To understand arcana, it is helpful to understand the Earther conception of existence, which is sometimes known as science. Actually, many sentient civilizations of the multiverse have disciplines that are synonymous with science and understanding any of those as an explanation of the origins and workings of existence is helpful. The reason and source of existence, including reality as you and I know it and manifestations of existence across the multiversal structure, are arcana despite the scientific models created by sentient civilizations of the structure that attempt to explain the origins of everything.
Arcana is everything that science cannot explain, things that defy scientific understanding. Wielders of arcana refer to the fundamental structure of existence as the Pattern and even the most learned and powerful wielders of Pattern Magic do not understand the breadth of its complexity.
A true survey of the multiversal structure is impossible to achieve, but the information gathered by the Smiting Chamber is expansive and confirms what has become apparent; the colors associated with the magic of the Vodun of the Fonlands are ubiquitous across the existences of the multiverse and they seem be foundational in allowing for an existence to thrive. The colors are not strictly confined to specific arcane phenomena, you will see that there is a lot of overlap with Yellow/Gold Pattern Magic and Green Life Magic and White Sublime Magic and Gray Passive Magic. All magic is derived from interaction with the pattern that manifests as Yellow or Gold, and Green, White and Gray Magic exist as specialties within Pattern Magic. So a Yellow Wizard may wield power over the elements and be able to manipulate weather without consciously interacting with the pattern, and a Gray Mage could be extremely adept at manipulating the pattern because of their monastic devotion and study that shifts the manifestation of that magic from Yellow to Gray. Similarly, a Green Witch could be very good at manipulating the pattern to make plants grow at a faster rate and that power would manifest green if the witch was creating this magic instinctively, without instruction from another witch.
My use of terms like mage or witch is derived from usage in the Fonlands and informed by the classification system of the trading card game that is popular in the Fonlands known as Smiting. Certain terms have historically been used to describe users of certain types of magic and that is reflected here to help make distinctions, but it should be noted that there are users of magics of every color who refer to themselves as houngan or wizards, so know that those terms are flexible.
GREEN: A witch describes a user or manipulator of arcana whose knowledge of arcana is gained through experience and intuition. Because witches’ powers are innate and based on feeling, they tap an aspect of the pattern related to destiny, often obtaining the powers necessary in a given moment to preserve the stability of the pattern. Witches’ powers involve commune with the pattern in an empathetic way and witches have been known to persuade and bend the pattern to their will by convincing the pattern that their understanding of a circumstance will be beneficial, though this influence on the pattern is limited to the manipulation of matter that the witch can physically touch or lay eyes on. This commune with the pattern allows witches, or wielders of Green Magic, to connect and control the sentience of other sentient things, in addition to the aforementioned ability to discern future events, and to manipulate matter in a limited way. The flowers and trees of the Disc of Agê are Green Magic users, the most adept among them being capable of subtly controlling the actions of other Fonlanders in their vicinity, and also to aid in the growth of other flora in their vicinity. It should be noted that Green and Purple Magic exist as opposing forces, but one cannot exist without the presence of the other. Green Magic is produced by the lifeforce of beings and the naturally occurring cosmic structures of existence like trees, flowers, and stars. Mastery of sentience and of the life cycle is also known as Life Magic.
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RED: A warlock describes a user or manipulator of arcana whose power results from chaotic disruption of pattern magic. Warlocks almost exclusively use Red Magic that is warped by its nature, and often manipulated by a malevolent source of the warlock’s powers if they gained them in pact with a more powerful Fonlander. The Hira of the Disc of Gu are examples of wielders of Red Magic who do not identify as warlocks or manipulators of arcana in a formal sense because their Red Magic is produced by their ecstatic gland. The Hira use chaotic red magic that is capable of disrupting the pattern by severing the strings of the pattern and causing incredible destruction in reality. The pattern is capable of healing itself of this disruption with time. Hira have toppled mountains with a single punch, or blighted forests by stomping the ground. Forests blighted by a violent Hira stomp eventually return once the pattern has healed itself in the physical location. It was previously believed that the Vodun Gu was almost driven mad by wielding the Blight Maker, which is a powerful source of Purple Magic, but it is most likely that wielding the Blight Maker caused a surge in Red Magic in the Vodun that destabilized reality around him and caused him to dissociate. Red Magic is also known as Chaos Magic.
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YELLOW: A wizard describes a user or manipulator of arcana who is identified by the pattern as able to wield immense power to preserve and maintain the pattern. Wizards can manifest Yellow Magic innately if gifted the ability by the pattern, but aspiring wizards often undergo rigorous study of arcana in order to demonstrate their ability to wield Yellow magic to preserve the pattern. The Executioners of the Disc of Xêvioso, particularly the Golden Executioners, wield Yellow magic that suffuses the Greatest Warrior statue located at the Golden Basilica of the High Court of Fierce Justice. The Golden Executioners are the pattern-chosen protectors of the Justices of the High Court who also wield Yellow magic to dispense justice granted to them after demonstrating their worthiness in whatever esoteric manner that the pattern necessitates. The dwellers of the Disc of Xêvioso not chosen by the pattern, and the Fonlanders at large who do not use magic that is associated with the color of the Disc of which they were born, use Essence blue magic. Ritualistic practice produces Yellow or Golden Pattern Magic if the practice pleases the pattern and the most disciplined and learned wizards are Patternists.
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WHITE: A magus/priest describes a user or manipulator of arcana whose exercise of particular aspects of arcana are so great they become embodiments. Light is the power source of the pattern and without it, the pattern and all arcana would cease to exist; it is likely that reality would collapse in on itself in the absence of the pattern. The Luminaries of the Disc of Jo are embodiments of light who manifest White Magic. Mages can manifest white magic by mastering to the point of embodiment an aspect of pattern magic, like the Luminaries or the String Dancers, the most potent and unpredictable seeds produced by the Cotton-Wood Tree that embody the delicacy and esoteric power of the strings of existence they are said to tread with their strange movements as they float the space of Jo’s Disc. This embodiment is referred to as Sublime Magic.
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BLACK: A houngan/shaman describes a user or manipulator of arcana who serves as an intermediary between more powerful arcane forces and others and who makes pacts with powerful beings of arcana. Black Magic users are often mistaken for wielders of Purple or Death Magic, but Black Magic doesn’t involve the manipulation of the arcana associated with life and death. Black Magic facilitates change in the otherwise rigidly structured pattern and gives the pattern its elasticity. Without Black Magic, the pattern would be fixed, meaning the future would fix into its last formation before the disappearance of Black Magic. Black Magic allows for the free will of sentient beings to shape their destinies and prevents one very powerful user or a powerful collective of users of arcana to seize control of the pattern that would be easier to dominate if it wasn’t constantly being impacted by the destinities of sentient beings. Black Magic is generated in a perpetual cycle where the pattern itself leaks Black Magic that is the distillation of changeability and Black Magic users gather it and wield it to directly change the pattern in ways that produces more Black Magic. The Nightmares of Lêgba’s Disc wield Black Magic produced by their ecstatic glands that allows many of them to become the source of another’s worst fears. Black Magic is also known as Transmogrification Magic.
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BLUE: A sorcerer describes a user or manipulator of arcana whose ability with and knowledge of arcana is passed down through family lineage. Sorcerers, like Wizards, are chosen by the pattern to wield specific abilities, but these abilities are aligned with the natural forces produced by the pattern, like gravity and magnetism. This predilection for controlling the natural forces of the pattern are usually passed from parent to child unless an individual is chosen by the pattern to wield these powers. The Nommo of the Disc of Agbe are a kin of half fish, half humanoid beings and their population is large around the oceans of the Disc. Nearly every Nommo is a sorcerer with the ability to control water, some have the ability to generate electricity, to manipulate metal, or to increase or decrease their density at will. The family tree of the dwellers of Agbe’s Disc overlaps considerably considering the nature of pregnancy and birth in the Fonlands, so it is true that there are many dwellers of Agbe’s Disc who wield the Blue Magic of sorcerers. There are sorcerers on the Disc of Lêgba who exhibit mastery over gravity and are able to become intangible, and their magic manifests as a Blue so dark that it approaches Black. Blue Magic users controlling naturally occurring forces wield Force Magic.
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GRAY: A mage describes a user or manipulator of arcana who devotes their lives to the study of arcana and lead monastic lives. The Vodun Skapata is associated with the mountains and rock, solid things that are still until disturbed, and like a rock or stone, a mage is most often found in a state of stillness that allows them to use their astral form for rigorous practice and study of arcana and the pattern. A mage doesn’t specialize and it is for this reason that they often withdraw from social life because of the considerable amount of arcane knowledge required to achieve the distinction. Mages are always underestimated because they do not generally make flashy displays of their power, and there are some Fonlanders who believe Gray mages to be the weakest users of arcana in the Fonlands, but Gray Magic can be wielded to produce massive amounts of concussive energy. Gray Magic is amassed in great quantities as mages study and practice and is only released as force in times of great duress. The Kammapa of the Disc of Sakpata are a curious case of Gray Magic users because they do not practice magic as a discipline, but they do mature as they consume other matter. The Kammapa absorb knowledge of the sentient things they consume and because they consume any and everything they can get into their mouths, they inevitably consume Fonlanders knowledgeable in arcana and the build up of this knowledge leads to a passive magery that pleases the Vodun Sakpata. The Gray Magic of the magus is known as Passive Magic.
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PURPLE: A necromancer is a manipulator of arcana who wields purple or Death magic. Death Magic harnesses the arcane energy produced by the natural death and decay of organic things. Death Magic naturally occurs where life occurs, and Death Magic is dependent on the presence of Life Magic to exist. Death magic is not just the ability to end life, it is also the ability to manipulate the energies of spirits or souls that often result from the death of sentient beings. Death Magic has a connection to the pattern through its connection to Life Magic, but Death Magic is not generated directly by the pattern as other magics. The Death Witch Coven that originated on the Disc of Jo and was banished to Agê’s Disc are masters of Death Magic who do not wield the magic that is produced by the Fonlands, known as Divine Essence. They only wield Death Magic. They call themselves Death Witches because they wield Death Magic as witches of Agê’s Disc wield Green Magic, from a place of intuition and empathy with the magic. Death Magic manifests as Purple Magic.
As the Master of the Arcana of my home universe, I wield White Magic because my powers are the embodiment of the arcana of my existence, but the aspect, or color of the visual component of my magic, has never been white, not even since I came to the Fonlands. My magic generally manifests as dark blue. My close friend Maria Moreno who is also from my home universe and has taken the moniker Wazad the Transverse, manifests Yellow/Gold magic because the powers of Wazad directly interact with the Pattern, though neither of us had heard it referred to as the Pattern before arriving in the Fonlands. It is by complete chance that Maria’s magic has a Yellow/Gold aspect; not even the first Wazad the Wonderful of our universe had ever made mention of the pattern. My working theory is that wielders of arcana from my home existence can choose the color of their aspect, even if this choice isn’t an explicit one, but for someone like Maria who uses spells written down by the First Wazad, the color of the aspect was chosen by the first wielder. I believe that arcana all around the multiverse would default to the colors of arcana that correspond to the Vodun of the Fonlands if it were not possible for a wielder of arcana to choose the color of their aspect. I have been working to remove my preference for the color of my aspect because even if it isn’t a conscious choice, it is an unnecessary effort expended when I manipulate arcana and magic.
The battle ahead calls for us all to be more than our best, and I am happy to learn more and to be better than I was before. Nothing will slow me in the coming battle, and Une will rue the day that she faces the Master of Multiversal Arcana.
PRL Serials 