June 2023
At present there are about eight categories of magic in the Broken Dimensions universe. They’re loosely color-coded, some have rune sets and the others don’t, and some are general (everybody learns them, most people can do all the basics) and others are specialized. We’ll start with gravity manipulation:
There are two kinds of gravity manipulation magic: hypogravity and hypergravity.
Hypograv magic is what it seems: antigravity. The category itself is made up of various types of levitation magic, all categorized by rune variance and complexity, with the more complex matrices being used for flight, basic levitation, repulsion spells/energy fields, and levitating platforms.
Usually color-coded with various hues of blue.
General magic type, taught in schools. One of the bases for teleportation.
The other kind of gravity manipulation magic is hypergrav magic:
Hypergrav magic is the opposite of hypograv and is color-coded in hues of orange. This category also has a rune set, and the it primarily focuses on increasing a target person/object’s gravity. It’s used for holding someone/something in place, slowing it down, pinning it to a wall or the floor, etc.
Another base type in teleportation (inversion, containing molecules, etc).
“Combat magic” is the term loosely associated with red-hued, emotion- and movement-based magic. It deals with high-grade levitation (greater heights and stability), the generation of thicker defensive walls (often capable of delivering burns when an adversary comes in contact), custom weapons/weapon mimics, fire-like spells that copy Hellfire manipulation, and ground/wall spikes.
Violent, specialized, typically reserved for professionals and trained fighters, or self-defense education.
Shield magic is a more publicly-accessible magic type, but it's most commonly associated with the same professions and scenarios as combat magic. This category/type has a rune set and a “circle science” (loose conceptual system for complex spell and enchantment matrices), and focuses on generating walls, literal carrying shields, sound-proofing charms, more complex platform generation, and fluid defense spells (developed on a personalized basis to work in tandem with an individual's fighting style). It’s a versatile magic type, and the users vary from civilians to students to professionals of all sorts. Usually, it’s color-coded with hues of green and teal.
String (control) magic is the most well-known type of magic that appears to use visible strings tying the user and target together. It is broadly referred to as “control magic” due to the fact that it is most widely used by mind-breakers to exercise control over one or multiple people at once. This category of magic originated in earlier Era 5 as the gods began to disappear and, in their absence, the mortal world began to decay morally.**
Originally a self-defense form used for physical restraint and holding others back with enhanced, physical-magical strength that only a few advanced hypograv spells could previousl managed. It changed over time to include mental manipulation, with a heavy focus on memory altering charms.
( In reality, "control" magic was developed as a memory alteration type based on studies of the mind and the strange and unexplained ability for Mages (formerly a race, now pretty much everyone alive as of Era 10) to permanently memorize spells. Nathan Shasear began its development in late Era 5/early Era 6, and it has since been twisted into other, more violent uses. )
"String magic" can also more loosely refer to the spinning of magical thread in combination with physical thread to create magic-imbued fabrics, jewelry, or metals, and is a common practice when it comes to armor and other protective gear.
( **With the gods gone, many people decided to subscribe to the ideas of “if we have no one to enforce morality, why be moral at all” and “gods = my reason to be moral, and if there are no more gods and I can no longer place my faith in them to keep me safe in return for abiding by set morals, then why be moral at all” which are actual real-world arguments that have some MAJOR logical flaws. )
Light manipulation can, in short, beanything from a conjuring a glowing ball of light to aid in finding your way in the dark to a honed, artistic medium used to generate wall art or animated visuals for a story around a campfire. It was very popular in Svarenheil and later the Darekaeiin quadrant as a form of living art (it often faded out once its creator had died).
Shadow manipulation is very similar to light manipulation in that you can also create art with it, but it also has a much more practical use. People adept in the use of shadow magic are often capable of walking into one shadow and out of another, utilizing the practice of shadow walking (Menace's favorite example of this, which inspires the logic behind this ability in Broken Dimensions, is from “The Desert Storm,” an amazing series by Blue_Sunshine on AO3).
Shadow manipulation is referred to as “shadow magic” on some occasions and simply “shadow manipulation” in others because it is one of the oldest magic types to exist in this world, and the depths and capabilities of it aren’t entirely known even in Era 10. Shadow magic is usually reserved for shadow walkers and people who are, themselves, part Shade. Shadow manipulation is more for the artistic and illusionary/practical side, and is far more surface-level in terms of the skill and depth of ability.
And finally, void magic. Void magic is touched on in this post, but it isn't as well defined there as it could be. To recap what was described in that post, void magic is "magic that is of the nature of The Void (sentient), or that operates best in voidspace." A more practical description of it would be a cross between advanced gyromanipulation (gravity manip.), teleportation magic, advanced healing + molecular stability, and the ability to travel using tesseracts.
Ziojics are capable of not only exception gyromanipulative feats and extremely accurate teleportation, but they also have limited regenerative healing abilities that are innate to their nature as creatures of The Eternal Darkness's core essence and they can use voidspace the way shadow walkers use darkness. While it is exceptionally draining to do so, a ziojic can warp themselves from one dimension to another without the use of a voidship, warp pad, or warp matrix. This, the grid sense, and the other innate environmental awareness capabilities, are the key components of void magic.
Void magic, like void demons, is inherently toxic to non-ziojics, hence why it cannot be used by anyone else and why use of it is often limited around other mortals/quasi-immortals.
( A final note on void magic and control magic: in theory, the two can be merged. Some ambitious ziojics have found ways to use their innate, sometimes molecular spatial awareness abilities in tandem with control magic, and can manipulate their surroundings on a dangerously small (and incredibly impactful) scale. The implications of this are not known. )
Additional subtypes:
Hellfire manipulation—a skill unique to the races of Tartarus (primarily Tritarans and Concubi) and the god Viabolt. Fire manipulation powered by a soul-deep connection to the Core of Tartarus, called Boltar, also known as the sub-void of Hellfire.
Teleportation—a combination of antigrav, supergrav, shield magic (keeps your own particles associated with one another when transmatting them across space), and certain aspects of “fighting” magic that have to do with speed, illusion, and composition.
Healing magic—a complex amalgamation of runes and spell setups from different types of magic, with a surprisingly huge base in light magic, which is all but forgotten besides light manipulation (similar to the difference between shadow magic/manipulation).
Most light magic practitioners no longer exist, the most well-known being the goddess Solorana, goddess of light, stars, and creation, who has gone dormant as of Era 6.
Complete Rune Page (+deity sigils)
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