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Caln Codex:

By s. Lei Pyke

Calnese Magic:

Calnese magic is strikingly varied. It comes from many sources. It comes fromthe creator, the immortals, humans, and the planet itself.

Native Magic:

Calnese magic coming from the essence of the planet can be used by all of the

native plants and animals. It is even found in the water. In fact, there are certain springs,

such as the spring at Arynstar and the spring on the Lonely Island that virtually gush as

much magic as actual water. The races of Caln have known about the healing propertiesof these springs. The water of these are actually a deadly poison to humans, though the

Daitari have no trouble drinking it, even as children.

At Arynstar, the Maestros tapped the water and used it to power and sustain the

city. The magic can be filtered out, leaving the water pure for human consumption. Thewellspring is underneath the temple of Meranna, and since the formation of the city, her

priestesses have tended the water and purified it. They cannot stand to see suffering fromthirst, and they still pass water through the crumbling aqueducts and pipes to the homes

of the Undercity.

The God-emperor has a different method, but he has also found out how to purify

the spring water at the surface. Lumi, the undead emissary of Thrass and Antir theOmryth emissary of Ixah conduct a monthly blood ritual that removes the magic at the

cost of only a few human citizens.

The native magic falls into Air, Earth, and Water. According to Calnese elementaltheory, fire, electricity, plasma, wood and metal, are not elements at all, but the

combination or expression of elements. The three sentient races of Caln all express oneof the three elements.Music is an element all to itself. The maestros woke Lemari with music, and

supposedly created a great deal of the planet with it, so complex native spells are always

sung or chanted. Simple spells are usually performed without anything more than aspoken prayer.

Sorcery:

Sorcery is a forbidden practice among the followers of the Calnese pantheon, butis encouraged among the pantheon of Man. Sorcery is a brand of magic foreign to Caln

that involves dealmaking and bargaining with selected spirits and entities. A human can

call up a lesser immortal and demand power. The binding rituals are complex andexacting.

This power is real and quite alluring to those that seek power, but at the eventual

cost to their own souls. Power gained must be used immediately, or it must be transferredinto an object. It is deadly to try to contain sorcery within a human body.

Sorcery can do almost anything that native magic can do and more, but there is

always a steep price. In addition, sorcery is always addictive. The more of it that you

use, the more of it you want to use.

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In the end, all sorcerers wind up in Pathir. Native Calnese species that use it are

tainted creatures that can spread their magic like an infection. Omryth are the ultimate

tainted creature. Only immortal magic can dispel it, so creatures infected by the magiccan be cleansed at a temple to the Maestros.

Those that are on the paths of Salvation dictated to mortals by the Maestros are

highly resistant to sorcery.

Psionics

The three races of Caln are capable of telepathy between themselves, and rarelywith humans. The maestros designed the Three to have it because the vocalizations of

each race are vastly different from one another.

Humans, however, have the capability of psionics to a far greater extent. There

are numerous instances in Calns history of firestarters and telekenetics, but the mostcommon is the type of telepathy that allows them to communicate with the races of Caln.

That gift is a requirement to join the path of Caius. The Togri people of the Ullis forest

south of the Rystooth Mountains on the Continent of Man are famous for their frequency

of this trait, so much so that they base their civilization around the path of Caius.Psionics are a neutral power, but one that is often exploited. Quite often, a

psionic person will slip into sorcery trying to increase or expand its power. Psionics seemto be a very straightforward power that is usually simple in use, though it might sap a

users vitality. Most psionically active humans only have one or two powers, and these

cannot be taught or bought. They are simply inborn in certain human family lines and

they have existed since before they found their way to Caln.

Divination:

Humans are the only creatures capable of divination. Not even the Maestros arecapable of seeing the future. Demons can give a person educated guesses based on an

eternity of observation, but they cannot actually predict the future. This is not wholly a

psychic power or an arcane one, but sometimes a human will develop this power. Thesediviners are sought after by the clergy of all temples as oracles.

Calling spirits, on the other hand, while humans can perform this with no outside

help, is a prohibited act. Sorrith is quite adamant that the dead should not be called.Humans with the ability to talk to the dead are usually pressed to join his church for their

own safety. Sorrith can offer protection to a medium, directing one to use their talents in

a way that wont violate his rules. There are cunning, vicious, cruel or lying spirits out in

the world that are barred from the upper and also the lower planes. Some of them can bedirected onward, some are trapped of their own actions in life, some have been rejected

by the Maestros, some have escaped Pathir, and some are there just to cause trouble.

Only Sorriths church can train a medium so that the true difference can be discerned. Allother mediums risk calling up a malicious spirit.

Folk Magic:

Humans use folk magic extensively. Usually this is merely taking herbs and

things from their immediate environment. It is a human accessible offshoot of native

magic, but since it begins and ends without a human taking it into itself as a claimed

power, it is permitted by the Maestros. The three sentient races have taught the humans

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that they trust a great deal about how to access the magic of Caln, even if they are denied

its use personally.

There is folk magic that works, and folk magic that is superstition or tradition.The two are so tangled together that it is sometimes difficult to separate it. A human who

uses this type of magic to achieve more spectacular results is called a wizard. This use of

the term goes back to the root of wise.A person skilled in folk magic has to be wise to understand how Calnese magic

works and how to use its environment to produce supernatural results. These people are

also usually quite learned and well traveled, and have a keen understanding of humansand the human condition. They are also marked by years of struggling against the

demons that would seek to draw it into sorcery, and the careful observation of the

Maestros, who are quick to respond to any wizard that crosses that line.