shutsumon (shutsumon) wrote in specficwriters, @ 2008-09-16 00:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | genre: fantasy, olestria, worldbuilding |
Worldbuilding Project - Olestria - Part Four A
So we're onto the questions about magic now. This should be fun. It's another long one so I'm splitting it up.
As noted in part one the only form of magic known to Olestrians - and indeed Nerthans as a whole - is actually more miracle than magic. Magic in its truest form would compel the supernatural to help the caster what Nerthan priests and priestesses do is basically elaborate prayer and ritual to get request aid from the gods. Having said that if the priest is in good standing with the deity and the request falls within the deity’s remit magic doesn’t fail. Nerthan gods and their worshippers have a somewhat symbiotic relationship since the gods actually need worship. However the gods won’t mollycoddle their people either - the value self-reliance. So a god of medicine and healing is more likely to manifest and advise on treatment as heal a sick person - though that’s not unknown.
Magic can also come from the titans/elder gods and this is a little different as the Elder Gods do not need worship (though they certainly enjoy it) and are thus even more likely to tell their worshippers to stop being silly if they are asking for everything instead of doing what they can.
The third potential source of magic is the Outsiders - evil banished kin of the titans who solicit worship in order to gain access to the world. They tend to be extremely reliable and give exactly what is asked in order to cultivate their followers. Nerthans aren’t really aware of the Outsiders as they have only recently managed to start building up a powerbase on Nertha - once they become aware of them their cults will undoubtedly be banned.
On top of this all three groups are capable of granting divine powers to a human follower but this only done rarely. Such powers fit with the deity that grants them (think Apollo granting prophecy etc) and can be taken away as easily as they are granted. However if such empowered humans interbreed they can potentially produce new kinds of near-human but there’s only a handful at a time.
Only priests and priestesses can use magic - usually this means long training and an ordination ceremony of some sort but sometimes a god will just up and declare someone a priest and no one will argue. However this doesn’t mean that the gods don’t hear and answer lay peoples prayers - they do - it’s just not reliable like going to a priest.
Magic can vary from heartfelt prayers to awe inspiring ritual sacrifices depending on the god and the desired result - not to mention how much time you have. Time to ‘cast’ is similarly varied. Magic has no known detrimental effects though serving the Outsiders is corrupting and definitely wearing on the soul.
Olestrian understanding of the laws of nature and physics is at about the same level as ours. Theology is also very respected and people spend long hours theorising how the gods and titans can defy physics.
A priest or priestesses magic will always be appropriate to their patron (the priestess of a death goddess can do some very creepy things but she can’t heal, the priest of a healing god can’t grant luck in a fight etc). Some gods will only accept one gender as clergy or only virgins etc but this is the gods preference not an absolute law.
The ability to do magic can only be lost if you fall out of favour with the god or otherwise leave their priesthood. In theory raping the priestess of a virgin goddess like Gefjun, Artemis or Hestia would rob them of their rank and therefore their magic but it would also piss their goddess off and that would not be healthy. It’s happened but the perpetrators have always regretted it when retribution finds them.
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