Magic Index

After magic made its violent reclamation more than one hundred years ago, it has since steeped through reality with magical creatures, folklore and superstitions brought back to life, and even passing down some minor magical ability to a minority of humankind. This minority are called 'mages', or at least, this is what they are known as throughout most of the United Kingdom. There does not seem to be genetic precedent or any other pattern, and there is much speculation surrounding why some people are magic, and why some people are not.

All mages are given a single ability that develops itself from a young age and onwards. That single branch of magic may have flexible boundaries surrounding what it can and cannot do, but generally has a unifying rule or inclination. A future-seer may have a few different ways of practicing this craft, or one with command over earthy elements may have alchemist prowess as well as telekinetic manipulation. Each magical power has its own set of rules and boundaries, and it may take a mage their own lifetime to test its limits — let alone have it be available for outside classification and understanding.

One thing is constant — all mages have a companion.

The Spheres

Though magic is prominent, its rules are elusive, and there are no historical documents to consult, no legacy of research to go by. But some effort has been made to define the kinds of magic that have become available to those born to it, creating categories that it seems the majority of mages will rest within, and these are called the spheres. They represent different kinds of abilities that relate to one another and are different to other categories, and also have some different social stigmas attached to them.

That said, these are man-made guidelines instead of inherent rules. Magic will develop as it chooses, with its own set of rules and logic per person. Sometimes they may touch on two or more spheres, or perhaps it's something as yet too uncommon to be easily categorised.

Creatures

Animals and beasts that are inherently magical are not a new addition to the world, but since the industrial revolution, their population and sighting frequency had massively declined. It was the resurgence of magic that brought them back out of the dusty annals of mythology, and into the grittier foreground of reality. Below are the magical creatures and beings most native to the Highlands, varying from commonplace enough to be an annoyance or daily threat, through to local legend and anecdotal knowledge.