On the Nature of Mana and Magic
Magister Paxia T’Myra
Keynote Address, Gods Road Symposium on Magic
Magic in the Reconstruction Series, 534 Sela

The following notes are transcribed from the symposium address delivered by Magister T’Myra, Cleric of T’Zyri and High Mage of Myrim’lyr College, in the year 534 Sela.

Honored colleagues, it is a true pleasure to join you during this return to the annual Symposium on Magic at Gods Road. As a representative of Myrim’lyr College, the oldest institution of higher learning in Circadia, I hope this address can move all of us towards a progressive future dictated by our noble history. Additionally, as a lifetime follower of my lady T’Zyri, Keeper of Secrets, I feel especially honored to present such information in her name. Without further ado…

Magic has long been a subject of interest among both the Devout and the layfolk. Indeed, entire careers have been dedicated to understanding the Blessing bestowed upon us and its reverberation in our Mortal world.

While the Blood War remains a staunch tragedy in the minds of even the most stalwart, we cannot deny that in Hyrnedhna’s carnage, we learned much about Magic. However, it is easy to fixate on the immediate. In light of current political tensions, I wish to instead turn back to basics.

Since T’Myrim and Zyr’Zane graced Mortal soil, some form of Magic has existed among all worshippers. Indeed, the Age of Worship, when our various cultures came together in pursuit of the Old Gods, we learned quickly that those faithful among us can channel the Magical essence of this world. And, of course, when the first Pantheon of Faeris’lyr came to be, such Magic and the rise of the Devout coincided–as we now well know, to be Devout is to be a vessel of the Gods’ tremendous power. Mortals have never before seen the power provided by our current divine Pantheon.

Such matters, as you well know, are matters for historians. They are well documented in the Cloisters’ archives for any past-minded person to scour. However, I am no historian. I am a Mage.

And, so, back to basics.

Devotion. Attributes. Mana. Magic.

The combination that binds the Devout in service to all of Circadia and the Gods. Our gift, Blessing, and burden.

As a High Mage, I remind you of the best accepted theory on magic. The theory of Divine Mana Channeling.

As all Mages know, the world is infused with various forces: we understand them as the Four Corporeal Elements and the Ethereal Gift. Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Caliber.

To be more descriptive: the stability and strength of Earth, the ever-rushing flow of Air, the sudden surges of Water, the Fire that can erupt at any moment, and the Caliber of your spirit. These elements are aligned with the world around us– capitalizing on that alignment through our faith is how greatness happens.

Enter Mana, the stuff of the Circadian landscape. The unseen carriers of such elemental power that exist beyond most Mortal perception. Even the most talented of Mages have yet to ethically distill Mana into its discreet parts for more than a few moments. Nevertheless, we know it is there.

Beyond this, we know we, the Devout, are able to channel Mana through our Devotion as manifested Attributes.

Prismatic Theory states that the role of the Pantheon is for the Gods to collect Mana and distribute it among their chosen Devout. The collection of an enormous pool of Mana manifests as a single Attribute–the Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Caliber that represents our Divine power. We know that when we expend an attribute, it is eventually refreshed by the Divine power of our patron God or Gods. Such is the well-established relationship between Devotion, Attributes, and Mana.

To my first year undergraduates, I explain the process thusly.

Mana is the nearly intangible stuff that infuses Circadia; we can only see it in heavily controlled or awesome spaces, but research concludes it is unrefined elemental power. Our Pantheon Gods can collect huge amounts of this Mana and channel it into their Devout. This manifests as the Attributes we feel within ourselves. In other words, the Gods make the multitude of magical essence around us into something we can use. Small bits collected and made material within us.

As any Mage knows, as Devout Mages our Gods give us the power to channel raw Mana into spells. Since we cannot see the Mana, but we know it is there, it becomes our duty to reverse engineer our Magic–we master the tangible spell to corral the intangible Mana.

I study such things daily, and, still, such a reality captures me in wonder.

It bears reminding: as far as we know, the Devout are the only confirmed individuals with Attributes. Those who have walked or fallen from Devotion report they lose the sense of power and can no longer feel or use their Attributes. Lifelong layfolk report no manifestation of Attributes within them, even when they are experts in the study of Magic itself.

So, seemingly, that’s how Magic works. But it does not answer the question, what is Mana?

We still don’t know. I find that, as a scholar nearing retirement, a delightful opportunity for this generation of rising Mages.

In this era of massive change, we have new variables that expand our horizons.

To return to the Blood War.

Magister Rubius Rakes II’s study on magical re-entry suggested the veracity of many longheld theories. A lay follower of Nepheris, Magister Rakes was given permission to enter the battlefields as a neutral party during the Blood War. His sole task was to observe and record seeming changes in Magical manifestation. Of course, when a God was on the field, the Devout were more powerful, finding themselves gifted with temporary Attributes and even new abilities.

But something more troubling arose. The reality of death that bore the fruit of the Rubius Law: Mana seems momentarily perceptible, by Mortals, during times of great death.

In the Battle of Beasts, when Hyrnedhna and Beodhen took the field with their forces, over 3000 Mortals, including Hyrnedhnai, perished. All survivors, including Magister Rakes, witnessed thousands of multicolored orbs floating around the field. In a well told tale, Beodhen won this battle because he was able to quickly seize the power of many of these orbs and channel them into his Clerics. The Clerics restored to life roughly 300 of his mightiest Paladins, and they took the field. Hyrnedhna retreated.

More troubling still is the earlier death of Mynair. Magister Rakes, having witnessed the Battle of Beasts, looked for the survivors who had withstood Hyrnedhna’s raid on the coast. High Priestess Myr’naianesa, chosen of Mynair and now Mortal Consort to and High Priestess of Nepheris, reports that when Mynair fell, the Tides swelled with millions of blue orbs. Such orbs fell upon the Mynaira before disappearing. While neither High Priestess Myr’naianesa or Magister Rakes can truly confirm it, it seems that the death of a God resulted in an exponential version of the phenomenon witnessed at the Battle of Beasts.

And what do we make of all this? Our theorem remains seemingly true but perhaps comparatively insignificant when we muse at that still unknown.

To conclude, I pose a perhaps strange direction: interdisciplinary studies.

Those who have studied witchcraft and even those who have observed Magicians have long waited in the shadows of academic halls. This seems unfair: to understand Heresy, one must study Heretics. These scholars, our proper colleagues, have risked life and limbs to observe the doings of Heretics. Yet we cast them aside.

As a Devout of T’Zyri, I suggest we welcome our colleagues made outcast by our own outdated academic cultures. It seems intellectually lazy to resist the knowledge of other students of the world.

And so.

As High Mage of Myrim’lyr College, I hearby establish the first ever accredited Department for the Social Study of Heretical and Abyssal Magic, hosted by Myrim’lyr College. The esteemed Magister Devon Rakes, lay follower of Nepheris, has agreed to sign on as the first Chair of the Department.

I propose this with T’Zyri’s Blessing.

Thank you.