MAGIC
Celestial power within the Spectrum of Existence manifests in two primary forms: viralic and spectralic magic. These forces are often perceived as opposites, akin to light and dark. However, the truth is more nuanced.
Please Note: The Spectrum of Existence or Spectrum mentioned here includes everything on all planes of existence, including the mortal, the non-physical such as ghosts, the spiritual, the angelic, etc. Tartaros is its opposite; it is the absence of existence and often referred to as the Darkness or less often as, Oblivion.
Viralic Magic – origin
While viralic magic is wielded by those serving Tartaros, it is still a force inside the Spectrum and not something from outside as many once thought. While imperial scholars had long debated whether this was a contradiction, it is generally accepted that when the essence of Tartaros breached the Spectrum, it used the fabric of existence against itself to produce what became known as viralic magic. After all, Tartaros is sometimes called oblivion. It is a nothingness, or more accurately, non-existence. It could not create nothing from nothing, and so on contact with existence, it used what it found to form its own magic, just as it used it to form the first shraeds, etc. That still meant getting something from nothing, which has confounded scholars for centuries. The only answer anyone can give, is that it happened.
The Watchers
One of the first attacks by Tartaros on the Spectrum were against angels of the Sentinel rank. These lower ranked angels patrolled the border of the Spectrum, watching for signs of activity and to give advance warning in case of attack. Transforming these angels into a more primal form, they became what we now call dragons—also known as the Watchers. Adal and the Seraphim Council tried to hunt down each of these draconic beings, to destroy them and offer those tortured angelic souls a true and final death, but it proved impossible to locate them all.
As fate would have it, when Rasnal Nalrost created his spell, the Watchers had already been hiding on the mortal plane. Those the Seraphim Council did not find and destroy, used the plagues to invade the souls of the viral undead, thus evading justice. Adal came close to destroying the undead as a result, but in the end held back. It has been suggested that he foresaw that these virals might prove important in the eternal war against the Darkness. It was through these draconic souls that the undead were then able to access viralic magic. Adal knew what had become of the remaining Watchers, but for a long time kept that knowledge from the Seraphim Council.
The vast majority of virals, such as Threadfin Todder, were born with innate viralic magic that manifested in a draconic form; they did not choose it. However, there were some such as the vampires, who had succumbed to the influence of Tartaros so thoroughly that the distinction is often considered moot by most scholars.
Others, such as the Fallen Ones (read more about them in Angels in the archive), often chose to serve Tartaros willingly. These angelic beings would retain their spectralic magic while also being transformed by the viralic sort. A good example of this was Canaan Pen Luthus, otherwise known as Drayl. Once an angel, he joined the ranks of the Fallen before later committing himself to Tartaros. While he still had access to spectralic power, he could use viralic magic to transform his physical form, turning him into a chimera. Other examples include the harpies and titans.
The Plagues
The plagues began as a result of Rasnal Nalrost’s spell. He attempted to create an army of undead who would ravage the world, and all mirror worlds connected to it, in order to conquer them and to grow more powerful. However, events did not go as planned and Astra Dar interfered in an attempt to stop him. In the end, the virals were still created, but the plagues were spread out over roughly a thousand year period before they began to wane. This meant that not all virals were born at once. In fact, Threadfin Todder wouldn’t be born until a millennium after the plagues began.
Astra Dar’s intervention resulted in her death and that of her son, Ralan. The most important result, however, was that though the virals were still created, they did not turn out as Nalrost had intended. They proved to be like everyone else, with the exception of vampires, ghouls and several other types, as in they were relatively normal, except for being undead of course.
All virals, including those such as Threadfin Todder and Aiyana Todralan, were born of the plagues. Infected mothers, would birth the undead, and in all cases perish as a result. The plagues themselves were first spread by the bite of ghouls, and the subsequent illness was known as ghoul phage. However, once the plagues took hold, ghouls were no longer needed to spread the phage, and it is believed by some imperial scholars that it may have lain dormant within the human population between plague outbreaks.
It is worth mentioning that Nalrost had used spectralic power to create an undead horde. However, that horde had never been intended to possess magic in the first place. He would never have wanted an army that could turn or be turned against him. Had the Watchers not taken refuge in the souls of virals, they would never have possessed viralic magic, and therefore would never have become known as virals in the first place.
Spectralic Magic
This form of power was once only a power accessible to angels. Beings of light in their true forms, they were birthed with spectralic magic as part of their souls. In fact it would be impossible to separate one from the other. In a way, angels are a conscious form of magic, or more correctly, a conscious form of the Spectrum. They used it as easily as humans breathed air, or the undead picked at maggots.
When the first angels noticed mortals and began to walk among them, one named Adal is said to have noticed human potential. Though not verifiable, and spoken of only in mythical terms, it is suggested that he noted humans had the ability to touch the Spectrum itself, and perhaps gain spectralic magic. It followed then that it would only be a matter of time until the first mortal was taught how to gain and use such power. It is believed he decided it would be better to teach and guide humans, rather than leaving them to figure it out alone. Whether this was eventually done by Adal or another is unknown, and who that first mage was also remains unknown. There are no references in any text in any imperial library with such information, and even the myths and legends remain silent on the subject. What is known, is that by the first Nephilim/human wars, in 6452BI, spectral mages existed and had been around for some time.
What ancient records also point to, was a fateful decision by Volcanus, the first angel, to gift a powerful spectral mage known as Rasnal Nalrost, who was born in 127BI, with the fabled Shathra Stone. By this time, angels had not walked among mortals for thousands of years, and were consigned to myth and legend. However, Nalrost had used his spectralic magic to touch the Spectrum, and he came into contact with the most ancient angel of all.
When Volcanus realised his mistake, he took the Stone back from Nalrost and gave it to the angelic children, who by now inhabited the land of Raddhon on the southern continent of Eladaldor, and were by now known as the Nephilim. They were instructed to keep it safe, for by then, the celestial war with Tartaros had already begun to go badly. There was no where safe among angelic kind for the Shathra Stone.
In so doing, Volcanus set in motion a terrible series of events, leading to the creation of the undead and the deaths of millions on that world. Though he tried to rectify it, it proved much too late.
Magical Objects
Oblivion Chains were used by the Fallen for the most part. These were chains formed with viralic magic. Viciously barbed, they didn’t just bind the physical body, but the barbs also penetrated the soul to bind the victim’s magic. Threadfin Todder, when bound with these chains, found he could not access his power. However, in Todder’s case, the chains eventually failed. All viralic magic in the undead was linked to the Watchers, and therefore the chains did not fully bind him as the Watcher did not reside completely in Threadfin’s soul, but was bound to another plane of existence. It is also the only known failure of these chains.
Soul Shards were weapons were created by the angels in their fight to hold off the minions of Tartaros. Designed to absorb the souls of shraeds, they were many forms, which included spears and swords. It is likely that humans learned to create swords and spears from the first angels walking among them. It followed then, that eventually mortal versions of the soul shards would be created as Tartaros began to infiltrate the mortal plane.
The shards also became useful in defeating and consuming the souls of wights, otherwise known as the angel dead. Wights were angels who had not suffered a true death, but had also not become dragons or some other form of viralic nightmare. Instead, they had suffered a sort of half death, their angelic souls persisting while their consciousness was taken over by Tartaros.
As time passed, it was discovered that angels could imbue the shards with their own essence. This gave the shards greater power, though it also weakened the angels in question. It was a trade-off that not all agreed with, but it did create some powerful shards. In rare instances, some angels sacrificed themselves and gave up their entire souls to a shard. These weapons were the most prized as they proved the most deadly against the Darkness, but the nature of this sacrifice meant they were also few in number.
The Crystal Sword was the first soul shard ever created. Volcanus, its maker, used it to cut away pieces of the Spectrum itself in the desire for greater power and knowledge. In so doing, he began the war for existence. Eventually, he hid it from his brother, Wormwood, who sought it for hundreds of millennia, and it became lost to legend.
A Soul Splice was a notable type of soul shard; this type was also extremely rare as the making of it was difficult. It was designed to not just absorb a soul, but to separate a mortal soul from its angelic host. There was only one known splice in fact, which was used against Andromeda. The Fallen One had used a mortal intermediary to utilize the Shathra Stone without paying its price. The splice was able to separate the mortal soul from Andromeda’s possession. Unfortunately, it failed in keeping the mortal alive; as mentioned, its fabrication was very difficult to get right. There are no other known uses of this type of shard.
Book of Chains
This legendary book is said to have been written by the Grim. It is held sacred by the zorasts, a religious cult who worship the Grim. It is said to be bound by otherworldly chains and to contain the souls of the dead. The zorast faith use it in secret, and are the only ones to know of its whereabouts. They claim it predicts the return of the Grim and his reclaiming of the world.
Blending of Magics.
There have been a few notable instances where both forms of magic were blended to create a corrosive and highly destructive form of power. The blending proved possible, or so it is theorized, because both magics were essentially of the Spectrum, even if viralic magic was corrupted. Remember that Tartaros needed to use the fabric of the Spectrum itself to create viralic magic. However, despite this, combining them often proved to be a deadly act with unpredictable outcomes.
Final note
It must be said that despite such references by scholars, neither viralic nor spectralic magic can be considered good or evil. Both are forces of existence, albeit one of them heavily influenced by Tartaros. Yet the use of viralic magic by Threadfin Todder and others to save lives and fight Tartaros, proves this form of magic was not evil.
Similarly, the use of spectralic magic by Canaan Pen Luthus, Andromeda, and other Fallen, also shows that this type was not primarily a force for good. It seems that what the wielder did with such power was what ultimately decided if the magic used was for good or evil.