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❧ Why is Everything Welsh?
Everything is Welsh because we needed names and Tara decided to be a nerd and look up Welsh names for girls. This quickly evolved into Welsh Names For Everything. Eventually the explanation for this we came up with (as Rhayaedr is not Wales, or based on Wales, and really has absolutely nothing to do with Wales) is that Welsh is the Rhayaedran Naming Language. It is the language used for magic and Things With Meaning, and the tongue they speak otherwise is quite definitively Not Welsh. Don't ask what it is, though.
❧ Places
Rhayaedr - An isolated, unicultural country where magic is mainstream, common knowledge and practice in any walk of life. The main source of entertainment is the games run by Gadwaldr Arena. People of noteworthy power control most of the information that reaches normal people, and hints of unrest are still mostly hints.
Gadwaldr Arena - A fighting arena run by Aeronwen and her family before her. Killing is looked down upon but not really punished, so 'accidents' happen. Under Aeronwen's influence active recruitment has been more prevalent, and fighters in the arena are generally pressured to remain with the arena long-term¹, so fans could develop preferences and biases and so on.
❧ Gods & Magic
Rhayaedr has three gods who hold dominion over three types of magic, which are called by the name of the gods to whom they belong. As magic is very real in this universe, so are the gods. They make their presence known by way of granting heightened skills in this magic to specific mages, who are then referred to as having been 'touched' by that god. Being god-touched actually isn't very rare, because these gods like to keep themselves involved². There is also a myth that the first thing the god-touched will see after death is their patron god.
The gods and magics are arranged thus:
Everything is Welsh because we needed names and Tara decided to be a nerd and look up Welsh names for girls. This quickly evolved into Welsh Names For Everything. Eventually the explanation for this we came up with (as Rhayaedr is not Wales, or based on Wales, and really has absolutely nothing to do with Wales) is that Welsh is the Rhayaedran Naming Language. It is the language used for magic and Things With Meaning, and the tongue they speak otherwise is quite definitively Not Welsh. Don't ask what it is, though.
❧ Places
Rhayaedr - An isolated, unicultural country where magic is mainstream, common knowledge and practice in any walk of life. The main source of entertainment is the games run by Gadwaldr Arena. People of noteworthy power control most of the information that reaches normal people, and hints of unrest are still mostly hints.
Gadwaldr Arena - A fighting arena run by Aeronwen and her family before her. Killing is looked down upon but not really punished, so 'accidents' happen. Under Aeronwen's influence active recruitment has been more prevalent, and fighters in the arena are generally pressured to remain with the arena long-term¹, so fans could develop preferences and biases and so on.
❧ Gods & Magic
Rhayaedr has three gods who hold dominion over three types of magic, which are called by the name of the gods to whom they belong. As magic is very real in this universe, so are the gods. They make their presence known by way of granting heightened skills in this magic to specific mages, who are then referred to as having been 'touched' by that god. Being god-touched actually isn't very rare, because these gods like to keep themselves involved². There is also a myth that the first thing the god-touched will see after death is their patron god.
The gods and magics are arranged thus:
o Ewyllys³, meaning of will. o Ewyllys is magic controlled by thought and imagination, and is thus the least 'substantial' of the magics, and also the most versatile. o Ewyllys casts are the fastest and technically the easiest if they work, as o Ewyllys magic is the only aspect of magic that will not backfire spectacularly on its caster at the slightest opportunity. If an o Ewyllys cast doesn't work, nothing happens at all. o Ewyllys are also by far the hardest to learn, though, since it comes down to raw intent with no structure by which to channel the magic but that intent, which most people have difficulty doing. o Ewyllys spells are easiest when they deal with the intangible/insubstantial. However, mixing a pre-existing item with intent, even though it deals with something stable and tangible, is an o Ewyllys technique. Similarly, although o Ewyllys typically only deals with very short term casting, there is a single exception to that rule: imbuing an object with a spell counts as o Ewyllys if that object was not specifically made for the purpose of being thus treated.
o Siarad⁴, meaning of speech. o Siarad is magic controlled by sounds and gestures, and is fleeting by nature. o Siarad is usually more personalized to some extent. While there are textbook spell words, which do technically see more use, o Siarad casts tend to be strongly associated with performers, who can mix parts of their song/dance/etc with specific intent and thus have fireworks going off triggered by the choreography or a particular string of notes or something to that effect. Even though it's of speech, pretty much everyone touched by o Siarad will end up attaching spells to tones instead of words because it's faster. o Siarad spells are best at things that move or live in general, things with energy.
o Celfyddyd⁵, meaning of art. o Celfyddyd is magic controlled by physical manifestation of one's intent, such as drawing or writing the spell, and is concrete by nature. Typically things that take more effort will be cast o Celfyddyd, because it takes up the least amount of magic and the most support in the process of channeling and actually putting that power to use. One could consider it the most structured aspect of magic. Things like living summons or golems/animations would almost always be cast with this aspect, but if one isn't touched then that takes a lot of space to write out/draw, given the complexity of that kind of spell. Generally speaking o Celfyddyd will take the most time and the most physical ability re: BEING ABLE TO DRAW or just being able to move your arm for a long time. More complex spells like summonings can take an obscenely complex manifestation of o Celfyddyd upon initial contract but future use may only require an abbreviated version. But only if the caster is particularly skilled or god-touched. Since the point of an o Celfyddyd cast is that it is in some way lasting, it can be modified to become a constant, voluntarily controlled cast. Any tattoos are an example of this. Though that is trickier than just doodling something and having it work once, that in itself isn't saying much, since even very young children can cast single-use o Celfyddyd magic with relative ease. It is by far the easiest aspect of magic. o Celfyddyd is best at the inanimate and stable.
o Siarad⁴, meaning of speech. o Siarad is magic controlled by sounds and gestures, and is fleeting by nature. o Siarad is usually more personalized to some extent. While there are textbook spell words, which do technically see more use, o Siarad casts tend to be strongly associated with performers, who can mix parts of their song/dance/etc with specific intent and thus have fireworks going off triggered by the choreography or a particular string of notes or something to that effect. Even though it's of speech, pretty much everyone touched by o Siarad will end up attaching spells to tones instead of words because it's faster. o Siarad spells are best at things that move or live in general, things with energy.
o Celfyddyd⁵, meaning of art. o Celfyddyd is magic controlled by physical manifestation of one's intent, such as drawing or writing the spell, and is concrete by nature. Typically things that take more effort will be cast o Celfyddyd, because it takes up the least amount of magic and the most support in the process of channeling and actually putting that power to use. One could consider it the most structured aspect of magic. Things like living summons or golems/animations would almost always be cast with this aspect, but if one isn't touched then that takes a lot of space to write out/draw, given the complexity of that kind of spell. Generally speaking o Celfyddyd will take the most time and the most physical ability re: BEING ABLE TO DRAW or just being able to move your arm for a long time. More complex spells like summonings can take an obscenely complex manifestation of o Celfyddyd upon initial contract but future use may only require an abbreviated version. But only if the caster is particularly skilled or god-touched. Since the point of an o Celfyddyd cast is that it is in some way lasting, it can be modified to become a constant, voluntarily controlled cast. Any tattoos are an example of this. Though that is trickier than just doodling something and having it work once, that in itself isn't saying much, since even very young children can cast single-use o Celfyddyd magic with relative ease. It is by far the easiest aspect of magic. o Celfyddyd is best at the inanimate and stable.
Four;
Date: 2012-03-07 08:43 am (UTC)From: