The Limitations & Possibilities of Magic

Introduction

While the hypothetical application of magic extends far beyond what any one being can conceive, the possibilities of one being achieving such hypotheticals does have its limitations. It is well known fact that while a single being might have the ability of teleportation, that ability is still restricted to relatively minuscule distances in comparison to the whole of celestial bodies. To gain a greater understanding of what these restrictions are, it is necessary to look at the source of where these limitations come from, and how they may be overcome by non-conventional means. Lastly, it will also be important to explore how much further these applications of magic can reach assuming these non-conventional means have no limitations themselves.

Early Observations of Magic

Within every Umana and Scath exists an inherent ability to manipulate and reorganize the world around themselves through the use of magic. This manipulation to date seems to be a very unique ability that not even interstellar species possess. Much of this ability comes from an innate hyper-awareness not only of the environment around them, but the energy contained in the environment. Many of the features taken for granted by Umana and Scath are actually evidence of magical ability. The following examples demonstrate this hyper-awareness at a very basic and instinctual level.

Being aware of other creatures presence is a unique trait. Although an Umana or Scath may not see or hear or feel a creature approaching them, they know that creature is there. Through studies and observations of the School of Nature and the School of Science, it has been theorized that this almost sixth sense is an Umana and Scath's hyper-awareness that comes from being so in tune with the energy around them.

Another unique trait present in Umana and Scath is the ability to sense major events. Although a being might not be present to witness a great tragedy occurring, many Umana and Scath have reported recalling what they were doing the moment such a great tragedy occurred. It has been described as a gut feeling of great sorrow when there is no reason for sorrow to be present. The most recent account of this trait being expressed is the inherent dread all Umana felt when the Unintentional Calamity first started. The destruction of Frelia sent shock waves throughout Domhain which were somehow sensed by Umana at the time. Although there was no explanation for what happened, there appeared to have been some transmission of the seriousness of the event which the School of Nature believes to have been a transmission of some unseen energy.

The Source of Magic

Through the assistance in research by all the Schools of Reasoning, a source of magic has been determined: energy. Just like an Umana must expend energy to move, an Umana must also expend energy to use Taisteal magic. The concept of magic is very similar and can be associated with everyday actions with one key difference. While an everyday action requires the use of energy in one party to affect another, the use of magic requires energy in one party to influence the energy in another party to affect itself. The first method is a direct way to expend energy, the second method is an indirect way to expend energy. Obviously, the first way of expending energy is much less efficient, and the explanation of why this is will be explored later. Before it is possible to talk about energy conversion, it is important to concretely define what direct and indirect energy expenditure look like.

Direct Energy Expenditure

Many everyday actions are an example of direct energy expenditure. All known creatures have the inherent ability to directly spend energy on normal bodily functions and movement. While these movements of a creature could affect another object, the creature is not forcing said object to use any energy itself to move. For example, if an Umana decides to pick up a branch and place it somewhere else, the branch is not doing any work. All of the movement occurring is happening because the Umana is expending energy.

Indirect Energy Expenditure

The source of magic comes from the indirect energy expenditure. Taking the example of moving a branch, the use of indirect energy expenditure would mean the branch is moving itself (more specifically, space around the branch is manipulated) because of an Umana expending energy. This means an Umana is using energy to manipulate their body in some way that affects another spot outside of their body. The energy expenditure reaches outside a being's own personal environment to affect something else. While it may be natural for most creatures to raise their own hand, it is not typically natural for creatures to have innate sense to learn how to raise someone else's hand.

Energy Efficiency

All creatures are extraordinarily efficient at expending energy to affect their own body. The reason why indirect energy expenditure is so taxing is due to two main reasons. Firstly, indirect energy expenditure is not inherent, and therefore not optimized. Using magic in different ways is like training a muscle. At first, it may be hard to perform the simplest tasks. This is because these tasks take more conscious effort and potentially multiple attempts. Secondly, indirect energy expenditure simply takes more energy. Going back to the tree branch example, when moving a branch through direct energy expenditure, there is only energy being expended on moving the Umana's body. When using indirect energy expenditure, there are two sources that need energy: the Umana and the branch. No known amount of optimization can make this process expend less energy than a direct approach.

The Limits of Magic

It is well known that the use of magic takes energy. Naturally, a limitation of magical ability is due to how much energy a single being can possess. The same limitations of direct energy expenditure also apply to indirect energy expenditure. A creature can simply run forever because it desires to do so. The same applies to magic. A Scath using Atheagru magic cannot heal people forever simple because it desires to do so.

The only way for a single creature to overcome these limitations without outside help is optimizing the use of energy. More complicated magical abilities can potentially cause the inefficient use of energy, so there is a chance for potential optimizations. This is especially true for Ionramhail magic. Even these optimizations have their limitations.

Magic and Artifacts

One way to overcome the need for large amounts of energy is to imbue an object with magical energy. Although one being may only be able to produce a given amount of energy at one time, it is possible to store that energy in an object. There is hypothetically no limit to the amount of energy a single artifact can store.

Due to the infinite nature of artifacts, great weapons of mass destruction as well as tools of mass creation can be created by multiple Umana or Scath storing energy for long periods of time in an artifact. The School of Magic has practiced this transfer of energy religiously creating some of the most powerful artifacts to have ever be seen in the world of Domhain.