The Magic

What kind of epic fantasy novel would this be without magic? Magic itself is easy but there are a few rules, a bunch of paths (vocations), important people in the Mage-World, and some rules about society and magic itself. It's all gathered here so you don't have to try and find something in the bulk of the story. And look, I even made a list:

Magic Basics and Rules

The magic in Avalora is based off two key factors: the belief you can do something and enforcing your will on whatever it is you want to do. Ivy says it best: "Magic is arbitrary belief focusing on concepts that can’t be physically touched."

Magic is broken up into six paths or vocations: Dark, Light (Healer), Creature, Warrior, Gray, and Elemental. Each vocation has strenghts and weaknesses against the others and in general uses for magic like portaling, summoning, and levitating. Dark Mages are broken up into regular Dark Mages or Grims. Only the Grimgolds can become Grims. Light Mages are generally the doctors and nurses of the Mage world. Creature Mages are magical vets who can control beasts with certain spells. Warriors can't cast spells or do much practical magic but the magic of the other vocations rarely effects them and their defenses are immense. They rely on brute power to protect. Gray Mages are the Jacks of All Trades, capable of picking certain aspects of every vocation and excelling. They are also the best at general magic. Elemental Mages are broken into element catagories: fire, air, water, earth, metal, wood, lightning, snow and rain. Most have control over multiple elements and other vocations may be able to control one element.

Key Points:

What can Magic do?

Basically everything. You can fight with it, defend with it, feed yourself with it. What you can't do:

The Vocations:

Dark Mages: heavily interested in death, either the dead or ancient runes and symbols. They're known as the researchers and their careers normally have something to do with studying death in some sense. They don't fear death, rather they believe it's a natural process and a part of every person's life. They see the beauty in the workmanship of decay and torture devices. They're known as being aloof, loners, mellow, calm, cool, collected, and obsessive. Cannot perform Levitation or Summoning. Masters of far reaching portals, especially the Grimgolds.

Light Mages: highly intelligent and respected by the Mage community. The complete opposite of Dark Mages, they embrace life and work hard to prevent death and decay. They don't fear death as it is part of a natural cycle but they will not let someone die on their table. They go on to become doctors, nurses, paramedics, and anything in the medical field. They're known as being nuturing, helpful, sympathetic, empathetic, energetic, curious, stubborn, and happy. Cannot create portals. Masters of summoning and levitating objects.

Gray Mages: the Jack of All Mages who can excel in the basics arts of summoning, levitation, and portals. Their special talents lie in Divination, Time, Illusion, Empathic, and Mental Magic. Unlike other Mages they are a blend of both Light and Dark and can therefore learn anything from any vocation. Gray Mages go on to become spies, fortune tellers, entertainers, officers of the law, and a variety of other jobs. They're known for being emotionally level, brilliant, and professional students. Cannot perform far reaching portals.

Elemental Mages: control the world around them depending on their strongest element. All Elemental Mages can control at least two elements and most can control upwards of three. All Elemental Mages also lean towards one element in particular, the one they like to manipulate the most. Elemental Mages have various jobs depending on their elements. Those with wood, earth, or metal go into construction and design. Those with water go into the boating or fishing business. Those with fire become anything from firefighters to warriors. Those with lightning work for the electric companies and can become natural power supplies. Their attitudes and general dispositions depend on their elements. Fire Mages are quick to anger where Wind Mages tend to be aloof. Cannot perform portals. Masters of levitation for extended periods of time, especially wind elementals.

Creature Mages the healers of every creature immense and tiny they excel not only in typical creature healing but fantasical creature healing. They can also learn to control particular creatures or physically speak to them in their language. They're known to be nurturing, like working in groups, have difficulty making decisions but tend to be organized to the point of obsession. Cannot perform portals. Masters of summoning creatures to them

Warrior Mages do not have strong practical magic skills but can defend against all other vocations. They are the masters of all traditional and non-traditional weapons and go on to become protectors in some sense of the word. Warriors can withstand most attack spells thrown at them from any other vocation and create barriers so powerful that sometimes not even dragons who are immune to most magic can break them down. They're known as stubborn, often overwork themselves, loyal, and powerful of mind, body, and emotions. Cannot perform long levitations or far reaching portals. Masters of Summoning objects to them.

Important Mage Family Names

There are only 12 pureblood and wealthy Mage families left in the world. This does not mean they're the only pureblood Mage families. The other pureblood Mage families don't have a lot of clout in the Mage world as they don't have a lot of money so they're not considered important, respected, or powerful. Most of the other pureblood Mage families are considerably weaker then any family on this page. All pureblood Mage families follow STRICT rules when it comes to what magic their children can have and who their children can marry. That rule goes double for the 12 here:

  1. The Raynharts: Dark and Gray Mages. Family worth: $90 billion or 9 billion gold coins
  2. The Tempests: Dark Mages. Family worth: $45 billion or 4.5 billion gold coins
  3. The Swiftsparkles: Elementals. Family worth: $35 billion or 3.5 gold coins
  4. The Bryebloods: Dark Mages. Family worth: $28 billion or 2.8 gold coins
  5. The Vonchancy: Gray Mages. Family worth: $24 billion or 2.4 gold coins
  6. The Quicksongs: Gray and Light Mages. Family worth: $17 billion or 1.7 gold coins
  7. The Blackponds: Dark and Water Elementals. Family worth: $14 billion or 1.4 billion gold coins
  8. The Rainfalls: Wood and Earth Elementals. Family worth: $8 billion or 800 million gold coins
  9. The Silkdews: Gray Mages. Family worth: $5 billion or 500 million gold coins
  10. The Furors: Warrior Mages. Family worth: $950 million or 95 million gold coins
  11. The Swiftreavers: Warrior Mages. Family worth: $734 million or 73.4 million gold coins
  12. The Bloodwryms: Dark Mages. Family worth: $643 million or 64.3 million gold coins

The following are Mage Families who are respected out of fear or pure power despite no longer being considered pureblooded. These familes have been known to breed with non-Mages and the family member who does so is normally forgotten about but still able to keep the name. There are some who are not Full Mages but still hold a lot of magical output simply because they come from good stock.

Grims and the Grimgold Family

We find out about Grims in detail during the series but here's the basics:

Society and Magic

Generally non-Mages and full-Mages get along in working society. The higher up on the totem poll a Mage Family is, the less they think of non-Mages. Raynharts and Tempests believe half-Mages and non-Mages are nothing but their servants. Few pure-blood Mage families like the company of non-Mages or half-Mages but will work with them if they have to.

Half-Mages get to be the ones who are not accepted by either non-Mages or full Mages. Naturally both parents accept the child but the family of the full-Mage parent disowns the full-Mage where the family of the non-Mage parent avoids the non-Mage. It means half-Mages never meet aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or any other relation besides their parents.

Most pure-blood Mage families believe homosexuality is wrong, especially Warrior Mages. Pure-blood Mage families tend to find other pure-blood Mage families to have their child create more pure-bloods suitable to the family line. Marrying for love is not an option. Even "low" mage-families will disown a member who marries a non-Mage or produces a child who has no magic.

Non-mages generally don't marry into Mage or Half-Mage lines willingly though there are some who marry into predominate families for the wealth, fear, or because they are actually in love. Two examples of true love are the relationships between Allison and Alaro Grimgold (Bane's parents) and John Smith and Marissa Riverwood (Dawn's parents). Half-Mages who cannot find anyone else will sometimes put a love spell on an unsuspecting non-mage in order to produce a child in desperate circumstances.

There are Mage towns and Non-Mage towns but often time smaller communities have a mix of both. Mage towns use Mage Fire to light their buildings and streets which makes non-Mages nervous to visit. Most of the time Mages and Non-Mages work together but are separated when it comes to being housed. It's rare for a single apartment complex in a large city to house both non-Mages and Mages.

Generally racism is reversed in the Mage community. The Raynharts are African American and believe anyone who's white are lazy and good for nothing. This trickles down the totem pole so whites are seen as less than blacks. In the Non-Mage world, it's the opposite (as it is in 2015 society now). Anyone who isn't "cis/straight" or "normal" is looked upon unkindly in both communities, exactly like society in 2015. There is an acceptance movement but Mages aren't ones who change quickly.

Mages have adapted electronis and changed them to run on magic instead of electricity. Mages own cell phones, cars, computers, televisions, and behave as a non-Mage in 2015 except their laptops are run on the power of their own magic. The internet is shared between both communities though Mages have their own websites as do non-Mages. Non-Mages have not grown used to seeing Mage fire light rooms or a flying car.

There is a government body for Mages to regulate magic, rules, and how non-Mages are treated. This government body works with the non-Mage government body to make sure war doesn't break out between the two communities. The Magic Ministry also handles relations between elves, dwarves, giants, and other races listed as "other."

Children who do not meet the vocational requirements of their family have been disowned. For example, if a Tempest becomes anything but a Dark Mage, that Tempest will lose their name and have to make up a new one. It's the same if a Furor becomes an Elemental Mage or a Raynhart becomes a Light Mage.

Let's remember our characters' names (Raynhart, Tempest, Furor, Grimgold, and Riverwood) and take into consideration they're all in one Room Assignment at a school that's known for putting one person from each vocation into a single Room. That's right. There will be major conflict going during the course of first term.

Other Breeds

These include magical breeds who have a humanoid shape but distinctly different magic than the six vocations:

Elves

Forest-dwelling magic users with humanoid shape who are exceptionally beautiful. Their ears are cantered to points and they are more graceful than any Mage. Their magic resembles Light Magic but is more nature based. They cannot heal the full range of injuries as a Light Mage can but have a knack for manipulating plants and other greenry unlike Earth or Wood Elementals.

Dwarves

Cave-dwelling magic users with a humanoid shape who tend to be much shorter than a normal human. Their ears have a slight canter to them and their Magic does not follow natural laws. It could be called Dark Magic but they do not excel in anything a Dark Mage does. They can manipulate metal similiar to a Metal Elemental but do not use the same spells.

Fairies

Believed to be extinct they are humanoid in form but no larger than a normal human's palm. Their magic burst out in sparkles and created life in the world itself wherever it landed. For example, a Fairy could make a tree grow from the middle of a paved street. Fairies have not been seen in 90 years.

Giants

Mountain dwellers who grow to over 10 feet in height and have no magical capabilities. They are clan-beings who use brute strenght to lead and speak in an extremely gutteral tongue.

Dragons

The oldest of all the breeds and races, reptilian in shape with the speech capabilities of a human. Their magic is innate, natural, and most vocational magic does not work against them. Some can be tamed as familiars (mini-dragons) but the larger varities leave once they come of age. Dragons like to hoard shiny objects that may not have any real wealth.

Merfolk

Water dwellers with a humanoid form from the waist up and a long fish tail from the waist down. They speak in sounds, much like dolphins but have the capability of human speech. Gills dominate the sides of their necks and they have fins along their backs and arms. Merfolk enjoy shining objects as much as dragons and will hoard objects in underwater caves. Their magic is unknown.

Harpies

Mountain dwellers with wings for arms, bird-like legs, feathers for hair and beaks upon their faces. They are capable of human speech but it is normal garbled. They speak in tweets and screams among their fellows and rarely leave their high homes to speak to any Mage. No one knows about their magic.

Goblins

The same size as dwarves but green in color with no hair. They love anything gold and are experts at hiding themselves from even the most experiences Mages. Their magic could be described as Gray Magic but no goblin has ever produced any kind of magic similiar to vocational magic.

Spirits

The unfortunate ones whose body was destroyed before they could realize they were dead. Spirits believe they still live though only those well versed in Dark Magic (or Grims) can see or hear them. They can effect the world around them with enough concentration but their magic comes from emotion, not any typical vocation. Spirits can be pushed to move on only by a Grim.

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