Magic

Historical Magic
In the Age of Wizards, magic was abundant and considered infinite. Skilled wizards were capable of manipulating reality itself to better suit them. Powerful warmages could coat entire cities in flames. Wizards used this power to become rulers. Wizard-empires constantly fought one another for dominance and magical superiority. The emperor of the Aemirri Empire accidentally froze his kingdom experimenting with more powerful magics but no lesson was learned. They continued learning how to manipulate more and more magical powerful, as well as infusing weapons with magical power to make their soldiers more deadly.

Magic was not infinite, however. On what became known as “Depletion Day” the wizards suddenly found themselves absolutely powerless. Without their magic their empires crumbled and wizards would forevermore be met with distrust.

Modern Magic
Magic slowly flows into the plane from sources that wizards have only be able to theorize about. A few years after “Depletion Day” wizards noticed that they could feel small amounts of magic again. However, it replenishes itself at such a slow rate that it would take centuries to return to its previous level, and thats assuming that there are no wizards consuming it at all which is an improbability.

Today, magic is thin and wizards find themselves with a limited ability to mold it. Gone are the days where they manipulate reality and enchant weapons, now it takes years of dedicated study just to learn how to cast a simple spell. In addition, magic is now in what is called a “raw” state. Magic that is recently come into the plane and has not properly “settled” is dangerous and resistant to molding. Because of this wizards face an additional challenge: magical backfire. Raw magic, not properly molded (and sometimes even when molded correctly but the magic is too raw) will not just fizzle, instead it unleashes itself in forms the wizard never intended. Amateur wizards are as likely to blow themselves up with their spell as their enemy. The unpredictability of their spells does not help their public image in a world where they were already regarded with distrust and suspicion.

The only magical academy still operating in the world is deep in the Winterreach Mountains of The Frozen Kingdom. This is the only place for someone interested in wizardry to go and study under the expert tutelage of the last “Master Wizards.” The location serves two purposes: to challenge the determination and cunning of the perspective students, and to give the students someplace to practice without endangering civilization.

Wizards who have completed their academy training (or have, through self-study or an apprenticeship under another wizard, reached the same level of magical competence) then typically pursue a life of independent-study. Some join Research Guilds for the pooled resources, but very rarely is research itself done collaboratively. Because of magic's limited malleability, most magical research today is done on the nature of magic as opposed to ways to mold it. Wizards strive to learn where magic comes from, how it gets on this plane, and how long it takes for raw magic to settle.

Artifacts and Magic
During the Age of Wizards the more powerful wizards would frequently infuse weapons and other items with their magical power. Much of the time it was to grant some power to their non-magical followers; a soldier with a magical sword had an advantage over any other soldier, after all. Other times it was to produce something with a specific effect that they would need to use frequently or that would take to long to practically cast when it was needed. After Depletion Day these magical items became the last source of the old magic.

Like all magic, the magic in these items was also limited. During the Age of Heroes many of these were drained. Heroes would take up magical arms and armor to end them in their quests, either obtained along their journeys or granted to them by the common folk who were grateful to have their aid. Legends of the heroes are always linked to the magical equipment they wielded, in some cases the weapon is even more famous then its wielder. Heroes weren't the only people draining the magical items, kings and rulers would make use of magical items to aid in their rule, and wizards would suck the magic out of the items to temporarily grant them access to the old magic. By the end of the Age of Heroes magic items had become incredibly rare. By the end of the Age of Tantus they became practically extinct.

Today an artifact that still contains magical energy is considered to be more valuable than all the precious gems in the world. There are only two artifacts currently known to have magical energies: the mysterious Circle of Trim currently being studied by the White Robes, and the Orb of Brotherhood discovered and owned by The Eight.

The activation of the Charm of Life by Custos is credited with instigating the new age, and many believe that it will be the discovery of another artifact that will usher in the next great change.

Magical Machines
The Age of Wizards also saw another type of item: the magically powered machine. Unlike magical artifacts, these items were mechanical; they provided services that could be rendered mundanely, often through the use of gears and other moving parts. Magic was just the power source that made these machines go.

Some machines were infused with the magic inherently, but wizards often found putting together mundane machines beneath them and instead would just make “magical generators.” These generators would store large amounts of the wizard's power and could then generate this power to the machines built by engineers and scientists.

The Aemirri Empire was the only nation that had really perfected the magical-machine process. They developed magical generators that could last indefinitely without leaking power and a simple process of transferring this process to any magically powered machine. Engineers were among the most respected professionals in empire. When the empire froze over magically power heaters became the difference between life and death for many.

Now the citizens of the frozen empire live in a society of salvage. When it is warm enough they go out into the frozen ruins of old cities and scavenge whatever magical machines they can. If they are useful they attempt to repair them, otherwise they salvage the parts and transfer any remaining magic power to their generators. Current wizards don't have the control to provide power to these generators so their survival relies entirely on this salvage. There has been some research done in steam-powered generators that would remove them from their reliance on magical power but so far it is considered nothing more than a dream.