Summary
Rather than a proper magical school, divine magic is more an attempt at understanding the supernatural powers possessed by spirits, goddesses,
Exalted, and
divine beings at large. It is a magic that is as straightforward as it is paradoxical sometimes, ever maddening scholars attempting to understand it. Sometimes it is fueled through
mana, sometimes it is ran on the power of belief and faith, and others still use ill-understood means. Throughout the millennia, some fundamentals have boiled down to help guide mortals in approaching such esoteric power.
All magic done through a divine being inherently becomes divine in and of itself. This means the same exact spell done by a
mage becomes divine magic when done by a goddess, as an example. What this divine status ultimately
does depends entirely upon the divine being itself.
Fire magic can become a cleansing force that incinerates evil and spares the good; conversely, a corrupting scourge that tortures and distorts those afflicted by it. The first step to understanding divine magic, thusly, becomes a matter of knowing
what kind of divine being is involved in the matter.
Being tied to a divine being, their magic's powerful nature becomes limited to the influence of that being. The so called 'domain', the area of divine influence, is a critical component in exercising divine magic. How these domains manifest is a matter of constant change and circumstance, as the rules concerning them are ... flexible. The notion of 'blessed ground' confers that a divine being is exerting dominion there, and hence their respective magic can work or become more effective. However, some divine beings choose instead to channel their domain through icons, statues, or other objects and rituals. The more specific the conditions of their domain, the easier or more accessible it becomes.
It can be deceiving to think that simply because one divine being has domain, others are excluded. This is rarely the case, as only ridiculously powerful ones can afford to be so overwhelmingly dominant. However, as on veltron as in the Heavens, and the politics of the divine can carry all kinds of issues. How these resolve is a matter of the divine, but in terms of
possibilities, their domains can encroach in a variety of ways. Sometimes all that is needed is someone or something invoking their presence. Other times more elaborate ritual, dedicated worship, and decorum is needed to establish the domain. What this entails is as endless as the stars in the night sky.
One of the other qualities of divine magic is its ability to circumvent, undermine, or defy common conventions. Using fire again as an example, divine fire may not cause secondary fires, possessing the ability to distinguish what is and is not to burn. It can also potentially resist being snuffed out completely, burning and burning as its divine being envisions it to. By breaking rules and conventions, divine magic becomes able to do truly absurd and impossible things much to the frustration (or elation) of mortals. It can be said the more these rules are broken, the sharper the cost in doing so, however. In
Nerzin, this is regarded as 'going against the ways of Heaven', the fundamental forces of all the universe. Whether true or not, it is an entirely observable matter.
Beyond these points, one can only rely upon the divine being they choose to invoke. Or, must deal with in some form or another. It is a form of magic that is even more temperamental and determined by its wielder than normal. For, being what they are, their ability to conceive of magic is fundamentally different from mortal life. The value of knowledge concerning them is among the greatest on
Veltrona, at least where powerful circles are concerned.
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