Mind Magic - Thoughts, Experiences & Theories - Kit Heron

A journal of the exploration of Mind Magic.

From letters to journals to thoughts and everything in between, certain character story development requires free-form writing as it does not happen in a particular location. Thus, this little corner of Khy'eras can be used to jot down ideas and stories.
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Kit Heron
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Race: Human
Class: Wizard
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Mind Magic - Thoughts, Experiences & Theories - Kit Heron

Post by Kit Heron »

Kit Heron's Journal

Mind Magic - Thoughts, Experiences & Theories

These notes on the concept and exploration of my own powers as a Mind Mage are not intended to be an instruction manual for others. Indeed, I doubt anyone else will ever read them! But since I do not have access to a personal, dedicated library on the very subject, I feel I must start writing my own book. Perhaps one day it will sit alongside other books on magic and the supernatural, but it is more likely that it will end up as kindling for a fireplace long after I’m dead (at least I hope after I’m dead!).

Magic

A simple title but so difficult to deal with! Since these are notes on my own magic, however, I can be more subjective, and therefore narrow the writing a little.

I have read many books that each give an entirely different view on what magic is, as a concept. Some say it is an art and that magicians of various types, (wizards, sorcerers, witches, druids, and so on) use their abilities to create something that is driven as much by emotion as it is by symbols and spoken words. There are others who believe it sacred, almost holy. More than one mage writes that magic is channelled from the divines themselves, and that they are but a conduit. Then there are those who swear it is a matter of science and mathematics; that it is the act of taking energy and manipulating it with formulas, equations and so on.

Personally, I am entirely unsure which camp, if any, I belong to.

I am able to ‘see’ magic. This is hardly unusual, but I have yet to meet a mage who sees it in the same way. I believe that it truly is subjective in this manner, and has many different factors that could alter how exactly it is ‘seen’ or ‘sensed’. It is most likely (though not a fact) that different races see or sense magic in different ways. The Fae, for example, are creatures born of magic and, though I prefer to avoid sweeping statements, I have found that in my studies, the Fae are more prone to describe their magic as an art. The same goes for the Lumeacia. Of the Elementals, I know not. Some describe it as a “glowing light” or a “mystical force”, though the latter is quite ambiguous.

I remember a quote from a Fae mage by the name of Hara Tillia: “The glow of magic surrounded me as I summoned fire from the Beyond. Not just the crimson and yellow of the flame itself, but so many different colours that danced around as if carried by a gentle breeze. Such beauty in the casting of such a simple spell. All that wonder to light but a single wick of a beeswax candle.”

Humans and Kerasokan Elves seem to take a rather more pragmatic approach to it. The most blatant of examples that comes to mind is Jon Lee, a Mind Mage (like myself) who wrote: “[magic] is a matter of matter. One simply transfers energy - which exists all around us if you know how to look. It is simple, really. No need to overthink it. You feel for the most powerful source and you take from it, shape what you have to your intention, and then release. There is no need for deities in the subject of magic. It simply is.” In this, he does not think magic to be anything other than another tool, just like one might wield a sword or a cooking pot.

Personally I see lines. A great shimmering web that connects everything to everything else. Interacting with these threads with my mind is how I am able to perform magic.

Some things I have learned with this:
  • Everything has a thread; from people, animals, plants, rocks, spoons, tables … everything.
  • While I have stated that all the threads ‘shimmer’, the things that are alive, have a stronger glow that runs along the threads that connect them to other things. For example, a thread that connects a Human woman to a rock will be bright at the woman’s end and will gradually grow dimmer as it reaches the rock.
  • Threads can be a variety of colours. Though there are more variations, I will note what the colours mean as I investigate further.
  • Threads will act in certain ways, especially when connected to a living thing. They may, for example, brighten or darken if a person is experiencing strong emotions. I will need to study this more if I am to be able to harness my empathic and telepathic abilities.
  • In order to move an object, I must use my abilities to take hold of these threads and manipulate them in order to achieve the desired result. I will add more as I experiment.
Things I need to consider:
  • Using magic leaves a trace. Some call it a footprint, others interpret it as an echo, or a residue. This can be used to track down a magic user, and the best defence is to fine tune or hone your casting to leave as little trace as possible. This is currently very difficult.
  • Strong emotions and extreme pain can cause an ‘eruption’ of magic, leading to all sorts of things; unintentional telekinetic activity, telepathic events which people close around will experience (visions, headaches, etc.) I am still learning about this.
  • Using my abilities is draining. I am unsure if I truly believe in the concept of ‘mana’, but there is much writing on the fact that a magic users has to get the energy from somewhere. Druids may get it from the natural world around them, magical creatures use personal reserves … the average Human mage who may have an inherent ability to use magic, usually has to study and practice in order to fully utilise their power. I believe that using magic is like exercising; it will tire you out and you can only do so much at a time, but it will improve. Like a muscle perhaps. When I put a lot of effort into magic, I become hot and weary, possibly suggesting that using magic is draining my physically - though some would argue that the same would happen it were truly my soul, spirit, mana - or whatever other word used to describe magical energy a person prefers - and that pushing myself too much could lead to physical and mental harm, maybe even death.
Word count: 1089
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Kit Heron
Character
Level
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23 / 23 HP
20 / 20 MP
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Race: Human
Class: Wizard
Posts: 80
Joined: March 6th, 2020, 9:48 pm
Has thanked: 17 times
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Re: Mind Magic - Thoughts, Experiences & Theories - Kit Heron

Post by Kit Heron »

Telekinesis - Experiences, Considerations and Thoughts

I first began using telekinesis without thinking about it, and it was usually tied to strong emotions or events that had a big impact on me. This is frustrating to be in a position where the strength of my magic comes, not from a place of study and intellectual control, but from emotions. My use of telekinesis has thus far only been of any significance when I am in a great deal of pain (such as when I imbibed a strange substance which causing my body to seize), or when something extreme is to happen, like a threat on my life or that of another person.

Using the threads I 'see', I am able to use my powers to move objects. I do this just as one would use a pulley system. Let's say, for example, I want to use my mind to lift a nail from the floor. I simply look at the threads that are attached to the nail (and the nail will be connected to anything and everything around it), then use one of these that is connected to something much heavier (let's say the roof, as I will want the nail to upwards, so I have to find something that is above the nail), then I manipulate that thread, pulling on it to make it rise. If I want the nail to turn, I pull from a different source to turn it in that direction. The more I want the nail to do, the more threads I have to manipulate.

And yet, I do not feel as if I do any of this when I have these 'bursts' of power that have resulted in me shaking whole rooms, throwing people to the ground, deflecting incoming projectiles. My only working theory is that instinct takes over due to external stressors, making the above process happen faster than the conscious mind can achieve. While this is useful in some situations (deflecting an arrow that would have killed my friend was an amazing thing to be able to do) at other times it can cause a lot of trouble.

In order to achieve great feats of telekinesis, I must practice - perhaps for years - in order to make something happen, something bigger than a floating nail.

Some things I have learned from this:
  • In order to move an object I must, using my mind, manipulate the ‘threads’ attached to that object.
  • To move an object, I must have an ‘anchor’, that is something that is physically stronger and heavier than the object I wish to move. If I were to do it the other way around, it would be the ‘anchor’ that moves and not the intended object.
  • When an object is already in motion (as in an arrow flying through the air), I must reach the threads that connect it to an ‘anchor’ and pull on them in order to change the direction of the moving object. To deflect an incoming object, I must use an ‘anchor’ (or ‘anchors’) that will send the projectile off its course.
  • If I wish to send an incoming object in a specific direction, I must use several anchors all at once in order to have the object reach the desired destination or target. So far I have only been able to achieve this when under stress, and instinct does the work for me.
  • When an object is in motion, threads are already reacting, and so taking control is even more difficult, as I have to firmly control these (often volatile) threads in order to achieve the desired results.
  • Because of the fact that I am able to do this through instinct, it means that it is completely possible to do exactly the same deliberately, without having to rely on stressors.
  • A significant emotional response will produce an ‘over-spill’ of telekinetic energy. This can either come in the form of a type of ‘telekinetic shockwave’ where a burst of ‘magic’ erupts from me and affects a certain area around me, disturbing the threads and generally causing anything within the radius to react.
  • As of writing, I have no idea how the radius of these shockwaves are determined. I can theorise that it is the strength of my mind or ‘magic’ that regulates the area of effect and that with either maturity, study - but most likely both - that area will increase.
  • Using my telekinetic abilities causes physical stress, and I often feel fatigued after I have used my powers in this manner. The first symptom is a headache, which varies in severity depending on how much energy I have extended.
  • It appears that the larger an object, the more energy is required to manipulate it, and thus it proves a greater strain on my physical body.
  • Unlike my telepathic or empathic abilities (which I will write about in more detail in my next entry), using my mind to move objects does not affect my emotional state.
In time, I hope to be able to move faster when it comes to using telekinesis. Manipulating a single thread is relatively easy, but grows significantly more difficult when more than one ‘anchor’ is required.

I must not allow my frustration to hinder my experiments. Absolute concentration is going to be essential if I am to master telekinesis, and so I must be able to navigate the ‘web’ and the threads even in the presence of distractions. I will try to introduce these slowly. Perhaps have someone (though I am limited as to who will help me in this endeavour) make noise, clap their hands, talk, etc. as I am working.

I am still not sure where I stand on the issue of mana (or its many other names), as the physical toll using my abilities takes on me suggests I am using my body’s own resources and energy to use magic. Though most of the books I have read either allude or outright state that magic is derived from either an internal (like a person’s spirit or soul) or external (like magical energy, divine power, and such) source, I am yet to be fully convinced.

Perhaps if I had more time with my tutor, or a tutor that was willing to delve deeper into areas outside the prescribed curriculum, I will discover more.
Word count: 1057
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