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Note-- the following has been translated by Beastkin and scholar Batha the Badger, from Norian into the Common Tongue, otherwise known as "Earth-speak". Unless otherwise stated, all text has been reproduced as-is without further additions or corrections. I have also taken the liberty to add several quotations from various key figures in our recent history. Ariami forbid, if this text should fall into outlander hands and somehow make it's way to Earth, places and names have been changed for the sake of their protection. Any inquiries as to the accuracy or interpretation of the translation can be directed to me, Batha, inside my cozy hut on the outskirts of Fey's Hollow. The Relationship Between Aether and Magic:"Technically, magic can happen anywhere, on any world. But you need aether to cast magic. Now, you humans on Earth have really, really low levels of aether. It's practically non-existent. But here? Mmm ... Breathe it in and enjoy it, pal: you're surrounded by it just like the air you breathe! Only--you can't really breathe it in. Or see it. Or touch it. Or smell it. In fact, normally, it can't be interacted with whatsoever." -VarroMagic is possible through the manipulation of "aether", which is a little-understood substance that naturally permeates the entire world of Ardonia and everything in it. (Batha's notes: Aether itself is a form of matter, of but it is not composed of the protons, neutrons, and electrons that Earth's modern science is familiar with. As Ardonia's grasp of quantum physics is quite primitive, it will likely be some time before aether is identified and understood on the subatomic level.) Aether cannot normally be detected by the five senses, but its presence can be "felt" through a sixth sense known as aetheric empathy, which all beings have to some degree. Earth has mere trace amounts of aether, and only the most sensitive to it can detect where it lies. But on Ardonia, aether is in abundance, finding its way into science, technology, and everyday living. In very high densities aether can naturally manifest as a blue-ish mist. Ardonia occasionally has dangerous aetherstorms which are the cause of various natural disasters and other phenomena.Aether is relatively stable in a static environment, but it is highly reactive. In particular it is susceptible to changes in electrical fields. For this reason, the brain and the muscles are a hotbed of aetheric activity, and it is through this relationship that aether gains its psychosomatic qualities. Through study and practice, one can learn to interact with aether through meditation and concentration, with the aether responding and reacting to the changes in electrical activity of the brain in order to produce the desired magical effects. (Batha's notes: Aether's electrical sensitivity is also why many Earth-made electrical devices will not function properly

in Ardonia. In cases of extreme aether exposure, batteries will explode, so one must be careful when bringing back Earth artifacts to Ardonia.)Aether is often described in the form of a fluid that permeates all matter. It is said to flow in currents and eddies. "Streams" of aether are called ley lines. Ardonian science has not yet understood the mechanics of natural aetheric flow, however it is well known that different places have different "densities" of aether. Locations with very high density of living organisms (like a lush forest) tend to have greater density of aether, though why this is is not fully known. Like water puddles, aether seems to collect in various natural places, which are called aetherwells. Typically, aetherwells are identifiable by the presence of unusual natural terrain formations, exceedingly large and/or mutated plant-life, and various other phenomena such as gravity disturbances, space-time warping, and so on. Aetherwells are often used as focal points for especially powerful and complicated spellcasting, like the creation of aethergates that allow travel to Earth.

 All living organisms naturally seep aether into their body as time passes, and it is expended with casting spells, giving a limit to how much magic one can perform at once. The body gradually becomes more used to absorbing and holding aether over time, so older beings tend to be more magically gifted than younger ones. After completely exhausting one's magical abilities, it can take roughly one-to-two Ardonian days (Batha's notes: aprox. 30-60 Earth hours) to fully "recharge", depending on the person, the ambient aether levels, and other factors. Eating mundane foods can greatly speed the process by absorbing whatever aether is naturally found in the food. Specially-prepared potions that contain great amounts of dissolved aether can reduce the waiting time to less than an hour on an empty stomach.Aether seems to have some unexplained beneficial side effects on the brain, owing to its psycho-reactive properties. In particular, it seems to have sped up the evolution of more complex, intelligent brains in many animals, leading to numerous semi-sapient and sapient creatures of all sorts that cohabitate in Ardonia.

 Some plants and animals on Ardonia have special relationships with aether, bearing innate magical qualities or effects that have evolved naturally over time. The complete catalog of aether-harnessing plants and animals is too long to list, but one example is worthy of note: there is a semi-transparent, blue, glowing mushroom, Psilocybe aetherium, commonly known as a "glow-cap". The curious P. aetherium contains specific neurochemicals that heighten one's sensitivity to aether, which drastically increases one's magical prowess. These fungi are dried and crushed into powder for storage, then typically mixed into a potion with other ingredients, producing a glowing blue tonic.

Known under the common names of "Eilim" or "Blue Thunder", these potions are incredibly volatile and dangerous, as they also produce uncontrollable, racing thoughts, erratic mood swings, and wild hallucinations so vivid that they manifest as illusions that others can see. Organisms under the influence of Blue Thunder have been known to cause harm or death to themselves and others as their mind starts using magic in spectacular, but unpredictable ways. Sometimes the user is merely ripped apart by the sheer quantity of aether expulsion from his or her body. Blue Thunder is banned as an illegal drug throughout Ardonia.

 (Batha's notes: I've observed and studied a few vulpine hooligans in Fey's Hollow who regularly consume Blue Thunder, known as "Glo-juice" around these parts. The hallucinations are as scary as they are dangerous. Powered by the user's mind, they can become so vivid that they can gain corpreal abilities, such as semi-tangibility and some manner of free will. More often than not, illusions can easily turn hostile and harm the user or bystanders. It's also quite ... shall we say, disturbing, the things that one's inner mind can create ...) The How-To's of Casting a Spell:"Spellcasting is like ... hmm, it's like playing music for you humans: anyone can learn the basics, but some are naturally more gifted at it than others. And me? I'm very gifted." -SophieThough some scholarly mages would like to claim otherwise, spellcasting is less of a science and more of an art. Like many other creative mental skills such as drawing or composing music, aether manipulation is difficult to grasp and can take a lifetime to master. Some people seem to be born with an innate affinity for manipulating aether, while others struggle to cast the most basic of spells even after years of training.

 In its most simple explanation, spellcasting is a matter of mental will. Wands and staves exist to help the user channel and focus aether. Incantations may be spoken to further strengthen the association between mental effort and the desired effect, but none of these are required by the most talented mages. Time is of the essence when casting spells: the art of which is often a slow and laborious process for novice mages. Highly experienced sorcerers may be able to cast complicated spells within seconds.The casting of a spell requires three steps:Step one: Firstly, an aspiring spellcaster needs to "grab hold" of the aether within their body. This is done by activating their animus (the primal life force or "spirit" found within all organisms), bringing the user to a heightened state of awareness. Typically, the user will feel a tingly or chilly sensation traveling down their spine and radiating out to their limbs. Extremely aether-sensitive users may also get goosebumps, a euphoric rush, uncontrollable tearing up of the

eyes, or other bodily reactions as well. One peculiar human mage in reported history supposedly experienced climax every time she was about to cast a spell. Activating one's animus is a skill that takes meditation and practice to learn, but talented mages can perform it as naturally as breathing or blinking. Apprentice mages are usually instructed to practice in a runic Circle of Power, typically inscribed by their master or teacher. The runes--if inscribed correctly--help the would-be spellcaster activate his animus by charging it with the surrounding aether.Everyone's animus is different and reacts slightly differently being awoken (with similarities within the same race), providing innate abilities unique to that being. For example, a human activating their animus will typically enter "the zone" and experience enhanced focus and creativity. Beastkin and civilized Therians such as Kaftars, Wendigos, Lycans, and Asterions that activate their animus typically experience enhanced senses and feel a "one-ness with nature" that gives them empathy on their surroundings. (Batha's notes: I'm sure you are as miffed as I am that this text lumps us Beastkin with those savage Therian plague sufferers! Oh, and contrary to popular belief, no one has figured out how to recreate the humanoid

Therian plague or reverse the afflicted victims back into their

human/elven/dwarven forms. Thankfully, most other sapient

races--including us Beastkin--are immune!) Elves experience an increased rate of healing, and enhanced perception and intuition. Dwarves enter a berserker-like state that lets them endure pain, have increased strength and durability, and better bodily coordination. The Thosanni famously burst into flame, though how the flame does not harm their amphibious bodies is poorly understood. For the sake of berevity, numerous other sapient races have special relationships with aether which will not be covered in this text.

 Step two: The spellcaster must then channel the effect of the spell that they desire to cast. In essence, one must meditate upon the effect taking place: if one wants to conjure a fireball, focus on fire. If one wants to cast an illusion, visualize the illusion. However, in actual practice, much more finesse and effort is involved ... and just because one can imagine something, does not mean that it is actually possible. As a spellcaster focuses, the aether in a spellcaster's body will react to the changes in electrical pulses in their brain, so the stronger the visualization, the more activity in the brain and thus the more powerful the effect. Visualizations need not be purely visual in nature: one should additionally visualize the heat of the fire when conjuring a fireball, for instance. Most novice spellcasters find that seemingly unrelated thoughts and emotions will produce powerful and unexpected outcomes. A purely hypothetical example is: fondly remembering one's first kiss while spellcasting might cause a bolt of lightning to strike the spellcaster, or teleport him far away. (Batha's notes: One of my kits once slipped a Stinging Jagger into my fur while I was attempting a simple levitation spell, and the next thing I knew, nearly every single object in the house had crashed to the ceiling, including myself and my kits! It took hours to get everything and everyone down.) To date there is no way to predict the nature of such outcomes, as they are different for every mage. Therefore, a great deal of focus and self-control is paramount when casting spells, lest the mind wander and produce chaotic and potentially deadly effects.

 It is during the second stage of spellcasting that the associated incantation must be spoken, if there is one. Though no magical than common speech in their own right, incantations exist to associate the spell with a spoken word or phrase. Just as the smell of the ocean may bring forth memories of sunny beaches, a properly trained mage can summon forth the desired spell simply by uttering the incantation and letting his or her subconcious do the rest through learned association. This can drastically speed up the spellcasting process.  (Batha's notes: I believe Earth calls this relationship between word and spell a "Pavlovian response", though I have no idea why.)Experienced mages may become so familiar with the

"feeling" of what it is like to cast a certain spell that he or she may vividly recall such a feeling and perform the spell nearly instantly without an incantation, though this takes years of practice to master. Step three: With the aether properly channeled and ready for spellcasting, a magic-user must then "guide" the aether out of their bodies, typically through their hands or eyes (though technically any body part may be used) or into a staff/wand if they have one. This is accompanied by a "rushing" sensation as the aether flows out of their bodies. The channeling stage is incredibly important: for example, if one does not properly channel a fireball, the spellcaster will simply burst into flames. This is the stage where the spell's aura may be noticed: each spell typically has a color associated with it, though the explanation of why is still unknown. For example, casting an illusion or hypnosis spell will always result in a purple glow, typically seen in the spellcaster's eyes or staff/wand. It is through this natural color system that the four schools of magic have been founded.So, in summary:Step One: Activate your animus and take hold of the aether within your body.Step Two: Channel your aether into the desired spell through intense focus, visualization, and spoken incantation.Step Three: Guide the channeled aether safely out of your body, using your wand or staff if you have one.(Batha's notes: the spoken incantation may be anything (one may practice to associate fireballs with uttering "pew pew kablooie" if they so wish) but modern human scholars have devised a highly organized, two-part modular system of incantation naming conventions for different spell effects, which greatly increases a mage's success rate when trying to remember hundreds of spells. To cast a fireball, for example, is "ignis glans" (Norrian for "projectile of fire"), while to produce a flame jet is "ignis saliens" (Norrian for "fountain of fire"). The elves, who speak their own language, use their own incantation system, as do the ancient Shedimi. The dwarves, being much more practical in nature than the elves, have adopted human incantation conventions, owing to the fact that the elven spellcasting system is "So damned wordy ye'd think the blasted tree-huggers were chattin' their foes to death!")

 The Four Schools of Magic:"Over in the city of Vaniri, they got schools to teach all that stuff. But not around here. We've traded for a few books, written by the Norrian humans ... but that's all we got: if you wanna learn magic as a Beastkin, you gotta teach it to yourself!" -HarmanAs previously stated, there are four schools of magic. Elemental magic: This type of magic involves harnessing the latent aether around the caster to

manipulate the inorganic natural world, typically divided across the four elements: earth, wind, fire, and water ... though this is a scholarly distinction, not a natural one. Pure energy in the form of heat (and the absence of it, meaning cold) is the most simplest to create and control. Electricity, light, and other forms of energy can also be created from pure aether alone, but as of Ardonia's current understanding, aether cannot transform into complex atomic matter, meaning no elementalist can conjure a boulder or a deluge of water out of thin air. However, for example: one may suck the moisture out of the air to produce a collection of water, then suck the heat from the water to create ice. The most powerful elementalists can shape the natural world around them as if it were mere putty. There are rumors of ancient elementalists that could move entire mountains and part entire oceans, and it is widely believed that the colossal fissure called The Rift that stretches across eastern Norria was likely caused by long-forgotten elemental magic. For obvious reasons, tampering with the weather to ill effect is outlawed in Ardonia, but not many are capable of such a feat. Aura colors: varies, but typically shades of red, blue, and yellow.

   Animus magic: The easiest-to-learn type of magic, animus magic is the manipulation of the innate life force that fills every living being, called an animus. Animus magic can both heal (White Animancy) and harm (Black Animancy). Animancers can tap into their own animus to augment physical abilities such as speed, strength, and agility. They can also project auras, which are physical manifestation of anima. At its most base form, these auras can potentially influence others' emotions by resonating with their own animus. With enough focus and practice, these auras can be shaped, become tangible, and interact with the world in various beneficial, or harmful ways. The most skilled animancers can conjure spirits (which are anima without a corpreal body) and even raise the dead by filling corpses with an artificially-created animus, though such a practice is outlawed in Ardonia. Aura colors: white and black.  Esper magic: Being very difficult to learn, espermancy the most "pure" form of magic. Esper magic focuses on manipulating the aether directly through one's mind power, instead of using the inorganic or organic world as a conduit. In the most basic form, one can project violet-shaded raw aetherized energy, called psi. Espermancers can become capable of manipulating space-time in the form of teleportation, telekinesis, and levitation. One also can manipulate other's minds in the form of reading minds, implanting false memories, and obfuscating (but not erasing) real memories. Talented espermancers can create illusions, with the complexity of the illusion being limited only by the user's imagination. Keeping illusions active requires concentration, unless said

spell is inscribed and enchanted onto a magical object that can project the illusion.  The most powerful Espermancers can even control others' minds ... to an extent! The victim can always resist, so mind control becomes a battle of wills. However ... if one were to first hypnotize the victim, they would not be likely be likely to resist. Thankfully, unwanted intrusion of one's mind has been outlawed for centuries. Aura colors: purple and pink.

   Enchantment magic:  This school of magic is a collection of scholarly studies focused on the imbuing of objects, organisms, or persons with magical properties. Objects can be mundane in nature, such as a magicite crystal, a block of wood, or a golem ... or more complex targets such as one's own apprentice! Basic enchanting focuses on the creation and recharging of staves and wands. Wands and staves are typically made of wood or bone (their organic, porous structure is ideal for focusing and holding aether) and are sometimes inlaid or capped with certain metals such as copper or gold (their conductive capabilities blend well with the electro-sensitive nature of aether). Wands and staves are always complimented with a charged magicite focusing crystal inset into the design. Enchanters also study the alchemical extraction of magical effects from natural Ardonian fauna/flora, the summoning and controlling of fays and other aetheric entities, the art of inscribing various spells into physical writing using the Nephili runic system, and the dangerous study of hexes, or the placing of enchantments upon other organisms which includes the little-understood field of shape-shifting magic or transmorgrification. The most powerful enchanters have successfully cloned themselves using a homunculus and transmorgrification magic, which resulted in a very brief War of the Numberless. Such magic quickly became banned afterward. Very powerful elven enchanters were responsible for the creation of the Beastkin out of mundane Earth animals. (Batha's notes: How cute, the Norrian humans gave us a special mention here. Looks like they forgot to include  the centuries of abuse and slavery at the hands of the elves, along with The Culling--the period of indiscriminate slaughter of our kind that most civlilized folk have all but forgotton.) Aura colors: typically shades of green, though there are exceptions. On Portal Magic and Aethergates:

 "Imagine the cosmos as a messy bedsheet, complete with all sorts of wrinkles and folds. Earth and Ardonia are on different sides of a fold. What the key does is merely open up a small hole in that fold, letting you travel from one side to the other." -AveryThe creation of aethergates is a mixture of espermancy and enchantment magic. It requires a "key", a "door", and an aetherwell, which is a location on Ardonia that is naturally rich in vast quantities of latent aether. The key is crafted from

a large, carefully-cut, and heavily enchanted piece of magicite. The door is a stone archway, made of carefully-cut black ebonstone that has been assembled into a perfect circle, which must be inscribed with certain runes, inset with a ring of metallic terallium on the inner edge, and fitted with magicite focusing crystals at even intervals. Creating aethergates is relatively straight-forward, but the enchanting of portal keys to open said gate is incredibly complicated and the method of how is lost to time. To open the gate, one must activate the key in their hand, which is similar to casting a spell (Nearly anyone can activate an enchanted object, depending one's aptitude for magic and the complexity of the enchantment). They must hold the key in the middle of the aethergate, where it will "pierce" space-time, warping the very fabric of reality until it breaks. The key will hover in place in the exact center as the hole, and is kept secure by the pressure of the wormhole. While active, the gate is powered by the latent aether from the aetherwell upon which it was built. If the key is moved without being deactivated (which takes a lot of force), the hole collapses violently in a spectacular implosion and a blast of aetheric energy. One must make a door large enough to walk around the key ... a gate's maximum size reaches approximately fifteen feet in diameter, though most are smaller. Any larger, and the wormhole becomes too unstable to sustain. To properly close a portal one must deactivate the key, which involves grasping the key and channeling the deactivation.

 New portals cannot be created on Earth due to the low levels of aether. But once a portal is open on Ardonia it leaves a "scar" in space-time that aether trickles out from, so a once-opened portal that leads to Earth can be opened again from Earth's side, provided the gate is intact and one has a key. These scars actually act as anchors for the fold in space-time, so a portal that is closed and re-opened will lead to the same exact place. However, these scars will eventually "heal" over many years, so as both planets move through space-time, any gate on Ardonia may lead to a different location on Earth when opened hundreds of years later.The official closing of Ardonia's portals happened approximately two thousand years ago, because the often-fractured Ardonians (Batha's notes: whose numerous civilized races still squabble to this day, I might add) feared invasion the rapidly-growing Imperial Roman Empire of Earth, who did not need magic to wage warfare and controlled massive, highly-trained armies. Even back then, Ardonia's existence was hidden to most, although many small populations of Ardonians and mythological creatures still existed on Earth and continued to for centuries. It has been therorized that most if not all the texts that referenced Ardonia's existence were lost upon the fall of the Roman Empire and Europe's subsequent

plunging into the Dark Ages.

 It is worth knowing that also, Ardonia's races could not easily conquer Earth even had they been unified, due to the lack of aether on Earth. Most if not all magic would be nearly impossible, and most Ardonian races have simply become too reliant on aether to comfortably function without it. One may bring ways to replenish one's aether such as a potion, but any aether would quickly leech out of the body due to the surrounding environment having such a low aether density. The invention of ways to keep aether stored within your body could change this, though no such method exists currently, and as passage to Earth has been closed for centuries, no effort has been made to pursue such innovations.Portal magic has been declared illegal in present day (along with many other hazardous and controversial magics) in a tri-party treaty forged between the elves, dwarves, and humans. Most portal keys have been destroyed in war or other disputes. Some were hidden by their owners and lost to time. The elves, claiming to be the creators of the keys, hold on to the precious few that remain. (Batha's

notes: however, deep in the jungle of Norr, where us Beastkin live,

policing isn't so strict, and the discovery of several keys within

ancient Nephili ruins has resulted in a trickle of brave beastkin exploring Earth

in secret for the past few generations. Though in ancient times, those

portals opened somewhere in Europe, in modern days most aethergates

open in North America. I hear in Sanctuary, that their city is full of

salvaged Earth relics such as the CD player and VCR machines. Boy, what'd I'd give to watch another one of those Earth movies ...)

 The elves keep their keys stowed safely behind a Royal Bloodseal. To open the seal, the elf queen must prick herself with the barbed signet on her finger, then insert the signet into the seal. This signet is attuned to her animus and only works when she is wearing it, which means she must not only be alive and present at the seal, but also only her blood can open it. To circumvent this, one can incapacitate the queen, take some of her blood, have her nearby, then pour a drop of blood onto the mark ... but this is highly difficult to do, if not impossible with the various forms of security at the Alabaster Tower, which is the royal palace of the elven capital city of Arendor. Many attempts have been made in the past, and none have succeeded.(Batha's

notes: Despite what those snooty elves claim, the ancient Nephili were

the original creators of portal gates. Opening portals to Earth was

common thousands of years ago, during which many magical creatures, both

sapient and non-sapient, traveled to Earth and lived there for

generations. As aether levels continued to drop on Earth, many of those

creatures found it hard to survive and eventually died out in ancient

times. Of the few Beastkin that I know who've been lucky enough to

travel to Earth, they report that dwarves still exist on the human

planet. However, I later found out that such "dwarves" are really just

humans with a genetic condition that prevents them from growing tall.

How strange!)

 The following are Batha's personal notes about the outlander, Jeremiah Flynn:"It's weird ... when I hold this key thing, I feel strange. It's as if ... as if it's attracted to me, like a magnet." -FlynnThe outlander, or "Earth-walker" as many races refer to him, is an unusual case. He is the first human in over fifty years to step foot in Ardonia and make contact with the Beastkin. To the many outside our communities that are ignorant of our secret Earth-traveling ways, he is the first human in almost two thousand years to freely walk on our planet.Recall that aether flows from high concentrations to low. Because there was no aether inside of the Flynn to begin with, when he accidentally entered Ardonia in his fateful crash, his body was exposed to aether for the first time, and was permanently changed because of it. He absorbed dangerous amounts of magical energy while he lay unconscious, including the magic of the portal key that lay lodged in his skull. This unique situation is comparable to dropping a dry sponge into a bucket of water. That key has left an imprint of the aethergate enchantment within his mind, essentially turning him into a living portal key. This means he can open gates without needing a key, and he is the only one in all of Ardonia who has this ability. He will no doubt learn that he can even re-open closed portals from Earth's side, if he hasn't figured that out already.

 As Flynn travels throughout Ardonia, more folk will become aware of his existence, and they will quickly deduce that somewhere out there, is a portal key that hasn't been locked away by the elves. It's being used, linking Earth to Ardonia for the first time in centuries. With all the rumors flying around concerning Earth and her unbelievable technologies, many, many factions and parties will want to find Flynn and claim the key for themselves. Thus, I have no doubt that trouble will have a habit of following the outlander wherever he goes. I fear he will eventually get wrapped up in a large-scale bid for power as entire kingdoms begin searching for him and his key, all in an effort to gain control of the powerful magic and use it to exploit Earth's riches and its nigh-unstoppable weapons.It is through this unfortunate circumstance that this author believes Flynn will quickly become the focal point of Ardonia's future. And it is through his special gift of opening aethergates that he will probably be the only one who can fix the tumultuous events that follow. -Batha