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Here is where you'll find an overview of magic in the world of staxies! You'll learn about magic glands, how your staxie can learn magic, et cetera! It's a big read, so buckle in!
Magic and Magic Tides
The world of staxies is one filled with magic. Magic is what allows staxies to breathe underwater, it allows mancakes to soar, it effects the growth of crops and so forth.
Magic surrounds staxies much like the water surrounds Staves Rest. Even for a stax who is not trained in any form of magic, magic is apart of them; staxies coexist with magic and cannot truly be separated from it.
Not all staxies choose to learn magic while some devote their whole lives to the study of it, but on average, most staxies are trained in at least one or two intermediate elements.
Magic fluctuates like the tides, this fluctuation can be felt by all staxies. It is a difficult feeling to put into words, the best way to describe it would be a 6th sense of sorts. The world also reacts to these fluctuations in noticeable ways: more bountiful crops, an increase in illness, a drought, a population surge, etc.. Many speculate that The Great Dying was because of a massive plunge in magic.
Magic Glands
All staxies have magic glands, it allows for physical manifestation of otherwise intangible magics-- it is the thread that ties staxies to the magical tides.
Stumps hatch with black tongues-- temporary magic glands. The odd placement is assumed to be because stumps explore and experience the world with their mouths. Because these glands are temporary and underdeveloped, stumps cannot learn magic (not like they have the patience necessary to learn something as complex as magic anyways!) Some stumps are born with magic quirks that allow them to preform magic, but it is limited to the ability that they were hatched with.
When stumps begin to grow into stems, their tongues begin to fade to flesh-tone as new, permanent glands grow elsewhere. This process is extremely difficult and sometimes painful as a staxie's ties to magic are temporarily severed due to the lack of a functioning magic glands. In most (and best) cases, this simply leads to fatigue and crankiness. In rare (and worst) cases, this increases susceptibility to illness and can lead to growing stems becoming sick with life-threatening diseases. This amount of time this process takes depends on the stax, some have their magic glands in a matter of a few weeks while others can take nearly a year.
Magic Gland Locations
As previously stated, stumps are born with magic glands on their tongues. When they grow up, a permanent magic gland grows in elsewhere! A staxie's magic gland allows for them to learn the gland locations' corresponding magic without doing its prerequisites! (read more about this further down the page!)
The Eyes: Necromancy
The Cheeks: Illusion
The Neck: Evocation
The Chest: Abjuration
The Back: Enchantment
The Hands: Conjuration
The Feet: Transmutation
The Tail: Divination
Other Magic Gland Locations?
Staxies born with albinism or melanism have been reported to sometimes have their tongues remain a magic gland for life. Albinism and melanism disrupt a staxie's ties to magic, albeit in different ways, which can result in a neotenic magic gland. Not all albino/melanoid staxies keep a tongue magic gland, many grow out of their ailment and gain a "normal" gland placement, but not all. The tongue magic gland does not grant a boon like the standard eight do.
Damaged or Lost Magic Glands
A freshly damaged magic gland is a dangerous thing, behaving like an exposed live wire. They are incredibly painful and actively hurt the victim, and unfortunately, they can also harm those attempting to heal the wound. An inexperienced healer trying to patch a wounded gland can lead to permanent injury or even death for both parties.
Healing a damaged gland requires a delicate hand from an experienced healer. If the damage is beyond repair, or there simply isn't anyone qualified to mend the damage, the magic gland is often removed entirely; this could mean removal of just the gland or amputating the entire extremity it is located on.
Most staxies have multiple magic glands, so losing a singular gland is fine. It takes some getting used to as any major trauma does, but the effects usually aren't long-term. However, in the case of an abjurer losing their only magic gland or a staxie losing all their magic glands, the consequences are detrimental.
Living without magic glands is, in the simplest words, not possible. Glandless staxies are severed from the magic that surrounds them and thus rely on siphoning magic off others around them. This is not intentionally done by the glandless staxie, rather the body does this in a vain attempt to survive.
The effects of being siphoned are very obvious; irritability, fatigue, nausea and general malaise. The relationship between the glandless and the "victims" of siphoning is usually not sustainable, often leading to glandless staxies bring shunned and chased out of towns. Those with close friends or family, however, may have a better chance if those around them are willing to assist them despite the effects.
A glandless staxie's prognosis is not good, all in all, siphoning magic or not. They usually don't survive very long after losing their last, or only, magic gland, a few years is usually the maximum.
Tiers of Magic
There are four tiers of magic: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and the ever-elusive Master-level magic.
To a staxie, basic magic is like riding a bike. Almost all staxies will learn the basic elemental magics.
Intermediate magic could be equated to more specific learned skills, like sewing or pottery. Staxies will usually study the intermediate magic that their glands grant a boon in, plus one or two others that they simply just want to learn. Some staxies choose to study all the magics for a variety of reasons ranging from becoming a teacher to trying to discover new magical abilities!
Advanced and master magics are a different story; advanced magicians are rare and master magicians are stuff of legends, literally. Master magicians are very rare, with some master elements entirely lost. These magicians usually pass their skills to a single apprentice rather than through a class as the abilities can be quite dangerous even in careful, learned hands. Perhaps some of them will be willing to teach someday, perhaps not.
Advanced and potentially master magics require a lot of time, studying, devotion, and most importantly, metamorphosis. A staxie's body, in the simplest terms, isn't equipped to handle and conduct strong magics, so "modification" is in order to learn to control such magics. Metamorphosis is a daunting and challenging experience that is rarely sought after and even more rarely experienced.
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis, also called metamorphing by staxies, is a dangerous process that expands and strengthens a staxie's magical ability and deepens their connection with the magic tides; possibly even The Depth themselves.
Metamorphs, or stars as some call them, have a new relationship to their magic. They also undergo some physical changes, namely the ability to sprout a new pair of limbs. Not all stars wish to use these new limbs, so they simply don't "equip" them, while others take full advantage of these extra hands (or feet). Their magic glands also undergo visible changes. The glands can move, or they might grow an additional set of glands, or their original magic glands mutate and grow. The metamorph also gains the control needed to learn advanced, and if they're able to find someone to study under, master magics.
The detailed process of metamorphosis and how your staxie can do it will be explained in a future guide!
Stumps and Magic
Stumps, with their immature magic glands, cannot learn magic. Studying magic requires bodily control and awareness that stumps simply don't possess at their young ages.
HOWEVER, sometimes a stump born from magically talented parents will have some magical abilities of their own. These abilities might be reactive, responding to certain stimuli with no input from the stump, or they can be practiced by the child and used at their command (more complex abilities tend to be the former, while "easier" abilities are the latter.)
Just as a magic gland allows for quicker learning of a certain ability, a stump's magic quirk can also lend to easier learning when they grow up! For example, a stump born with a Spirit Sense ability can learn Necromancy immediately upon grow up without learning any basic abilities. They can ALSO learn Illusion magic without basic ability knowledge if they grow up with Cheek magic glands!
Mixing Magics?
Simply put, different types of magics cannot be used at the same time. However, multiple abilities within the same element/type of magic can be used at the same time. (ie. Sap Water can be used in conjunction with Alter Water, but not Steam Burst.)
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