The Vagabond
2017-02-28, 05:06 PM
As listed in the title, I plan on making a crossover magic/Mundane setting, with magic having always been there. So I just spewed out a quick history of magic in the setting. What do you think of it:
In the beginning, Magic was unknown. A talent practiced by few, or innate in fewer, there was no purpose to it. The reason for this was much like the reason so much technology was never passed on; There was no way to teach it. So much like the bow, that was invented and reinvented over a millennia, at the beginning, the supernatural was unpredictable. Much like most engineering, magic was only as good as the information it passed on.
The earliest known magical method, despite the common misconception, was Pact magic. An early predecessor to the Conjuration and Alteration sphere, Pact Magic originated early in 7000 BC, a short period after humans began to develop in Mesopotamia. Though notes from this era are few and far between, information that there was some use of pact magic is known.
Around 5000 BCE, records show a rise of Akashic magic in the African and Asian subcontinents, slowly spreading to the indian subcontinent.
Around the beginning of the iron age, you can see a rise of Divine Wordcasting in limited quantities, mostly just cantrips and similar abilities, mostly in the field of the divine and the divinations. In this world, Oracles are among the most well loved among the spellcasters.
In China, while you see few Words Casters, Sutra Magic has largely served in place of a lot of technology, functioning as a wide-purpose casting replacement.
For the most part, magic did not change between 1500 BCE to 100CE, except for a wider array of Words getting availability, and with the armies of rome honing the other areas of performance.
Between 100 CE to 1000 CE, you see the rise of the majority of common spheres, with connections to the Undeath, Alteration, and Light sphere. Other spheres are developed, and even to this day Spheres are under development, with the most recent Sphere being the Life sphere, with it’s rapid growth in 2001, not far behind the Warp sphere discovered in the early 20th century.
The most notable sphere developed is most likely the Creation sphere, which came around in the Mid 1500s, and is considered by many to be the root cause of the renaissance. Meanwhile, in the Indian subcontinent, you can see the steady development of Psionics from their mathematical understanding.
As for Vatican magic, it’s a more recent invention, with it’s early development in the Divination sphere during World War 2, Vatican Magic has steadily grown to be one of the widest fields currently available, second only to the field of computer science. Though only recently growing up to it’s current size, and with the majority of spells being proprietary/under copyright, Vatican Magic has quickly overtaken Wordcasting, Akashic Magic, and even Sphere Casting in scope, with scrolls of Alarm and Unseen Servants.
TL;DR: started from nothing, then Soulweaving/Vielbinding appeared in the east very early. Then Wordcasting in limited form durring the roman empire, with Spherecasting durring the middle ages. Psionics is from the 1800s, and has been under development. Arcane casting is the most recent development, starting with early divinations in the 1940s, furthering into modern vatican casting of all classes.
As for Technology, it's more or less stayed the same, and remained in favor due to ease of mass-production, cost, and scale.
In the beginning, Magic was unknown. A talent practiced by few, or innate in fewer, there was no purpose to it. The reason for this was much like the reason so much technology was never passed on; There was no way to teach it. So much like the bow, that was invented and reinvented over a millennia, at the beginning, the supernatural was unpredictable. Much like most engineering, magic was only as good as the information it passed on.
The earliest known magical method, despite the common misconception, was Pact magic. An early predecessor to the Conjuration and Alteration sphere, Pact Magic originated early in 7000 BC, a short period after humans began to develop in Mesopotamia. Though notes from this era are few and far between, information that there was some use of pact magic is known.
Around 5000 BCE, records show a rise of Akashic magic in the African and Asian subcontinents, slowly spreading to the indian subcontinent.
Around the beginning of the iron age, you can see a rise of Divine Wordcasting in limited quantities, mostly just cantrips and similar abilities, mostly in the field of the divine and the divinations. In this world, Oracles are among the most well loved among the spellcasters.
In China, while you see few Words Casters, Sutra Magic has largely served in place of a lot of technology, functioning as a wide-purpose casting replacement.
For the most part, magic did not change between 1500 BCE to 100CE, except for a wider array of Words getting availability, and with the armies of rome honing the other areas of performance.
Between 100 CE to 1000 CE, you see the rise of the majority of common spheres, with connections to the Undeath, Alteration, and Light sphere. Other spheres are developed, and even to this day Spheres are under development, with the most recent Sphere being the Life sphere, with it’s rapid growth in 2001, not far behind the Warp sphere discovered in the early 20th century.
The most notable sphere developed is most likely the Creation sphere, which came around in the Mid 1500s, and is considered by many to be the root cause of the renaissance. Meanwhile, in the Indian subcontinent, you can see the steady development of Psionics from their mathematical understanding.
As for Vatican magic, it’s a more recent invention, with it’s early development in the Divination sphere during World War 2, Vatican Magic has steadily grown to be one of the widest fields currently available, second only to the field of computer science. Though only recently growing up to it’s current size, and with the majority of spells being proprietary/under copyright, Vatican Magic has quickly overtaken Wordcasting, Akashic Magic, and even Sphere Casting in scope, with scrolls of Alarm and Unseen Servants.
TL;DR: started from nothing, then Soulweaving/Vielbinding appeared in the east very early. Then Wordcasting in limited form durring the roman empire, with Spherecasting durring the middle ages. Psionics is from the 1800s, and has been under development. Arcane casting is the most recent development, starting with early divinations in the 1940s, furthering into modern vatican casting of all classes.
As for Technology, it's more or less stayed the same, and remained in favor due to ease of mass-production, cost, and scale.