Sorcery

It started with a spark. Nobody knows where this spark came from. Sure, they know it comes from the Vortex – the colossal tower of pure magical energy that sprung up in the Siberian tundra, giving way for the Cataclysm to occur – but where did it come from before then?

Some say it was here all along. Only hidden. It existed within the wind, the trees, the ocean depths and all elements that make up our world. It was a latent energy that only needed the spark of the Vortex to awaken – like the ignition of tinder.

Other experts argue that magic, the Spark, came from another world in the same manner as all the monsters and otherworldly beings. This world of magic is not a solid plane, like that of Earth, Olympia, the Norse worlds or the countless other planes bleeding onto Earth, but a dimension of pure energy – dripping said energy into our world like rain through a leak in the roof.

Regardless of the true origins of the Spark and the magic it enables, it is here now and humans need to understand it in order to use it.

The Human Spark

After the Vortex appeared, something started happening to seemingly random humans of all ages and backgrounds. They began to feel a well of power within themselves. A latent energy at their core. Through some cosmic fate or pure arbitrariness, some humans now had magic.

“It all started with a spark. The Spark. The Cataclysm didn’t start with monsters and demons. It started with humans. Glowing orbs rising from the hands of office workers, fireballs being flung by homeless people and an overwhelming arrogance by people who had gained immense power by sheer luck.” – Kat Drummond, Part-Time Monster Hunter.

People with a spark are called sorcerers. Sorcery, the term used for their type of magic, involves willpower and self-control to be able to harness their internal magic to do their bidding. This takes the form of controlling elements, manipulating the world around them or simply exerting pure power.

Not all sorcerers are created equally, however. Sorcerers have affinities – certain acts of magic that they naturally prefer. Some may feel an affinity to fire and become natural pyromancers. Others may be more comfortable harnessing their natural power to channel into more refined pursuits, like enchanting or divination.

Affinities aside, sorcerers also have varying levels of power. Initially, power levels were random. Spark is semi-hereditary, however. Strong sorcerers typically give birth to strong sorcerers and carry on a powerful magical bloodline. But, as is the case with all things, this isn’t always true. Some powerful sorcerer families will give birth to a weak sorcerer or, rifts forbid, a husk!

“Husk – a derogatory term for a non-sorcerer.”

An easy way to think about sorcerers and their spark is like a battery. They are their own battery and can harness their own magical energy to use as they will. Willpower and power willing, of course.

Spark is exhausted as a sorcerer uses it, simultaneously exhausting the user physically. After a rest, spark does replenish, in the same manner as stamina. It has been known for sorcerers to turn themselves into husks by over-exerting themselves on particularly harsh and powerful casts, however.