Magick

Magick, or Magicke, can be defined as the active manipulation of matter through the channeling of a functionally aberrant magus' own anima.

Axes of magickal work
Magickal works, the term for specific active manipulations of matter, can be broadly categorized according to two axes: type of work and proximity to work. Both are more of spectra than discrete levels, so the nine works they make are more like areas on a larger spectrum that usually blend into and synergize with each other. Passive versions of many of these phenomena can be witnessed in the wild, but those are not considered magick.

Type
Type of work is the manner of the action, or what is being done to the subject. Three types can be identified:
 * Motional work, or movement through space or time (represented by the Sun)
 * Existential work, or change in presence or actuality (represented by the Stars)
 * Alterational work, or change in form or substance (represented by the Moons)

Proximity
Proximity to work is the abstract physical relationship of the magus to the subject. Three proximal levels can be identified:
 * Central work, or acting upon the self
 * Proximal work, or acting upon subjects in a given physical vicinity
 * Distal work, or acting upon subjects in unseen planes of existence

Magickal works
Nine magickal works can be derived from the two axes, and are often represented by a distinct celestial symbol.

These nine works can be considered more of an overarching framework for all the systems found in the Realm. No culture, magickal tradition, or individual has mastery over all nine works. Many instead base their systems and practices around more focused concepts like spirituality, divination, or the elements.

Motional works ⊙
Motional works involve influencing movement through space and time, and is represented by the Sun, whose movement is the very representation of time.

Central motion, often dubbed kinetic magick or kinesis, involves manipulating one's own movement, allowing for altered speed, flexibility, rigidity, etc. Clairvoyance and telepathy also fall under this category, involving an abstract movement of one's own senses through time and space. Central motion is symbolized by the Day Sun that travels across the sky.

Proximal motion, called telekinetic magick or telekinesis, involves manipulating the movement of objects or beings around oneself, as with basic telekinesis, hollow necromancy (controlling corpses), and human puppetry. Clairvoyance and divination can often be done through someone other than the magus, in which case the action becomes proximal. Proximal motion is symbolized by the Eclipsed Sun, an occasion in which the orbit of a moon is most conspicuous.

Distal motion, called temporal magick or chronomancy, involves manipulating movement of the fourth dimension, or time. Weaker forms can be found with kinetic and telekinetic magick, as faster objects perceive slower time. Chronomancy is an Arcanum, a rare and dangerous form of magick with wildly high levels of risk that none can truly master. It is different from common "time" magicks, which alter merely one's perception of time to increase reflexes or debilitate others (a form of mental transmutation). Distal motion is symbolized by the Rising or Setting Sun, the marker of the beginning or end of a day.

Existential works ✶
Existential works involve change in presence or actuality, and is represented by the Stars.

Central existential work, called transcendence, at its basest form involves manipulating one's own presence or location, as with teleportation, or lesser transcendence. Few master the skill without dismemberment, and fewer still can use it to travel more than a few miles. By that definition it is a lesser arcanum, but there exists the more obscure theory of greater transcendence, or the ability to expel oneself from the physical plane (and consequently, into another one). Those who have tried were either found injured somewhere else or never came back. Central existential work is symbolized by the North Star, a fixed point that guides travelers in unknown territory.

Proximal existential work is generally called banishment, and involves casting an object or being away from the vicinity (the direct opposite to conjuration). Banishment is easiest when done on previously conjured objects, and hardest on living creatures (in the same way that transcendence is difficult on the living). Total banishment into a different plane or oblivion is theorized, but unattested and obviously impossible to prove. Proximal existential work is symbolized by the Starless Night, an empty void.

Distal existential work is more commonly known as conjuration, and involves summoning energy, objects, or beings from beyond the magus' vicinity (the direct opposite to banishment). It is easiest to summon objects or creatures familiar to the conjurer with concrete locations, but the process and source are more obscure when general energies and elements are the ones being conjured. Distal existential work is symbolized by the Pentastre, the five stars that appear only in the darkest of nights.

Alterational works ☾
Alterational works involve change in form or substance, and is represented by the Moons.

Central alteration is called transfiguration, and involves altering the physical form or metaphysical senses of one's own body. This allows for practices like shapeshifting and chimerization (partial/full fusion of multiple beings into a stronger but more unstable creature). Central alteration is symbolized by the Crescent Lune, the largest of the moons, and the one with the most visible phases.

Proximal alteration is often called transmutation (not to be confused with transmutational alchemy), and involves altering the form or chemic makeup of objects or beings in the vicinity. Such work is at the core of elemental magicks, and can also be extended by the most skilled to encompass mind alteration (subtle changes to the activity of a being's brain). Living beings are most resistant to transmutation due to the protection of their own animas. Most healing magicks that repair bodily hurt fall here as well. Proximal alteration is symbolized by the Quarter Adalion, the moon that changes color in proximity to the other moons.

Distal alteration, or animancy, is the darkest of the arcana as it involves manipulating anima, the life-force, itself, either through the addition of anima, as with vivimancy (creation of life) and true necromancy (artificially reanimating the dead); or the removal of anima, seen with animic castration (neutralizing a magus) and thanaturgy (taking all life from a living thing). Distal alteration is symbolized by the Full Ossa, the brightest of the moons but also the most distant, vanishing and reappearing every six months.

Channels
...

History
...