Komamisa

Progressive Arcanum

Hello, everyone. Komamisa, aka Misa, reporting in. Life decided to throw me some flaming lemons, but that should be resolved now.

Impy, I'm back to working on our collab thing, since you might find it funny or ridiculous. I am starting to ease up on the idea of a per-existing acquaintance, but uh... depending on Ren's opinion, she may or may not be so keen on the idea.

Oh right, Hanged. In Classic societies right up until the Imperial Age, nations and/or city-states typically disliked the idea of people moving to and from their lands with the exception of the closest of allies and people from immediately neighboring lands. It all had to do with sometimes extremely varied cultures and/or religions, as the City-State/Kingdom was typically that self-contained. Anyway, the real question is: How does Lismos, and Aledine particularly, take to transfer students? Especially if they seem to be eerily familiar with both Athripholi, Lismosi and most Lismos customs?

On the topic of the Lismosi language, if it isn't any trouble, may we get an example of it?

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I just realized that I'm unfamiliar with a whole host of the more obscure Western myths... Research time!

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Major Edit:

Hanged mentioned that Demons are spirits that can't be seen by normal humans, correct? Fae had been mentioned as being in a category of their own, being the only Spirits that can manifest a physical form. What do lesser demonic creatures—ie vampires, the race of fomorians, succubi and the like—count as being? They're still "demons" in a loose sense, but the myths involving them are almost always ones where they are visible. For that matter, would issues with lesser demons even require the help of Ouramancers, or merely skilled Pythomancers?

Am I just confusing myself here, and Spirits can very much visually manifest themselves and affect the physical realm, but don't have physical forms that can be hurt by normal means?

Progressive Arcanum

Alright, thank you for the explanation~ Everything is intuitive enough that I don't believe I have any more questions in regards to the casting matter that wouldn't be answered simply by participating in the roleplay.

Progressive Arcanum

Well, Zombehs, seeing as the majority of the time, the people replying to an Interest Check don't even show up in the OOC, I'm sure you're welcome :P.

Oh, and sorry about disappearing from Game of Tails so long ago.

Progressive Arcanum

Though I might be around at almost all times of the day, I find it relevant to mention that I'm rather... slow to post by Casual RP standards. But, I'm also rather well versed at replying to multiple instances at the same time.

Also, TheHangedMan, I really blame you for the fact that I spent almost all of Thursday reading through the entirety of Kangoku Gakuen/Prison School. I don't even know why, I'm not a fan of ecchi at all.

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First off, I apologize if I might ask too many questions. I'm the type of roleplayer that gets obsessed with "how things work". If it starts to bother you, please do tell me and I'll put all of my nitpicking and question-making to an abrupt stop.

So, that out of the way and without further adieu, a series of questions on the process of casting/performing magic spells:

Much has been said about what kind of magic there is, and things have been implicitly implied as to the degree of power that Magestravi and Sepcarim may demonstrate— on the other hand, not much has been mentioned about how magic is translated from the "want to cast a spell" to "a spell has been cast".

1. Incantations:
   In the range of Harry Potter "Avada Kedavra" to much more complex incantations of the likes found in To Aru Majutsu no Index, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha or some Type-Moon work. Incantations function in a multitude of ways depending on the writer/universe in question.




• Sometimes, an incantation functions as the "executable" in a program, it motivates the energies/spirits through the act of giving them a set of commands that translates into the spell in question; this is often combined with Motions and Magical Circles. This is how a lot of anime will handle magic, especially ones with a focus on the "how" and "why" of magic.



• At other times, they are merely a form of shouting out the move—well, in this case—spell name, usually combined with a wand/staff and producing magic magically. This is essentially how Harry Potter handles magic casting, and is the least in-depth.



• Much less commonly, incantations function as mnemonic devices. Much in the same way a math/science song would help someone more easily remember or solve a complex equation, they "unlock" (in quotes as that's not the proper word) sections of the mind/spirit by reminding them of functions that they do not normally use, manipulating magic through some sort of mechanism or something of the sort. It's a little hard to explain, and it makes Magic into something more along the lines of Psychic power with more Magical effects, lol.



2. Motions:
   Often combined with an incantation, this ranges from performing some kind of dance, to waving a wand/staff a certain way, or making interpretive hand gestures. In the likes of something like Avatar, it's ridiculously important to bending an element, but that's something slightly different than magic. Other times, the motion taken is only about as important as pointing an object or the caster's hands toward the intended target. I won't go into specifics like I did with Incantations, but I do wonder how much/how many motions come into play when it comes to casting spells in this RP.



3. Magical Circles:
   This is less the act of drawing/manifesting them, though I do wonder if they are drawn/created, and more asking if they hold importance to magic in this RP at all. A magical circle in the anime/manga Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha is indicative of the magical system being used. Magical Circles are drawn to achieve specific effects and call upon residual magic in the land while acting as a type of Symbol in To Aru Majutsu no Index. Sometimes, they're used as sacrificial circles where an object/item/animal/virgin woman is placed in the center to summon up mysterious powers. Other times they'll just randomly appear to symbolize that, "Yes, magic is being cast." as is the case in something like Negima.
   
   So, do they even appear? If they are, how important are they to the various branches of magic?



4. It had been mentioned that enchantments exist in this roleplay, meaning items can be enchanted by displacing magical commands into them. However, is this through Runic Magic/Word of Power, or simply through the act of an Outsorceror (or otherwise) injecting a spell into an item? Furthermore, do items of symbolic power hold their own innate magic?

Progressive Arcanum

Ah right, Impy, my reply to your PM will be delayed a little, but I'm working on it~

Progressive Arcanum

No real complaints, here.

Progressive Arcanum

This is actually perfectly well and good. Even in real life, people will always have differing opinions of how one thing or another may have originated, or how one thing or another even functions. So it's perfect. Heck, such origin theories may even manifest as schools of thought within the RP itself.

That being said, I actually suggest that TheHangedMan not further explain Ouramancy's origins at all for this very purpose. We'll leave this debate for in-RP itself!

Right, thank you for that reminder. I sometimes forget the key detail that not everyone can be a Magestrava.

Progressive Arcanum

Aha, I had laid it as an "Evolutionary Trait" as an easy way of identifying with it, both for myself and for others due to my tendency to base even the mystical as if it were a form of science. I tend toward metaphorical comparisons when describing things. That it was for easy identification was the reason I left "evolutionary" in quotes, as it wasn't literally a form of evolution as per Darwin's "survival of the fittest" definition.

That in mind, I agree with your interpretation for the most part. However, you must remember that Ouramancy is not a trait gained solely from families' interaction/experiences with gods, but also as a consequence of experiences with the infernal and things less than gods but more than mere mystical beings.

If the trait were solely a gift from the gods to speak with them, it would carry the implication that divine spirits are always benign, to actively be giving gifts that allow humans to communicate (that is, to transmit and receive emotions and informations) with not only themselves, but all supreme magical beings in order to better deal with things like demons plaguing a family.

However, it would make absolute sense that this may have been the initial intention and purpose of Ouramancy, that a god or the gods had gifted it to humans so that they could have messengers. The gift in turn somehow began to function as a sort of mechanism where it could automatically give itself to families based on their experiences with supreme magical beings of all levels and inclinations, bringing me back to the ideology that it's a "passively emitted mutagen", so to speak.

It should also be remembered that one doesn't just become an Ouramancer, but instead, their children, grandchildren, etc. do. This is almost perfectly in-line with the thought of it as an "evolutionary" trait, rather than just an instantaneous gift.

tl;dr Originates from the god's more or less good intentions, but now something that comes from any meddling by higher beings.

Progressive Arcanum

Right-o, I'll get to reading that as soon as possible. First, writing up a series of questions on how magic itself is translated from the caster to the world...

Oh, right. While I don't mind Koma, I do have an ever-so-slight preference toward being called Misa~ Please do call me as you wish, though!

Progressive Arcanum

Leotamer said
Just to get an idea about the world we leave in, is this society very classist? Is magic more important or less important than money/status. And if this society is, is it a once poor always poor or not.

In inference to the introductory post of this RP, I would think that Magicians are held in rather high regard, elevated in social status, as well as considered as slightly above that of other humans. This doesn't necessitate that they are more or less important and influential than the rich, however. After all, "In response to the need of society for magic, plenty of countries have established many Academy's in an effort to increase the population of competent Magic-users, known at large as 'Magestrava' or 'Magestravi' in plural."

If it were a situation of "once poor, always poor", then it would not make sense for Academies to be erected. After all, why share such "exclusive" knowledge that can elevate one's position in society when it could be kept only to the elite? Just because something is for the benefit of society as a whole doesn't mean a greedy elite would share it with equal opportunity.