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Overview of Magic
Outside the physical plane of existence is, among other things, a dimension called "The Elemental World". This is not a planet as we know the it, but instead an enormous storehouse for the six elements: the four physical elements (Air, Earth, Fire, and Water) and the two spiritual elements (Positive and Negative, also called Good and Evil). Underlying these six elements is a special mixture of all which is called Shadow. Next to the spiritual elements, the physical elements are rather insignificant, so when combined they do not assert themselves as do positive and negative energy. During his battle with the Godslayer, Lord Ozzie powered himself up by siphoning off energies from the positive and negative planes - an ability given to him by the Shadowlord. However, to rise to the level of the Godslayer, Ozzie had to drain an enormous amount of energy very quickly. This left a void on the elemental world into which Shadow was able to move. It is now believed that The Shadowlord planned for this scenario all along. It is not known, however, how he knew that Lord Ozzie would come to need that much power.
Back on the “prime world”, the elemental energies played a key role in the nature of magic. The energies are the power behind almost all magic known to wizards. Another power source, called mana, exists, but is much harder to manipulate. In order to use elemental energy, though, a magician must tap into a small amount of mana to draw in the required amount of energy. This is called the “trigger spell” and is the first skill taught to apprentice magicians. It is perhaps the most difficult skill to grasp and is quite probably the cause of most spell failures. Compared to mana, using elemental energy is trivial. Almost all magic, therefore, is based on the following two-step process: 1) Use mana as the trigger spell to draw in a certain amount of a certain type of elemental energy and 2) Manipulate that energy to produce the desired effect.
The problem seemed to arise when the elements were replaced by shadow. Suddenly, when a wizard needed two parts fire and one part water, he got three parts shadow! Even though every ounce of energy would still be available, it would not produce the desired effect. However, within a month of Shadow's takeover of the Elements, energies summoned from the elemental world returned to their normal state. Instead of three parts shadow in the above example, the wizard would get two parts fire and one part water.
However, this did not seem to solve the problem and wizards around the world continued to struggle with their spells. In late March, 1109, the Council of Wizards convened for the first time since the change and discussed what had happened. While no real understanding of the change was agreed upon, an edict was issued which stated (in part) that “The magic change appears permanent and that all spellcasters should learn a new Trigger Spell”. However, since no details of this new Trigger spell were not supplied, the membership has been left to fend for themselves.
Many magicians have been unable to do the required research to replace their spells and so have effectively lost their powers. In addition, many magic items used the same two-step process and so have been altered irrevocably. The frustrating thing is that they remain magical at the same level that they were before, but they no longer do what they did!
Mana itself remains unaffected by the Shadowlord's takeover and so any magic that used mana exclusively is just as potent as it was before January, 1108. Psionic powers and certain artifacts are the best examples of this situation.