Worldbuilding Ahoy! (Formerly the magic system thread)

Aether is the element of thought, dream, and emotions, and it is also the element of reality. It's the element that allows for magic to exist and for impossible things to be very possible, but at the same time, it's not one that exists on its lonesome, certain feelings and thoughts will make it quickly switch to a certain element or another, and the only way for one to be able to cast pure Aether is if they are somehow able to keep themselves neutral to the point that you seem devoid of emotion, or somehow able to take everything in equal consideration. Which is why it's also known as an element of balance. The only reason why some people still attempt trying to cast pure Aether is because it on its own allows for a little reality-bending, making things that normally don't exist, exist.

Though trying to cast Aether on its own is something of a folly, its nature is ubiquitous to all magic, that there are telltale marks of its presence. For one, since magic is thought-based, it follows that the clearer the thought, the more form it has, and the stronger the feeling, the more powerful the magic becomes (the only way for magic to peter out however is if they lost all sense of value in doing it). And the use of motions and words generally tend to make casting easier. One or two-word spells tend to be easy to control and cost-effective though very formulaic and generally not that strong or long-lasting (and generally the magic acts the same within a same group of people, though it can vary). On the other end of the spectrum large bursts of feelings can generate some impressive magic power and perhaps increased capacity to do things, but is unfocused and very very volatile.

Another thing is that it allows elements to sort of hold a sort of oxymoron in terms of ideals. Giving them qualities of something and its opposite due to its own balanced and contradictory nature.

If it was a game, this is the non-elemental, and most of its spells generally fall towards some of the grander forms of magic, like summoning. Or are quirky thought-based stuff like mind-reading, manipulation, and what not.

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Fire is the element of creation and destruction. A catalytic element, it is present in everything that requires turning one thing into another, and it manifests when the caster has a strong passion towards their craft or project. It is generally one of the more volatile elements due to... being a flame, and is one that's very easy to lose control of turning passion into blind zeal, but when properly controlled, it pretty much assists in the creation of something worthwhile and meaningful. Anger and passion are two common emotions found in this element, but it can be said that if that person has a strong desire to make things happen, this is their element.

Most of its abilities tend towards the offensive, but at the same time, its magic can be used to bring ardor and strength to others, as well as make something in the way of cooking, metalworking, pottery making, and others. Explosive spells naturally fall here as well.


Water on the other hand is tied with the desire to care and nurture for things, because of it, many of its casters tend to lean towards healing and supporting magic courtesy of how most consider it the element that sustains life. However it is also known for being a fickle element, being able to give life as much as it takes it away. Out of control, it is an element where the care or love given is twisted into being chained into a suffocating one-sided relationship, or one that is jealously possessive of their object of desire. It is both the element of healing and growth, but also of disease and festering decay.

Water's abilities tend to be of the healing and protective side. They have some of the best kinds of support magic, but at the same time it also carries poisons or illness-inducing magic. Magic of this sort has been common in doctors and caregivers, as well as virologists and sometimes assassins.


Earth is known for being an element of both order and reformation. Those who use it tend to be rather concerned with people, their lives, and their beliefs. Their main desire is to protect what they hold dearest and what they believe the world should be. But people have many different ideas of how the world should be, and those who hold strong convictions will tend to clash. Like how the earth shifts and cracks to change itself, those who hold this element tend to also be rebels and revolutionaries that aim to make a change in the way the world thinks. A paradigm shift that lays new groundwork for a new form of society. (In a sense, you're breaking new ground.)

Earth's spells are naturally protective, being able to fashion large barriers and other obstacles, as well as make others tougher, but it is also the element that can break protections and invulnerabilities. Law enforcers, construction workers, and other pillars of society tend to gain this sort of magic.


Air is commonly known for being an element of freedom and individuality. Those who use this element tend to be ones who don't exactly fit in but are always searching for a place where they can. The sort that looks to get out of the norms and be themselves, one that never wants to be tied down. But at the same time, the element isn't just about being divergent and contradictory to anything and everything that it goes up against. If it was, it wouldn't be as free as it sounds, as it is more or less chained by whatever it wants to contradict. At the same time, it isn't only about freedom either, as freedom without restraint can either make someone paralyzed from making a choice. Instead, what this element truly represents is the need to break out from their place of suffering and find the place they can be truly free. A place to belong and be themselves whether it be on their own or with others. 

Air's spells grant the user the ability to move farther and higher than they normally can to reach places normally inaccessible. It also allows them to move others as well with powerful gusts of air. If one masters it, they can even evade anything that goes against them. Vagrants tend to have this element, though it tends to be known as a transitory element, being that once a person finds their place, this sort of magic tends to give way for a different element to take its place.


Frost is the element of suffering and resilience. It is focused on being able to survive any situation by keeping possible threats down at any cost. It is the ability to keep one's head cool in a heated situation while searching for any and all possible situations or if necessary, an escape. It is very cerebral, almost detached when it comes to looking into its own way of thinking, but deep in its core is the knowledge of that suffering. Whether it be their own pain, or the pain of others, they are desperate to rid of it. 

Frost specialty is in its binding (freezing) magic that prevents any action and threat. They can also bolster their own mental capacities to perceive the most effective ways to get out of tight situations. Strategists, emergency workers, and many others in jobs where critical decisions need to be made tend to find themselves gaining this magic. Those who use this element tend towards preparing for every possible circumstance that might happen.


Lightning is the element of communication and disruption. A lot of it tying down to how lightning itself requires mediums in order to interact with things, and its visible manifestation often being a jagged sort of light that connects two objects. Another thing is that much of any information exists because of the electric connections that come about in the mind. How our brains exist in part because of the way faint pulses of electricity run through the brain in order to connect ideas and concepts together. As for disruption, a lot of it ties down to information overload, and that if one is bombarded with ideas, you come up with the same sort of paralysis that is talked about in the Air section, as well as the fact that not all information carries the same sort of meaning or importance.

Lightning is the fastest of the elements and even has the ability to pass through quite a lot of things. It can also spread out to connect quite a lot of things in a small space with little problem. It is the element of couriers, broadcasters, and many others that dabble in spreading information.


Metal is the element of perfection and its opposite, and its main theme is the beauty of the effort. It is the refinement process and the steps people take to achieve their goal. It rings to those who strive to victory, get the gold so to speak, and raise the bar of perfection ever so higher as a dare for others to surmount. But the diamond in the rough, is a diamond in the rough. Though there will be a few who excel, mistakes will happen, sometimes critical, life-changing ones that would be difficult to rise from. It is tremendous pressure, one that can easily break people who risk everything for a single purpose. But sometimes, it might simply be that the path to perfection lies elsewhere for them, and after falling down, they can always try again.

Metal is an element that tends to excel at one thing at a time to the detriment of other qualities, doing so in the name of efficiency and flawlessness. It's quite the overachiever's element, and one that is easy to understand but quite difficult to perfect. As noted, these tend to be the element of people pressured to gain victory with their skills honed to a razor's edge. 


Nature is between adapting to the situation and standing out of the crowd. Either keeping one's head down and looking for another way, or to flaunt what you have in order to stand out from everyone. It's about being flexible and being able to adapt to any situation life throws at you and coming out stronger for it. When a problem comes, nature's answer is to try to come at it with a creative answer to the solution. Straightforward or something out there, so long as it works, it works. It doesn't go for the meticulous, calculated plans that Frost goes for, or the sort of one-track panacea solution that Metal offers. They're all possible solutions but Nature pretty much thinks they're both trying too hard trying to screw that light bulb, just try whatever. It'll be fine! Promise.

As said, Nature is sorta a mixed bag when it comes to itself. It doesn't practically excel in anything, but it does things quite well in the way that other elements can't, sort of like being able to combine the best out of two elements in its own way, though usually with unpredictable results.


The element of Darkness is the element of security and fear. It is the magic of a safe haven that shows itself when they need it. It offers a way to shut out everything for a moment to think and catch their breath. A makeshift escape from the harsh glare of reality. It's beautiful and powerful magic, one that gives those who use it control over their lives for a while. But that sort of security can be intoxicating, and more often than not what was once a sanctuary can slowly become a self-made prison when relied too long. One where there is no intention to move beyond it, and the fear of losing that security become the new center of their lives.

Darkness carries with it an arsenal of protective and hiding spells, ones that allow for something or someone to simply vanish and escape.


Light is the element of presentation and perception. It deals with what one believes they are, and how they want to be seen. It plays on the idea of truth and identity, and how people tend to show a certain truth about them no matter what it is they appear as or how they present themselves. And sometimes, when one stops to think about that grain of truth, it can lead them to a direction they've never thought to go before. Though as with Darkness, it can be a little intoxicating. As it grants people, no matter how much of an illusion it is, a chance to play as something they're not. Sooner or later, the play must end, and one must take off the mask in order to live one's life.

Light deals in all manner of illusions and spectacle, some grand, some intimidating, some uncannily real. They can illuminate things and reveal things that couldn't be normally seen. Though one must be careful not to let their thoughts go out of hand else they end up seeing things that aren't there.


Cosmos is the element of fate and possibility, time and space. This is probably the element closest to Aether in terms of being something that seems to have some control over reality and some rare people have gained use of this element, though any sort of attempt to use it tends to be very limited. As an element of fate, one can't really use it to time travel and fix things, only to see the echoes of the object's or person's past. As for the future however, that's not yet set in stone and as such, it's an open realm where any attempt to scry the future never really leads to any sort of accurate outcome. Past and future visions aside, it mostly just allows people to create bubbles of time to speed up, slow down, or stop things, and portals for teleportation. Anything else about it is generally already covered when talking about concepts of fate.


Spirit is the last element, and tends to deal with hope. It's the sort of glass half-full/half-empty sort of element, and those who use it tend to be the sort that find themselves in impossible situations, ones where they have little hope of ever overcoming on their own. But if their determination is strong enough, they can survive some pretty risky and messed up things. Those with a strong enough power may find themselves able to resuscitate those at the edge of death, or even be able to raise the dead itself, though the latter does have a certain cost of not being able to bring them back whole... so, be careful what you wish for.

Spirit tends to have abilities that revolve around desperate measures and overcoming stacked odds, and making sure that they can power through whatever comes at them before it wipes them out. They're also the only ones with access to magic that can revive. Though it can be quite pricey in a lot of ways.