I've always been interested to hear people's ideas on this from various settings, and times and such.
How do you think magic works?
Are people born with it, do they learn it, is there anything special about how it has to be done?
Does it need controlling?
Are the rest of society in awe of it, afraid of it, or is it just another thing in life?
Can all mages do all sorts of magic, or only one sort each? Is it confined to a specific sort of people?

I'm intrigued!

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"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" - Oscar Wilde

Oh boy... don't get me started on magic systems. I have very many different ideas of what magic could be. When I have time I will explain it if you want, but at the moment my computer time is limited because my brother wants this particular computer(we have three computers in the house and the only one he wants to get on is the one that I happened to get on this morning.... ugh....)

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

I would absolutely love that!
Magic is something that fascinates me, and I'm always curious to see how other people think of it.

I've always seen it as something that you're born with, and something that most people have no idea they have - it's just something that they've always been able to do.
And a sort of...ability to see the world through different eyes to everybody else.
I see those who can do magic being able to see the connections that make everything up, like the very molecular structuring of life, a bit like seeing everything in slow motion, and so for them - manipulating that is just a sense of taking something apart and putting it together differently, or adjusting the course of what is happening already....

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"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" - Oscar Wilde

This is an interesting topic. Shadowstorm, If your interested I have a topic in this section thats for a rp I want to form. You should see the version of magic classes I have in it.

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Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

*switched computers with her brother so he would stop compaining*

Anyway... These three have somewhat the same thing going on, but not entirely.

Magic System #1:
A mage or magic user has power over three things. You are either born with magic or not. They have pwer over two elements and one Spirit Power. You cannot choose what powers you have or not either. The way to know if you have these powers is if you were born with special marks around the bellybutton that tells what magic they will use. If they aren't born with the three marks, they have a special symbol like a s with a line through it on the back of their hand, and will have to figure out what three powers they have by process of eliminations.

There is always at least one of every Spirit Power magic user. If the last one dies, the power is passed on to another who is just born. You can have elimental powers without the use of a Spirit Power, you'll just have 3 elemental powers.

The elements are Earth Water Fire and Air.
The SPs are Darkness, Light, Lighting, Time, Mind, Spirit, Space, and Sumons.

I even have details as magic strengths and weaknesses and details of what each entails, but I think I'll go to the next.

I started typing the second one down but after the first sentence it didn't make sence to me anymore so a scrapped it. So on to number three!

There are seven pinnacles(or towers with giant magic crystals that hold the essences of the elemental magics), each pinnacle holding a different element. Light, Darkness, Water, Air, Earth, Fire, and Lighting. Everyone has a connection to each of these pinnacles, some are stronger than others. When a person wants to use element magic they pull the essence of the element from the pinnacle into their bodies to manipulate with their will to cast the spell. Distance from pinnacle changes nothing, and you don't even notice you're pulling the magic from somewhere else.
Mages are those who specialize in elemental magic.

Then along with that everything, people, animals, objects, have its own source of energy. Some people can take this energy and manipulate it to their well with great concentraction. Think the Force from Star Wars. This also explains how people can get familiars(or bonded animals). A humanoid's energy and mix and become one with a non-humanoid's energy causing them to become familiars. (like dragon and rider).
People who specialize in this kind of magic is called Wizards.

Then there are two other worlds along with this one. The underworld and the otherworlds. With the help of a wand or staff someone can summon beings from either of these worlds. The wand/staff acts as a bridge between the worlds, as well as a shield so that the being being summoned does not possess the summoner. This magic holds the greatest risk and is the rarest.
People who specialize in this are Warlocks.

And people who specialize in all three are druids.

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Here's one idea.

The House of Miracles.

Every generation, certain children are born with the ability to perform magic. These kids are gathered by a group called the House of Miracles that educate and train them into gesa or magic performers. After seven years of training, they work for the House of Miracles for twenty years. During that time, they essentially live with them like a convent. The House of Miracles form contracts between the gesa and their clients for an abundance of jobs and purposes. After the twenty years have been completed, the gesa can either remain in the House of Miracles as an instructor, form a lifelong contract, or retire and have the ability to perform suppressed.

A gesa takes three basic courses on the three types: elemental, spirit, and body, with the ability to specialise in any of the three.

Elemental magic is then further divided into fire, water, air, and earth, of which the gesa can obtain advanced instruction in two. For example, a gesa could perform more sophisticated and detailed magic with water and air but still have an adept understanding of fire and earth magic.

Spirit magic concerns itself with the emotions of people as well as the nature of magic.

Body magic manipulates the body, its organs, and even to the microscopic level, if one achieves that much.

A forbidden branch of magic exists known as the mental magic. Most knowledge of this field has been suppressed and censored because it was deemed too powerful.

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I was cured all right.

I can't myself but think of Harry Potter where magic is involved.

Therefore, certain children are born with the innate ability to perform magic. There are those that can learn it (squibs), but there would still be magic somewhere in their bloodline.

That is the world of magic I know best

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The waves that C R A S H E D upon
The R O C K S that you were trying to step along

And in my head I heard them play a S O N G