Magic Wheel

Legend

“To understand the Mana Seas partitions and their major currents, eight core colours were set up as spokes of a wheel, each heading and tailing its adjacent hue.”

“Mastering the ‘Wheel’ is not for mortals, yet Deepminded knows seven of eight.”

Skjald Sejrik

 

Description

The Magic Wheel is but an illustration of the forces behind the swirling mana sea, its eight colours, each of their eight levels of mastery, and the general shard shape it crystallises in.

Its colours also display opposites: the yellow of the divine gods opposite the violet of our world’s essence and the filled mental minds of cyan opposite the red flow of void energies. All displayed in eight circles, the innermost showing the narrow limited knowledge close to a being’s centre and its broad outer horizon.

It’s a very useful tool for explaining magic relations, manipulation progress and spanning out, as also explained in the Mendoza Matrix invented by Gonzalo de Mendoza.

“To explain the sea, its gods, and mortal alignment, the wheel was invented.”

Skjald Valgrif

 

History

Dark Ages

It’s most unlikely that the elder divines thought the slightest about creating such a wheel. But as they worked with the mana sea, they began to realise it had some major perceptive colours. Some were further away from others than some that lay adjacent. And when trying to work swirls, they turned into permanent hues of adjacent colours.

When the mana links sprang into self-existence, and gods were born, it became obvious that there indeed was a fundamental difference between the opposites. As the entities clearly displayed different interests, fields of interaction, and reward types – oh yes, the new divines were in some ways like the elder divines: as aloof as the Vornir and Boriac, as manipulating as the Stoicheian and Wickeryadii, and as whimsical as the fragmented interactions of mortal races. But clearly distinct in each of their fields.

Thus, to perceive it all, mortal scholars studied the mana sea, gods, husks, and more. Eventually defining the Magic Realms and Mana Flow. And they reached the conclusion that it is impossible for mortals to cope with and master magic paths the opposite of their own aura colour, despite spending their entire life as a mana manipulator.

“Favoured by divine yellow, Na’harrag completed the circlet and placed it on his head; its celestial shard erupted in violet flames and consumed him.”

Skjald Vinotis

 

First Age

With the stitching of void gardens into a gargantuan carpet enclosing the astral, some things changed. The Utterdark period followed, until two Stoicheian accepted to become Sun and Moon; empowered by all other divines, they let their combined glow shine on the surface. One is the chaotic melting point of all colours, the other the shimmering glow of each colour’s horizon. They ascended to their celestial locations and began to traverse the sky, but beneath the surface tensions grew in the mana sea.

Skjald Ulrich

 

Second Age

As the 1st Cataclysm erupted, the mana sea broke free of the thousands of anchors holding it tight, and it began to swirl inside its shell. Disrupting the way Astravel worked, rendering the Astravel sites, or gates, useless or unstable.

Skjald Kazumix

 

Third Age

There are not many who consider it, but not only did the bullheaded god and its followers appear, but also, in regard to the magic wheel and Astravel, something far more important started. The friction of the internal mana sea began to drag the surface along in a slow elastic spin. Few noticed, as the Stoicheian Twins quickly adjusted their travel.

Skjald Sigurd

 

Fourth Age

With the eruption of Mt Vula, the Mana Sea gained a major anchor in the surface once more. Now in a stronger steady spin, it yanked the world along—some say this and not Ljostaris sinking created the Deep Blue Tsunami—regardless, the surface spin once more became aligned with the internal sea. Reactivating all the old defunct Astravel sites, many buried beneath millennia- or century-thick layers of dirt or vegetation. Their reactivation is a curiosity and has resulted in many searches and excavations.

“He felt a tremble and tumbled over; standing up, he noticed the tiles and pillar holes glowed.”

Skjald Yell'a'Beard

 

Organisation

The wheel is divided not just into eight aura hues, but also into eight tiers, or wheel circles, if you want.Mastering each, progressing in ability and complexity, makes the tiers of opposing colours more difficult to reach within and master.

Apprentice (I) May learn and use spell paths at level 1 within one aura colour.

Novice (II) May learn and use spell paths up to level 2 and span two aura colours.

Journeyman (III) May learn and use spell paths up to level 3 and span 3 aura colours.

Chief (IV) May learn and use spell paths up to level 4 and span four aura colours.

Master (V) May learn and use spell paths up to level 5 and span five aura colours.

Lord (VI) May learn and use spell paths up to level 6 and span six aura colours.

Overlord (VII) May learn and use spell paths up to level 7 and span seven aura colours.

Grand lord (VIII) May learn and use spell paths up to level 8 and span eight aura colours.

“None can span it all, and very few joined the hive of ‘more than five’.”

Skjald Valgrif

 

Special

Very few have mastered more than five of the wheel’s coloured spokes. Those who did have their ‘wheels’ hanging at Magic Academies

“These grandlords of five or more display mortals’ mental shore.”

Skjald El Mary