The Nature and History of Magic in Corwyn

Magic in Corwyn is not a single discipline. It is a hierarchy, a set of interfaces layered over something vast, ancient, and only partially understood. What mortals call magic is merely the act of grazing that deeper structure without being destroyed by it. At the foundation of all things lies The Script.

The Script

The Script is the universe’s language. It is not spoken aloud, nor written in ink. It is the invisible structure that defines cause, effect, identity, time, gravity, memory, and consequence. Every law of existence is an expression of the Script in motion.

Few beings understand it fluently. The incarnations of universal aspects such as Nature, Fate, Time, and Gravity speak it as effortlessly as breath. Mortals, by contrast, glimpse fragments at best.

The Script is divided into three conceptual layers:

Low Script, which governs the innate, and the subconscious.
Medium Script, which shapes physical laws and transformations.
High Script, which defines permanence, identity, memory, and fate itself.

To interfere directly with the Script is to risk rewriting something that does not wish to be edited. And Reality has a way of correcting mistakes.

MágÿcK

If the Script is the original code of the universe, Mą́gÿcK is the interface mortals use to access it.

Mą́gÿcK allows limited manipulation of the Script through spells, rituals, symbols, components, and intent. Fire casting, illusions, teleportation, invisibility, healing, summoning, and countless other feats are all expressions of Mą́gÿcK, not the Script itself.

Mą́gÿcK is powerful, but constrained. It cannot fully override reality. It can only bend it. This distinction is why most mortals survive casting spells at all.

Olde MágÿcK and the Wizards

During the Golden Age and the Age of Artefacts, wizards were the dominant practitioners of Mą́gÿcK. They formalized magic into schools, codified its rules, and enforced discipline through rigorous training. Graduation required the creation of a magical artefact, a proof not just of knowledge, but of control.

Wizard robes reflected specialization:

White for healing and restoration
Black for death, necromancy, and domination of will
Blue for illusion, deception, and sensory manipulation
Yellow for time and spatial manipulation
Red for raw energy and destructive force

Mixed colours were rare and dangerous. Grey wizards mastered both life and decay. Purple wizards combined illusion with raw power. Such individuals were feared, even among their peers.

Eventually, wizard influence grew unchecked. Magic became political. Artefacts accumulated. Power centralized. The result was the Anti-Magic War, and with it, the collapse of wizard dominance.

The Echelon System and the Rise of Magicians

After the war and the Second Dark Age that followed, spellcasting returned cautiously. Magicians replaced wizards.

To prevent another catastrophe, magic was regulated through the Echelon System, a tiered structure that classifies spells by power, risk, and consequence.

First Echelon spells are simple and safe, used for comfort or convenience
Third Echelon spells mark serious magical study and formal training
Fifth Echelon spells require mastery, rare components, and immense focus
Seventh Echelon spells are forbidden without council sanction and judicial approval

Most magicians never encounter Seventh Echelon magic. Fewer still survive casting it. Magicians must study, practise, and expend resources. Spells drain like a battery. Once cast, they must be relearned or recharged before use again. Magic is treated as a discipline, not a birth right.

Sorcerers

Sorcerers are born, not trained.

They generate magical energy internally, allowing them to cast spells without components and without relearning them between uses. Words and gestures are still required, but the power comes from within.

This gift is also a curse. Untrained sorcerers burn themselves from the inside out. Scorched skin, grey flesh, hairless limbs, and permanent scarring are common. Some do not survive adolescence. Those who receive training learn to channel their power safely. They become indistinguishable from ordinary people, until they choose otherwise.

Sorcerers are rare. They are feared. And they are closely watched.

Realms and External Energies

Reality in Corwyn is layered. Realms exist like overlapping veils, unseen but ever-present. Magic is cast by drawing energy from these neighbouring planes and shaping it through magic.

The realm mortals inhabit is called Corwyn, though this name refers to the plane itself, not the planet. The misunderstanding persists. Below is a guide to the nearest known realms and the energies they provide.

Astral

Austere El

Primary Energy:

The All-Spirit

The realm of spirits, ether, and apparitions. Source of disembodied essence.

Sample Spell:

The Out of Body Spell

Demon

Dæmon

Primary Energy:

Infernôs

Pain, corruption, unnatural force, and infernal heat.

Sample Spell:

The Fiery Gashes of Bazzerath

Echøs

Primary Energy:

NONE

An intermediary plane where sentient enchantments reside.

Sample Spell:

Object Communion

Pocket Worlds

Ad Sinum Mundos

Primary Energy:

NONE

Artificially created realms sustained by external magic. Often unstable.

Sample Spell:

Gnome Teaching Boxes

The Core

Centrumnus

Primary Energy:

Core

Raw, volatile power. Highly destructive. Fire is its most common expression.

Sample Spell:

Killian’s Blazing Fireball

Doldrum

Somniüm

Primary Energy:

The Tide of Obscurity

Dreams, persuasion, water, and mutable thought.

Sample Spell:

The Dreamwalker’s Spell

Enchantment

En Challa

Primary Energy:

Aromatis

Sensory manipulation, cognition, and influence over perception.

Sample Spell:

Milford’s Compliance Charm

Shadow

Regnum Umbra

Primary Energy:

The Veil

Fear, absence, flattening forces, and the unknown.

Sample Spell:

Xabanno’s Depth Flattener

Faerie

Færie

Primary Energy:

The Great Life Strand

Nature, growth, cycles of life, and untamed vitality.

Sample Spell:

Wild Growth Spell

Earth

Corwyn

Primary Energy:

Weak Force / Strong Force

Physical solidity, structure, and material truth.

Sample Spell:

Lucidum’s Revealer

Mirror

Entre Regno

Primary Energy:

Mirrõs

Reflection, gateways, counter-magic, and reversal.

Sample Spell:

Ursula’s Undo Charm