While everybody has the raw ability to use magic, it functions much like physical exercise. It taxes your energy but the more you practice, the more you will be able to do without tiring yourself out. An experienced athlete will be capable of more extravagant or unusual feats than your average person. There will always be limits to what the human body can achieve, and it is possible to die of overexertion.

The effects of magic are slight, but substantial enough to tip the scales in your favour. For example, the tiny boost of strength needed to defeat your enemy, the efficiency needed to make your supplies last that little bit longer, the determination to cling to life against the odds.

This is accomplished by exerting your will. While some magicians use components like wands, lengths of string, or straw dolls to help them focus, none of these are required for successful casting. It has been well established that they do not alter the power of a spell beyond providing a placebo effect.

All humans are capable of magic. It has never been otherwise in living memory. History suggests it has not been otherwise since people first started to develop the ability around 700 years ago. Magic is a completely normal part of life, and is rarely marvelled at or remarked upon.

The vast majority of Esharia’s magical knowledge comes from ancient Hashar texts - passed down, preserved, and collated into educational manuals by present-day scholars. Magic is part of any good grammar school curriculum - all citizens of lower-middle class or higher have a basic knowledge. This covers the basic constituents of magic, how to cast small, simple spells, and how to recognise magic when it is cast. As such, casting magic without being detected is highly difficult.

A spell is made up of three components: the Purpose (the overall goal), the Inflection (a subtler more fine-tuned manipulation), and the Target (what you’re casting the spell on). The Inflection typically has a longer lasting effect than the Purpose. Anyone with a basic education can tell what a spell’s Purpose is - only the trained can detect the Target or Inflection.

This is the way all spells are cast in polite society. Anything that doesn't follow these conventions is at best quaint and at worst highly improper.

Example spells:

• Increase morale + Eagerness to kill → Troops = An army that is both motivated and more bloodthirsty than they would have been otherwise.
• Heal + Weakness → Broken leg = A recovering leg that will be more prone to breaking in future.
• Calm down + Friendship → Rabid dog = A relaxed dog that is more well-disposed towards you.

You may attempt to use magic to change somebody’s opinion. However, per the basic rules of magic, you will only ever achieve the slightest of alterations. For example, if somebody despises you, the most you can expect is that they’ll despise you a tiny bit less - and even that will be subject to change depending on your future actions. Additionally, there is a significant risk the Target will know that such a spell has been cast.

For centuries, Legitimacy Rituals were the only type of alchemy in existence - although it was never referred to as such. Many magicians attempted to ‘bottle’ magical effects but had no success because nobody had yet made the connection between magic and the blood.

About a decade ago, however, it was discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) that Legitimacy Rituals are, in fact, a form of magic. Once magicians realised this, they quickly incorporated human blood into previous attempts at alchemy, and - with a little experimentation - succeeded.

For the first time, people can carry prepared spells around with them. There are limitations: alchemically-cast spells can only target the person who drinks the potion, and cannot be given an Inflection. However, alchemists and magicians alike are looking to surpass those limits.

Alchemy is a fast-growing industry in consistently high demand. Because of this - and because nobody has yet been trained to detect the precise magical register that distilling a spell into a potion gives off - a large proportion of ‘alchemists’ are cheats, frauds, and quack doctors.