Chapter 11 Magic

There are three main sources of magic: Personal Energy- rely on the life energy of oneself, developed through mental and spiritual studies for themselves; they are thus mainly limited to (and represented by) Mental Powers. Examples include (but are not limited to) Hypnotism, Mind Control, Astral Projection, and Telepathy.

Ambient Magical Energy of the Universe, or Universe Energy- users call forth magical energy from their home dimension and use it to cast spells. Examples include teleportation, conjurations, dimensional traveling, illusion-casting, energy projection, energy shields and so forth. Basically, any spell cast that requires no verbal entreaty and is not Personal in nature is a Universe spell. 

Dimensional/Extra-Dimensional Energy- powers gained through the tapping of other dimensions and by invoking entities or objects of power existing in mystical dimensions. Unlike the first two, the entities invoked generally have a say in how or if the power is used. Examples: can be anything, but are usually larger and more powerful in nature. 

There are also Items created by powerful sorcerers and extradimensional entities and vary in function and power. Like the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. 

However, as I am a Force user and a Wellspring Magician I will be able to use spells without depleting my life force or calling upon certain entities. That is not to say there are no specific spells that call upon entities that I can use, in fact the entities may not like me using their spells because I am connected to the Force, but that I am not able to wield specific Dimensional Energy because I am a Force user who basically does that anyway. 

Does that make sense? If not, I'll try explaining more later. 

Next are Spells, Schools, and Rituals. Like I said before, I will be able to use most Spells and Rituals, from most Schools, in my journey. I thought I'd list a few interesting ones I can and can't use. 

I can use most schools except for The Winding Way, Voodoo, and Witchcraft. For Atlantean or Faerie schools of magic I would need permission, but I could use it.

For spells, I can use the semi-neutral entities from the list from the Octessence. That being: Balthakk, Raggadorr, and Watoomb. But not: Cyttorak, Krakkan, Farralah, Valtorr, and Ikonn. I can use the Vishanti's spells, as they are cool. Along with Munipoor and the Seraphim. But not Faltine, Satannish, Denak, Shaeol, Fatalis, Slorioth, and the Trinity of Ashes. 

Rituals are hit or miss. Exorcisms are usually for good and therefore okay to use, but then there are others like the Ritual of All-Seeing that turn underwater dwellers into vampires. Not good. 

I won't be able to receive an item from TAO's collection until I am a Master of the Mystic Arts, which could take a while, so I'll leave that for later. 

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Now that I was in a new school (three within a year, wow), I had received a new schedule:

6-7: Breakfast.

7-8: Morning meditation.

8-9: Learning Forms. 

9-10: Combat Practice.

10-11: After combat meditations.

12-1: Lunch.

1-2: Learning magic.

2-3: Magic combat.

3-4: After magic meditations.

4-7: Free time.

7-8: Dinner.

10: Lights out. 

So, to start, I'll say I won't describe my meals, as they're boring. The food is good, but it's just me eating alone. And for lights out, I thought I'd say I am not doing the Doctor Strange learning at night through astral projection technique, as I value my sleep, but as I'm on time constraints I went through it anyway.

Anyway, Meditation. 

Morning meditation was about finding one's own personal energy and also reaching out and finding the universe's energy. It required a steady and calm mind that would not waver. It was also easy for me because I had the Force as my guide. I still had personal energy that was separate from universal energy to use magic, it was just limited and so wasn't to be used without forethought. But, yeah, for morning meditations I just felt the Force around me. Sure, now there was more of a dark side influence now that my template was complete, but it'll be fine, I can handle a little devil on my shoulder. 

After morning meditations we began Learning Forms. Similar, but different, to lightsaber forms or the katas of martial arts, the Forms taught at Kamar-taj were practices in fighting to build up muscle memory. Once one is adept at the Forms they are able to utilize them in combat at any time. However, a master would be able to move between the Forms to defeat their opponent. 

Combat Practice is then about utilizing the Forms in a friendly spar between two parties. In the morning, we do not use magic during the spars. This is so the time spent practicing allows one to fully immerse oneself in building that muscle memory. Which I needed because all the memories from Mystique and Luke were gone. The powers: no, but the combat: yes.

After combat meditations are different from morning meditations. It's easy to guess, but it's about calming down and reflecting on the mistakes, losses, or failures made during practice. Not only does this reflection help the mind it also helps the body and spirit. It conditions the mind to believe that failure isn't everything, or that it is so abundant that it shouldn't be focused on negatively. The body obviously takes time to heal. But the spirit reflects on the present. The here and the now. 

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Learning magic. The time taken for this period was focused on teaching students how to make constructs. Things like shields, swords, whips, or staffs. Then, in magic combat, we fight with only constructs. Of course there are new Forms to learn that go along with the magic, but it has been easy to integrate them to the previous Forms. 

After magic meditations were then similar to after combat meditations. We reflected and meditated on our successes, failures, and magic in general. I think these meditation sessions have been a great help to me. Not just in learning combat or magic, but also with life. Or in my case: the Force. Reflecting on what its purpose is in this new universe has been difficult, but also rewarding. I've been able to feel the barrier around Earth. The barriers between dimensions. And how much midichlorians are in others.

…

Just kidding! That's not a thing here. Instead, it's just talent. Like how one needs talent to learn, teach, or use magic. But those don't need talent, I hear you say. Well, that's just not true. To truly learn you must have patience and dedication. To truly teach you must have commitment and understanding. And to master magic you must first fail, fail so much that you don't even know when you succeed. 

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My free time was spent practicing with the sling ring, using my personal energy, and making constructs of various things. It wasn't that exciting. 

And at night I'd be astral projecting to study my butt off.

But a month quickly flew by and I found myself an adept of mystic arts. This is when I was finally allowed to learn The Magicians magic. 

I found it much more difficult than learning the magic of Kamar-taj. What with the weird hand signs, random fact information, and luck. But I persisted. 

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