The Grid

The Grid is the informal name designated to the powerful, invisible, latent energy field that exists and spreads everywhere throughout Kern and the rest of the universe. It flows through and permeates all living creatures, objects, and energy types. The physical earth naturally-produces mana, a type of energy resource that powers magical effects, due to its intense connection to the Grid.

The universe’s god of magic has typically been, throughout history, any mage whose powers are strong enough to not only defend their title but control the Grid in its infinite entirety. The reigning god of magic, a reality-warping entity known as Werb, appears to be a human male wearing a white toga with gold laurel leaves in his brown hair.

There is a ritualistic component to using magic so that creatures who are not aware they are connected to the Grid do not accidentally cast spells unwittingly. Therefore, some amount of practice and discipline is required for a creature to cast spells effectively, no matter the source of their connection to the Grid.

The stronger a creature or object’s connection to the Grid, the more powerful or intense its magical effects can become.

Magic

Magic, sometimes referred to colloquially as sorcery, is generally left as open-to-interpretation about how it actually works in the setting, and even as comprehended by the world’s best scholars, it is not extensively-well-understood. Vinnie Sorceil, professor of illusions at Gleam's premier magic university, theorized it as “the force of a person’s soul manifesting in visible, tangible, ways.”

Magic is ultimately an expression of reality-warping that can be controlled by different creatures who are connected to the Grid, and this reality warping has a direct causal relationship with a caster's soul or willpower.

The ability to cast magic strictly boils down to these three criteria, in order of importance:

1. The amount of mana required to energize and power the spell’s essential effects, purposes, and attributes.
2. A valid connection to the Grid in at least one way, shape, or form.
3. A fervent belief in the existence and efficacy of magic.
4. A strong sense of willpower or belief in oneself.

Connecting to the Grid

In order to produce magical effects, a creature must be connected to the Grid. Below, generally-speaking, are the most common or traditional ways this is accomplished. Certain creatures may find ways to utilize more than one method to further augment their magical abilities.

Wizardry - Magic as Science

Artificers, Wizards

Wizardry generally refers to the use of memorization, runes, and symbols, and their relation to physical components, sequential gestures, techniques, somatic movements, and/or vocalizations.

To perform wizardry, an instrument for interfacing with the Grid is required, such as a wand, staff, spellbook, amulet, talisman, or musical instrument (so bards are technically considered a type of wizard). Memorization of complex sequences of runes may be involved, which play a large role in a wizard’s tool kit and ability to manipulate reality. A wizard knows how to imbue a sequence of runes on different objects to bestow the magical effects of a spell unto the object. The most common examples of this would be a spell scroll or an enchanted weapon.

Wizardry is the most common of all links to the Grid due to its replicable and scientific nature.

Patronage - Quid Pro Quo

Clerics, Druids, Paladins, Warlocks

Those who seek connection to the Grid via a patron are called a votary. Patrons themselves are usually deities or other creatures of immense sorcerous power that are capable of bestowing portions of their magical affinity onto another creature, usually for a price. A patron can be a deity, or an extremely-powerful intrinsic magic user or votary. In the case of a druid, however, their patron would be the abstract concept of the earth itself.

Patronage is generally frowned upon by society due to the red tape involved with the striking of these deals and their tendency to become one-sided, but the casters themselves can nonetheless become very powerful and easily rival and surpass wizards and others. Though rare, patronage can be symbiotic if a deity chooses a champion whose ideals and values align with theirs.

Depending on the source and nature of their power, votaries do not necessarily need to rely on memorization and instruments to interface with the Grid.

Intrinsic - Gifted and Talented

Bards, Sorcerers

The rarest kind of all, intrinsic magic implies that the creature using it has some kind of direct, effectively-permanent connection to the Grid that is inherent to their being. It is theorized that a gene mutation carried by all gnomes and very small minorities (less than one percent) of all other sentient creatures is often the source of this type of connection.

Wielders of intrinsic magic have historically become some of the most powerful users of all, as the deities of the setting are cut of the same cloth; if the deities are considered to be “100% magic”, then the intrinsics could be considered to be anywhere from 1 to 10% magic on average.

Unlike wizards and votaries, the intrinsics do not need to rely on memorization or rituals to produce their effects: Their magical powers are extensions of themselves, driven by their willpower, inherent to their being, and fueled by mana. The very being of an intrinsic is inherently connected to the Grid.

Relationship with Willpower

The flow of magic is arbitrated by the caster’s willpower, meaning that with practice, the use of magic becomes precisely intentional or second-nature. A caster has to believe that it is real: The more strongly a caster feels this faith in magic, the stronger and more likely are their spells that take effect are to succeed.

Moreover, a mage has to believe in not only their ability to utilize magic but themselves. Believing strongly in both of these helps a mage to form a stronger, tighter connection to the Grid.