Magic

In essence, the magic force that exists can be described as a form of psychokinesis/telekinesis. Magic energy is channeled by mages to manipulate physical objects to their whim, allowing them to perform things that no regular human could. For the Combat mage, this means being able to launch and deflect projectiles for use in battle, and to move around with great speed by “pushing” oneself.

Magic energy comes from another realm, the Arcane, which is channeled by the mage to perform their magic. The act of performing magic in itself does not take any energy, but the channeling does, and the more magic that is channeled the more energy is needed to control it. It’s not unheard of that mages collapse due to exhaustion after overuse of their power.

How it works
Magic skill is determined by two things. The first is the mage’s connection with the Arcane. The stronger the connection, the more magic energy can be channeled from the Arcane at any given time, and the more powerful the mage will be. This connection with the Arcane is something you are born with, and is the reason why only a few people (~9% of the population) are eligible to become mages; their connection is strong enough to actually allow proper use of magic. It should however be noted that almost all humans have a connection to the Arcane, the exception being Nulls. The second is the mages efficiency at channeling magic. Efficiency in this case means the amount of magic energy that a mage can channel with a set amount of his or her own energy. This is a skill that can be learned through hard work and training, and is not determined by birth. Both of these are important to determine the skill of a mage, though it should be noted that a strong connection to the Arcane is needed in the first place. In short, a mage with a strong connection but poor efficiency can perform powerful magic, but it would quickly exhaust them. On the other hand, if a mage has a weak connection but has learned proper efficiency, they could still perform acceptable magic without too much effort. Of course, the greatest mages are those with both a strong connection and excellent efficiency.

The Arcane
The Arcane, and thus magic, has been known for most of human history. Despite this, it has remained a mystery. Only two things is known about it: it contains the energy which mages channel into magic, and it appears to be the home of the entities known as Demons. Anything else is up to debate, as the Arcane cannot be observed with current means.

Mages
A mage is a person who has a stronger connection to the Arcane than the general populace. This seems like a fuzzy definition of what exactly a mage is, but a quirk with the Arcane sees people being born either “below” or “above” a threshold, where the strength of the connection jumps from low to high. It is speculated that when a baby is created, and thus its connection, the connection will grow with the fetus. Eventually, the growth will stop with little progress and you will remain a regular person, or the connection “gives in” to the magic energy in the Arcane and rapidly expands due to it. The latter would be classified as a mage, and constitutes approximately 9% of the populace.

Even though a child may have a strong connection, they will not immediately have access to their power. The connection usually “opens up” around puberty, but it’s not uncommon for very young children to gain their power early (with unpredictable results), and not unheard of that it’s discovered first in adulthood. An example of the latter is crown prince Henrik, whose power manifests shortly after his 23rd birthday.

Mages can be employed for many things, and the following are examples of some occupations.

Combat Mage
By far the most common occupation for a mage is at the frontlines. Thanks to their ability, they are capable of inflicting serious damage to enemy forces. The usual combat mage is trained with protection and mobility in mind. Instead of a rifle, they are usually seen fighting with swords and handguns, as they are easier to carry and move with. Combat mage strategy heavily involves the mages magic. The most commonly used tactics are to protect themselves by deflecting bullets (or even stopping them mid-air, if you can), attacking by magically throwing metal “bolts”, and moving around using their magic in a way where they literally fling themselves at the enemy (usually called a “leap”).

Magesmith
A mage employed as a blacksmith is called a Magesmith, and uses the same concepts in the manipulation of metal. The big difference however is that instead of hammers, the magesmith uses their magic to craft their works, allowing somewhat faster and much more accurate sculpting of hot metal. With a special technique, involving manipulation at a microscopic level, a magesmith can produce a special alloy of steel called Arcano steel. It is the strongest known type of steel, and usually takes a long time to create. Arcano steel is known to react with the use of magic, allowing easier magic manipulation of Arcano steel than most other materials, and the easiest by far of all (solid) metals. Arcano steel is used to create the bolt projectiles and swords used by combat mages. Because of the time-consuming creation process, and the small amount of magesmiths, Arcano steel is very expensive.

Magedoctor
A magedoctor is fairly straightforward, using their magic power to perform medical duties. They are most commonly employed as surgeons, as their magic allows a steadier and more precise movement with medical equipment like scalpels.

Entertainers
More common in the western parts of Magni, mages can make their living off of the arts, using their magic to perform breathtaking displays or to create beautiful art that no regular person could create. In the east, a mage in the entertaining business are considered a waste of a powerful mage, and are usually pressured into a more “useful” occupation.

Familiars
A familiar is an animal that has formed a special bond with a mage. They will become loyal only to the mage they are connected to, even if the animal is usually hostile or neutral towards humans, and can be very useful. They are, for example, able to communicate to some extent, providing an additional set of eyes and ears for the mage. A familiar is usually some sort of bird (most commonly owls and crows), but can also manifest as cats, dogs, or even larger animals like a horse. Rarer types of familiars manifest as Hawks or Ravens, the latter is well respected for their intelligence and relative strength. Balthasar has a familiar connection with a raven, whom he calls Erebus.

A familiar is not something you can choose to have, and cannot be “gained”. It will simply happen one day that an animal will start following you and help you. In general, familiars are very rare, and any mage with a familiar is highly sought after.

It is possible, though extremely rare, for a non-mage to bond with a familiar. While the animal will stay loyal to the bonded person, it is not able to communicate with him or her. It seems that such an ability requires you to be a mage.

It is later found that familiars form their bonds on a soul level. An example of this is how Erebus still recognises Balthasar after the latter's death and revival.