Though CLEA has the Magic User designation, in many areas of the organisation top brass do not believe in the actual existence of magic, and generally disregard it, preferring to place unusual unexplained happenings as being the actions of Alphas, Aliens or group belonging to other designations.
Despite this resistance, from many areas, a couple of CLEA chiefs decided it was best to err on the side of caution and so set up a small but dedicated occult division to monitor potential problems. Unlike some other “specialists” areas of the organisation that have resources to deal directly with incidents, CLEA’s occult department does not. Instead the team has been forced to contact “civilian” experts in the field of magic and bring them in to deal with such threats.
Such is the scepticism by most top brass that on numerous occasions they have tried to close the division citing it as a waste of both man power and resources. This adds to the pressure of the team who cannot produce hard results when the people demanding results do not believe in the work they are doing.
Magic Types
Though very much fighting a tide of non-believers the researchers in the occult division have made great strides in trying to understanding how things work beyond normal human understanding. The most basic thing they learned was that there are three main types of magic:-
- Light Magic – Essentially good magic which promotes positive energies and emotions and is generally none destructive.
- Dark Magic – Highly destructive magic which corrupts users, feeds off negative energies and is highly volatile.
- Natural Magic – Unique to the mortal realm, this type of magic is quite rare and often linked to elements found in natural or environmental forces such as tides or the movements of the sun and specific times.
Having understood the basic link between all areas of the occult the team next concentrated on who or more likely “what” actually used the magic and this immediately led their research into areas many would regard as fantasy for they soon learned that there were several types of magic user.
Non Human Users
- Angels – come from a “realm of light” beyond mortal understanding. They wield Light Magic and only appear sporadically on Earth.
- Demons – come from a “realm of darkness” beyond mortal understanding and are masters of Dark Magic. They are organised in a hierarchy with the most powerful at the top and climb the ladders of power by defeating rivals and amassing power.
- Gatekeeper – He is part Demon, part Angel and manages the Spirit Realm. As master of that realm he is supremely powerful here, so much so that Angels or Demons rarely challenge him. He had he ability to travel to the mortal realm but nowhere else.
- Humans – This covers witches, warlocks, sorcerers, sorceresses as well as hybrid creations that are part Angel or part demon. As well as this there Vampires and Werewolves, two races of humans that have been changed by Dark Magic. Unlike Demons and Angels, human magic wielders do not have direct access to either the light or the dark realms.
- Wandering Spirits – These are the spirits of dead people trapped in the Spirit Realm which lies between the Mortal Realm and the realms of Light and Dark. Because the realm is so “close” magically to the Mortal Realm, powerful spirits can make make brief jumps into the mortal realm but they cannot move themselves to the Light or Dark realm. Only the Gatekeeper can do that and once a spirit has moved to either of those they remain there. Like vampires, a Wandering Spirit has limited magically abilities.
Human Users
The human magic users are generally formed from these groups of people,
- Wielders who are attuned to magic and know how to manipulate if via spells and incantations.
- Totem bearers who acquire magic abilities via an object. (Note: This category is for people who only have magic abilities because they are in possession of a Totem. It does not include skilled wielders who can also use Totems to add to their power ).
- Hybrids – Typically part human and part Demons or Angel. Their magic capabilities are generally passed on through blood lines such as parent to child (or in the case of Vampires person to person).
- Enhanced – people who have special abilities derived by mystical means, usually having either been subjected to a magical enchantment or are related to another type of magic wielder.
- Avatars – A special type of totem bearer where the, totem shares a symbiotic relationship with the wielder and the pair become bonded. Avatars are limited to natural magic but calling on the forces of nature can make them extremely powerful.
- Channellers – These people, have the means to channel dark or light magic (but never both). The magic merely acts as protection from its counterpart. Channelled dark magic protects the bearer from light magic and vice versa. More often than not, this ability is latent and the bearer unaware that they are doing it. Dark magic channellers are usually distant relatives of those touched by dark magic, such as half demons, witches etc. Followers of dark religions can also inadvertently channel magic. Those who choose to serve Demons in the mortal realm but do not practise magic directly can often channel magic, simply by having their soul linked to a source of dark magic. Light magic channellers can be related to light magic users but most simply get it through following religions with links to the Light Realm. For this reason they are sometimes called pure hearts and are often protected by Angels. Many Demons avoid tempting fate by corrupting a pure heart out of fear of what might happen to them.
- Vampires – A race of humans whose origin was a woman, Genovefa Wolfhart., who made a contract with the Demon Y’Creft for power to kill her enemies. The Contract meant that her Soul became forfeit if she killed out of anger and consumed the blood of her victim. The blood lust made sure that she failed. Newly turned Vampires experience excruciating pain which can be relieved by signing the same Contract but if they survive a day of pain they are totally free. Most are therefore tricked into signing or willingly do it for power.
- Werewolves – A race of individuals cursed for the murder of a witch. Like vampires they can spread through biting but do not forfeit their souls to a Demon.
Whilst some magic users have skills in different fields of magic the majority specialise in particular fields such as nature, elemental or occult. Few magic users can access both dark and light magic since they are polar opposites although natural magic can be used alongside either since it is “neutral”. Totem bearers who posses no magic skills are completely limited in terms of the capabilities of the Totem itself. Hybrids have similar limitations in that their skills are passed on.
Master of magic, can make use of magical artefacts. These are objects that have been affected at some time with magic and act as focussing devices. They contain no power of their own but allow a magic user to direct his or her power in a manner that helps amplify what they are trying to accomplish.
People who are magically enhanced are easily confused with Alphas and other “normal” categories since their increased attributes are not often connected with magic. Since using magic often has some sort of “negative pay off” mystical enhancements can sometime produce unexpected results.
