Magic
On
Arcania magic exist as just another set of laws of physics. It's a
field, called the Aether field, that exists alongside for example the
gravitational field or the electromagnetic field.
When
you lit a flame, energy has to come from somewhere. In a wood fire,
the wood provide the fuel. When a mage weave a fire magic, the energy
for the fire is drawn from the Aether field.
Weaving
magic deplete energy from the Aether field. Evolution gave creatures
on Arcania means to make use of it. The humans calls them the Magic
Channels.
Entropy
is what fill the Aether field with energy. Entropy has many
definitions, but can be thought as a unit of measure for disorder. A
cold gas has the lowest possible energy state, and is fully
disordered. A living creature is the opposite. An highly ordered
arrangements of molecules at a very specific temperature.
In
our universe, when energy is expended, some of it is wasted
(converted in waste heat) the rest is converted in another form,
doing it's intended work.
Think
about a car's engine. Some of the fuel propel the car forward, but
the rest of it is wasted in heating the engine up. We don't care
about that heat, but it cannot be avoided. That's just how our
universe work.
The
most absolute law of physics, the Law of Conservation of Energy,
state that energy cannot be destroyed, nor created. It can only be
transformed. And there is a preferred direction. The universe want to
go to a state of increasingly higher disorder, until eventually there
is nothing but cold thin gas. The heat death of the universe.
On
Arcania there is another set of law of physics that link entropy,
energy and the aether field together into the phenomenon known as
Magic.
In
short, when work is done to increase entropy, some of the waste will
not go into heat, but will fill the aether field. And the metabolism
of a living creature is a prime mechanism for that.
Aether
Ecosystem
As
consequence, Magic can only exists where there is life. The more
life, the more complex life is, the more the energy inside the aether
field, and the greater the magic that can weaved will be.
An
aether ecosystem arise from life, just like there is an ecosystem
based on food.
There
are Aether producers. Algae, bacteria, plants, lesser animals. They
have metabolism but don't use magic themselves. They constantly fill
the aether field with energy.
Then
the are Aether users. Like a mage weaving a magic, or bears that
strengthen their muscles.
If
the users become too many, the Aether field becomes depleted, and
magic can't be cast. The users loses their advantage, and their
numbers dwindle, until a point in which users and producers balance
each others.
