Sorcery
Sorcery is the name given to the telekinetic abilities that come natural to every type of spirit in the world of Inglenook. Every spirit from divine angels and demons to more mundane souls and the ghosts thereof has these abilities and, with the right practice and education, can learn to control them to perform more and more intricate feats.
Due to its wide variety of uses, sorcery has maintained importance to the culture of Inglenook for as long as anyone can remember - though not always as a positive or beneficial activity, as the Enlightenment proved.
Introduction To Sorcery
To understand sorcery, one must first understand the anatomy of the spirit. Every spirit contains a core called the animus, wrapped in a shell called the aura. The animus stores data and information from all the emotions and memories collected over the spirit’s life and derives from these a type of energy called anima, which can be used as fuel for a spirit’s telekinetic abilities.
Beyond this, the universe operates with roughly the same laws of physics as the “real world”. Anything done using sorcery must reasonably obey either real or realistic enough scientific laws and theories; for instance, the laws of thermodynamics and the conservation of mass. A sorcerer cannot simply create a loaf of bread from nothing, although they might be able to summon it from elsewhere or, if they’re trained in transmutation spells, they can convert something into a loaf of bread of roughly the same mass and volume. A sorcerer cannot easily transform a person into a frog or a cockroach, as the two organisms are too different and too complex and of different masses. A sorcerer cannot make vines come alive and gain sentience, as said vines don’t have the biology to sustain neural functions or physical movement.
The sole exception to these rules is the involvement of divine spirits, who contain such power that they can more or less break the rules and do things commonly thought impossible, or at least extremely difficult. However, there is a risk in communing with divine spirits that usually outweighs the benefits. In addition, most divination spells are illegal and restricted in most of modern day Inglenook so as to keep that kind of power out of the hands of the general populace.
Using Sorcery
So what can a sorcerer do, if not the impossible feats of a common fictional witch or wizard? The core concept of sorcery is that it allows the sorcerer to telekinetically manipulate matter from a distance, right down to the particles, atoms, and molecules (assuming the sorcerer is skilled and fine-tuned enough). At the beginner level, sorcery manifests in traditionally telekinetic ways, such as being able to float or throw objects around, crush things from afar, and generally flashy or brute force actions. At more advanced levels, sorcerers can begin to flesh out and fine-tune their abilities to perform a wide array of feats.
In order to use sorcery, the sorcerer must often recite a spell. Spells are words or sets of words used to send out a single, predetermined burst of energy and force in order to perform an act of sorcery. Without the use of spells, a sorcerer's telekinetic abilities will be rough, basic, and unfocused; spells help a sorcerer visualize and focus their intent by creating automatic mental images based on the associations a sorcerer has with those particular words.
In addition, there are some spells that require the use of a ritual circle, preferably drawn within a besom-cleansed space. Ritual circles can be anything from a simple circle to more complex and layered geometric designs and are meant primarily for the gathering and focusing of energy within the confined space of the circle itself.
The practice of sorcery is categorised into spell classes and sorcerous practices. Spell classes are simply a way of categorising spells according to their general function or purpose, while a sorcerous practice is the way a particular sorcerer chooses to live their life and exhibit their abilities, as well as what spells they choose to learn.
Sorcerous Fuel
All spells and rituals require anima, a spiritual fuel produced within the soul itself. Most spells require different amounts of anima, and even the same spell used in different ways will require different amounts of anima. Think of it like lifting a series of boxes: a small box will require less effort to lift, while a larger version of the same box will require more and more effort to lift. The amount of anima put into a spell can alter but not change its final effect. As such, the caster's anima pool will gradually drain with every spell they use; if drained too far, the sorcerer will be left mentally and physically exhausted, or risk developing the degenerative disease animortia.
While casting more and more spells drains anima, anima regenerates naturally over time and with rest and sleep. This can be encouraged and quickened through stimming, in which the sorcerer in some activity that helps relax the sorcerer and make them feel better. This will engage their animus and cause it to produce more anima, filling up their anima pool once again. In addition, a sorcerer can absorb energy from a charged crystal to quickly restore their anima - or decide to transfer some of their energy into a crystal in order to charge it up and use it like a sorcerous battery later on. These crystals also assist in the performance of soulless sorcery, in which a soulless person uses the energy from a charged crystal to cast spells.