Building a magic system on threat of destruction

Jack wasn't well-versed in mathematics, physics, or space. He knew the basics of course, but it was clear the bore-bots wanted more information than he could give. Asking about the specifications for a spaceship was way out of Jack's wheelhouse, but he promised to share as much as he could remember on paper later.

By the time the questions ran out, Jack felt impressed at the depth of the questions asked by the bore-bots. He could feel the depths of their knowledge in their lines of inquiry, asking things that required leaps of logic and understanding. Jeler was completely lost for most of the dialogue, his questions had stopped around the time Jack had finished his explanation of a spherical planet where he used to live. That piece of information had surprised the group, to them gravity worked rather differently, no math required. They simply got to stand on the surface of Drowl because Deis made it so.

Jack had tried to look up at the rest of the world in between moments of testing a dialogue, but it was still absurd to picture himself inside a giant ball of rock. The only thing that seemed to help him was imagining himself on a ring from Halo or something similar. Telling himself that there was some ultra-powerful alien god who made it all work wasn't as reassuring as attaching the world to a video game franchise he had loved when he was younger.

At the conclusion of Jack's explanation, Glimm addressed the group. "Well, we got a bit off-topic there. Sorry about that, Jeler." The cat man nodded, still looking a bit bewildered. Glimm continued, "Well I think we both have a clearer understanding of where each other is coming from now. Can everyone agree to that?" The group all nodded. "Alright then, Jack we've asked you quite a few questions, why don't you ask us some things? That was the point of this get-together after all."

"Well now I feel like I have more questions than ever," Jack chuckled. "Can we start with magic? That's something that's both alien to my world while also relating to the development of the system."

Dirge nodded their head before speaking. "Well, I can tell you about that. Magic basically breaks down into three component parts, voice, body, and mana. You need to speak what you want into existence, use your body to move or shape it, and use mana to fuel it. More complicated spells and rituals require longer recitations, more movements, and more mana, or just some combination of those things. I've cast spells that took hours of speaking and moving to only use the barest hint of mana in my body."

Jack was following so far, that pretty much lined up with what he expected and had experienced. "Is it possible to exaggerate some aspects of a spell to have it produce additional effects? In our test earlier with the [Appraisal] skill someone was able to supercharge the spell in some way."

"Yes, by strengthening one aspect of the spell a person is trying to cast they can make it stronger, or alter the spells effect to some extent. The most common method is dumping more mana in, pump a fireball full of more fuel and it gets bigger. Changing your recitation can alter the basic components of the spell or alter some small part of it. Saying something like 'cube of water' instead of 'ball of water' will change the shape. This lets you alter color, shape, size, or other small bits. The body aspect is also pretty fluid, usually a caster has to move their body in certain ways to help the flow of mana along a certain path. Bringing your hands together and swirling them around each other guide the mana towards your hands and gets it ready to be formed. But if you instead bring your hands apart you spread the mana out further, creating a larger range that will be less dense. Does that all make sense?"

It was a lot of information, but Jack thought he understood the basic lesson. Each aspect of casting a spell had its own purpose, doing it by the book formed the spell the normal way, but changing any of the component parts altered the spell in a variety of ways. You could create your own custom spells by changing some words and gestures. "Is magic hard to learn?" Jack asked.

Reph replied this time. "It can be. For some, magic is rather intuitive and responsive. Some people just have a knack for feeling out the steps to casting spells and let themselves be guided." he gestured to Reph as he said this, the steam bore-bot smiling slightly. "For others, it requires memorization and practice, hours of study words, checking movements, and measuring mana." He gestured to Glimm as he said that. "Then you have people who just have to learn it by themselves. Trial and error over years to learn and grow on your own, finding things that work and hoping you don't explode." He laid a hand on his own chest as he said it.

Jeler hopped into the conversation at this point. "I don't know any complicated magic. I don't have the mana pool for big flashy spells, so it's never something I really considered an option."

Reph nodded, "Bore-bots are more likely to become mages. We can install additional mana tanks or mana recovery devices in our bodies which allows us to learn spellcasting freely. There are ways for the other races to increase their natural mana reserves, but it can get...complicated."

"So where does mana come from? Where do people store it?" Jack asked.

Glimm took over the conversation. "Well, it supposedly comes from the High Deity. Mana is in all things, our bodies and our minds. Everything around us is a gift from the High Deity, and we are to shape it according to our desires. That's what the scriptures say anyway."

Scriptures? Jack made a mental note to get his hands on the High Deity bible. "I'd love to get some ideas for system-related magic at some point if you don't mind. But I don't want us to get into another long tangent just yet."

The group agreed to give input before Jack continued. Deciding to try his luck, he led the conversation towards something he still wanted answers about. "So I've met quite a few races so far. Bore-bots, animalus, draconids, bigguns, humans, and demons. Are there more I should be made aware of?"

The four others shook their heads, Jeler speaking up. "Nope. The six races are the only people of Drowl. Though I guess it was five before the creation of the bore-bots."

Reph shrugged. "Our kind has been around so long that most people feel as though we were always intended to be included. The High Deity accepted us readily after all."

Jack thought for a moment about whether he should bring up the ducol status sheet he had seen. They didn't seem to know about it, but the bore-bots were very learned. Maybe they had read something about it? "Have you ever heard of a ducol before?" Jack asked.

The bore-bots frowned, looking to each other in puzzlement. Seeing no recognition on his partners faces, Reph shook his head. "No, I've never heard of that. What is it?"

Jack backtracked slightly, not wanting to lay all his cards on the table. He was already likely to be yelled at by Deis for revealing his human origin (assuming the god found out) but investigating something that could resist the god? Jack feared that would be grounds for soul-crushing. "It's nothing. I must have misheard someone talking about something else."

Jeler narrowed his eyes slightly but no one pressed him on the issue. Jack diverted the conversation back to the different races and their characteristics. In fantasy settings, various races were often predisposed toward certain roles and skills. That seemed to be the case for Drowl as well.

Bigguns were big and tough, but also deeply religious. They lived on mountaintops on purpose in order to be closer to Deis. Their natural fortitude meant that they could live in the harsher climates easier than many races and there were apparently several large cities scattered through mountain ranges across the world.

Humans were a diverse people that could live in most climates, they had huge sprawling empires scattered across the world. The compound that Jack was living in right now was in the corner of one of the human kingdoms.

The demons claimed territory near deserts and volcanoes. They preferred hot climates and had two large empires on opposite sides of the world. Many demons were outspoken and passionate people. Of the ones Jack had really met that seemed to be the case. Riniox, Lexen, and Plexion all seemed very open with their desires.

The animalus tended to live in nomadic tribes. Not all of them of course, they were scattered throughout the world, but a great many of them travelled in large groups from place to place. The race was apparently so diverse that it was common for half a traveling group to be compatible with a climate while the other half wasn't, so the two would split up and go their separate ways. It was a romanticized lifestyle that held some strange appeal to Jack, wandering the world sounded fun honestly.

Draconids didn't have a formal kingdom or social structure. They existed in every culture and society in the world, integrating themselves easily into any society that would allow them. They had no capital or home country, seeming to travel to random places and setting down roots for a few years before going somewhere else. They were often powerful warriors or merchants, getting jobs as guards or offering their expertise to local businesses.

Bore-bots had one kingdom, the lowest point in the world. Set in a grand basin, the bore-bot capital exists as a remnant to their past as diggers. They are highly wary of many of the other races, only allowing a few into their cities at a time. Not many choose to leave and go explore the world, fearing that they might become injured with no one knowing how to help repair them.

It painted quite the picture for Jack as the bore-bots and Jeler talked about the people and places of Drowl. The world seemed alive, full of sights and people that Jack wanted to see and experience. The grand mountain ranges, the deep ravines, holes on the boundary, and even the red ocean. The master builders of the bore-bots, the high priests of the bigguns, the exotic merchant draconids. Jack suddenly felt a yearning for the faraway places.

"Can I go see all those things?" Jack asked hopefully. "It would help me learn more about the world, right?"

The bore-bots shared a look before shaking their heads. "No, you probably can't. The bore-bot high council would likely hunt you down and lock you up." Dirge said sadly. "Having a triple internal type running around as the holy messenger of the High Deity would be problematic. We believe that you are safest here, protected by both the Battered Bracers, but also by the announcement the High Deity made to Drowl. Everyone knows you're here, which means no one can easily take you away from here."

Jack felt disappointment but understood that Dirge's words were coming from a place of concern. They felt like this was the best course of action to protect Jack. The problem was that he didn't feel like he was in any danger. He had successfully stalled Deis from destroying him and had even found skills to help him resist the god's power. He didn't really know why anyone else would try to hurt him. Was being a triple whatever really such a problem? "Well, how am I supposed to learn more about the world and people I'm helping if I'm stuck here?" Jack said frustratedly.

Reph looked surprised at the words. "The king and queen of this kingdom are coming in two days to meet you. You didn't know?"