Owlbears and Chickenhawks

 In my previous post, I covered the grim students and clergy of the Cyclica and its Saints. They worship magic as a tidal force, frozen by will and understanding and returning into formless miasma through inattention. The Church of the Human Font split from the Cyclica over a the Heresy of the Vessel . See, to the mages of the Cyclica, magic is everywhere, yet unseen except through its effects, and man's only capacity for interacting with it is through thought , of all things the most intangible and evanescent. But the key to the Cylica is their twin rituals, the Ritual of the Vessel (which primes a physical vessel for containment of the intangible Tide of magic) and the Containment Ritual (which brings a Tide of magic into the vessel). The mysticism of Saint Mosil and the Raving of the Mad Saint are wondrous, and their effects on the world unparalleled; yet they are grounded to the world by the Vessel, a physical thing, which can be optimized, compared in efficacy to other Vessels...

Magic is thoroughly explored for its properties. Most magicians agree that there are a number of ways one can bring magic into the world; opinions on which way is best, which way is dominant, and which one should use, varies magician to magician. Magic as the Water Cycle; Mages of the Cyclica In this model, magic wafts through the air, a miasma, until it condenses on its own or through the help of a wizard. The magic has to be contained somewhere, but can be contained indefinitely. Then, when a wizard needs it, they perform another ritual which condenses it into a spell. Raw magic: analogous to water vapor. Condenses into harnessed magic with weight & magnitude, or with a ritual. Stored in ritual storage containers or natural ones. Harnessed magic: analogous to water. Magic that has to be stored somewhere, in a ritual or natural container. A supply of harnessed magic is called a Tide; vessels for a Tide are called Tidelocks. Directed Magic: analogous to ice. Spells. Setting Element...