So... since I’ve decided to turn Swords and Claws into a franchise, with several stories, games and hopefully even cooler things for the future, the universe started growing more and more in my mind, with a lot of new places, characters, stories and lore information in general.
I intend to be able to show at least a little bit of each thing as more stories come but, even so, I’ve decided that it would be necessary more than that to pass to you more of this world.

That is why I’ve decided to start this “Lore and Claws” post series!
One thing that I believe to always add a lot of depth and make pretty much any Fantasy universe more interesting, is a well-crafted magic system.
I, personally, stood a few years trying to develop something good, and finally today I woke up inspired and, combining elements from Fairy Tail, Hunter X Hunter, Skyrim and Avengers (Infinity Stones) I’ve managed to create something that was satisfying to me…
Without further ado, why not to start this series talking a little bit about our magic system, right? ^^

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Here, you have the Lumithra Diagram, and in it, the 8 signs of power, which are divided in three fields, the Prime Circle, the Physical Field, and the Cosmic Field.
The two signs in the center are, as suggested, primordial for all of the magic, being present, in lesser or higher levels, in almost any kind of spell. These are also the easier magic signs to learn.

Connection deals with connecting. The name is self-explanatory.
That is what allow someone to be able to, through their magic, perceive and/or influence the universe around itself, even across distances.
Energy is also pretty basic, once energy is present in almost everything that can be done.
A basic spells using only Energy would be, for example, creating a luminous orb.

Around the Prime Circle, we have the 6 remaining sigs, organized in a circle, which goes, clockwise, in a spiral of growing complexity, having Destruction as the starting point, just as well as the ending.
That is because destroying things can be simple. Almost anything you do to something can result in it being destroyed or, at least, ruined. However, as the complexity of magic grows, you can reach the Absolute Destruction, which would be completely erasing something from existence.

Now, be aware that being more complex doesn’t always mean being more difficult, and it also doesn’t mean that any magic learner would always need to learn the magic signs following that order.
It is perfectly possible for someone to have more natural ease with some of these signs and even master it while barely having any knowledge about the others.
Also, the intensity of anything can make it more complicated too. Manipulate a small object to levitate just above your fingers, certainly would be way easier than lift a building in the other side of the city!

Manipulation deals with controlling things, being able to make it move as the wielder desires, or even apply physical transformations, such as moving a sphere of water across the air, or turning it into ice.
Transformation involves changing the properties of something, which usually involves changing its chemical constitution. For example, making a wooden floor turn into a stone floor.
Creation is the most complex sign in the Physical field, being slightly stretched to the Cosmic field, and consists in summoning something into existence, out of nothing and nowhere.
Space deals with… well… the space. Describing something that deals only with Space would be quite confusing, just like some telephone booth being bigger on the inside, or whatever was that thing happening in the Mirror Dimension from the Dr. Strange movie! ^^;
And Time is time… you slow time, you rewind time, you travel through time…

…
Easy enough?
So let’s make things more complicated, shall we? XD
… or maybe easier… that depends! ^^;

Remember when I mentioned that the Prime signs are presents in almost any kind of spell?
Yeah… that is because these signs usually aren’t used individually in spells, but combined in different ways.

Have as an example, a fire and ice wizard, as they learn their powers.
In the beginning, they use only Energy to send or drain energy from things that they can touch, making it get hotter or colder. Later on, adding Connection to it allows this wizard to do it across distances. However, no flame or frost can be seen.
If the wizard wanted to actually shoot fire or ice at someone, they would need to throw, for example, some flaming gas or sawdust at their enemies and then make it burn or splash water at them, to make it freeze. Even so, it would require them to manually do it, without much of a magical control.
Add some manipulation to it and the wizard would be able to freely control their attack, being able to manipulate the sawdust directly from their purse towards their enemies, as it burns on fire, and even make it explode in the end, or maybe grab the water from a rain, turn it into ice spikes and then use it as a weapon!
With some Transformation magic, no longer would be require the rain or the sawdust, once the wizard would be able to combine and dismantle molecules from the air to get the water, or the hydrogen (H2 - flammable gas) needed to burn or freeze their foes.
Finally, with some Creation, everything needed for the fire and ice could be simply summoned into existence!

Combining different signs can make spells more complicated or more simple, depending on which of the signs is present with more strength in which spell.
Remember when I mentioned that Destruction is the less complex and also the most complex of the signs, once it is easy to simply destroy anything, in different ways, but on the other hand, it is way more complex to erase something from existence?
In the same way, for example, teleporting something (Space + Connection + Manipulation), which is more about manipulating something ACROSS the space, instead of manipulating the space itself, can be easier than summoning something into existence (Creation). Therefore, for many wizards, instead of creating what they need from nothingness, it can be preferable to simply have all of their equipment stored somewhere, and teleport whatever they need towards themselves.

Some kinds of magic can even have different versions, using the signs in different ways.
Let’s have some necromancy for example.
Making a corpse simply get up, and act randomly, would only require Energy, and maybe a little bit of Transformation/Manipulation to give the body the bare minimum for it to work.
Making the corpse act according to your will, would require even more Manipulation, getting more complicated.
It would require also a little bit of Time, to bring memories of this individual, and make it to behave in a way that resembles, even in the slightest, the person it was in life.
Now, add a lot of Manipulation, Transformation and Time to bring back the body to its original living state, even more Time to fully bring back its consciousness and perhaps a huge amount of Connection to truly link the body to its original perception of self… and here you have, as one of the most difficult spells to master, a full resurrection!

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Guess that covers it! XD
A good heavy start for this series, right? XD

But wait… what is the source of this magical power?
Where does it come from?
What allows being from this world to use it?
What in the actual world “Lumithra” even means???

Well, my friends, that is story for another day and, once that would carry some major spoilers for the ongoing Swords and Claws comic, you won’t be getting those answers so soon… ^^;
So just wait there, my… about 3 curious friends that will actually bother to read it! More will come at its time! XD

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UPDATE! XD
Part 2:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47918887/