever going to see Free Magic throughout the run of the story.<br />
<br />
'''NATURAL MAGIC''': a kind of magic that just happens on its own naturally where magical sources/mediums of large quantity and power exist. It slowly affects its surroundings over time in a way that doesn't necessarily obey the well-defined rule that Human Magic has. An example of that would be the animal-ish people of the "Egyptian" people who have for years been in the presence of a thing like medstone, but not exactly it, until it eventually mutated them.<br />
<br />
'''INNATE MAGIC''' of magical creatures: don't know how much we're going to include magical creatures, but there could be cases of creatures with Innate Magic that is more free than humans'. An example I was thinking of was the possibility of Djinn in the Arabic and maybe Persian area with the Djinn being basically creatures made of flame and medstone (later on I might give more details on what I'm thinking about them). As really different creatures their connection to magic is also sufficiently different and allows them for great powers, an example being the known example of the genie in the lamp that grants wishes. Wishing magic wouldn't normally be possible with medstone, but Djinns have really different capabilities. That is, though, if we include them.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Lore]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Medstone&diff=30Medstone2025-05-02T18:26:10Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>This is confusing and needs to be organised. It might also contain outdated information as well as unanswered (or answered) questions.<br />
<br />
Unlike the [[Magic Basics]] page, this is going to be a thorough exploration of the topic of Medstone, all its variants, and other types of Magical or Mediating Materials. Not all of this will be always relevant, but the intent is to have the lore established for whenever and wherever, if ever, needed. For now, I will be compiling existing materials in one place. In the future, I might synthesise this in better or more expanded form. Information here is as always still subject to change.<br />
<br />
== Magical and Medium Materials ==<br />
<br />
*Blackstone - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative/Corrupting)<br />
*Yellowstone/Amberstone/Philosopher's Stone - Type Altering (Triggered: Transmutive)<br />
*Redstone (till we get something better) - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative)<br />
*Moonstone (might as well call it that) - Type Altering (Unknown Properties)<br />
*Rich Oil (don't know just something I came up on the spot) - Type Productive (Triggered, Natural: Self-productive, that is it produces more of itself deep in the earth)<br />
*Medstone/Ashstone/Magistone/Devil's Ash - Type All (Triggered)<br />
*Refined Medstone(/...) - Type All (Passive, Triggered)<br />
*Experimental Substances attempting combination of the above different than Medstone - Usually failures (they either don't work at all or the effects fail to combine and are pretty weak).<br />
<br />
By the way, the listed sub-properties of each are the ones that have been confirmed, but not necessarily the ones they're limited to (e.g. any one of these could possibly have natural magic effects, only they've not been observed so far)<br />
<br />
== Altering vs Productive Magic ==<br />
<br />
== Types of Altering Magic ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Transmutive<br />
*Mutative<br />
*Corruptive(? should this be different from Mutative?)<br />
*Should there be more?<br />
<br />
<br />
== Types of Activation ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Natural<br />
*Passive<br />
*Triggered<br />
<br />
== Black Goo ==<br />
<br />
Now on the matter of the "Black Goo", what is it? Where did it come from? Like blackstone, somethingstone and yellowstone, the "Black Goo" is also a pre-medstone substance, but of a different nature. Whereas the "stones" have altering powers generally and came from the meteors which crashed on the earth and altered it, the "Black Goo" on the other hand is naturally produced in the depths of the earth and gushes out in the North, possessing productive powers. When combined "Black Goo" and alienstone together form the much stronger medstone that can both produce and change. Hurrah! Human magic is born!<br />
<br />
== Moonstone ==<br />
<br />
I also mentioned something about the moon. See Sci-Fi-land is a bit jelly because they don't have much ashstone, so they want more. Importing it is a bit of a difficult process since the other lands aren't much inclined in giving it. So, Sci-Fi-land thinks "We're clever enough. We can make our own". They study medstone and the volcanoes whence it came from to discover the truth about it and how to make it. So they then go searching for the materials. "Black Goo" exists plentiful in the North, though fools who don't understand its value usually just burn it. The South, however, is nearly run out of yellowstone and what is there the locals keep to themselves. The Sci-Fi people, though, know about the meteors. Still, taking advantage of that info is gonna be hard. Somethingstone is mostly in the hands of the "Egyptians" who are recluse people who don't usually allow foreigners in their lands and wouldn't give up their holy artefacts anyway. The Darkness of the Sea, on the other hand is a considerable risk in acquiring the blackstone (combined with the difficulty of searching for it in the depths of the ocean). They'll still try, because they're greedy, but they've also found an alternative solution.<br />
<br />
A theory exists that suggests that when the three meteors fell to the earth, there might have been one or two more that crashed on the moon instead. And that is why it's imperative to go to the moon and find that source of alienstone. And while talk of going to space might come in rather early in the story, I think these kind of developments, of this search really happening and the heroes and readers hearing about it would come a lot later (after a whole bunch of foreshadowing through talking about the ventures to the moon). And yet even if/when they actually get the alienstone from the moon, another issue stands in the way for our sci-fi friends. We like to make things hard for them after all.<br />
<br />
Even after acquiring it, a problem arises. The medstone they make isn't working. At first, they think it's an issue of analogies in composition, but then they see the alienstone isn't working alone either. I've said so before, I believe, but ashstone or alienstone or the Black Goo aren't the source of magic. They're merely the medium. Where exactly it comes from is uncertain, but perhaps a good guess would be to say from the hearts of the earth or from the spirits residing in it that embody the medstone and make it work. Or it could be anything else. But the existing hypothesis becomes that the alienstone and thus the ashstone produced lack the Heart of the Land. Yellowstone, previously, and the Black Goo have existed on the earth for ages and perhaps it's something from it, the so called Heart of the Land that awakened them. Now, will they be able to awaken their own alienstone in the future? Maybe. We'll see. This is very much in the brainstorming stage still.<br />
<br />
And a note just in case this wasn't clear, all of these names of stones and goos I used now are placeholders to help conversation. We'd hopefully find better names by the time we need them.<br />
<br />
== Magicians ==<br />
<br />
Now for what a magician is, I think the question lies on what exactly is the requirement for being able to activate magistone. I can see a few different scenarios:<br />
*Everyone can. Everyone potentially could, it just comes down to who is willing to use it, learn to use it and acquire it raw or refined. It's ambiguous whether you can call anyone a magician.<br />
*Everyone can if they study (and/or train) hard enough. There's something in the process of using ashstone that makes it a rather hard art to learn and therefore only a few choose to commit to it. In this case, those people could very well be called magicians [personally not a fan of this one, because I can't quite find what would be the complication of using magistone that would require such intense studying]<br />
(Note: when I first wrote that I didn't much consider the training factor; if the issue is that it requires a lot of training to use medstone right, that would probably make more sense; though that could still be combined with something else to a lesser degree of training though)<br />
<br />
*Only the ones born with a certain natural talent to connect with the Ashes can do so. Would be called magicians [Also, not a fan of this one, because it feels too arbitrary; in other cases I wouldn't mind natural-talent-based magicians, but I don't feel it fits here]<br />
<br />
*The resonance with ashstone, for those who have it, isn't natural, but acquired through some method. I originally had considered the consumption of a small amount of medstone (which could have been risky) as a possibility, but for reasons that will become apparent in just a little, I am no longer in favour of that idea as I'd like to use the medstone-consuming thing for something else.<br />
<br />
*Everyone can use medstone, but different people resonate more with different types of medstone. There are some that can only use one or two types well, while some may resonate with lots of types, but not as much as the former -it is also conceivable that one may not resonate with any kind of medstone though that would probably be pretty rare, if it happens. That could be considered as arbitrary as the previous one perhaps, but I think not necessarily. While the previous choice simply separated people between magicians and non-magicians, the lines here are blurrier and the distinctions multiple. It could be said that the differences are based on the person's heart of hearts or whatever (you know what I mean). Similarly to how people have different patronuses in Harry Potter or different semblances in RWBY and it's based on their personality/soul, but at the same time you can't exactly tell the rules of how it works. I also find that a system like that is pretty convenient. It allows for all-rounders if we want them, but at the same time it limits most people to one or two effects they can use better, making for a more interesting variety where each person has a limited skill set and they must make do with that and strategise around it. It also allows for people who don't use magic at all, because they're not very good at it or they haven't found any refined ashstone they resonate with. Perhaps, we could add a little training factor for controlling it and there'd be a reasonable amount of people who don't typically use it (unless it's a passive magistone tool, which also I suppose could happen and wouldn't need activation per se, but would instead work all the time, probably providing an effect to itself or to its surrounding area; that would then make for a nice family-friendly tool for all to use -should they find one).<br />
<br />
The thing is, though, it's not exactly certain whom we should call magicians in a scenario like that. Is it everyone who uses (active) medstone? Just the all-rounders? Is it actually the refiners of ashstone who in the first place make the tools (and who are quite rare, because that at least would be a difficult art to learn and master)? Or is perhaps no one a magician since they can't freely manipulate magic? I think it's interesting that we could potentially (emphasis on potentially, we don't have to) give any character some ashstone tool providing them with an ability (and also entry to the Tournament if they want to) but without having to treat them as magicians. Or at least that's how I see it.<br />
<br />
== Human, Natural and Free Magic ==<br />
<br />
Since I touched on the subject of freely manipulating magic though, I would like to add that what I've said so far is about what we shall now for simplicity's sake call HUMAN MAGIC. Other types of magic that may or may not appear might not exactly work like that.<br />
<br />
'''FREE MAGIC''' or '''TRUE MAGIC''': This isn't something that has actually been confirmed to exist, but is rather an ideal, something desired, but not ever found. As I've explained beforehand, magic as humans know it comes with some restrictions, more or less depending on what we decide in the end. As such, there are many people who do not see the users of ashstone as true magicians and therefore nor do they see their magic as true magic. Some of those people then seek that ideal of True Magic, the free magic that really allows one to manipulate nature according to their whims. There may often be examples of things that look like Free Magic when you don't understand how they work, but eventually just turn out to be clever ways to use medstone (e.g. the aforementioned "wizard" who seems to be able to cast magic without medstone, but is in fact eventually turned out to have been consuming little amounts of raw Ashes over the course of his life -little because it's also toxic to ingestion- so that he himself becomes the medstone; or a technique that might be used by the nobility of sci-fi-land (who might be more traditional despite the sci-fi-ness of their land) where they use quasi-refined medstone ink to write logographs of their language and upon writing the character the refinement process is complete as the character itself provides the last component which is the idea of what the desired effect is: the result is that the ink can be used for any effect (depending on the character drawn) as if raw ashstone was used, but has the power of refined ashstone). I don't think we're ever going to see Free Magic throughout the run of the story.<br />
<br />
'''NATURAL MAGIC''': a kind of magic that just happens on its own naturally where magical sources/mediums of large quantity and power exist. It slowly affects its surroundings over time in a way that doesn't necessarily obey the well-defined rule that Human Magic has. An example of that would be the animal-ish people of the "Egyptian" people who have for years been in the presence of a thing like medstone, but not exactly it, until it eventually mutated them.<br />
<br />
'''INNATE MAGIC''' of magical creatures: don't know how much we're going to include magical creatures, but there could be cases of creatures with Innate Magic that is more free than humans'. An example I was thinking of was the possibility of Djinn in the Arabic and maybe Persian area with the Djinn being basically creatures made of flame and medstone (later on I might give more details on what I'm thinking about them). As really different creatures their connection to magic is also sufficiently different and allows them for great powers, an example being the known example of the genie in the lamp that grants wishes. Wishing magic wouldn't normally be possible with medstone, but Djinns have really different capabilities. That is, though, if we include them.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Lore]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Talk:Magic_Basics&diff=29Talk:Magic Basics2025-05-02T18:25:42Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter moved page Talk:Magic to Talk:Magic Basics without leaving a redirect</p>
<hr />
<div>== Questions for Discussion ==<br />
<br />
# What is the actual source of magic, how does that influence the way a magic user interfaces with it and what do the people of our world base their beliefs on it (e.g. if some think spirits are the source, is there a reason for this? I've emphasised a lot that medstone is just a medium, not the source, but how would people tell the difference in the story)? Even if we don't fully answer the first question with certainty and clarity, we probably need to provide plausibility to the different theories when we want there to be many, and we need to provide reasons for the certainty when there's only a single dominating theory.<br />
# How do Magical Effects actually work? In typical scenarios, magic happens when someone calls upon it, but this isn't always the case in fantasy. If Human+Medstone+Thought is needed to first activate the magic, can there be lingering or permanent magic that lasts after one of those criteria no longer applies. If yes, which forms of these do we allow and under what circumstances? There are enchantments, curses, triggered effects, magical effects that persist on their own (e.g. a floating fireball that keeps burning even though there's no fuel -which is different from a flame started by magic, but which then behaves naturally and only continues burning and spreads in the presence of fuel). If some magic can linger, then can it do so indefinitely or does it weaken? Does it stay after the caster dies or if the medstone tool is destroyed? How far can a magical effect reach from the medstone or from the caster? To what extent, can the use of medstone be automated and human involvement minimised?<br />
# Related to the first question: Where does the magic flow from? Does it need to flow from the caster? Does it flow from the Medstone? Can it flow from anywhere (thus allowing easy creation of effects sourced from a point other than yourself)? Is there even a concept of flow of magic?<br />
# Also related to the first question: Does the caster reach out to something specific (even if that specific thing is more of a vague feeling) to call upon for use of magic? If medstones are mediums, are they in fact used more like communication tools than anything else and there's something else on the other end that the caster may feel the presence of? It's probably a subtle effect that not everyone can pick up on if we make that happen, but not necessarily.<br />
[[User:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter]] ([[User talk:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|talk]]) 17:36, 1 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:5. In writing the doc, I realised that two ideas I've had were clashing somewhat. One idea is that medstone is a medium, not the source of magic. The other idea is that medstone was created from two components, one of which can perform producing/generative magic and the other can perform altering/form-changing magic (the combination of which allowed the performing of any kind of magic). However, the second idea seems to imply that magic is caused by the substances themselves, rather than sourced from something else. It is a different philosophy than the first. To solve this conundrum, there are a few ways to go about it, but I'm not sure which would be best:<br />
:*Abandon one of the ideas (most likely the generative-vs-altering magic one).<br />
:*Have the components also be mediums, but only specifically mediating their respective type of magic (seems somewhat contrived, since the process by which such restriction is created in Medstone Tools is artificial, not natural like this would be).<br />
:*When the two types of substances combined during the cataclysmic event, they combined their magic and were able to create something completely different that's not itself magical, but has the ability to commune with the source(s) of magic, whatever they are (seems somewhat arbitrary).<br />
:*There are Essences(/Substances) and Spirits. The two materials in the volcanoes are the Essences of the Spirit of Generation and Change respectively. The Spirits can do magic, but their Essence is also magical (weakly though). When their Essences are joined, the Spirits also come together momentarily and create a new Spirit of Fullness that can do just about anything. The combined Essence (medstone) itself is not the Essence of Fullness or its magic in that respect is weak; but through its connection to the creation of the Spirit of Fullness, the Essence is the one thing that can be used to commune with it and allow it to act upon the physical world in the form of magic. The Spirit of Fullness (or the other Spirits itself) doesn't necessarily have to be a single Spirit in actuality or even sentient, but this is one way to express the concept. This option is somewhat of a "have my cake and eat it too" idea I developed to try and reconcile the two points of contention. I actually developed an entire creation myth/philosophy to try to justify it and make it reasonable, but I have not yet written it down and if a complicated and confusing explanation is not appealing to you guys, I might not need to.<br />
:[[User:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter]] ([[User talk:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|talk]]) 17:40, 1 May 2025 (UTC)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Magic_Basics&diff=28Magic Basics2025-05-02T18:25:42Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter moved page Magic to Magic Basics without leaving a redirect</p>
<hr />
<div>== Magic == <br />
<br />
In the Phoenix World, magic works using Medium Stone, typically abbreviated as Medstone. In this document we will summarise the basics of how Medstone and its use works, as reference to be able to easily write about it in typical scenarios.<br />
<br />
=== Use ===<br />
<br />
Everyone can use magic in this setting, though not everyone is equally suited to all magics and some people may indeed be worse at it entirely. Training is still important, especially if you want precise and more potent/efficient results. Training and studying to use magic mostly involves focusing to direct the magic to give you the desired result (rather than something that vaguely reminds it); as well as aligning your mindset with that required of the particular type of magic being invoked or the Medstone implement you are handling.<br />
<br />
To use magic, one needs to '''handle''' a Medstone implement (contact or eyesight might work depending on circumstances as well, but we might need to define the rules further for this, especially if the handling of the implement is contested) and '''direct''' it to desired '''effect'''. A mental direction is enough since the Medstone already operates as a '''medium''' channelling the magic, but the use of speech, motion or other forms of expression may help the magician focus on their intended outcome. Magic activation is intentional, so maybe some sort of mental reaching out is necessary (though to what exactly can be defined further; does the wielder sense the presence of the power they’re reaching out to?). It is generally believed that a living human (sentient) '''agent''' is required to set forth the magic, however Youmoto engineers are stretching the limits of this by various attempts of automated and remote use of Medstone in their technology.<br />
<br />
In standard Magic Theory, it is believed that the required elements for magic are Agent (Human), Direction (Thought), Medium (Medstone), Source; the combination of which brings forth Effect. Both Source and Effect are sometimes identified with “Magic”. What the actual Source of magic is, though, is highly disputed and unclear. Typically Medstone is not considered the Source, though that’s perhaps not entirely ruled out.<br />
<br />
=== Types of Implements ===<br />
<br />
# '''Raw Medstone''': Medstone in its natural unpurified form, it is not aligned with any particular kind of magic and thus can be used for any of it, however, it can be chaotic, uncontrollable and inefficient.<br />
# '''Refined Medstone''': Purged of impurities and rendered into a specific shape and form, it is more orderly than Raw Medstone. It can still largely be used for most types of magic, but the way in which the refiner chose to purify and shape it, direct it towards a preference of some magics over others.<br />
## '''Staffs''' and '''wands''': Very commonly craftsmen of the medieval kingdom put Refined Medstone at the top of their staffs, creating an implement that possesses the versatility of Refined Medstone, but becomes more potent by using the long cylindrical shape to more efficiently channel and direct magic. They are not however considered complete Medstone Tools, so they are often treated as something of an in-between. Wands are for the most part miniature versions of staffs that are more easily carried or concealed, but some craftsmen also use the smaller size to construct the entire thing out of Medstone.<br />
# '''Medstone Tools''': With Refined Medstone at its core, such a Tool is given structure that dedicates it to a much narrower purpose, thus resulting in the most potent of effects. It’s much more difficult to get an undesired outcome out of a Medstone Tool, since the design of the craftsman is already embedded in it, guiding the magic. It’s also difficult to get it to do something it wasn’t designed for, however. How restrained in purpose the Tool is can vary depending on its construction. Thus there can be a Tool built for producing flames, but the manner of the flames’ motion or their temperature or colour is still dependent on the wielder; or a Tool can be built which has been designed to shoot three greenish fireballs from the back of the user, and the wielder would be hard-pressed to get it to do anything that far departs from that concept. Such specification would probably require a much more complex and cumbersome design.<br />
<br />
The exact process of refining Medstone and creating a Tool is debated among the different traditions of craftsmanship, but most scholars typically describe at least these components as necessary for the structure of a Tool:<br />
# '''Medstone''' (for obvious reasons)<br />
# '''Container''' (so that magic doesn’t seep out)<br />
# '''Content/Decoration'''(?) (to specify the purpose)<br />
# More, if we can think of something?<br />
<br />
In some traditions an '''Index''' (to direct the magic outwards or towards a target) is also commonly considered as a fourth or optional component.<br />
<br />
These components can be rudimentary and even symbolical, however the effectiveness and clarity of the Tool’s magic depend on how well-integrated the components are and how well the complete design represents and aligns itself with the desired magic. For instance, one could draw a circle in sand add some medstone and a leaf inside, maybe a stick as an index and use that as a Tool for leaf magic. Naturally such improvised amateur design can only lead to improvised amateur magic. But it may yet work.<br />
<br />
=== Form ===<br />
<br />
Raw Medstone can be found in a number of states: '''ashes''' and grey pumice-like (or sometimes charcoal-like) '''stones''' are the most common state Medstone is found in. The stones are often covered in or embedded in ash, and their composition is often not uniform, with parts easily crumbling into dust and ash.<br />
Other rarer forms of Medstone may include '''crystals''' or volcanic '''glasses''' like obsidian, formed either during the cataclysmic events of the volcanoes’ eruption and their outpours’ clash and union; or while buried in soil under the pressure and temperature found therein. Some of these may be more readily found at the volcanic sites that produced them.<br />
These materials may not be identical to the known ones they are compared to, due to the unique composition and impurities that make it Medstone in the first place, but they might be similar.<br />
<br />
Refined Medstone is usually in stone, gem or glass form; either refined from that state into a more purified form, or solidified from ash form.<br />
<br />
Medstone Tools use Refined Medstone in the above-mentioned forms, but they also somewhat more frequently use other types of a more elaborate nature: Ashstone dissolved in liquid solutions and potions, metal alloys enriched with Medstone, plastics, rubber or other synthetic organic materials created using Medstone as a component, silicon enriched with traces of Medstone for use in electronics(?) and more.<br />
<br />
=== Name ===<br />
<br />
Alternative names for Medstone are Magistone, Ashstone, Ashes, The Devil’s Ash. The different names aren’t entirely region- or form-based, but different terms may be more common in different lands (there’s also the issue of different languages), while “Ashes” and “Devil’s Ash” are much more common in the Medieval Continent and when referring to Medstone in its ashen form.<br />
<br />
For the purposes of writing Medstone and Ashstone are probably the most neutral and you can for the most part use the terms interchangeably.<br />
<br />
=== Composition ===<br />
<br />
Medstone was created when the ash clouds of the two Major Volcanoes joined and their essences combined. Thus Medstone has two primary parts (Black Oil, Yellowstone), though they are at this point mixed, indistinguishable and inseparable.<br />
<br />
In terms of its actual chemical composition, I am not willing to narrow it down to something specific here (it’s likely not fully known in the story either) and it probably varies to some extent, however it probably typically contains at least some of these: elements typical of volcanic ash and gases, elements typical of stone and organic materials (likely more complex than one would expect from just oil). Sometimes some components will be in crystal form.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Lore]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Medstone&diff=27Medstone2025-05-02T18:19:54Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>This is confusing and needs to be organised. It might also contain outdated information as well as unanswered (or answered) questions.<br />
<br />
Unlike the [[Magic]] page, this is going to be a thorough exploration of the topic of Medstone, all its variants, and other types of Magical or Mediating Materials. Not all of this will be always relevant, but the intent is to have the lore established for whenever and wherever, if ever, needed. For now, I will be compiling existing materials in one place. In the future, I might synthesise this in better or more expanded form. Information here is as always still subject to change.<br />
<br />
== Magical and Medium Materials ==<br />
<br />
*Blackstone - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative/Corrupting)<br />
*Yellowstone/Amberstone/Philosopher's Stone - Type Altering (Triggered: Transmutive)<br />
*Redstone (till we get something better) - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative)<br />
*Moonstone (might as well call it that) - Type Altering (Unknown Properties)<br />
*Rich Oil (don't know just something I came up on the spot) - Type Productive (Triggered, Natural: Self-productive, that is it produces more of itself deep in the earth)<br />
*Medstone/Ashstone/Magistone/Devil's Ash - Type All (Triggered)<br />
*Refined Medstone(/...) - Type All (Passive, Triggered)<br />
*Experimental Substances attempting combination of the above different than Medstone - Usually failures (they either don't work at all or the effects fail to combine and are pretty weak).<br />
<br />
By the way, the listed sub-properties of each are the ones that have been confirmed, but not necessarily the ones they're limited to (e.g. any one of these could possibly have natural magic effects, only they've not been observed so far)<br />
<br />
== Altering vs Productive Magic ==<br />
<br />
== Types of Altering Magic ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Transmutive<br />
*Mutative<br />
*Corruptive(? should this be different from Mutative?)<br />
*Should there be more?<br />
<br />
<br />
== Types of Activation ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Natural<br />
*Passive<br />
*Triggered<br />
<br />
== Black Goo ==<br />
<br />
Now on the matter of the "Black Goo", what is it? Where did it come from? Like blackstone, somethingstone and yellowstone, the "Black Goo" is also a pre-medstone substance, but of a different nature. Whereas the "stones" have altering powers generally and came from the meteors which crashed on the earth and altered it, the "Black Goo" on the other hand is naturally produced in the depths of the earth and gushes out in the North, possessing productive powers. When combined "Black Goo" and alienstone together form the much stronger medstone that can both produce and change. Hurrah! Human magic is born!<br />
<br />
== Moonstone ==<br />
<br />
I also mentioned something about the moon. See Sci-Fi-land is a bit jelly because they don't have much ashstone, so they want more. Importing it is a bit of a difficult process since the other lands aren't much inclined in giving it. So, Sci-Fi-land thinks "We're clever enough. We can make our own". They study medstone and the volcanoes whence it came from to discover the truth about it and how to make it. So they then go searching for the materials. "Black Goo" exists plentiful in the North, though fools who don't understand its value usually just burn it. The South, however, is nearly run out of yellowstone and what is there the locals keep to themselves. The Sci-Fi people, though, know about the meteors. Still, taking advantage of that info is gonna be hard. Somethingstone is mostly in the hands of the "Egyptians" who are recluse people who don't usually allow foreigners in their lands and wouldn't give up their holy artefacts anyway. The Darkness of the Sea, on the other hand is a considerable risk in acquiring the blackstone (combined with the difficulty of searching for it in the depths of the ocean). They'll still try, because they're greedy, but they've also found an alternative solution.<br />
<br />
A theory exists that suggests that when the three meteors fell to the earth, there might have been one or two more that crashed on the moon instead. And that is why it's imperative to go to the moon and find that source of alienstone. And while talk of going to space might come in rather early in the story, I think these kind of developments, of this search really happening and the heroes and readers hearing about it would come a lot later (after a whole bunch of foreshadowing through talking about the ventures to the moon). And yet even if/when they actually get the alienstone from the moon, another issue stands in the way for our sci-fi friends. We like to make things hard for them after all.<br />
<br />
Even after acquiring it, a problem arises. The medstone they make isn't working. At first, they think it's an issue of analogies in composition, but then they see the alienstone isn't working alone either. I've said so before, I believe, but ashstone or alienstone or the Black Goo aren't the source of magic. They're merely the medium. Where exactly it comes from is uncertain, but perhaps a good guess would be to say from the hearts of the earth or from the spirits residing in it that embody the medstone and make it work. Or it could be anything else. But the existing hypothesis becomes that the alienstone and thus the ashstone produced lack the Heart of the Land. Yellowstone, previously, and the Black Goo have existed on the earth for ages and perhaps it's something from it, the so called Heart of the Land that awakened them. Now, will they be able to awaken their own alienstone in the future? Maybe. We'll see. This is very much in the brainstorming stage still.<br />
<br />
And a note just in case this wasn't clear, all of these names of stones and goos I used now are placeholders to help conversation. We'd hopefully find better names by the time we need them.<br />
<br />
== Magicians ==<br />
<br />
Now for what a magician is, I think the question lies on what exactly is the requirement for being able to activate magistone. I can see a few different scenarios:<br />
*Everyone can. Everyone potentially could, it just comes down to who is willing to use it, learn to use it and acquire it raw or refined. It's ambiguous whether you can call anyone a magician.<br />
*Everyone can if they study (and/or train) hard enough. There's something in the process of using ashstone that makes it a rather hard art to learn and therefore only a few choose to commit to it. In this case, those people could very well be called magicians [personally not a fan of this one, because I can't quite find what would be the complication of using magistone that would require such intense studying]<br />
(Note: when I first wrote that I didn't much consider the training factor; if the issue is that it requires a lot of training to use medstone right, that would probably make more sense; though that could still be combined with something else to a lesser degree of training though)<br />
<br />
*Only the ones born with a certain natural talent to connect with the Ashes can do so. Would be called magicians [Also, not a fan of this one, because it feels too arbitrary; in other cases I wouldn't mind natural-talent-based magicians, but I don't feel it fits here]<br />
<br />
*The resonance with ashstone, for those who have it, isn't natural, but acquired through some method. I originally had considered the consumption of a small amount of medstone (which could have been risky) as a possibility, but for reasons that will become apparent in just a little, I am no longer in favour of that idea as I'd like to use the medstone-consuming thing for something else.<br />
<br />
*Everyone can use medstone, but different people resonate more with different types of medstone. There are some that can only use one or two types well, while some may resonate with lots of types, but not as much as the former -it is also conceivable that one may not resonate with any kind of medstone though that would probably be pretty rare, if it happens. That could be considered as arbitrary as the previous one perhaps, but I think not necessarily. While the previous choice simply separated people between magicians and non-magicians, the lines here are blurrier and the distinctions multiple. It could be said that the differences are based on the person's heart of hearts or whatever (you know what I mean). Similarly to how people have different patronuses in Harry Potter or different semblances in RWBY and it's based on their personality/soul, but at the same time you can't exactly tell the rules of how it works. I also find that a system like that is pretty convenient. It allows for all-rounders if we want them, but at the same time it limits most people to one or two effects they can use better, making for a more interesting variety where each person has a limited skill set and they must make do with that and strategise around it. It also allows for people who don't use magic at all, because they're not very good at it or they haven't found any refined ashstone they resonate with. Perhaps, we could add a little training factor for controlling it and there'd be a reasonable amount of people who don't typically use it (unless it's a passive magistone tool, which also I suppose could happen and wouldn't need activation per se, but would instead work all the time, probably providing an effect to itself or to its surrounding area; that would then make for a nice family-friendly tool for all to use -should they find one).<br />
<br />
The thing is, though, it's not exactly certain whom we should call magicians in a scenario like that. Is it everyone who uses (active) medstone? Just the all-rounders? Is it actually the refiners of ashstone who in the first place make the tools (and who are quite rare, because that at least would be a difficult art to learn and master)? Or is perhaps no one a magician since they can't freely manipulate magic? I think it's interesting that we could potentially (emphasis on potentially, we don't have to) give any character some ashstone tool providing them with an ability (and also entry to the Tournament if they want to) but without having to treat them as magicians. Or at least that's how I see it.<br />
<br />
== Human, Natural and Free Magic ==<br />
<br />
Since I touched on the subject of freely manipulating magic though, I would like to add that what I've said so far is about what we shall now for simplicity's sake call HUMAN MAGIC. Other types of magic that may or may not appear might not exactly work like that.<br />
<br />
'''FREE MAGIC''' or '''TRUE MAGIC''': This isn't something that has actually been confirmed to exist, but is rather an ideal, something desired, but not ever found. As I've explained beforehand, magic as humans know it comes with some restrictions, more or less depending on what we decide in the end. As such, there are many people who do not see the users of ashstone as true magicians and therefore nor do they see their magic as true magic. Some of those people then seek that ideal of True Magic, the free magic that really allows one to manipulate nature according to their whims. There may often be examples of things that look like Free Magic when you don't understand how they work, but eventually just turn out to be clever ways to use medstone (e.g. the aforementioned "wizard" who seems to be able to cast magic without medstone, but is in fact eventually turned out to have been consuming little amounts of raw Ashes over the course of his life -little because it's also toxic to ingestion- so that he himself becomes the medstone; or a technique that might be used by the nobility of sci-fi-land (who might be more traditional despite the sci-fi-ness of their land) where they use quasi-refined medstone ink to write logographs of their language and upon writing the character the refinement process is complete as the character itself provides the last component which is the idea of what the desired effect is: the result is that the ink can be used for any effect (depending on the character drawn) as if raw ashstone was used, but has the power of refined ashstone). I don't think we're ever going to see Free Magic throughout the run of the story.<br />
<br />
'''NATURAL MAGIC''': a kind of magic that just happens on its own naturally where magical sources/mediums of large quantity and power exist. It slowly affects its surroundings over time in a way that doesn't necessarily obey the well-defined rule that Human Magic has. An example of that would be the animal-ish people of the "Egyptian" people who have for years been in the presence of a thing like medstone, but not exactly it, until it eventually mutated them.<br />
<br />
'''INNATE MAGIC''' of magical creatures: don't know how much we're going to include magical creatures, but there could be cases of creatures with Innate Magic that is more free than humans'. An example I was thinking of was the possibility of Djinn in the Arabic and maybe Persian area with the Djinn being basically creatures made of flame and medstone (later on I might give more details on what I'm thinking about them). As really different creatures their connection to magic is also sufficiently different and allows them for great powers, an example being the known example of the genie in the lamp that grants wishes. Wishing magic wouldn't normally be possible with medstone, but Djinns have really different capabilities. That is, though, if we include them.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Lore]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Medstone&diff=26Medstone2025-05-02T18:18:46Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>Unlike the [[Magic]] page, this is going to be a thorough exploration of the topic of Medstone, all its variants, and other types of Magical or Mediating Materials. Not all of this will be always relevant, but the intent is to have the lore established for whenever and wherever, if ever, needed. For now, I will be compiling existing materials in one place. In the future, I might synthesise this in better or more expanded form. Information here is as always still subject to change.<br />
<br />
== Magical and Medium Materials ==<br />
<br />
*Blackstone - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative/Corrupting)<br />
*Yellowstone/Amberstone/Philosopher's Stone - Type Altering (Triggered: Transmutive)<br />
*Redstone (till we get something better) - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative)<br />
*Moonstone (might as well call it that) - Type Altering (Unknown Properties)<br />
*Rich Oil (don't know just something I came up on the spot) - Type Productive (Triggered, Natural: Self-productive, that is it produces more of itself deep in the earth)<br />
*Medstone/Ashstone/Magistone/Devil's Ash - Type All (Triggered)<br />
*Refined Medstone(/...) - Type All (Passive, Triggered)<br />
*Experimental Substances attempting combination of the above different than Medstone - Usually failures (they either don't work at all or the effects fail to combine and are pretty weak).<br />
<br />
By the way, the listed sub-properties of each are the ones that have been confirmed, but not necessarily the ones they're limited to (e.g. any one of these could possibly have natural magic effects, only they've not been observed so far)<br />
<br />
== Altering vs Productive Magic ==<br />
<br />
== Types of Altering Magic ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Transmutive<br />
*Mutative<br />
*Corruptive(? should this be different from Mutative?)<br />
*Should there be more?<br />
<br />
<br />
== Types of Activation ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Natural<br />
*Passive<br />
*Triggered<br />
<br />
== Black Goo ==<br />
<br />
Now on the matter of the "Black Goo", what is it? Where did it come from? Like blackstone, somethingstone and yellowstone, the "Black Goo" is also a pre-medstone substance, but of a different nature. Whereas the "stones" have altering powers generally and came from the meteors which crashed on the earth and altered it, the "Black Goo" on the other hand is naturally produced in the depths of the earth and gushes out in the North, possessing productive powers. When combined "Black Goo" and alienstone together form the much stronger medstone that can both produce and change. Hurrah! Human magic is born!<br />
<br />
== Moonstone ==<br />
<br />
I also mentioned something about the moon. See Sci-Fi-land is a bit jelly because they don't have much ashstone, so they want more. Importing it is a bit of a difficult process since the other lands aren't much inclined in giving it. So, Sci-Fi-land thinks "We're clever enough. We can make our own". They study medstone and the volcanoes whence it came from to discover the truth about it and how to make it. So they then go searching for the materials. "Black Goo" exists plentiful in the North, though fools who don't understand its value usually just burn it. The South, however, is nearly run out of yellowstone and what is there the locals keep to themselves. The Sci-Fi people, though, know about the meteors. Still, taking advantage of that info is gonna be hard. Somethingstone is mostly in the hands of the "Egyptians" who are recluse people who don't usually allow foreigners in their lands and wouldn't give up their holy artefacts anyway. The Darkness of the Sea, on the other hand is a considerable risk in acquiring the blackstone (combined with the difficulty of searching for it in the depths of the ocean). They'll still try, because they're greedy, but they've also found an alternative solution.<br />
<br />
A theory exists that suggests that when the three meteors fell to the earth, there might have been one or two more that crashed on the moon instead. And that is why it's imperative to go to the moon and find that source of alienstone. And while talk of going to space might come in rather early in the story, I think these kind of developments, of this search really happening and the heroes and readers hearing about it would come a lot later (after a whole bunch of foreshadowing through talking about the ventures to the moon). And yet even if/when they actually get the alienstone from the moon, another issue stands in the way for our sci-fi friends. We like to make things hard for them after all.<br />
<br />
Even after acquiring it, a problem arises. The medstone they make isn't working. At first, they think it's an issue of analogies in composition, but then they see the alienstone isn't working alone either. I've said so before, I believe, but ashstone or alienstone or the Black Goo aren't the source of magic. They're merely the medium. Where exactly it comes from is uncertain, but perhaps a good guess would be to say from the hearts of the earth or from the spirits residing in it that embody the medstone and make it work. Or it could be anything else. But the existing hypothesis becomes that the alienstone and thus the ashstone produced lack the Heart of the Land. Yellowstone, previously, and the Black Goo have existed on the earth for ages and perhaps it's something from it, the so called Heart of the Land that awakened them. Now, will they be able to awaken their own alienstone in the future? Maybe. We'll see. This is very much in the brainstorming stage still.<br />
<br />
And a note just in case this wasn't clear, all of these names of stones and goos I used now are placeholders to help conversation. We'd hopefully find better names by the time we need them.<br />
<br />
== Magicians ==<br />
<br />
Now for what a magician is, I think the question lies on what exactly is the requirement for being able to activate magistone. I can see a few different scenarios:<br />
*Everyone can. Everyone potentially could, it just comes down to who is willing to use it, learn to use it and acquire it raw or refined. It's ambiguous whether you can call anyone a magician.<br />
*Everyone can if they study (and/or train) hard enough. There's something in the process of using ashstone that makes it a rather hard art to learn and therefore only a few choose to commit to it. In this case, those people could very well be called magicians [personally not a fan of this one, because I can't quite find what would be the complication of using magistone that would require such intense studying]<br />
(Note: when I first wrote that I didn't much consider the training factor; if the issue is that it requires a lot of training to use medstone right, that would probably make more sense; though that could still be combined with something else to a lesser degree of training though)<br />
<br />
*Only the ones born with a certain natural talent to connect with the Ashes can do so. Would be called magicians [Also, not a fan of this one, because it feels too arbitrary; in other cases I wouldn't mind natural-talent-based magicians, but I don't feel it fits here]<br />
<br />
*The resonance with ashstone, for those who have it, isn't natural, but acquired through some method. I originally had considered the consumption of a small amount of medstone (which could have been risky) as a possibility, but for reasons that will become apparent in just a little, I am no longer in favour of that idea as I'd like to use the medstone-consuming thing for something else.<br />
<br />
*Everyone can use medstone, but different people resonate more with different types of medstone. There are some that can only use one or two types well, while some may resonate with lots of types, but not as much as the former -it is also conceivable that one may not resonate with any kind of medstone though that would probably be pretty rare, if it happens. That could be considered as arbitrary as the previous one perhaps, but I think not necessarily. While the previous choice simply separated people between magicians and non-magicians, the lines here are blurrier and the distinctions multiple. It could be said that the differences are based on the person's heart of hearts or whatever (you know what I mean). Similarly to how people have different patronuses in Harry Potter or different semblances in RWBY and it's based on their personality/soul, but at the same time you can't exactly tell the rules of how it works. I also find that a system like that is pretty convenient. It allows for all-rounders if we want them, but at the same time it limits most people to one or two effects they can use better, making for a more interesting variety where each person has a limited skill set and they must make do with that and strategise around it. It also allows for people who don't use magic at all, because they're not very good at it or they haven't found any refined ashstone they resonate with. Perhaps, we could add a little training factor for controlling it and there'd be a reasonable amount of people who don't typically use it (unless it's a passive magistone tool, which also I suppose could happen and wouldn't need activation per se, but would instead work all the time, probably providing an effect to itself or to its surrounding area; that would then make for a nice family-friendly tool for all to use -should they find one).<br />
<br />
The thing is, though, it's not exactly certain whom we should call magicians in a scenario like that. Is it everyone who uses (active) medstone? Just the all-rounders? Is it actually the refiners of ashstone who in the first place make the tools (and who are quite rare, because that at least would be a difficult art to learn and master)? Or is perhaps no one a magician since they can't freely manipulate magic? I think it's interesting that we could potentially (emphasis on potentially, we don't have to) give any character some ashstone tool providing them with an ability (and also entry to the Tournament if they want to) but without having to treat them as magicians. Or at least that's how I see it.<br />
<br />
== Human, Natural and Free Magic ==<br />
<br />
Since I touched on the subject of freely manipulating magic though, I would like to add that what I've said so far is about what we shall now for simplicity's sake call HUMAN MAGIC. Other types of magic that may or may not appear might not exactly work like that.<br />
<br />
'''FREE MAGIC''' or '''TRUE MAGIC''': This isn't something that has actually been confirmed to exist, but is rather an ideal, something desired, but not ever found. As I've explained beforehand, magic as humans know it comes with some restrictions, more or less depending on what we decide in the end. As such, there are many people who do not see the users of ashstone as true magicians and therefore nor do they see their magic as true magic. Some of those people then seek that ideal of True Magic, the free magic that really allows one to manipulate nature according to their whims. There may often be examples of things that look like Free Magic when you don't understand how they work, but eventually just turn out to be clever ways to use medstone (e.g. the aforementioned "wizard" who seems to be able to cast magic without medstone, but is in fact eventually turned out to have been consuming little amounts of raw Ashes over the course of his life -little because it's also toxic to ingestion- so that he himself becomes the medstone; or a technique that might be used by the nobility of sci-fi-land (who might be more traditional despite the sci-fi-ness of their land) where they use quasi-refined medstone ink to write logographs of their language and upon writing the character the refinement process is complete as the character itself provides the last component which is the idea of what the desired effect is: the result is that the ink can be used for any effect (depending on the character drawn) as if raw ashstone was used, but has the power of refined ashstone). I don't think we're ever going to see Free Magic throughout the run of the story.<br />
<br />
'''NATURAL MAGIC''': a kind of magic that just happens on its own naturally where magical sources/mediums of large quantity and power exist. It slowly affects its surroundings over time in a way that doesn't necessarily obey the well-defined rule that Human Magic has. An example of that would be the animal-ish people of the "Egyptian" people who have for years been in the presence of a thing like medstone, but not exactly it, until it eventually mutated them.<br />
<br />
'''INNATE MAGIC''' of magical creatures: don't know how much we're going to include magical creatures, but there could be cases of creatures with Innate Magic that is more free than humans'. An example I was thinking of was the possibility of Djinn in the Arabic and maybe Persian area with the Djinn being basically creatures made of flame and medstone (later on I might give more details on what I'm thinking about them). As really different creatures their connection to magic is also sufficiently different and allows them for great powers, an example being the known example of the genie in the lamp that grants wishes. Wishing magic wouldn't normally be possible with medstone, but Djinns have really different capabilities. That is, though, if we include them.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Lore]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Medstone&diff=25Medstone2025-05-02T18:18:39Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "Unlike the Magic page, this is going to be a thorough exploration of the topic of Medstone, all its variants, and other types of Magical or Mediating Materials. Not all of this will be always relevant, but the intent is to have the lore established for whenever and wherever, if ever, needed. For now, I will be compiling existing materials in one place. In the future, I might synthesise this in better or more expanded form. Information here is as always still subject..."</p>
<hr />
<div>Unlike the [[Magic]] page, this is going to be a thorough exploration of the topic of Medstone, all its variants, and other types of Magical or Mediating Materials. Not all of this will be always relevant, but the intent is to have the lore established for whenever and wherever, if ever, needed. For now, I will be compiling existing materials in one place. In the future, I might synthesise this in better or more expanded form. Information here is as always still subject to change.<br />
<br />
== Magical and Medium Materials ==<br />
<br />
*Blackstone - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative/Corrupting)<br />
*Yellowstone/Amberstone/Philosopher's Stone - Type Altering (Triggered: Transmutive)<br />
*Redstone (till we get something better) - Type Altering (Natural: Mutative)<br />
*Moonstone (might as well call it that) - Type Altering (Unknown Properties)<br />
*Rich Oil (don't know just something I came up on the spot) - Type Productive (Triggered, Natural: Self-productive, that is it produces more of itself deep in the earth)<br />
*Medstone/Ashstone/Magistone/Devil's Ash - Type All (Triggered)<br />
*Refined Medstone(/...) - Type All (Passive, Triggered)<br />
*Experimental Substances attempting combination of the above different than Medstone - Usually failures (they either don't work at all or the effects fail to combine and are pretty weak).<br />
<br />
By the way, the listed sub-properties of each are the ones that have been confirmed, but not necessarily the ones they're limited to (e.g. any one of these could possibly have natural magic effects, only they've not been observed so far)<br />
<br />
== Altering vs Productive Magic ==<br />
<br />
== Types of Altering Magic ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Transmutive<br />
*Mutative<br />
*Corruptive(? should this be different from Mutative?)<br />
*Should there be more?<br />
<br />
<br />
== Types of Activation ==<br />
<br />
According to my old notes:<br />
<br />
*Natural<br />
*Passive<br />
*Triggered<br />
<br />
== Black Goo ==<br />
<br />
Now on the matter of the "Black Goo", what is it? Where did it come from? Like blackstone, somethingstone and yellowstone, the "Black Goo" is also a pre-medstone substance, but of a different nature. Whereas the "stones" have altering powers generally and came from the meteors which crashed on the earth and altered it, the "Black Goo" on the other hand is naturally produced in the depths of the earth and gushes out in the North, possessing productive powers. When combined "Black Goo" and alienstone together form the much stronger medstone that can both produce and change. Hurrah! Human magic is born!<br />
<br />
== Moonstone ==<br />
<br />
I also mentioned something about the moon. See Sci-Fi-land is a bit jelly because they don't have much ashstone, so they want more. Importing it is a bit of a difficult process since the other lands aren't much inclined in giving it. So, Sci-Fi-land thinks "We're clever enough. We can make our own". They study medstone and the volcanoes whence it came from to discover the truth about it and how to make it. So they then go searching for the materials. "Black Goo" exists plentiful in the North, though fools who don't understand its value usually just burn it. The South, however, is nearly run out of yellowstone and what is there the locals keep to themselves. The Sci-Fi people, though, know about the meteors. Still, taking advantage of that info is gonna be hard. Somethingstone is mostly in the hands of the "Egyptians" who are recluse people who don't usually allow foreigners in their lands and wouldn't give up their holy artefacts anyway. The Darkness of the Sea, on the other hand is a considerable risk in acquiring the blackstone (combined with the difficulty of searching for it in the depths of the ocean). They'll still try, because they're greedy, but they've also found an alternative solution.<br />
<br />
A theory exists that suggests that when the three meteors fell to the earth, there might have been one or two more that crashed on the moon instead. And that is why it's imperative to go to the moon and find that source of alienstone. And while talk of going to space might come in rather early in the story, I think these kind of developments, of this search really happening and the heroes and readers hearing about it would come a lot later (after a whole bunch of foreshadowing through talking about the ventures to the moon). And yet even if/when they actually get the alienstone from the moon, another issue stands in the way for our sci-fi friends. We like to make things hard for them after all.<br />
<br />
Even after acquiring it, a problem arises. The medstone they make isn't working. At first, they think it's an issue of analogies in composition, but then they see the alienstone isn't working alone either. I've said so before, I believe, but ashstone or alienstone or the Black Goo aren't the source of magic. They're merely the medium. Where exactly it comes from is uncertain, but perhaps a good guess would be to say from the hearts of the earth or from the spirits residing in it that embody the medstone and make it work. Or it could be anything else. But the existing hypothesis becomes that the alienstone and thus the ashstone produced lack the Heart of the Land. Yellowstone, previously, and the Black Goo have existed on the earth for ages and perhaps it's something from it, the so called Heart of the Land that awakened them. Now, will they be able to awaken their own alienstone in the future? Maybe. We'll see. This is very much in the brainstorming stage still.<br />
<br />
And a note just in case this wasn't clear, all of these names of stones and goos I used now are placeholders to help conversation. We'd hopefully find better names by the time we need them.<br />
<br />
== Magicians ==<br />
<br />
Now for what a magician is, I think the question lies on what exactly is the requirement for being able to activate magistone. I can see a few different scenarios:<br />
*Everyone can. Everyone potentially could, it just comes down to who is willing to use it, learn to use it and acquire it raw or refined. It's ambiguous whether you can call anyone a magician.<br />
*Everyone can if they study (and/or train) hard enough. There's something in the process of using ashstone that makes it a rather hard art to learn and therefore only a few choose to commit to it. In this case, those people could very well be called magicians [personally not a fan of this one, because I can't quite find what would be the complication of using magistone that would require such intense studying]<br />
(Note: when I first wrote that I didn't much consider the training factor; if the issue is that it requires a lot of training to use medstone right, that would probably make more sense; though that could still be combined with something else to a lesser degree of training though)<br />
<br />
*Only the ones born with a certain natural talent to connect with the Ashes can do so. Would be called magicians [Also, not a fan of this one, because it feels too arbitrary; in other cases I wouldn't mind natural-talent-based magicians, but I don't feel it fits here]<br />
<br />
*The resonance with ashstone, for those who have it, isn't natural, but acquired through some method. I originally had considered the consumption of a small amount of medstone (which could have been risky) as a possibility, but for reasons that will become apparent in just a little, I am no longer in favour of that idea as I'd like to use the medstone-consuming thing for something else.<br />
<br />
*Everyone can use medstone, but different people resonate more with different types of medstone. There are some that can only use one or two types well, while some may resonate with lots of types, but not as much as the former -it is also conceivable that one may not resonate with any kind of medstone though that would probably be pretty rare, if it happens. That could be considered as arbitrary as the previous one perhaps, but I think not necessarily. While the previous choice simply separated people between magicians and non-magicians, the lines here are blurrier and the distinctions multiple. It could be said that the differences are based on the person's heart of hearts or whatever (you know what I mean). Similarly to how people have different patronuses in Harry Potter or different semblances in RWBY and it's based on their personality/soul, but at the same time you can't exactly tell the rules of how it works. I also find that a system like that is pretty convenient. It allows for all-rounders if we want them, but at the same time it limits most people to one or two effects they can use better, making for a more interesting variety where each person has a limited skill set and they must make do with that and strategise around it. It also allows for people who don't use magic at all, because they're not very good at it or they haven't found any refined ashstone they resonate with. Perhaps, we could add a little training factor for controlling it and there'd be a reasonable amount of people who don't typically use it (unless it's a passive magistone tool, which also I suppose could happen and wouldn't need activation per se, but would instead work all the time, probably providing an effect to itself or to its surrounding area; that would then make for a nice family-friendly tool for all to use -should they find one).<br />
<br />
The thing is, though, it's not exactly certain whom we should call magicians in a scenario like that. Is it everyone who uses (active) medstone? Just the all-rounders? Is it actually the refiners of ashstone who in the first place make the tools (and who are quite rare, because that at least would be a difficult art to learn and master)? Or is perhaps no one a magician since they can't freely manipulate magic? I think it's interesting that we could potentially (emphasis on potentially, we don't have to) give any character some ashstone tool providing them with an ability (and also entry to the Tournament if they want to) but without having to treat them as magicians. Or at least that's how I see it.<br />
<br />
== Human, Natural and Free Magic ==<br />
<br />
Since I touched on the subject of freely manipulating magic though, I would like to add that what I've said so far is about what we shall now for simplicity's sake call HUMAN MAGIC. Other types of magic that may or may not appear might not exactly work like that.<br />
<br />
'''FREE MAGIC''' or '''TRUE MAGIC''': This isn't something that has actually been confirmed to exist, but is rather an ideal, something desired, but not ever found. As I've explained beforehand, magic as humans know it comes with some restrictions, more or less depending on what we decide in the end. As such, there are many people who do not see the users of ashstone as true magicians and therefore nor do they see their magic as true magic. Some of those people then seek that ideal of True Magic, the free magic that really allows one to manipulate nature according to their whims. There may often be examples of things that look like Free Magic when you don't understand how they work, but eventually just turn out to be clever ways to use medstone (e.g. the aforementioned "wizard" who seems to be able to cast magic without medstone, but is in fact eventually turned out to have been consuming little amounts of raw Ashes over the course of his life -little because it's also toxic to ingestion- so that he himself becomes the medstone; or a technique that might be used by the nobility of sci-fi-land (who might be more traditional despite the sci-fi-ness of their land) where they use quasi-refined medstone ink to write logographs of their language and upon writing the character the refinement process is complete as the character itself provides the last component which is the idea of what the desired effect is: the result is that the ink can be used for any effect (depending on the character drawn) as if raw ashstone was used, but has the power of refined ashstone). I don't think we're ever going to see Free Magic throughout the run of the story.<br />
<br />
'''NATURAL MAGIC''': a kind of magic that just happens on its own naturally where magical sources/mediums of large quantity and power exist. It slowly affects its surroundings over time in a way that doesn't necessarily obey the well-defined rule that Human Magic has. An example of that would be the animal-ish people of the "Egyptian" people who have for years been in the presence of a thing like medstone, but not exactly it, until it eventually mutated them.<br />
<br />
'''INNATE MAGIC''' of magical creatures: don't know how much we're going to include magical creatures, but there could be cases of creatures with Innate Magic that is more free than humans'. An example I was thinking of was the possibility of Djinn in the Arabic and maybe Persian area with the Djinn being basically creatures made of flame and medstone (later on I might give more details on what I'm thinking about them). As really different creatures their connection to magic is also sufficiently different and allows them for great powers, an example being the known example of the genie in the lamp that grants wishes. Wishing magic wouldn't normally be possible with medstone, but Djinns have really different capabilities. That is, though, if we include them.<br />
<br />
[[Categories:Lore]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Magic_Basics&diff=24Magic Basics2025-05-02T18:18:37Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>== Magic == <br />
<br />
In the Phoenix World, magic works using Medium Stone, typically abbreviated as Medstone. In this document we will summarise the basics of how Medstone and its use works, as reference to be able to easily write about it in typical scenarios.<br />
<br />
=== Use ===<br />
<br />
Everyone can use magic in this setting, though not everyone is equally suited to all magics and some people may indeed be worse at it entirely. Training is still important, especially if you want precise and more potent/efficient results. Training and studying to use magic mostly involves focusing to direct the magic to give you the desired result (rather than something that vaguely reminds it); as well as aligning your mindset with that required of the particular type of magic being invoked or the Medstone implement you are handling.<br />
<br />
To use magic, one needs to '''handle''' a Medstone implement (contact or eyesight might work depending on circumstances as well, but we might need to define the rules further for this, especially if the handling of the implement is contested) and '''direct''' it to desired '''effect'''. A mental direction is enough since the Medstone already operates as a '''medium''' channelling the magic, but the use of speech, motion or other forms of expression may help the magician focus on their intended outcome. Magic activation is intentional, so maybe some sort of mental reaching out is necessary (though to what exactly can be defined further; does the wielder sense the presence of the power they’re reaching out to?). It is generally believed that a living human (sentient) '''agent''' is required to set forth the magic, however Youmoto engineers are stretching the limits of this by various attempts of automated and remote use of Medstone in their technology.<br />
<br />
In standard Magic Theory, it is believed that the required elements for magic are Agent (Human), Direction (Thought), Medium (Medstone), Source; the combination of which brings forth Effect. Both Source and Effect are sometimes identified with “Magic”. What the actual Source of magic is, though, is highly disputed and unclear. Typically Medstone is not considered the Source, though that’s perhaps not entirely ruled out.<br />
<br />
=== Types of Implements ===<br />
<br />
# '''Raw Medstone''': Medstone in its natural unpurified form, it is not aligned with any particular kind of magic and thus can be used for any of it, however, it can be chaotic, uncontrollable and inefficient.<br />
# '''Refined Medstone''': Purged of impurities and rendered into a specific shape and form, it is more orderly than Raw Medstone. It can still largely be used for most types of magic, but the way in which the refiner chose to purify and shape it, direct it towards a preference of some magics over others.<br />
## '''Staffs''' and '''wands''': Very commonly craftsmen of the medieval kingdom put Refined Medstone at the top of their staffs, creating an implement that possesses the versatility of Refined Medstone, but becomes more potent by using the long cylindrical shape to more efficiently channel and direct magic. They are not however considered complete Medstone Tools, so they are often treated as something of an in-between. Wands are for the most part miniature versions of staffs that are more easily carried or concealed, but some craftsmen also use the smaller size to construct the entire thing out of Medstone.<br />
# '''Medstone Tools''': With Refined Medstone at its core, such a Tool is given structure that dedicates it to a much narrower purpose, thus resulting in the most potent of effects. It’s much more difficult to get an undesired outcome out of a Medstone Tool, since the design of the craftsman is already embedded in it, guiding the magic. It’s also difficult to get it to do something it wasn’t designed for, however. How restrained in purpose the Tool is can vary depending on its construction. Thus there can be a Tool built for producing flames, but the manner of the flames’ motion or their temperature or colour is still dependent on the wielder; or a Tool can be built which has been designed to shoot three greenish fireballs from the back of the user, and the wielder would be hard-pressed to get it to do anything that far departs from that concept. Such specification would probably require a much more complex and cumbersome design.<br />
<br />
The exact process of refining Medstone and creating a Tool is debated among the different traditions of craftsmanship, but most scholars typically describe at least these components as necessary for the structure of a Tool:<br />
# '''Medstone''' (for obvious reasons)<br />
# '''Container''' (so that magic doesn’t seep out)<br />
# '''Content/Decoration'''(?) (to specify the purpose)<br />
# More, if we can think of something?<br />
<br />
In some traditions an '''Index''' (to direct the magic outwards or towards a target) is also commonly considered as a fourth or optional component.<br />
<br />
These components can be rudimentary and even symbolical, however the effectiveness and clarity of the Tool’s magic depend on how well-integrated the components are and how well the complete design represents and aligns itself with the desired magic. For instance, one could draw a circle in sand add some medstone and a leaf inside, maybe a stick as an index and use that as a Tool for leaf magic. Naturally such improvised amateur design can only lead to improvised amateur magic. But it may yet work.<br />
<br />
=== Form ===<br />
<br />
Raw Medstone can be found in a number of states: '''ashes''' and grey pumice-like (or sometimes charcoal-like) '''stones''' are the most common state Medstone is found in. The stones are often covered in or embedded in ash, and their composition is often not uniform, with parts easily crumbling into dust and ash.<br />
Other rarer forms of Medstone may include '''crystals''' or volcanic '''glasses''' like obsidian, formed either during the cataclysmic events of the volcanoes’ eruption and their outpours’ clash and union; or while buried in soil under the pressure and temperature found therein. Some of these may be more readily found at the volcanic sites that produced them.<br />
These materials may not be identical to the known ones they are compared to, due to the unique composition and impurities that make it Medstone in the first place, but they might be similar.<br />
<br />
Refined Medstone is usually in stone, gem or glass form; either refined from that state into a more purified form, or solidified from ash form.<br />
<br />
Medstone Tools use Refined Medstone in the above-mentioned forms, but they also somewhat more frequently use other types of a more elaborate nature: Ashstone dissolved in liquid solutions and potions, metal alloys enriched with Medstone, plastics, rubber or other synthetic organic materials created using Medstone as a component, silicon enriched with traces of Medstone for use in electronics(?) and more.<br />
<br />
=== Name ===<br />
<br />
Alternative names for Medstone are Magistone, Ashstone, Ashes, The Devil’s Ash. The different names aren’t entirely region- or form-based, but different terms may be more common in different lands (there’s also the issue of different languages), while “Ashes” and “Devil’s Ash” are much more common in the Medieval Continent and when referring to Medstone in its ashen form.<br />
<br />
For the purposes of writing Medstone and Ashstone are probably the most neutral and you can for the most part use the terms interchangeably.<br />
<br />
=== Composition ===<br />
<br />
Medstone was created when the ash clouds of the two Major Volcanoes joined and their essences combined. Thus Medstone has two primary parts (Black Oil, Yellowstone), though they are at this point mixed, indistinguishable and inseparable.<br />
<br />
In terms of its actual chemical composition, I am not willing to narrow it down to something specific here (it’s likely not fully known in the story either) and it probably varies to some extent, however it probably typically contains at least some of these: elements typical of volcanic ash and gases, elements typical of stone and organic materials (likely more complex than one would expect from just oil). Sometimes some components will be in crystal form.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Lore]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Talk:Timeline&diff=23Talk:Timeline2025-05-02T18:06:14Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: /* Note on the Djinn stuff */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div>== Note on the Djinn stuff ==<br />
<br />
Note on the Djinn stuff: I might want to study more on Djinn mythology before I finalise that lore. [[User:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter]] ([[User talk:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|talk]]) 18:06, 2 May 2025 (UTC)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Timeline&diff=22Timeline2025-05-02T18:05:15Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>This is a proposed timeline.<br />
<br />
BE: Before Eruption - AE: After Eruption<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''~10-100 million years BE:''' In close succession: three meteorites hit the Earth and two more crash on the moon. The direct and indirect effects of the incident bring about the extinction of a big number of species in the following period. The ones that survive, though, will eventually populate the planet in full, returning life to it. The meteorite in the ocean will later start poisoning the water around it and mutating the residents of the sea. Even later hints of it will wash off in the western continent's coast. At this point, it's unclear when exactly.<br />
<br />
'''~350,000 years BE:''' Homo Sapiens first appears.<br />
<br />
'''~100,000 years BE:''' The land surrounding the second meteorite crash site is first inhabited by humans. They will slowly come under its influence.<br />
<br />
'''~4000 BE:''' The abilities of the special bronze found in the land neighbouring the second crash site are first discovered (although not by the broad public).<br />
<br />
'''~300 BE:''' At the third meteorite's crash site, in the southernmost island, alchemy using yellowstone is developed.<br />
<br />
'''1 AE:''' The Volcanoes erupt. Much destruction ensues. You know the story. At that point, civilisation should be at about an early medieval (or antiquity) phase. After the isolation, separate civilisations advance or regress in their own pace and direction.<br />
<br />
'''1-653 AE:''' A mild Ice Age comes upon the planet.<br />
<br />
'''649 AE:''' Southern-Continent Ships (re-)discover the Northern-Continent. Limited contact is established in the next years.<br />
<br />
'''703 AE:''' Youmoto finally resolves its internal conflicts with the rivaling nations of its continent ("China", "Korea") and having established itself as the reigning power in its land mass, it now looks to the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
'''741 AE:''' The first official contact between non-central landmasses occurs when a Youmoto aircraft lands in Northern-Continent's land.<br />
<br />
'''745 AE:''' The first global congress is held in "Junction", with representatives hailing from all major countries present, to discuss world politics to maintain the peace and stability of the planet.<br />
<br />
'''874 AE:''' The first ''Grand Tournament of Magicians'' is held and our story begins.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Bonus:<br />
<br />
== Rough Timeline ==<br />
<br />
Written at a different time. We can hopefully merge the two later. This is more verbose, though, so its information might have to be transferred in the relevant pages.<br />
<br />
Alright, quick flashback possibly some tens of thousands years ago. Three meteors fall on the earth, some mayhem might ensue, the dinosaurs die, life continues. The end.<br />
<br />
But well see the issue the meteors weren't exactly the most normal meteors. Three of them strike. One on the Southernmost Island, one right into the "Egyptian" area and one at the south of the western ocean we see on the map.<br />
<br />
What's the result? Firstly, a lot of fish die. These three meteors contain materials on them that we shall call pre-medstone for now. These are just as toxic as medstone, so the meteor in the sea kills anything in a long radius around it.<br />
<br />
What happens after that? Flash forward a few years, and those fish and other sea creatures at the edge of the effect of the, let's call it blackstone right now, the ones who've just barely managed to survive despite the adverse situation begin to mutate. Eventually terrible monsters are formed. The Darkness of the Sea is born. A pitch black darkness polluting the sea, killing anything it touches, eating anything it doesn't kill, mutating anything it doesn't eat. From the perspective of the people living in this world, it's a fairly ill-documented phenomenon and people don't really exactly know what it is. They only know to fear the legend of the Darkness of the Sea and steer clear of it.<br />
<br />
Flash forward: people move close to the "Egyptian" pre-medstone, what colour shall we make it? I'd say red is fine, but redstone is already taken by Minecraft... Anyway, the thing that's there starts causing a shift to some of the people living there.<br />
<br />
Flash forward: a bit of blackstone washes off to the shore of Medieval Land. Might later cause some magical creatures to rise there, but just few enough for them to remain mostly in the realms of legend.<br />
Flash forward: the hints of somethingstone that have found themselves in "Arabia" (and maybe "Persia") cause some spiritual beings' form to alter and acquire a physical form of fire and somethingstone. Those are Djinn.<br />
Flash forward: "Arabic" people learn they can use a copper-like metal that contains somethingstone to make bronze that binds the Djinn to their physical form and they use it to make the Djinn obey them... if they can catch them.<br />
<br />
Flash forward: The people in the Southernmost Island discover they can use an amber-coloured substance (let's call it yellowstone in honour of the supervolcano) they find in the volcanoes to perform alchemy. Not the flashy kind like you see in FMA or F&H. Just turning one material into another, probably with a lot of trouble (pre-medstone materials are generally weaker than medstone). They might call it philosopher's stone. After all we've already got that stone theme set up. Or they might reserve the name for medstone, which also allows them alchemy, but is better at it.<br />
<br />
Flash forward: Boom! The volcanoes explode. Chaos. Devilsrain. Bad stuff (also RIP Southernmost people, most of them die). Most of the Yellowstone reserves of Southernmost island are blasted off into the air and combine with the Black Goo of the northern volcanoes to make medstone. There may or may not have been an involvement of the spirits of the land who awoke in the volcanoes and incarnated as the ash and smoke titans who collided. We don't really know.<br />
<br />
[[Category:History]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Timeline&diff=21Timeline2025-05-02T17:45:58Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "This is a proposed timeline. BE: Before Eruption - AE: After Eruption <br> <br> '''~10-100 million years BE:''' In close succession: three meteorites hit the Earth and two more crash on the moon. The direct and indirect effects of the incident bring about the extinction of a big number of species in the following period. The ones that survive, though, will eventually populate the planet in full, returning life to it. The meteorite in the ocean will later start poisonin..."</p>
<hr />
<div>This is a proposed timeline.<br />
<br />
BE: Before Eruption - AE: After Eruption<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''~10-100 million years BE:''' In close succession: three meteorites hit the Earth and two more crash on the moon. The direct and indirect effects of the incident bring about the extinction of a big number of species in the following period. The ones that survive, though, will eventually populate the planet in full, returning life to it. The meteorite in the ocean will later start poisoning the water around it and mutating the residents of the sea. Even later hints of it will wash off in the western continent's coast. At this point, it's unclear when exactly.<br />
<br />
'''~350,000 years BE:''' Homo Sapiens first appears.<br />
<br />
'''~100,000 years BE:''' The land surrounding the second meteorite crash site is first inhabited by humans. They will slowly come under its influence.<br />
<br />
'''~4000 BE:''' The abilities of the special bronze found in the land neighbouring the second crash site are first discovered (although not by the broad public).<br />
<br />
'''~300 BE:''' At the third meteorite's crash site, in the southernmost island, alchemy using yellowstone is developed.<br />
<br />
'''1 AE:''' The Volcanoes erupt. Much destruction ensues. You know the story. At that point, civilisation should be at about an early medieval (or antiquity) phase. After the isolation, separate civilisations advance or regress in their own pace and direction.<br />
<br />
'''1-653 AE:''' A mild Ice Age comes upon the planet.<br />
<br />
'''649 AE:''' Southern-Continent Ships (re-)discover the Northern-Continent. Limited contact is established in the next years.<br />
<br />
'''703 AE:''' Youmoto finally resolves its internal conflicts with the rivaling nations of its continent ("China", "Korea") and having established itself as the reigning power in its land mass, it now looks to the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
'''741 AE:''' The first official contact between non-central landmasses occurs when a Youmoto aircraft lands in Northern-Continent's land.<br />
<br />
'''745 AE:''' The first global congress is held in "Junction", with representatives hailing from all major countries present, to discuss world politics to maintain the peace and stability of the planet.<br />
<br />
'''874 AE:''' The first ''Grand Tournament of Magicians'' is held and our story begins.<br />
<br />
[[Category:History]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Black_Knight&diff=20Black Knight2025-05-02T16:01:44Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "Category:Characters"</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=User:Wiz_Ardon_the_Peculiar_Enchanter&diff=19User:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter2025-05-01T18:30:40Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "I didn't like my name being red, so I made this."</p>
<hr />
<div>I didn't like my name being red, so I made this.</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Hoshitaka&diff=18Hoshitaka2025-05-01T18:29:11Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Protagonists]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Nine_Sages&diff=17Category:Nine Sages2025-05-01T18:28:21Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "Category:Characters"</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=The_Wizard&diff=16The Wizard2025-05-01T18:28:05Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "Category:Characters Category:Nine Sages"</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Nine Sages]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Protagonists&diff=15Category:Protagonists2025-05-01T18:26:34Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "Category:Characters"</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Nikola&diff=14Nikola2025-05-01T18:25:46Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: I'm just populating the wiki with some pages, will add information later</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Protagonists]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Nikola&diff=13Nikola2025-05-01T18:25:26Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: I'm just populating the wiki with some pages, will add information later</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Hoshitaka&diff=12Hoshitaka2025-05-01T18:24:25Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "Category:Characters"</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Characters]]</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Characters&diff=11Category:Characters2025-05-01T18:22:32Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>In an attempt to better understand and communicate my characters, I'm going to try to determine 4 traits of each that are going to influence the direction they follow in the story and how they interact with others. These are a primary Ideal they wish on the world, a Personal Goal that they want for themselves, a Principle of how they operate to achieve their desires and a Flaw that becomes an obstacle to themselves (something which they themselves would recognise as a flaw if they notice it).<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
This is a work in progress. Some of this may be changed. You guys can add your own as well.<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Hoshitaka''':<br />
<br />
Ideal: End of Racism<br />
<br />
Goal: Peaceful Life<br />
<br />
Principle: Use of Force is justified as a means to a good end<br />
<br />
Flaw: Distrust<br />
<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Nikola''':<br />
<br />
Ideal: Protection of the Weak<br />
<br />
Goal: Success as Inventor(?)<br />
<br />
Principle: Non-violence<br />
<br />
Flaw: Inaction<br />
<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
'''<br />
Black Knight''':<br />
<br />
Ideal: Anarchy(?) (maybe some form of freedom if not explicitly believing in anarchy himself)<br />
<br />
Goal: End of Corrupt Leaderships across the world<br />
<br />
Principle: Resolute Determination to the point of Murder<br />
<br />
Flaw: Short-sighted<br />
<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Unnamed Medieval Aspirant Knight''':<br />
<br />
Ideal: Virtue in Leadership (Authoritarian), Virtue in People<br />
<br />
Goal: Follow and Serve a Great Leader<br />
<br />
Principle:<br />
<br />
Flaw: Ignorant(?)<br />
<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(Not a protagonist, but probably an important character for the overall plot)<br />
<br />
'''The Wizard''':<br />
<br />
Ideal: Uncompromising Freedom<br />
<br />
Goal: Proliferation of magic<br />
<br />
Principle: Amassing of Power, all tools are viable<br />
<br />
Flaw: Insane (often does things that do not advance or even explicitly counter his goals)<br />
<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(I'm not entirely sure I'll keep this character)<br />
<br />
'''Unnamed Wannabe Hero''':<br />
<br />
Ideal: Justice<br />
<br />
Goal: Become a hero<br />
<br />
Principle: Constant training<br />
<br />
Flaw: Naive(?) (does not know how to save the world)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Characters&diff=10Category:Characters2025-05-01T18:21:21Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>In an attempt to better understand and communicate my characters, I'm going to try to determine 4 traits of each that are going to influence the direction they follow in the story and how they interact with others. These are a primary Ideal they wish on the world, a Personal Goal that they want for themselves, a Principle of how they operate to achieve their desires and a Flaw that becomes an obstacle to themselves (something which they themselves would recognise as a flaw if they notice it).<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
This is a work in progress. Some of this may be changed. You guys can add your own as well.<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Hoshitaka''':<br />
Ideal: End of Racism<br />
Goal: Peaceful Life<br />
Principle: Use of Force is justified as a means to a good end<br />
Flaw: Distrust<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Nikola''':<br />
Ideal: Protection of the Weak<br />
Goal: Success as Inventor(?)<br />
Principle: Non-violence<br />
Flaw: Inaction<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
'''<br />
Black Knight''':<br />
Ideal: Anarchy(?) (maybe some form of freedom if not explicitly believing in anarchy himself)<br />
Goal: End of Corrupt Leaderships across the world<br />
Principle: Resolute Determination to the point of Murder<br />
Flaw: Short-sighted<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Unnamed Medieval Aspirant Knight''':<br />
Ideal: Virtue in Leadership (Authoritarian), Virtue in People<br />
Goal: Follow and Serve a Great Leader<br />
Principle:<br />
Flaw: Ignorant(?)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(Not a protagonist, but probably an important character for the overall plot)<br />
<br />
'''The Wizard''':<br />
Ideal: Uncompromising Freedom<br />
Goal: Proliferation of magic<br />
Principle: Amassing of Power, all tools are viable<br />
Flaw: Insane (often does things that do not advance or even explicitly counter his goals)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(I'm not entirely sure I'll keep this character)<br />
<br />
'''Unnamed Wannabe Hero''':<br />
Ideal: Justice<br />
Goal: Become a hero<br />
Principle: Constant training<br />
Flaw: Naive(?) (does not know how to save the world)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Characters&diff=9Category:Characters2025-05-01T18:21:10Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>In an attempt to better understand and communicate my characters, I'm going to try to determine 4 traits of each that are going to influence the direction they follow in the story and how they interact with others. These are a primary Ideal they wish on the world, a Personal Goal that they want for themselves, a Principle of how they operate to achieve their desires and a Flaw that becomes an obstacle to themselves (something which they themselves would recognise as a flaw if they notice it).<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
This is a work in progress. Some of this may be changed. You guys can add your own as well.<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Hoshitaka''':<br />
Ideal: End of Racism<br />
Goal: Peaceful Life<br />
Principle: Use of Force is justified as a means to a good end<br />
Flaw: Distrust<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Nikola''':<br />
Ideal: Protection of the Weak<br />
Goal: Success as Inventor(?)<br />
Principle: Non-violence<br />
Flaw: Inaction<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
'''<br />
Black Knight''':<br />
Ideal: Anarchy(?) (maybe some form of freedom if not explicitly believing in anarchy himself)<br />
Goal: End of Corrupt Leaderships across the world<br />
Principle: Resolute Determination to the point of Murder<br />
Flaw: Short-sighted<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Unnamed Medieval Aspirant Knight''':<br />
Ideal: Virtue in Leadership (Authoritarian), Virtue in People<br />
Goal: Follow and Serve a Great Leader<br />
Principle:<br />
Flaw: Ignorant(?)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(Not a protagonist, but probably an important character for the overall plot)<br />
'''The Wizard''':<br />
Ideal: Uncompromising Freedom<br />
Goal: Proliferation of magic<br />
Principle: Amassing of Power, all tools are viable<br />
Flaw: Insane (often does things that do not advance or even explicitly counter his goals)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(I'm not entirely sure I'll keep this character)<br />
<br />
'''Unnamed Wannabe Hero''':<br />
Ideal: Justice<br />
Goal: Become a hero<br />
Principle: Constant training<br />
Flaw: Naive(?) (does not know how to save the world)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Characters&diff=8Category:Characters2025-05-01T18:21:01Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>In an attempt to better understand and communicate my characters, I'm going to try to determine 4 traits of each that are going to influence the direction they follow in the story and how they interact with others. These are a primary Ideal they wish on the world, a Personal Goal that they want for themselves, a Principle of how they operate to achieve their desires and a Flaw that becomes an obstacle to themselves (something which they themselves would recognise as a flaw if they notice it).<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
This is a work in progress. Some of this may be changed. You guys can add your own as well.<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Hoshitaka''':<br />
Ideal: End of Racism<br />
Goal: Peaceful Life<br />
Principle: Use of Force is justified as a means to a good end<br />
Flaw: Distrust<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Nikola''':<br />
Ideal: Protection of the Weak<br />
Goal: Success as Inventor(?)<br />
Principle: Non-violence<br />
Flaw: Inaction<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
'''<br />
Black Knight''':<br />
Ideal: Anarchy(?) (maybe some form of freedom if not explicitly believing in anarchy himself)<br />
Goal: End of Corrupt Leaderships across the world<br />
Principle: Resolute Determination to the point of Murder<br />
Flaw: Short-sighted<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
'''Unnamed Medieval Aspirant Knight''':<br />
Ideal: Virtue in Leadership (Authoritarian), Virtue in People<br />
Goal: Follow and Serve a Great Leader<br />
Principle:<br />
Flaw: Ignorant(?)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(Not a protagonist, but probably an important character for the overall plot)<br />
'''The Wizard''':<br />
Ideal: Uncompromising Freedom<br />
Goal: Proliferation of magic<br />
Principle: Amassing of Power, all tools are viable<br />
Flaw: Insane (often does things that do not advance or even explicitly counter his goals)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(I'm not entirely sure I'll keep this character)<br />
'''Unnamed Wannabe Hero''':<br />
Ideal: Justice<br />
Goal: Become a hero<br />
Principle: Constant training<br />
Flaw: Naive(?) (does not know how to save the world)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Characters&diff=7Category:Characters2025-05-01T18:20:18Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div>In an attempt to better understand and communicate my characters, I'm going to try to determine 4 traits of each that are going to influence the direction they follow in the story and how they interact with others. These are a primary Ideal they wish on the world, a Personal Goal that they want for themselves, a Principle of how they operate to achieve their desires and a Flaw that becomes an obstacle to themselves (something which they themselves would recognise as a flaw if they notice it).<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
This is a work in progress. Some of this may be changed. You guys can add your own as well.<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
Hoshitaka:<br />
Ideal: End of Racism<br />
Goal: Peaceful Life<br />
Principle: Use of Force is justified as a means to a good end<br />
Flaw: Distrust<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
Nikola:<br />
Ideal: Protection of the Weak<br />
Goal: Success as Inventor(?)<br />
Principle: Non-violence<br />
Flaw: Inaction<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
Black Knight:<br />
Ideal: Anarchy(?) (maybe some form of freedom if not explicitly believing in anarchy himself)<br />
Goal: End of Corrupt Leaderships across the world<br />
Principle: Resolute Determination to the point of Murder<br />
Flaw: Short-sighted<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
Unnamed Medieval Aspirant Knight:<br />
Ideal: Virtue in Leadership (Authoritarian), Virtue in People<br />
Goal: Follow and Serve a Great Leader<br />
Principle:<br />
Flaw: Ignorant(?)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(Not a protagonist, but probably an important character for the overall plot)<br />
The Wizard:<br />
Ideal: Uncompromising Freedom<br />
Goal: Proliferation of magic<br />
Principle: Amassing of Power, all tools are viable<br />
Flaw: Insane (often does things that do not advance or even explicitly counter his goals)<br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<br />
(I'm not entirely sure I'll keep this character)<br />
Unnamed Wannabe Hero:<br />
Ideal: Justice<br />
Goal: Become a hero<br />
Principle: Constant training<br />
Flaw: Naive(?) (does not know how to save the world)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Category:Characters&diff=6Category:Characters2025-05-01T18:18:45Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "In an attempt to better understand and communicate my characters, I'm going to try to determine 4 traits of each that are going to influence the direction they follow in the story and how they interact with others. These are a primary Ideal they wish on the world, a Personal Goal that they want for themselves, a Principle of how they operate to achieve their desires and a Flaw that becomes an obstacle to themselves (something which they themselves would recognise as a fl..."</p>
<hr />
<div>In an attempt to better understand and communicate my characters, I'm going to try to determine 4 traits of each that are going to influence the direction they follow in the story and how they interact with others. These are a primary Ideal they wish on the world, a Personal Goal that they want for themselves, a Principle of how they operate to achieve their desires and a Flaw that becomes an obstacle to themselves (something which they themselves would recognise as a flaw if they notice it).<br />
<br />
This is a work in progress. Some of this may be changed. You guys can add your own as well.<br />
<br />
Hoshitaka:<br />
Ideal: End of Racism<br />
Goal: Peaceful Life<br />
Principle: Use of Force is justified as a means to a good end<br />
Flaw: Distrust<br />
<br />
Nikola:<br />
Ideal: Protection of the Weak<br />
Goal: Success as Inventor(?)<br />
Principle: Non-violence<br />
Flaw: Inaction<br />
<br />
Black Knight:<br />
Ideal: Anarchy(?) (maybe some form of freedom if not explicitly believing in anarchy himself)<br />
Goal: End of Corrupt Leaderships across the world<br />
Principle: Resolute Determination to the point of Murder<br />
Flaw: Short-sighted<br />
<br />
Unnamed Medieval Aspirant Knight:<br />
Ideal: Virtue in Leadership (Authoritarian), Virtue in People<br />
Goal: Follow and Serve a Great Leader<br />
Principle:<br />
Flaw: Ignorant(?)<br />
<br />
(Not a protagonist, but probably an important character for the overall plot)<br />
The Wizard:<br />
Ideal: Uncompromising Freedom<br />
Goal: Proliferation of magic<br />
Principle: Amassing of Power, all tools are viable<br />
Flaw: Insane (often does things that do not advance or even explicitly counter his goals)<br />
<br />
(I'm not entirely sure I'll keep this character)<br />
Unnamed Wannabe Hero:<br />
Ideal: Justice<br />
Goal: Become a hero<br />
Principle: Constant training<br />
Flaw: Naive(?) (does not know how to save the world)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=5Main Page2025-05-01T18:14:39Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: </p>
<hr />
<div><strong>MediaWiki has been installed.</strong><br />
<br />
Consult the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.<br />
<br />
== Getting started ==<br />
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]<br />
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Manual:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]<br />
* [https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/mediawiki-announce.lists.wikimedia.org/ MediaWiki release mailing list]<br />
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Localisation#Translation_resources Localise MediaWiki for your language]<br />
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Combating_spam Learn how to combat spam on your wiki]<br />
<br />
== Recent Activity ==<br />
<br />
{{Special:RecentChanges}}</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Talk:Magic_Basics&diff=4Talk:Magic Basics2025-05-01T17:40:17Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: /* Questions for Discussion */ Reply</p>
<hr />
<div>== Questions for Discussion ==<br />
<br />
# What is the actual source of magic, how does that influence the way a magic user interfaces with it and what do the people of our world base their beliefs on it (e.g. if some think spirits are the source, is there a reason for this? I've emphasised a lot that medstone is just a medium, not the source, but how would people tell the difference in the story)? Even if we don't fully answer the first question with certainty and clarity, we probably need to provide plausibility to the different theories when we want there to be many, and we need to provide reasons for the certainty when there's only a single dominating theory.<br />
# How do Magical Effects actually work? In typical scenarios, magic happens when someone calls upon it, but this isn't always the case in fantasy. If Human+Medstone+Thought is needed to first activate the magic, can there be lingering or permanent magic that lasts after one of those criteria no longer applies. If yes, which forms of these do we allow and under what circumstances? There are enchantments, curses, triggered effects, magical effects that persist on their own (e.g. a floating fireball that keeps burning even though there's no fuel -which is different from a flame started by magic, but which then behaves naturally and only continues burning and spreads in the presence of fuel). If some magic can linger, then can it do so indefinitely or does it weaken? Does it stay after the caster dies or if the medstone tool is destroyed? How far can a magical effect reach from the medstone or from the caster? To what extent, can the use of medstone be automated and human involvement minimised?<br />
# Related to the first question: Where does the magic flow from? Does it need to flow from the caster? Does it flow from the Medstone? Can it flow from anywhere (thus allowing easy creation of effects sourced from a point other than yourself)? Is there even a concept of flow of magic?<br />
# Also related to the first question: Does the caster reach out to something specific (even if that specific thing is more of a vague feeling) to call upon for use of magic? If medstones are mediums, are they in fact used more like communication tools than anything else and there's something else on the other end that the caster may feel the presence of? It's probably a subtle effect that not everyone can pick up on if we make that happen, but not necessarily.<br />
[[User:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter]] ([[User talk:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|talk]]) 17:36, 1 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:5. In writing the doc, I realised that two ideas I've had were clashing somewhat. One idea is that medstone is a medium, not the source of magic. The other idea is that medstone was created from two components, one of which can perform producing/generative magic and the other can perform altering/form-changing magic (the combination of which allowed the performing of any kind of magic). However, the second idea seems to imply that magic is caused by the substances themselves, rather than sourced from something else. It is a different philosophy than the first. To solve this conundrum, there are a few ways to go about it, but I'm not sure which would be best:<br />
:*Abandon one of the ideas (most likely the generative-vs-altering magic one).<br />
:*Have the components also be mediums, but only specifically mediating their respective type of magic (seems somewhat contrived, since the process by which such restriction is created in Medstone Tools is artificial, not natural like this would be).<br />
:*When the two types of substances combined during the cataclysmic event, they combined their magic and were able to create something completely different that's not itself magical, but has the ability to commune with the source(s) of magic, whatever they are (seems somewhat arbitrary).<br />
:*There are Essences(/Substances) and Spirits. The two materials in the volcanoes are the Essences of the Spirit of Generation and Change respectively. The Spirits can do magic, but their Essence is also magical (weakly though). When their Essences are joined, the Spirits also come together momentarily and create a new Spirit of Fullness that can do just about anything. The combined Essence (medstone) itself is not the Essence of Fullness or its magic in that respect is weak; but through its connection to the creation of the Spirit of Fullness, the Essence is the one thing that can be used to commune with it and allow it to act upon the physical world in the form of magic. The Spirit of Fullness (or the other Spirits itself) doesn't necessarily have to be a single Spirit in actuality or even sentient, but this is one way to express the concept. This option is somewhat of a "have my cake and eat it too" idea I developed to try and reconcile the two points of contention. I actually developed an entire creation myth/philosophy to try to justify it and make it reasonable, but I have not yet written it down and if a complicated and confusing explanation is not appealing to you guys, I might not need to.<br />
:[[User:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter]] ([[User talk:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|talk]]) 17:40, 1 May 2025 (UTC)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Talk:Magic_Basics&diff=3Talk:Magic Basics2025-05-01T17:36:15Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: /* Questions for Discussion */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div>== Questions for Discussion ==<br />
<br />
# What is the actual source of magic, how does that influence the way a magic user interfaces with it and what do the people of our world base their beliefs on it (e.g. if some think spirits are the source, is there a reason for this? I've emphasised a lot that medstone is just a medium, not the source, but how would people tell the difference in the story)? Even if we don't fully answer the first question with certainty and clarity, we probably need to provide plausibility to the different theories when we want there to be many, and we need to provide reasons for the certainty when there's only a single dominating theory.<br />
# How do Magical Effects actually work? In typical scenarios, magic happens when someone calls upon it, but this isn't always the case in fantasy. If Human+Medstone+Thought is needed to first activate the magic, can there be lingering or permanent magic that lasts after one of those criteria no longer applies. If yes, which forms of these do we allow and under what circumstances? There are enchantments, curses, triggered effects, magical effects that persist on their own (e.g. a floating fireball that keeps burning even though there's no fuel -which is different from a flame started by magic, but which then behaves naturally and only continues burning and spreads in the presence of fuel). If some magic can linger, then can it do so indefinitely or does it weaken? Does it stay after the caster dies or if the medstone tool is destroyed? How far can a magical effect reach from the medstone or from the caster? To what extent, can the use of medstone be automated and human involvement minimised?<br />
# Related to the first question: Where does the magic flow from? Does it need to flow from the caster? Does it flow from the Medstone? Can it flow from anywhere (thus allowing easy creation of effects sourced from a point other than yourself)? Is there even a concept of flow of magic?<br />
# Also related to the first question: Does the caster reach out to something specific (even if that specific thing is more of a vague feeling) to call upon for use of magic? If medstones are mediums, are they in fact used more like communication tools than anything else and there's something else on the other end that the caster may feel the presence of? It's probably a subtle effect that not everyone can pick up on if we make that happen, but not necessarily.<br />
[[User:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter]] ([[User talk:Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter|talk]]) 17:36, 1 May 2025 (UTC)</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanterhttps://phoenix.backorder.gr/index.php?title=Magic_Basics&diff=2Magic Basics2025-05-01T17:27:18Z<p>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter: Created page with "== Magic == In the Phoenix World, magic works using Medium Stone, typically abbreviated as Medstone. In this document we will summarise the basics of how Medstone and its use works, as reference to be able to easily write about it in typical scenarios. === Use === Everyone can use magic in this setting, though not everyone is equally suited to all magics and some people may indeed be worse at it entirely. Training is still important, especially if you want precise an..."</p>
<hr />
<div>== Magic == <br />
<br />
In the Phoenix World, magic works using Medium Stone, typically abbreviated as Medstone. In this document we will summarise the basics of how Medstone and its use works, as reference to be able to easily write about it in typical scenarios.<br />
<br />
=== Use ===<br />
<br />
Everyone can use magic in this setting, though not everyone is equally suited to all magics and some people may indeed be worse at it entirely. Training is still important, especially if you want precise and more potent/efficient results. Training and studying to use magic mostly involves focusing to direct the magic to give you the desired result (rather than something that vaguely reminds it); as well as aligning your mindset with that required of the particular type of magic being invoked or the Medstone implement you are handling.<br />
<br />
To use magic, one needs to '''handle''' a Medstone implement (contact or eyesight might work depending on circumstances as well, but we might need to define the rules further for this, especially if the handling of the implement is contested) and '''direct''' it to desired '''effect'''. A mental direction is enough since the Medstone already operates as a '''medium''' channelling the magic, but the use of speech, motion or other forms of expression may help the magician focus on their intended outcome. Magic activation is intentional, so maybe some sort of mental reaching out is necessary (though to what exactly can be defined further; does the wielder sense the presence of the power they’re reaching out to?). It is generally believed that a living human (sentient) '''agent''' is required to set forth the magic, however Youmoto engineers are stretching the limits of this by various attempts of automated and remote use of Medstone in their technology.<br />
<br />
In standard Magic Theory, it is believed that the required elements for magic are Agent (Human), Direction (Thought), Medium (Medstone), Source; the combination of which brings forth Effect. Both Source and Effect are sometimes identified with “Magic”. What the actual Source of magic is, though, is highly disputed and unclear. Typically Medstone is not considered the Source, though that’s perhaps not entirely ruled out.<br />
<br />
=== Types of Implements ===<br />
<br />
# '''Raw Medstone''': Medstone in its natural unpurified form, it is not aligned with any particular kind of magic and thus can be used for any of it, however, it can be chaotic, uncontrollable and inefficient.<br />
# '''Refined Medstone''': Purged of impurities and rendered into a specific shape and form, it is more orderly than Raw Medstone. It can still largely be used for most types of magic, but the way in which the refiner chose to purify and shape it, direct it towards a preference of some magics over others.<br />
## '''Staffs''' and '''wands''': Very commonly craftsmen of the medieval kingdom put Refined Medstone at the top of their staffs, creating an implement that possesses the versatility of Refined Medstone, but becomes more potent by using the long cylindrical shape to more efficiently channel and direct magic. They are not however considered complete Medstone Tools, so they are often treated as something of an in-between. Wands are for the most part miniature versions of staffs that are more easily carried or concealed, but some craftsmen also use the smaller size to construct the entire thing out of Medstone.<br />
# '''Medstone Tools''': With Refined Medstone at its core, such a Tool is given structure that dedicates it to a much narrower purpose, thus resulting in the most potent of effects. It’s much more difficult to get an undesired outcome out of a Medstone Tool, since the design of the craftsman is already embedded in it, guiding the magic. It’s also difficult to get it to do something it wasn’t designed for, however. How restrained in purpose the Tool is can vary depending on its construction. Thus there can be a Tool built for producing flames, but the manner of the flames’ motion or their temperature or colour is still dependent on the wielder; or a Tool can be built which has been designed to shoot three greenish fireballs from the back of the user, and the wielder would be hard-pressed to get it to do anything that far departs from that concept. Such specification would probably require a much more complex and cumbersome design.<br />
<br />
The exact process of refining Medstone and creating a Tool is debated among the different traditions of craftsmanship, but most scholars typically describe at least these components as necessary for the structure of a Tool:<br />
# '''Medstone''' (for obvious reasons)<br />
# '''Container''' (so that magic doesn’t seep out)<br />
# '''Content/Decoration'''(?) (to specify the purpose)<br />
# More, if we can think of something?<br />
<br />
In some traditions an '''Index''' (to direct the magic outwards or towards a target) is also commonly considered as a fourth or optional component.<br />
<br />
These components can be rudimentary and even symbolical, however the effectiveness and clarity of the Tool’s magic depend on how well-integrated the components are and how well the complete design represents and aligns itself with the desired magic. For instance, one could draw a circle in sand add some medstone and a leaf inside, maybe a stick as an index and use that as a Tool for leaf magic. Naturally such improvised amateur design can only lead to improvised amateur magic. But it may yet work.<br />
<br />
=== Form ===<br />
<br />
Raw Medstone can be found in a number of states: '''ashes''' and grey pumice-like (or sometimes charcoal-like) '''stones''' are the most common state Medstone is found in. The stones are often covered in or embedded in ash, and their composition is often not uniform, with parts easily crumbling into dust and ash.<br />
Other rarer forms of Medstone may include '''crystals''' or volcanic '''glasses''' like obsidian, formed either during the cataclysmic events of the volcanoes’ eruption and their outpours’ clash and union; or while buried in soil under the pressure and temperature found therein. Some of these may be more readily found at the volcanic sites that produced them.<br />
These materials may not be identical to the known ones they are compared to, due to the unique composition and impurities that make it Medstone in the first place, but they might be similar.<br />
<br />
Refined Medstone is usually in stone, gem or glass form; either refined from that state into a more purified form, or solidified from ash form.<br />
<br />
Medstone Tools use Refined Medstone in the above-mentioned forms, but they also somewhat more frequently use other types of a more elaborate nature: Ashstone dissolved in liquid solutions and potions, metal alloys enriched with Medstone, plastics, rubber or other synthetic organic materials created using Medstone as a component, silicon enriched with traces of Medstone for use in electronics(?) and more.<br />
<br />
=== Name ===<br />
<br />
Alternative names for Medstone are Magistone, Ashstone, Ashes, The Devil’s Ash. The different names aren’t entirely region- or form-based, but different terms may be more common in different lands (there’s also the issue of different languages), while “Ashes” and “Devil’s Ash” are much more common in the Medieval Continent and when referring to Medstone in its ashen form.<br />
<br />
For the purposes of writing Medstone and Ashstone are probably the most neutral and you can for the most part use the terms interchangeably.<br />
<br />
=== Composition ===<br />
<br />
Medstone was created when the ash clouds of the two Major Volcanoes joined and their essences combined. Thus Medstone has two primary parts (Black Oil, Yellowstone), though they are at this point mixed, indistinguishable and inseparable.<br />
<br />
In terms of its actual chemical composition, I am not willing to narrow it down to something specific here (it’s likely not fully known in the story either) and it probably varies to some extent, however it probably typically contains at least some of these: elements typical of volcanic ash and gases, elements typical of stone and organic materials (likely more complex than one would expect from just oil). Sometimes some components will be in crystal form.</div>Wiz Ardon the Peculiar Enchanter