Conjury - The art of conjuring (Magic from a dream I had)

This originally started as a dream I had a while ago, and I sort of developed it into its own magical system that I call Conjury. I even considered making a card game out of it.

Edit: TLDR: Conjury, the art of using critters to cast spells and do stuff instead, because you don't have the Mojo yourself! It's commonplace and widely studied for the most part!

Summary:

In the setting where I developed this, true mages are those that are able to use their own innate life energies to cast "spells." This energy is sometimes called Ki, Chakra, Amrita, Mana, or Vitalis depending on where in the world you are. Most humans are not able to cast spells, however, as their own internal energies are not strong enough. In fact, most people consider true magic a myth. However, unlike magic, Conjury is available to nearly every human in the world. Conjury uses a comparatively small amount of energy to make a so-called "Call." This call acts to attract an entity that can themselves use their own energy to cast spells. Over centuries, Conjury has become commonplace in society, as nearly everyone can use it to some degree to help them with their work or hobbies.

Even children usually learn to conjure small things from their parents, or even on their own, as they are typically attuned to at least something. Most conjurers can conjure any of them, but almost all people have specific skills and preferences. Young adults learn better control, and most academic institutions make Conjury a core part of their curriculum. It's no different than how we include, say, chemistry, in our own education. Even if you aren't a chemist, most people understand that salt dissolves in water and gasoline burns, even if they might not know precisely why. Specialized institutions might train specific techniques even further. A military, temple, or astronomy focused program will teach different things in different ways.

A common test for affinity is to use a special array, powered by a special crystal. The crystal is used to store energy and equalize it so it has no particular affinity. So, any number of people can put their energy into it. Then, a person being tested will use the array to conjure something. Rather than drawing energy from them to make the Call, the battery crystal is used, which typically attracts the most powerful Conjure that a person can be reasonably expected to call at that particular time.

(My dream centered around a kid who only had an affinity for one Conjury, Necromurgy, which is mentioned below. The dream featured him using this array to conjure what appeared to be a ghostly, stark white woman who ended up sapping all the power out of the crystal. The proctors had no idea what to make of that, but a professor, himself a Necromurgist, would make the kid his apprentice. )

Those who excel or master their arts of Conjury are referred to as "Conjurators." They, like every other person, has a particular attunement to a particular conjured entity. "Conjurator" is sort of like a rank more than anything, and usually requires some form of certification in most jurisdictions. This depends largely on the mentality of the conjurer or Conjurator, but also by the nature of their internal energies. Particular entities are attracted to particular energies. This energy is hereditary, and the social ties to Conjures can be strong, so many families have patron Conjures, or have developed unique connections to specific beings. These Conjures may act as guardian spirits. Ancient families often have ties to exceedingly powerful beings. These conjures often become something like a god in some communities, and family members in others.

Due to the generally weak internal energies of humans however, it's usually impossible to compel a conjure to obey in that way, especially the immaterial ones, and few try. Most conjurers have a strong respect for their Conjures and will try to persuade them to cooperate instead. Common dogma postures that Conjures (entities being conjured) heed the conjurer's call in exchange for the internal energies of the Conjurer. While this is true in some cases, not all Conjures are so. Some, in fact, provide excess energy to the Conjurer, and others take nothing at all. In truth, it is because the entities being conjured are no less living and breathing than people themselves, and have their own agendas, wants, and needs. One conjure might kill their conjure, but most do not. Most of the time, it's a mutualistic gain for all parties involved.

However, there are commonly understood positions that Conjurers inhabit in this relationship. A party to the relationship can be Subservient, Superservient, or Equiservient. If a Conjure is Subservient, the Conjurer is Superservient, then the Conjurer usually directs the Conjure's actions. If the Conjure is superservient and the conjurer subservient, it is the Conjure that directs the conjurer's actions. In an equiservient relationship, the two parties must work in tandem as a team. This makes equiservience typically unstable. Different Conjures are more or less associated with one of these three. The weaker the conjure the more likely it is to be subservient, though some refuse to cooperate entirely if they can't be equiservient or superserivient.

Conjures are categorized by their magical and physical characteristics. The following are the generally accepted varieties, but each group has their own subcategories too (mentioned occasionally but not directly listed here). Additionally, individual Conjures can overlap into two or more categories. Whereas minor conjures might not have names, and may not even be sentient or sapient, powerful ones usually do have a name. So, in general, a named Conjure is automatically considered more powerful, even if this is not actually the case.

Conjuries

Animurgy - The most common form of Conjury, Animurgy is the art of conjuring magical beasts. Like humans, some animals have more energy than their kin, and may take on wiser, more powerful natures. Some Animurgists will actually nurture animals with their own energy to artificially awaken them in this way. The most common Conjures are Birds and Canines, but the rarest and most famed Conjures are Dragons. Magical Beasts that are violent, hostile, or evil are usually called Monsters. Powerful magical beasts are physically very mighty, with great strength, speed, and durability. Some, like dragons, are capable of producing gouts of flames, arcs of lightning, bone chilling cold, or other effects.

Animurgic conjures are typically subservient, followed closely by equiservient, and rarely superservient. Few magical beasts are as generally intelligent as humans, but this is not always the case, and something like a dragon can be far smarter than any human.

Animurgy is popular in nearly all walks of life, from farmers who conjure oxen to soldiers who may conjure war dogs, to shopkeepers who conjure cats to keep the rats away. Powerful Conjurators may summon a Dragon to incinerate an entire army or shield a city from a great flood.

Druidurgy (or Druidry) - Also a common Conjury, Druidurgy is the art of conjuring living, natural spirits. These beings rarely have bodies, instead inhabiting animals, plants, objects, or even the environment itself, and often embody natural concepts like Wind, Water, Fire, or Earth and may be then called Elementals. Those in animals may be mistaken as Magical Beasts, as they are fundamentally similar, but it isn't the animal that is magical, but the spirit within it. Living spirits are very adaptable and variable, but are very good at channeling living energies. However, they have poor conversion capabilities, so, while great at healing, weak living spirits are usually unable to do much else. Sprits, as they are called, are tiny, simple spirits that are attracted to any living thing and are very common Druidic summons. They are often used to support crops or aid in healing. More powerful Living Spirits, like Naiads or Fey can be highly intelligent and very powerful. However, Druidry is not a popular art in the upper echelons, as living spirits rarely like to live in heavily urbanized areas like cities and disdain exploitative and corruptive natures as a general rule.

Druidic Spirits are usually subservient, then equiservient, then superservient. Most druidic spirits are minor Sprits which have little or no mind of their own. Those that do are rather childlike in behavior. Very powerful spirits are likely to be far to proud to be subservient, or even equiservient.

Druidurgy is very common among farmers, who make up the majority of just about any population, but also among hunters, herbalists, explorers, or anyone who spends their lives outside. Druidic spirits can be used to grow healthy crops, cure infections, purify water, or many other things.

Divinurgy - A rather rare Conjury, Divinurgy is the art of conjuring entities called Celestials. Celestials are considered the envoys of the gods themselves, and are often described as bright and overwhelmingly beautiful in presence, but their physical forms are highly variable. Some appear as no more than a soft glow in the air, others as a ball of nuclear fire. The awe from viewing one is sometimes called euphoric. Celestials are paragons of order and reason and are commonly associated with the temples and universities of the land. Priests typically specialize in Divinurgy, and many act as scholars alongside their Celestial conjures.

Divinurgy is considered a sacred art, and leaders who possess a Celestial conjures are viewed favorably. Prophets are known to receive revelations from their conjures, thought to be the words of gods speaking through the Celestials. Almost all Celestials have a name, but its generally impossible to hear them and not literally go deaf, and those that have gained human names, such as Raphael, Uriel, and Asmodel, are usually those associated with particular populations, often ancient Tribes now kingdoms and empires. Saints throughout history have been understood to become Celestials after their death, though some scholars believe that, rather than becoming Celestials themselves, it is Celestials becoming them.

Divinurgic spirits are almost universally superservient, with the occasional case of equiservitude. Celestials are known to be extremely resistant to coercion and persuasion once they have made up their minds, and are extremely proud, meaning that there are very few cases of subservience among Divinurgists throughout history. It is not unheard of in scriptures though, notably among prophets.

Divinurgy is common among priests and scholars, who use their Conjures to delve into greater understanding of the world. Celestials often act as guardians, with the ability to manipulate matter at the atomic level. Stories tell of Celestials vaporizing hostile armies or turning evil doers to salt, for example. However, a Celestial's most potent property is that they act as a symbol of authority. No empire can exist without unity, and the awesome grace of a Celestial can do just that.

Demonurgy - More common than Divinurgy, but still rare, is Demonurgy, the art of conjuring entities called Demons. Demons are diametrically opposed to Celestials, and they act as agents of chaos and irrationality. As a result, Demonurgy is considered taboo or heresy in most places. Unlike Celestials, however, Demons aren't nearly as picky with their Conjurers. Dogma says that Demons are Celestials that turned away from the Gods and were cursed for it. Demons are typically described as morally reprehensible, heeding the call of a Conjurer only in exchange for the energies of them or provided sacrifices. They are also described as horribly disfigured beings, whose presence causes great despair and horror. Minor demons, like Imps, are the most common Demon conjure and can barely do much more than petty mischief, whereas entities like Asmodeus or Beezlebub might act on catastrophic scales and lead entire empires or the world to ruin.

Demons are typically subservient, but very powerful ones are pretty much always superservient. Demons typically want something specific, such as the energies of the conjurer or others, and are content with that. Though, they are innately gluttonous and will usually turn on their conjurer as soon as possible. Very powerful Demons may bestow power on those who seek it, with the expectation that the conjurer serve their desires, from simple worship to human sacrifice to mass tragedies.

Demonurgy, being a heresy in most places, is rarely used in the open. However, that makes it popular for both the very desperate, and the very sinful. Demons have few, if any, moral compunctions and will do anything, even abject good, so long as the conjurer pays up in the end. As a result, the rich and powerful often contract Demonurgists to do their dirty business, or will make contracts themselves with Demons to gain greater power or wealth in exchange for the energies of others. However, Demons and Celestials are basically universally hostile. Celestials are known to go out of their way to oust Demonurgists.

Another concern with Demons is possession. If a Conjurer is not able to control the demon once conjured, a demon may well possess them, forcing them into a subservient role. Exorcising these demons is arduous and can be very dangerous for everyone involved.

Xenurgy - A very rare and poorly understood conjury, Xenurgy is the art of conjuring entities from beyond reason. Whereas Celestials and Demons are at the extremes of human understanding, the Aliens or Aberrations, as they are sometimes called, are completely outside of it. Not much is known about Xenurgy, as it only appears sporadically throughout history, and their nature is fundamentally inconceivable, but such entities usually result in the destruction or disappearance of the town or village the Conjurer appears in. From what little info is known Xenurgist conjures are highly psionic, and their nature drives humans to madness, sometimes instantly. The cognition of their very existence is considered incompatible with the mind, and the shock can be deadly. Some believe that the gods might be Aliens themselves, but that is considered blasphemy. Any knowledge of Xenurgy that crops up is usually destroyed because the information itself is dangerous, let alone what it might be used to Conjure.

Not much is known of Xenurgy in general, but considering the usual result of its use, it's typically considered safe to assume that interactions have always had the Alien as superservient. It's considered impossible for a human to have a meaningful stance beside such a conjure, thus ruling out equiservience or subservience. Whether Aliens are actually malevolent, or if the collateral damage from Xenurgy is completely accidental, is also unknown.

Those who come to use Xenurgy were usually quite mentally unwell themselves already, and there are few connections to draw from the limited number of cases observed. It is generally understood, however, that those who with powerful obsessions and delusions are the most likely to use Xenurgy, though what drives someone to that rather than Demonurgy is not understood.

Necromurgy (Necromancy) - Considered the rarest of Conjuries in general, excluding the barely recognized Xenurgy, Necromurgy is the conjury of Dead Spirits. Dead Spirits are sometimes considered as the antithesis of Living, Druidic ones. And, like Druidic spirits, the Dead usually inhabit objects or organisms, which is called Haunting or Possession. Dead Spirits are innately dangerous, as their presence saps away the energies of all things around them. Areas infested with Dead Spirits are typically dark, cold, and devoid of life.

Where the energy goes is unknown, as it is generally understood that living energies cannot be destroyed, only moved. Some scholars believe that the Dead convert the energy into some other form that isn't yet known, or that they act as some sort of singularity or rift, from which living energy cannot escape. Many scholars believe that the energy absorbed is what allows them to exist at all, as they do not otherwise exist naturally. Wisps are a common dead, which rarely appear more than a flickering candle flame in size. They are typically harmless on their own, and can even be helpful. Those with awareness are often childlike in personality. However, powerful dead such as Poltergeists and Liches can be extremely dangerous as they are typically intelligent and aggressive.

Necromurgy is the art of Necromancers, who use the Dead to animate corpses, or attempt to return the dead to life. However, as history has shown, Necromancy doesn't seem capable of returning the dead to life. Occasionally, mystics will use Necromurgy to channel the Dead Spirits to lay curses or hexes on others, or to bridge some gap between the living and dead and act as a liaison during seances. To fiddle with the Dead, however, is usually considered taboo, and its practitioners are often persecuted for doing so. However, the Dead strike a cord with the living, deep in their hearts, and so such arts live on.

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