Good morning class. I would have thought the numbers would dwindle more by now. I can only conclude that I, Draen Do’Gra, am more fascinating than I would have thought. Either that, or it is the mortal curiosity when death is imminent. I have seen more mortals at the site of a death, be it murder, accident, planar explosion, just lingering like dung flies about to feast. Well, as long as you are here, I will teach you that which you do not know. Perhaps no one will die this lesson. Doubtful.
When the last reality ended, and the new one – this one – exploded into being the Primordials were born. These ancient beings were the precursor to the Elemental Lords that exist today. They created the worlds, working together for the first and only time, before they became uneasy allies at best, overt enemies at worst. The magic they used, was primal magic.
Primal magic is pure, raw and unfettered. It follows no law. There are no masters of Primal magic. None. Not even the goddess of magic herself can make that claim. Primal magic is the reason why magic exists in the first place. It is also the reason Korr’Tuni imposed so many rules on magic itself. Think about it. Water and fire are opposing elements. Unless ordered to by a higher power, if you place an elemental of each type in a small room, they will attempt to kill each other on sight. Yet the essence that powers them, created this world. Lakes, rivers, oceans, co-exist with deserts, and volcanoes. Now those examples are separate elements in nature, but consider hot springs. Opposing elements existing in perfect balance.
After the Primordials created the cosmos, they created avatars to serve them. These Protarchs, were endowed with their powers. Protarchs were the precursors to the Titans. The avatars did as their masters commanded, using the powers of primal magic. For a time, there was harmony in the universe. No one knows what sparked the Primordial War, but one can make a reasonable inference. Something upset the balance. Accusations flew, tempers flared and war erupted. When it finally died down, all four of the primordials were dead, and most of the Protarchs, particularly the ones that combined two more elements were also dead. More than any other magic, primal magic alters reality to produce the desired result.
Does anyone know the difference between say a pillar of flame cast using primal magic and one using arcane or divine magic? Does anyone truly know or am I to hear another inane response. You? I am sure you’re going to regret this but you may answer.
Partially correct. It does indeed draw from the essence of the caster more so than arcane or divine magic. For example, I shall create such a flame, a primal flame, in your bedroom. Class, watch the scrying pool I’ve conjured for your convenience. As I cast the spell, notice how my veins seem to burn with fire, the heat that emanates from my body, the very glow as the power grants my desire. What you may not notice is the concentration I’m using to keep from being consumed by the very same flame. Now watch as your fellow student’s bedroom, and then home becomes engulfed in flame. Watch as his family tried in vain to put the fire. See how the attempt only attracts the flame, and one by one his family bursts into flame. Primal flame. Quickly now though, as our eager young student does not have the time to even contemplate the horror before him, as he’s keenly aware that he’s smoldering. From the inside. Now watch as the eager young student begins to scream as he burns, till he is nothing but ash. Notice the pillar of flame still burns.
Why did that happen? No one? Good. I am the teacher after all, if you actually knew the answer, there would be no reason for me to be here. The answer to that is simple. Arcane magic uses a source, the Aether, to create the desired effect. A wizard uses his intellect, a sorcerer his will, a bard his ego, a warlock his soul, to channel the magic of the Aether to produce the desired effect, in this case to ignite in that chosen spot. Creating something out of nothing. Divine magic is pretty much the same save your are channeling one’s god to ignite that spot. Druids are the same, and Psions use their very mind to shape those forces. Primal magic channels a magic older than the Aether, in fact primal magic is responsible for the creation of the Aether.
Primal magic warps reality. It warps space. It warps time. That pillar of flame didn’t just appear. You changed the nature of reality. It was always there. If you traveled to the very origins of this planet, that pillar of primal flame would be there on the exact spot. If in some far off future the planet was destroyed, chances are that pillar would be there, floating in the Aether. As to why our eager pupil was set ablaze? Well why would one build a home on a pillar of fire? Typically you wouldn’t. Yet due to the warping of time, the flame has always existed. This means his parents at some point were in the house that was ablaze to be. This means they too were set ablaze. Which means he was never born, if conceived at all. His home was set on fire in the present, past and future. I wouldn’t dwell too much on it, chronomancy is tricky at best, the concepts would likely drive you mad.
As you can see Primal magic is exceedingly powerful. The reason that there is no school of Primal Magic, no primal magicians at all, is that the Goddess of magic forbid the collection of such magic in large quantities. The spells still exist, and you may find scrolls, memories, or artifacts with such knowledge. You may dare to learn one or two. However, you will find you will never be able to keep a large collection of such spells. The number varies from caster to caster, but Kor’Tunni will allow only a limited number of spells to be stored, or hoarded by a particular caster. This number is fixed, and includes collected by not learned spells. In fact the only place you can find primal spells in large quantities is in the great library of Lorr. The library as an entire wing dedicated to primal magic, believed to be a nearly complete collection. It is also guarded by a protarch, tasked by the goddess of magic herself to annihilate any trespasser who has not received a direct invitation or blessing from her to enter. Due to the guardian and the nature of primal magic, it is believed that the wing actually opens to the primal magic section in Kor’Tunni’s own library. That is not entirely inaccurate.
Finally I’ll leave you all with this bit of knowledge. Many of the artifacts that can found scattered throughout the world were made by primal magic. Much like mortals, and the gods they worship, the protarchs also had favored weapons. These they either wielded themselves, or gifted them to a select chosen. No I’m not talking about the artifacts crafted today, or the last two thousand years give or take a century. All those recent artifacts, powerful though they may be can only ever achieve lesser artifact, or intermediate artifact status. If you equate those ranks to those of the gods it should make sense. Greater artifacts, or the hinted at legendary artifacts were created with powers well beyond those lesser caliber ones. Such is the nature of such artifacts, that they all possess a sentience. They will hide their true nature until a worthy wielder has been found. This is why powerful swords will often carry multiple names and shapes until it unleashes its true form. They were created before the rules that govern their making, and unmaking were established. With few exceptions, I suspect the number of greater artifacts that exist today, are the same ones that existed in the early days of the cosmos. They will continue to exist until this cosmos ends.
Until, or more likely, unless you come across primal magic, you will have to be satisfied with the lesser more restrictive forms. Ritual magic, and cooperative magic are forms of primal magic. Ritual magic takes place only after hours of chanting and weaving of magic. Cooperative magic allows two or more magic users to fuse their magics for a spell more powerful than either one could cast alone. If the long casting times bother you, or you tend sit on the more anti-social side of life, one can always try out wild magic. Wild magic is what happens when you apply rules to primal magic. You may cast that fireball spell. It may be typical, weaker or stronger than it should be. Or it may rip a hole through space time and either suck you in, or let something out. I would normally say, there are no shortcuts to magic, but wild magic is the exception to the rule. For better or worse.
That will be all for now. Only one death today. Well, one student, bloodlines don’t count. Unless he had a sibling attending Eldarr as well. In that case, beware of smoke.
A Darkness Rising 