Magic

Although for much of our remembered history it was forgotten and sealed away, consigned to myth and story, the potential to realize the truth of magic remains in everyone. It is a skill like any other, and it needs only nurturing to blossom in anyone who seeks its magnificent techniques.

Grading
[The Current System of Magical Growth is slightly different to the one presented here, and shall be revealed in a future book, I imagine you won't have to wait too long, considering how long you've been waiting for Orchard in general]

While anyone can dedicate themselves to study of the mystical arts and grow to weave remarkable changes in the fabric of reality, the path to unlocking such powers only grows more arduous as the results become more incredible. It requires mastery of more minor miracles, and more than a passing acquaintance with the strain they place on a magician’s mind, to even contemplate worldchanging feats like growing a cathedralian monument, saving a town from natural disaster, or manipulating a strong-willed victim.

Almost all Gaian children are trained in public, Faculty-inspired schools to Grade IV, even if they have little interest in applying their magic. Most of those will reach Grade VI – these qualifications enable long-distance communication, travel, and some minor parlor tricks and understanding of grander concepts. Those who seek careers or life paths in particularly magical fields can continue to Grade IX and beyond – many of the most startling fields only begin at Grade VII or Grade IX, with their true potential left unrevealed until Mystic studies under the Faculty.

Sailor’s Vision created the grading system to catalog the power and will required to create increasingly impressive magical effects. A magician’s grade is a reflection of their arcane strength – and indicates just what wonders they can work. Some learners may find some fields come to them more naturally than others, and wield low-grade magic instinctively from a young age, or discover they have an easier time with higher grade magic after finding the early grades troublesome to master. Nonetheless, no one is born inherently high grade, and those seeking to excel with magic will have to work their way up.

Techniques & Problems
In almost two centuries of arcane research and rediscovery, the Gaians have learned a great deal about the strengths and limits of their latent powers. A simply dizzying array of effects have been documented and tested across all the magical fields, and these proven effects are known as Techniques.

These have been codified and recodified by a constantly growing number of writers, and they are taught where magic is taught as reliable wonders to be wrought. Through technique, Gaians have crossed the stars, built impossible structures, and cured all but the most punishing of disease. The Faculty is, with the exception of the Restricted Fields, only too eager to share information with capable and dedicated Gaians, so tomes on all manner of technique are often readily available.

Despite humanity surpassing the impossible with magic more than once, it is not a catch-all miracle that can be used to achieve Literally Anything. Almost every Field has Problems at its highest levels, things that its practitioners feel it should be able to do based on what it can definitely do, but that they have not been able to make it do yet. Detailed information on the Techniques and Problems of each field can be found in their own respective pages, but for context, some of the Problems that Everyone Knows Cannot Be Done are:


 * Bringing a soul back from the dead
 * Travelling or communicating through the Galactic Core
 * Preserving an entire Gaian mind on death
 * Curing certain magical ailments
 * Restoring obliterated memories
 * Dispelling the arcane radiation common in Sector Serpent
 * Performing Psychometry beyond more than a few hundred years
 * Truly accurately navigating the Wild Dimensions
 * Attempting to travel via Portal or Teleportation to a location that the witch Cannot See Somehow
 * Travelling backwards or forwards in Time over any "distance" whatsoever

For further context, to an Astronavigator of Mysticism, flying unaided through the vacuum of space at speeds faster-than-light is basically trivial.

Rigs
Magic users at Grade VIII begin construction on their rig, an affirmation of their dedication to the arcane arts. They assemble their rig from personal magical artefacts, either made of intrinsically magically curious substances or imbued with magic through the willpower of the caster, and with its assistance they can cast their spells with less effort and greater effects. A Grade VIII witch’s rig may include only a crystal and a candle, while the rig of a master or sorcerer could feature such impressive items as heavily inscribed giant bells, orbiting pyramids, Xenodragon feathers, or other items fashioned with extremely dense magic.

Arcanic Nutrition
Power is not infinite, and even a sorcerer cannot simply cast spells at a whim forever. A witch's magical strength is only as good as her arcanic nutrition, for a Gaian must continue to consume foods which nourish their own innate spiritual energy. An arcanically healthy witch can work miracles, but if she does not keep up her diet then those miracles will quickly turn impossible.

Happily, almost all of the fruits and vegetables first described on Earth are bursting with goodness, and a steady diet of almost any of them is more than enough to keep a sorceress in spells. Most terraformed worlds of the Ancestral Gardeners are also brimming with arcanically nutrious fruit, but some notable cases are more lacking in this department. These areas, sometimes noteworthy and worth investigating for myriad reasons of their own, must rely on supply from other regions.

Without The Faculty
Although the Faculty gladly offers its expertise in setting a curriculum and sharing knowledge to schools across Gaian cultures, its system isn't actually compulsory. Some may choose to ignore the public schools, and train their children themselves. Some may not be able to access any Faculty-aided schools. The growth of power in these more isolated cases is roughly equivalent to Grade study, but stranger, darker fields may be taught early, at the teacher's discretion.

Should a witch who was trained outside the Faculty's influence eventually wish to study alongside their institutions, she will still be welcomed if she shows enough relevant aptitude.

Anti-Magic
Gaians are now mostly used to wielding at least minor powers on a daily basis, but some areas and effects render these abilities totally useless, and this danger is rightly horrifying to a Gaian. Several documented phenomena are known to completely inhibit the magic of a Gaian caught in their zone of effectiveness, and those who must confront such things are either trying to attack the problem, or treating the hazard with the respect it deserves and steering well clear. A Gaian without magic is little more than soft, weak, thinking meat, and atmospheres and predators alike will happily send a foolhardy Gaian to meet their ancestors in a way they never wanted.



Fields
 'If for whatever reason you wish to remain somewhat unaware of the full extent of magical power on offer, we recommend you skip this section. The Fields of Magic are arranged below in ascending order of power and complexity, and magic of Mysticism and beyond is far from common knowledge.' 

With enough training, understanding, and application almost anything can be achieved arcanically, with magic. The kinds and breeds of magic are called Fields, and most are recognized by many names or in many ways, either in different cultures or in reference to more powerful, more complicated forms of the art. Here they are described, in order of the Grade when they are first taught to Gaian children in regions where the Faculty is respected, and ascending order of reality-altering capability. Detailed information on the potential effects of each field can be found on their own pages.

'' Please note that, while Grade I education begins around age six for Gaian children, notable, dangerous, or invasive effects can only be achieved with these fields with much, much greater study. For example, a Grade 2 witch will be keeping herself warm with pyromancy, not throwing fireballs, or a Grade IV clairvoyant will always be able to find her way home, not spy on her classmates. Fields begin with the theory involved, made appropriate to the understanding of the age group, and some fields require a lot of theory and other background knowledge. This also applies to fields introduced at later grades, such as Telepathy or Interdimensional Mechanics. Fields marked with † have only minor practical components until higher grades, but the theory is integral to understanding more age-appropriate techniques... or to Passing the Grade in the eyes of the Faculty. ''

Detailed information on each Field's Techniques and Problems can be found on their respective pages, as well as the Grade of study required to demonstrate those techniques.

Grade I

 * Restoration, to cure wounds or afflictions
 * Herbalism, knowledge of the interconnecting arcanic properties of plants
 * Astronavigation†, the techniques for measuring and travelling to distant stars
 * Pyromancy†, the control of Fire and heat

Grade II

 * Alchemy, combining arcanic substances and processes to create elixirs and powders
 * Cryomancy, the control of cold and ice

Grade III

 * Spatial Distortion†, the techniques of expanding or contracting empty space
 * Clairvoyance†, seeing places beyond immediate perception

Grade IV

 * Geomancy, magical manipulation of mineral material
 * Illusion, creating false images or altering the appearance of a thing
 * Floramancy, magical manipulation of plantlife
 * Biomancy†, arcane augmentation of biological matter
 * Creation†, the ability to make something physical out of nothing

Grade V

 * Manipulation, moving objects with one's mind
 * Enchantment, imbuing objects with latent magical power or ability
 * Evocation, drawing latent magical energy from a source into outward power
 * Invocation, drawing latent magical energy from a source into inner power

Grade VI

 * Telepathy, sending and receiving messages directly with the mind
 * Extrasensory Perception, mystical awareness of the surroundings beyond the usual senses
 * Astral Projection, sending a spectral version of the self, for communication or observation
 * Portal Calculus†, the techniques and formulae involved in creating traversable tunnels through space
 * Interdimensional Mechanics†, the systems of interaction between parallel dimensions

'' Most Gaians will achieve broadly Grade VI skill by the time they are fourteen, but at higher grades the demands of the fields will grow significantly more complex and arcanically strenuous. Many students choose to cease their studies after Grade 6 and seek a life that does not demand they learn more magic. Some decide it’s not worth it before then. Plenty of Gaians, though, are only too eager to become more versed in the mystical arts. ''

Grade VII

 * Psychometry, the ability to witness an object's past through contact
 * Barrier Mechanics, the creation of magical shells for protection
 * Propulsion, for moving people or objects at speeds eventually extreme
 * Concealment, hiding things or people from senses mundane and mystical
 * Frequencies, the magic behind wavelengths, radio, audio, etc

Grade VIII
''Study at this level involves the first lessons in magai-technology: Rig creation. All techniques taught at Grade VIII and beyond require the assistance of a rig .''


 * Magai-Technology, the combination of arcane energy and human technological ingenuity
 * Kinesis, a more precise, diverse form of Manipulation
 * Protection, an evolution of Biomancy and Barrier Mechanics
 * Hexes†, placing bespoke deleterious effects upon a person or object
 * Deconstruction†, the technique of breaking something down to its constituent parts

Grade IX

 * Conditionals, allowing techniques of other fields to be triggered automatically by specific circumstances
 * Speed, manipulating velocities more precisely than Propulsion
 * Meteoromancy, the magic of atmospheric conditions and weather patterns
 * Elementalism, the combined arts of the four classical elements
 * Oneiromancy†, the magic of dreams
 * Transformation†, turning a thing into another thing
 * Teleportation†, instantly moving an object or person to another location in view
 * Extraplanar Tunnelling†, advanced application of Portal Calculus and Interdimensional Mechanics
 * Prophecy†, the art of divining the future through the power of magic
 * Time†, manipulation of its flow

'' All of these fields can be expanded upon, in wide-reaching ways. A Grade IX witch can, should they wish, apply to a Faculty Branch to take their understanding and their abilities to greater heights. Many concepts introduced at Grade IX only become useful at Mysticism and beyond, and, in contrast to the Grades, studying Mystics focus on only one field at once - with compulsory Runic Calligraphy, as it is such a useful technique. ''

Mysticism

 * Grand Construction, using magic to nigh-instantaneously create huge buildings or ships
 * Impossible Geometries, bending Spatial Distortion to breathtaking, dreamlike effects on a great scale
 * Deep Core Telepathy, reaching into a mind's memories [RESTRICTED]
 * Thanatology, the magic of death [RESTRICTED]
 * Hell Physics, the detailed guidebook, such as it is, to the Wild Dimensions and their inhabitants [RESTRICTED]
 * Runic Calligraphy, an expansion of Enchantment based on Ancestral Gardener techniques, imbuing a bespoke pictograph with arcane functionality
 * And every previously described field, to new impressive lengths, including (especially) the fields that were previously only theoretical

Mastery
''As with Mysticism, any field can be taken to the level of Mastery. Magic developers working on their Mastery can and do use it as a platform to combine other fields in interesting ways that are unique to them, and through achieving multiple Masteries they will expand their rig, maybe even to the point of Sorcery. A witch who takes her Pyromancy to Mastery will be able to do things with fire that others could only dream of.''


 * Overdrive Architecture, the combination of Grand Construction and Impossible Geometries
 * Time, the practical component of manipulating its flow. Witches must achieve Mysticism in another field before they can even hope to affect Time.

Sorcery
''The highest level of magical capability, sorcerers almost all have enormous, multi-part rigs to support their phenomenal powers. Some say that all that is required to become a sorcerer is the patience to produce a huge array for your rig, but many witches see diminishing returns on the time investment, and settle at a lower level of power.''

Nevertheless, some abilities are unique to this level, and they are the most reality-changing techniques in a Gaian's grasp.


 * Terraforming, jumpstarting and guiding the formation of a complex ecosystem on a lifeless world
 * Cosmic Life, the outright creation of new life forms, such as Xenodragons
 * Cosmic Matter, the magic of stars, planets, moons, and other massive objects in space
 * Stop, the power to pause time for a region, potentially a large region, potentially for long periods of time. This is the highest level of Time magic, time travel remains a logical impossibility.

'' Similarly to Mastery, prospective Sorcerers often combine simpler fields to create entirely new branches of magic unique to them.

Non-Gaian Magic
So far, this article has concerned itself only with the magic particular to the Gaians, but the other species of Vintergatan almost all have their own breed of powers beyond the physical. They need not function in the same way, nor be bound by the same restrictions - while some species also consume arcanically nutritious fruits, others have no need for such sustenance and derive their powers through other means. The Proof of the Crystal Curtain have been witnessed to teleport to locations they cannot possibly perceive, and the casters of the Chase in the South-West draw all their power from their ornate staffs. Rumors abound that other Council Races in the Crystal Curtain can do even stranger things with ease, but there are some disciplines that are so far believed to be unique to Gaian/Ancestral Gardener techniques: notably Stop, our particular kind of portal genesis, and the ability to create complex, functional enchanted life.

The fullness of what other species can do with their magic will have to wait until future Blooms to adequately explore.