World Building - Mages

Mages and humans are not separate species, but Magehood is something which one is born with and not learned. However, for ease this outline will use the term human to refer to non-Mages. A coupling between two Mages will almost always produce another Mage, but will occasionally result in a human. The descendants of these humans of Mage ancestry may be born Mages, but humans with no Mage blood at all will not be born Mages.

All humans possess a soul, but only a Mage's soul will produce magic; this is where the Mage born humans come from. They either possess the physical differences and not a soul that generates Mage, or the reverse. Either way there is no natural way to become a Mage if one is not at birth, although if two Mage born humans of differing types work together there have been cases of successfully using magic between them. Artificial attempts have been made to create Mages, either through planting a soul into a suitable body or altering the body so the soul can be of use, but in the past few were successful and even then rarely for long.

Physical Differences.

Mages feature a number of universally shared physical differences compared to humans. Their hearts are all slightly larger than a human heart and possess four extra chambers. A number of unusual nerves form a cluster around the heart, then branch out to the rest of the body. These nerves carry magic throughout the body to support it and cause the physical power Mages possess. The number of the nerves is much higher in a Mage's hands, allowing spell casting using hand signs. Some Mages have nerves in the hands or the rest of the body in drastically unequal amounts, cementing them into spell casting or physical roles. The nerves are actually made from a gold like substance called Philosopher's Fortune. When a Mage dies or is decisively defeated, some or all of the metal gathers and forms into money by transmuting into whatever form of currency the victor uses. Thus the only way to get pure Philosopher's Fortune is to remove it from a live Mage who is still capable of fighting, or from one that has died of natural causes. As a Mage grows in strength the amount of Philosopher's Fortune in their body increases, eventually transforming internal organs into Philosopher's Fortune. When a Mage's blood runs gold, they are considered to be an ArchMage and have reached the limit of their development.

All Mages also have contextually exceptionally fast metabolisms. The more full their stomach and the more they need the affect, the faster they digest and utilize the energy in food. This allows them to use normal foodstuffs as medical items, the average Mage able to devour their own weight in food and perform months worth of healing immediately afterwards. However, as this is natural healing it cannot overcome cursed wounds or fix injuries beyond the human capacity to heal, such as organ failure or lost limbs.

Although all Mages have those traits, they often have unique abnormalities that are sometimes a reflection of their type of magic. Unusual hair, eye or skin colours or hair that enters into impossible styles are more common but others such as fangs, claws, horns etc occur. These do not imply a stronger or weaker Mage, merely one with a body more susceptible to change. Having such traits selectively bred is what created 'Human Type Monsters' such as elves, centaurs, dwarves, giants, mermaids, vampires etc.

Psychological Differences:

Although less pronounced in the modern age due to increased interbreeding with humans, there remains an innate difference between human and Mage thinking. To put it in simple terms the humans of this world are like herd animals, preferring to reach unanimous decisions and granting power to individuals through consenting to authority over them e.g. electing leaders but holding them responsible to the public. Mages on the other hand are more like pack animals, each one with an powerful sense of ambition where they all instinctively desire to be the 'alpha' and one of the few reliable ways to keep them in line is through having a particularly strong leader. The strength of their fixation with power is enough that it can confuse many ideas and instincts, causing Mages to often feel respect, attraction or affection for an individual they logically should hate.

In a lot of ways, Mages are more primitive than humans. They are territorial and preoccupied with power, with few being capable of overcoming their own ambitions to work together with others as equals. They are more egocentric than humans, but not necessarily arrogant. They just have trouble considering points of view other than their own unless forced to through superior force. Because of this Mages are typically very opinionated.

Compared to humans, almost all Mages seem quite eccentric with unusual ways of thinking. Whilst humans are often wary of standing out, Mages are more likely to want to attract attention to themselves. Certain traits of their personalities are often exaggerated, but not always in obviously attention seeking ways (a good example would be a Mage that is so shy they cover their face and therefore have people interested in what they look like).

Although these qualities are lessened when compared to the Mages of the past, they are often very apparent in the most successful Mages. Currently it is unknown if the traits are manifested as Mages grow in power and achievements or if as they accumulate strength because they possess such traits. Either way, it is a serious concern as to if humans and Mages can ever peacefully co-exist as equals.

All Mages experience pleasure from conflict. It is a fundamental part of themselves that cannot be overcome. However, this pleasure only occurs during the actual combat, and lingering a short time after, including a huge burst upon victory. A Mage can morally choose to be a pacifist or object to a particular battle, but when engaged they will still feel it. It's not unheard of for some Mages to become addicted to fighting, and some Mages that are gentle and kind outside of fights become wild and needlessly violent when excited by battle. Many struggle with this side of themselves, as it causes a subconscious association between violence and pleasure, especially with winning. In other words, encouraging picking on the weak.

Powers and Abilities:

Magic is an inexplicable force that Mages can manipulate to near endless effect. However, for a single individual to be capable of more than a handful of types of magic is exceptionally rare and only five individuals in all of history had the potential to learn any type. All Mages possess the ability to summon creatures and spirits that have pledged allegiance, through loyalty or intimidation, by using magic power to manifest them.

Mages are all born to a certain class of magic, decided with no input from themselves. Magic is not necessarily spell casting, but simply any effect which violates the natural laws of physics. As Mages level up they all gain superhuman physical abilities, but to what degree is massively diverse. Therefore a swordsman who uses magic to be superhumanly skilled with a blade is just as magical as a Mage that throws fireballs.

It is uncommon and difficult for a Mage to learn to operate outside of their original class, but far from impossible. Almost all of the most powerful or talented Mages succeed in one way or another, either to cover their weaknesses or amplify their original speciality. Some may cross-class unintentionally, sometimes through ignorance of what their original class actually is or does. Those who cross-class are capable of making use of the capabilities of their new class, but not in exactly the same manner as if it was their natural class. It is always somehow connected to their true nature. For example, if a Mage was originally a Pyromancer (a spell caster focused on using fire) and successfully cross-classed as a Knight, the Knight abilities they learned would naturally be inclined towards the use of fire, and they would gain a class title such as Fire Knight. To fully separate and still use two classes at once is exceedingly rare, but again not impossible and is a sign of a Mage of supreme talent. The step above that is to use processes from one class and apply them in another without mingling at all. Additionally, it is not unheard of for very skilled Mages to cross-class several times, each new class influenced by the original.

Though the maximum level they can reach varies wildly from Mage to Mage, even those considered average compared to others are vastly stronger than humans. It would take a mere handful of fully realised Mages, counting their summons, to conquer an entire modern country and keep it under their control by force.