Magic of Alpha Magenta
Magical abilities in Alpha Magenta develop from birth and manifests at an early age. While no other race than humans seems to be able to produce magic, it’s still a rare skill to find in a child.
Of every ten thousand babies born, only one will be naturally adept to magic.
These selected few, start producing random magical effects, without even willing it. A single thought that taps into one’s emotions, whether it’s from feeling anger, fear, surprise, or simply having fun playing an imaginary game will produce magic in anyone with the natural ability—no matter the age.
The consequence can be devastating.
For this reason, the mages have decided that reading in prohibited. So is storytelling. If it was possible, the mages would most likely have bound people’s dreams too.
The Order of the Unseen is the sanctioned body all mages belong to (and rumored to be more powerful than the king of Magiana). The organization finds uncontrolled, unrestrained, magic too dangerous. Therefore, it’s therefore the focus of the mages to locate every child with an affinity for magic and bring them to the invisible library of Atheneum for training at as young an age as 5 years old.
Emotional Magic of Alpha Magenta
Magical Training
For unknown reasons, magic is strongest in the young.
Out of a concern for the spontaneous magical consequences that comes with having a child, most parents report their pregnancy to the Order of the Unseen as soon as they become aware of it. A mage, or a Gray Agent, will soon pay the family a visit, delivering one of the special velvet cloaks, which every child up until the age of five are required by law to wear at all times.
Within the fabric of the cloak is woven bone fragments from the magical resistant Stone Trolls, a highly rare resource. These fragments absorb any spells that might be produced. Wearing this magical nullifier, children go about their lives as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
At the time they reach the age of five years old, a mage will pay a second visit to the household and examine the cloak. In the majority of the cases, no magic is registered. The cloak is then removed for good and the child is declared safe.
If, on the other hand, magic has been absorbed, the child will be taken to Atheneum, where he or she will undergo training and later join the Order of the Unseen.
At the hidden library of Atheneum, years of training awaits. Apprentices are also not allowed to leave. Here, they are first taught meditation techniques and how to control their emotions. They also study subjects such as algebra, reading, and writing. These skills alone set them apart from common man. Wearing the distinctive black leather vest which extends in length to just above the knee indicates they belong to the Order of the Unseen.
Upon entering their early teens, students eventually begin practical exercises and generating actual spells. Simple training can, however, prove fatal, so the Mages have strict rules in place. With an academy full of teenagers, not everyone will respect the rules at all times, though. Yet, it’s dangerous to expel a misbehaving student, releasing the person into the world with unchecked magical abilities. So the mages instead prevent the worst of the rule-breakers from graduating and becoming a mage, keeping some difficult students for extra years or folding failed apprentices into employment in Atheneum.
Minor offenses for misbehaving students involve chores, such as scrubbing floors, peeling potatoes, or, worse, days or weeks in detention. Once pupils complete their apprenticeship usually around the time of their late teens, they swear on the life of their loved ones to keep the secrets they’ve learned, and to serve the Order of the Unseen with devotion and unquestioned dedication.
The hidden library of Atheneum
Spells
In order to cast a spell, the magic user must draw upon one of the six core type of emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, or surprise.
By allowing the emotion of choice, and only that one, to fill one’s body, the caster focuses on one of the three spell levels associated to the selected emotion. If all goes well, the desired spell will materialize, but emotions are hard to control, especially when under pressure by time or threat.
The high margin for error is chiefly among the younger casters.
With age comes an increased ability to constrain oneself, but, at the same time, magic loses some of its potency. Young mages have less control. Older mages have less raw power.
What if a sliver of anger gets mixed in with the sense of fear? What if the mage channels happiness, but also the tinniest bit of surprise at the same time? What if the person is feeling happy? How difficult would it be to allow anger to take over, when you’re in fact, feeling joyful?
Magic is difficult. It’s unpredictable.
If more than one of the core emotions flow through the magic user at the same time, a random spell effect occurs—replacing the intended one.
Whether the spell is successful or not, doesn’t change how sourcing one’s own emotions also amplifies them. When a caster uses anger as the agent, he or she will concurrently feel it and further fuel the spell. Anger may turn into fury. Happiness might be replaced by an overwhelming sense of euphoria.
Years upon years of practice is required to maintain self-control.
Until then, the spellcaster can easily become the one controlled by magic, rather than the other way around.
Arcane Magic
Magic has been known to have changed over the centuries. Arch Mage Eliat, the founder of the Order of the Unseen, wrote a treatise on magic and the Rift, documenting numerous spells. This information was bound in a book known as the Tome of the Magi, which was destroyed ages ago.
With its loss came the loss of numerous spells and the ability to cast great feats like the invisibilty spell that surrounds Atheneum.
Some believe this lost magic stemmed somehow from the secondary effects of mixed emotions while others felt it was an entirely different branch of magic. What is certain is that it has been lost, no one has been able to regain it, and it is referred to as arcane magic.
The Order of the Unseen
The authority of the mages bound together in the Order of the Unseen goes relatively unchecked.
Citizens of the Kingdom of Magiana simply view the mages as a necessity, many even see them as protectors.
In a world, where magic is conjured by emotions, the gods, especially the dark ones, sustain themselves in the cosmos by feeding off the feelings generated by humans. For this reason, the mages have banned all books and stored them away in invisible libraries.
Stories give rise to emotions and books are therefore deemed too dangerous to read. In addition to controlling the written word, the Order of the Unseen has also outlawed verbal storytelling.
The highly skilled law enforcement of the Order of the Unseen, the Gray Agents, impose the will of the mages, ensuring that no one exposes themselves, or others to the risk of fueling the dark gods with emotions. The public might have revolted against the oppression by now, if it werent for the fact, that the mages in a time long past captured the dwarven Goddess of Torture and Wind, Otano.
Ever since, the threat of the dark gods has been chiseled into reality.
Members of the Order of the Unseen designate their membership usually by wearing not only the distinctive black leather vest but also Eyere’s Circle of Balance – a copper spiral surrounded by a moonstone ring. This symbol serves as a constant reminder not only of a mage’s status but to also never allow emotions to reign unchecked.
The Temple of the Arcane
While there is no requirement other than graduation from Atheneum for one to become a mage, becoming an Arch Mage is a different matter.
It can take a lifetime before the opportunity to become an arch mage presents itself. Even then, it’s still required to pass the test at the Temple of the Arcane—no potential candidate for Arch Mage status is simply offered the position.
The temple is a place of great magic. Formed as a triangle, a tall tower stands in each corner. One tower is made of flames, one of air, and the last tower is of water.
Many never return from the trials and none speak of what takes place at the Temple of the Arcane.
Those who do survive can look forward to a life of status, great power, and wealth.
The Oracryst Cube
When the Dark Goddess, Otano was captured by the Order of the Unseen, her mind was separated from her body and kept in what is known as the Oracryst Cube. This indestructible, heavy crystal ball is believed to have been made by Eyere, the God of Magic, or possibly even the Realm Wanderers themselves.
It’s speculated that the Oracryst Cube was originally intended as a gift to the Gods, allowing them to sustain themselves so they didn’t drain all of their powers when they visited the physical realm of Alpha Magenta. However, the mages placed the crystal ball in a secret underground prison where Otano’s body is also entombed and chained.
Keeping one of the most powerful Dark Gods under lock comes at a price, though.
The Vault, which is the name of the prison when Otano’s body is held, needs to be recharged once a year with an injection of positive emotions. To this end, the mages host a three-day long “Vault Charge” celebration. Thousands of people gather in the large temple located at the heart of the city of Amazal, the seat of the Order of the Unseen, to celebrate life.
Potent storytellers enact the happiest of stories, which are known to make spectators fall to their knees, overcome by tears of joy. Others dance through the nights beneath a sky lit by amazing fireworks, displaying sparkling lights, fictitious heroes, and similar delights.
Alcohol and drugs are often consumed to further reduce the barrier to emotions.
Behind the scenes, the most powerful of the mages, including the reclusive members of the High Council, use the power of magic to gather the emotions and restore the Oracryst Cube, together with the shackles holding Otano’s body. Massive amounts of energy are involved in the recharge. As a result, a side effect of the recharge is earthquakes.
Recently, such an earthquake opened the ground and swallowed a thosand people, plummeting them into a premature grave. The Vault Charge has since been called the Day of Cries. It has given rise to a general skepticism in the population, questioning why the mages insist on keeping a god imprisoned.