Nerasa is, and always was intended to be, a potently magical world. Designed by immensely magical beings, the primordial world of Nerasa was Imbued with vast quantities of magical energy. When it shattered that very same energy, used to create the world, pooled at the world's former Core.

This Core, as it has been named by magisters across the Accord, is the source of all magic native to the Shards, though it is shaped and transformed as it interacts with different types of energy, wills, and lifeforms - this, among a number of other sometimes nebulous factors, is what creates the varieties of magical types seen utilized across the Shards.

Within Nerasa, any living being with the will to act has the potential to use magic, as it can be channeled and spent by even the most simple of emotional controls. That said, the higher minds of the Shards have refined such controls in a myriad ways that has resulted in magical forms and schools as varied as the denizens themselves.

All magic adheres to several basic laws of Magic, believed to have been put in place by Magristos during the early formative days of Nerasa itself. These laws cannot be broken, except -presumably - by an Infinite themselves. Even the Caretakers and their creations are bound to these laws, though some of their devices have been known to bend them.

While there are many minor laws of the arcane, the two most essential laws are as follows:

While the material plane has its own laws of physics and cosmotic constants, magic is not known to be native to it. Magic was introduced to the material plane by the Infinites when they came to it and began its shaping. As such, there is no native magical energy in the material plane. For magic to occur, it needs an Infinite Source (see below).

Magic by itself is simply energy provided by the Infinites. This energy however, is highly influenced by what modern arcanists call Intention - a will that shapes and applies forces to that energy to give attenuation and function. Some intention is more implied and emotional, such as in primal magics like manipulating the Elements, and influencing Growth, whereas others require explicit Intention, such as the arcane magics like Temporal or Spatial forces.

The Infinite Source for all other magical forces native to the Shards, Core is the essence of pure power. Raw energy born of the Infinites and poured into Nerasa in stupendous amounts to form the wellspring of magic that gives life to the Shards to this day. Every form of traditional magic, and every native Force in the cosmos uses Core as its Infinite Source.

Manipulation of Core energy is essential to the practice of all other forms of magic, where the application or removal of energy empowers or alters the forces and fields of energy that populate the metaphysical fabric of the cosmos. Without the ability to harness Core energy, it is believed that fundamentally all other forms of magic would be impossible, without finding a different source of power.

Utilizing Core on its own, one can use it to not only empower and manipulate forces of magic to weave spells, but to actually enhance or even disperse magical effects that have been created by others - such as removing curses, or strengthening a barrier. In this pure state, Core energy resembles a bright white light tinged with a rainbow iridescence.

The Other is markedly strange. Created by the Infinite Oristasz, the Other - or Orasza - is believed to be a shadow of the realm that Nerasa once was, though twisted by dubious purpose and ultimately incomplete.

With correct application of spellcraft at locations where the Other is closer to the material plane, some magisters have been able to manipulate Other energy to conjure items, and sometimes creatures, from across the veil. Occasionally, rogue elements from the Other have been known to spontaneously apparate across the veil to the material plane.

Other operates in a manner clearly similar to Core magic, affected by intention and emotion to produce a variety of effects. What makes it different however is that the apparent magical effects produced by spellcraft using Other magic as a source, result in markedly different effects than those performed using Core. When exposed to Core energy, Other magic is effectively dispelled and dispersed, and seems clearly weaker than Core when not in Orasza itself.

Sometimes called Szekarin power, or Corruption, Sorrow is the Infinite Source of Szekaris - the Fallen Infinite, and the force of the Sorrows. Believed to have been destroyed in the Shattering of Nerasa some eons in the past, the only source of Sorrow was the Foulheart; a collection of crystalline energy representing the body of the fallen Infinite. When contained in this way, the power of Sorrow was limited and weak and only useful when a Spancrystal or other tangible source of the energy could be brought to bear.

When the Foulheart was destroyed in 704 EE, Szekarin energy was released across the cosmos and allowed to mingle with the other forces of Nerasa. While still not as strong as Core energy, Sorrow now has a constant background effect, and can be channeled by those willing or capable of tapping into the deep emotional despair of the fallen Infinite Szekaris himself.

Like any Infinite Source, Sorrow can be applied to any of the magical forces to create a variety of effects. As the Infinite of Change, Szekaris’ power is chaotic and hard to control, and has a similar effect on the forces it is applied to - making them potent, changing, but difficult to contain or master.

The main Magical Forces and how they are related to an Infinite Source shown here with Core, or alternatively Other, occupying the ‘Source’ position.