Magic in An Ivory Edge
The temples dotting the land of Tanr are both holy sites and a form of energy conductor. The ancient machinery keeps the internal 'prismatic flame' contained and lit, and forms a point where controlled magical energy weaves out through the land to other temples, creating a web of magical leylines that crisscross Tanr. As though bidden by a living being, the flames in these temples pulse in an organic fashion: a heartbeat. Each pulse saturates the land, the air, and the atmosphere, before dispersing at a certain radius. Excess energy channels into a leyline and travels across the land, eventually hitting an incoming pulse from another temple and creating an interference pulse.
An interference pulse is something like a chiming ripple that leeks into the surrounding land. Unlike temple pulses, these have similar yet different properties. An interference pulse creates a phenomena known as “meadow ring”, wherein surrounding flora sprout at the fading edge and the land itself depresses, forming a shallow ditch. Meadow rings are one of the only places where the rare mockingsun flower has been found, mixed in with the local plantlife, leading one to believe the plant itself is created from the residual energy of the interference pulse. Like draecite, mockingsun glows inwardly to a gentle beat, but unlike draecite, this beat is slightly offkey, bound seemingly to the interference pulse rather than the temple pulse.
Magic itself is Light, Life, and Change. Physically it is both an invisible force that warps reality slightly, as well as a perceivable plasma, similar to fire. It is almost blindingly bright in physical form and flickers through all possible colours, hence its name, 'prismatic flame'. It encourages the growth of life and can change animals and even people in tiny ways. Strange creatures are not uncommon. Inside the temple machines that keep the flames controlled, the raw magic has a tendency to condense into a liquid state and coat the ancient machinery in liquid drops of sparkling prismatic light. This is held in a reservoir array before it evaporates. Liquid light is possibly the most powerful state of being for this energy, capable of warping both organic and inorganic to frightening degrees if a poor soul is caught in a reservoir overflow.
Some individuals are keen the art of musicmancy. Magic itself has its own tempo, its own beat, and can be manipulated by mortal minds with enough practice. Magic spells are written in the form of songs, some complex, others simple, and fall into the user's proficiency with voice or instrument to master this craft of subtle manipulation. A skilled musicmancer can sing life into lifeless objects and create servitors, for example. Or softly whisper fire into being, water from the ground, broken into unbroken.
Civilizations gather around temple points, drawn by the magic therein. Individuals become so used to the heartbeat of magic that they don't notice it anymore, but their every step, every word, every action down to the most tiniest movements of blood cells in their bodies, fall into step with the pulse.
