Channeling pure Mana can be very unstable, volatile, and physically dangerous to the mind and body (also known as Mana Poisoning). It requires a great amount of concentration and discipline to control it, and great care must be taken to reduce the side effects to the caster . It is so unstable that an inexperienced spell caster would have no hope in ever gaining enough control to use it without harming himself. When Mana was first discovered it resulted in many deaths and drove many to insanity in attempts to control it. For a while, channeling Mana was abandoned due to it’s consequences. But, there were a few that persisted. And those who did, found a way to break down it’s pure form, and use it with more control and less side effects.

The key to breaking down Mana is to treat it like pure white light. Pure white light can be broken down into the primary colors: Red, Blue, and Green; and further into secondary colors: Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. When channeling pure Mana, only a portion of this energy is used to control a specific planar resource. The rest of the Mana is unused, but it’s presence still has potential of poisoning the caster and causing undesired side effects (spell reversal, uncontrollable surges, etc.). Once it was learned that Mana, in its’ pure form, was not required to control a specific planar resource, methods were developed to “filter” out the unnecessary portions of the Mana energy and use only what is required. And thus, the various colors of magic were born.

Red Magic (The Four Elements and Constructs): Red Mana is used to tap into the resources found on the Four Elemental Planes: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. A caster can manipulate these resources to create effective offensive spells, defensive spells, and other useful spells. Typical examples are Create Water, Fire Bolts, Ice Bolts, and Sink. Spells for defense include Ice Pillar, Stone Skin, and Wind Blast. Casters can also summon elementals and can bring to life constructs to follow their bidding.

Blue Magic (Positive and Negative Energies, Electricity, and the Undead): Blue Mana is used to tap into the Positive and Negative Energy Planes, as well as the fine boundary between these planes which exists in the Material Plane as electricity. Positive Energy feeds life while Negative drains it. Typically, Positive spells will include healing, curing, and enhancing the physical body (ei increase strength, agility, etc) while Negative spells will cause damage, inflict disease, and deteriorate the physical body. Blue magic is also used to summon, control, and create the undead.

Green Magic (Weather Elements, Animals, Plants, and Vermin): Green Mana taps in the natural resources of the Material Plane. Casters can control weather and the natural elements (wind, rain, lightening, fog, etc.). They can communicate, summon, and control animals and vermin. The can do the same plants and trees by animating them to life.

Magenta Magic (Sound and Silence, Light and Shadow): Magenta Mana taps into the very essence that is perceived by our ears. Typical spells can be Sound Burst, Shatter, and Zone of Silence. Magenta Magic can also manipulate what we can see by controlling light and shadow. Not only will you find spells like Light and Darkness, but Invisibility, Illusion, and Shadow Walk.

Cyan Magic (Souls and the Mind): Cyan Mana doesn’t tap into any kind of energy source, but rather communicate (and ultimately control) with an individual’s Mind and Soul. Typical spells focus on Telepathy, Charming, and Compulsion for the Mind; and Magic Jar, Soul Bind, and Speak with Dead for the Soul.

Yellow Magic (Teleportation and Scrying): Yellow Mana allows the caster to manipulate the three dimensions of space. With this, a caster can see far away locations and teleport themselves there. Spells include Scrying, Clairaudience, and Clairvoyance as well as Teleport Self, objects, and others.

White Magic (Altering Reality and Time): White Mana is pure, unfiltered, Mana. It can only be used by those who are trained and experienced in the art. Presently, only experienced Wizards can cast using White Mana. A White Magic spell has the potential to do anything (Limited Wish and Wish). White spells can also be used to manipulate the fabric of time. A caster can effect the way time moves for himself or in a limited area (similar to a Haste spell). Ultimately, it can allow the caster to go back in time and into the future.

Grey Magic (Generic Mana Based): Grey Magic does not really used a “filtered” form of Mana. Rather, it’s focused on the Mana itself. Grey Magic can be used for offensive spells (Mana Bolt/Magic Missile). It can be used to detect, identify, and disrupt existing spells in use (or while they are being casted). And it also used to enchant items.

Casting Spells: There are three ways to cast a spell: verse, gesture, and mind. Each method has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Verse casting requires the caster to recite an incantation, either from memory or from a spell book. This method take the longest, but the best chance of succeeding. Gesture casting require a series physical hand movements. It is considered the baseline in casting and the success rate is moderate. Finally, mind casting requires neither verbal or somatic actions, the spell is casted by just thinking it. The success is lower than the other methods, but it is also the fastest.

Spell Casters: In the Worlds of the Dragon Mist, there are many different kinds of casters. Some focus on all the colors of magic while others focus on just a few, and those who focus on only one. Essentially, there are three categories (or classes) that casters fall in: Wizards, Sorcerers, and Sciolists.

Wizards are academy trained scholars. They literally do everything by the book. Their preferred method of casting is by verse (it’s is considered the safest way to perform magic), although may at times cast by gesture (and mind casting is just too dangerous and not permited). Wizards can focus on a single or group of colors, but the truly talented ones strive to achieve the ultimate prize of White Magic (all colors). Students of White Wizardry spend most of there life preparing to channel pure Mana. However, those who choose not to study the ways of White Wizardry are still formidable. They simple choose to focus their studies on a smaller range of magic. It is common to find Blue, Red, and Green Wizards. However it may be rare, but not unlikely, one can find a Cyan, Magenta, or Yellow Wizard.

Sorcerers are not trained by professors or spend their days filing through spell books and scrolls. They are taught by a mentor. It is treated as an art or a skill that is passed from generation to generation through an apprenticeship like blacksmiths or masons. They know nothing of spell books and cast their spells by gesture and mind only. They generally tend to focus on a group of three colors: one primary and two adjacent secondaries; or two primaries and one intermediate secondary. Focusing on only one color would be too trivial for a sorcerer, more than tree colors is too dangerous, and rarely will you every find a White Sorcerer (only a magical prodigy would capable of handling pure mana with killing themselves, or go insane).

Sciolists are those who just dabble in the art of magic. They stick to one color only, either primary or secondary. They are dabblers because their main career choice in not a Wizard or Sorcerer. These are the Fighter Mages or Mana Thieves. They are generally safe from the Mana Poisoning because they limit themselves to one color. Sciolists cast their spells by either verse or gesture, depending on their background and how they learned the art. Because they can channel (albeit at a minimal level) they can use magical items more effectively than non-channelers, and tap into the full potential of the enchantment.

Magical Items: There are three types of magical items: single use (scrolls, potions, etc), permanent (weapons, rings, etc), and rechargeable (wands, staffs, etc.). All magic items must have a ruin on it, representing the spell effect and how it’s enchanted. Ruins on single use items usually fade after the effect is spent. For permanent and rechargeable items, the ruin is obviously permanent. Ruins are made with a special ink that has two key ingredients: Mithril and crushed gems (the type of gem depends on the color of magic).

Permanently enchanted items are tricky and its effects greatly depend on who is using it. For example, a sword may be enchanted with an electrical charge causing additional damage to the intended victim. However, if the user is not a mana channeler, then he would not be able to use this effect. That is not to say the sword would be useless. It’s physical attributes would still be enhanced, causing more damage and effectively usable. But the full effect would not be accessible to the non-casting user.

Mana Poisoning: Channeling Mana can effect the caster both mentally and physically. Every time a spell goes wrong, the Mana spreads through the body and drains the caster of strength and endurance. It also enters the brain, triggering portions of the mind that are not normally used. This occurrence confuses the caster and causes hallucinations (visual, audible, and tactile). There is a chance the the caster can regain control mentally, but it gets more difficult every time it happens. As the poisoning progresses, the caster starts feeling the effects physically; casting spells will become more straining, which could effect his ability to use his talents in combat situations.

There are two guaranteed methods that will cure Mana Poisoning: abstinence and Lirh’tim. For abstinence, the longer one stops channeling Mana (which includes casting and using magical items), the more the body rids the Poisoning on its own. Sorcerers and Wizards have methods in meditation that sometimes accelerate the natural process. Lirh’tim is a rare substance found on asteroids and in the blood of dragons (the older the dragon the better). All one has to do is ingest it and it will repel the Mana that is clinging to the body. Finding Lirh’tim is the trick (more on Lirh’tim in a separate article).

As a caster gets worse from the poisoning, and has not taken action to clense himself, he will experience more and more psycotic episodes. The episodes could last for long periods and depending on the nature of the episode, it may present a threat to those around him. Depending on how powerful he is, the threat may be very serious. A special organization of the Wizard Academy is tasked to hunt for those who are a threat. They will attempt to “clense” the poisoned, and if that doesn’t work, “termination” is their final option.