THE MAGIC OF ERDE

Magic, in any world, should just be there. It certainly doesn't need a long discussion of the technicalities of how or why it works or even if it works. The people existing in a world should view magic much as you yourself might view it. There will be some people that are mystified by it, some that consider it all ridiculous, some who are interested in figuring it out, some that could care less about it one way or another, some who believe it's against God and nature, some that believe it's Nature at her best, some who would destroy those who practice it, some who make a religion of it. In other words, magic in a story should be just like people's opinions of magic here on Earth. That's how I see it.

Magic could range from the ultra fantastic, like two magicians throwing fireballs at each other, to the natural magical experience of two people falling in love or the birth of a child. That's not magic you say? Ask two young parents who've just witnessed their first child being born. What we call magic is individual to each of us. I have tried to make this true for the peoples of Erde, as I've found it to be true for myself. If you must have fireballs, concentrate on the experience of them rather than the explanation of how they work. It's the experience of something that makes it real to us.

So does magic exist in Erde? Of course it does. For instance there is the hallucinogenic drug called nicroot, which seems to propel people who know how to use it on fantastic mind journeys to different parts of the universe, physical and spiritual. Is nicroot real? Yes. It's a root of a common flowering plant that grows in the central forests of Erde. Is it truly able to transport ones spirit all over the universe? That depends on whom you speak to in Erde. What are the real effects of chewing peyote buds in Arizona? I'm sure you'll get a different answer from a local Native American than from a professor at Arizona State University.

The Vigroth people have a deeply rooted sense of survival. This has been honed into an acute ability to camouflage themselves in their rain forest homelands. They use plants, leaves, twigs, bushes, furs, skins, dyes and makeup made from moss, the ground, even blood. They change their smell using animal urine and feces. The result being they can make themselves all but invisible in their natural surroundings. They are masters of stealth, and can run for miles without making a sound. Magic? Not to the Vigroth. But to their tribal enemies, the Riggrathi, the Vigroth use evil magical powers that allow them to appear and disappear in the forest at will like wraiths. The Riggrathi appeal to their gods through ritual and dance to help them ward off and conquer these most feared enemies.

Then there is that mystical form of close communication practiced by the Vigroth called DeepChat. The different levels of persona the mind is able to touch during a DeepChat conversation makes it possible for two people to become almost totally transparent to each other. Nothing is hidden. Every single emotion, idea, thought, and happening is exposed to the other person, no matter what level of consciousness it may reside in. What kind of trust must it take to agree to such an experience? Can the DeepChat be entered into without the agreement of another? Can a person back out a session once it's begun? These questions and others like them make the idea of the DeepChat both appealing and fearful to peoples outside the Vigroth culture.

So there you have a taste of the magic of this land called Erde. You will come across other examples as you become more acquainted. You will read of powders that render a fire smokeless. Berries that make it difficult for a woman to conceive. A metal so dense that it holds a point sharper than any metal known to mankind, yet because of its weight no weapon larger than a hunting knife could be cast from it. The multiple reincarnations of souls to specific groups are found there. You will even encounter spirit beings fighting to inhabit a child at birth. Some of what you experience will seem quite normal to you. Other experiences will strike you as mystical or magical. Hopefully you will be able to justify all of them as being quite possible within the framework of Erde, for that is the task I desire to accomplish.