Magic

Magic is an important part of the wold, though rarely a daily occurrence for most people. The usual mage is a servant of whichever country he hails from, using their time and powers in the service of their country. This is usually something that many mages believe to be beneath them, like agriculture or maintenance work. Some serve in the army but not many, as their abilities are needed for other vital things. Kings and queens also almost always have a cadre of mages in their service to protect them from magical attacks and serving as advisers. Rarely is a mage powerful, influential or ambitious enough to work on their own, and many have contracts with their teachers or their nations that require them to serve their homeland in some capacity.

Structure of magic
On Sijn magic is often visualized as a vast ocean, endlessly deep and with currents of power flowing within.

Creatures that are magical in nature can innately draw from this source to power their abilities and do so instinctively to maintain physical form if the laws of physics would otherwise make such a creature impossible to exist. Elementals, such as a fire elemental for example, need to maintain their otherwise intangible form so they do not dissipate and large creatures such as dragons feed on magic to grow larger over the centuries and to allow flight in spite of their mass.

Spellcasters, trained or innate, use spells to direct the currents of this sea to achieve the desired effects. The natural state is however quickly reinstated and so a spellcaster or his spell needs to be powerful enough to alter it for a longer duration or even permanently, or the caster is required to mentally maintain the effect for it not to be washed away. The more disciplined or powerful the caster is, the deeper he can delve into the sea to pursue the more powerful currents of magic to empower his spells with.

Views on magic
Open use of magic is usually forbidden in every city and town. In the capital cities only those with the proper permits can use their magic openly, and in many places people are uneasy around powers they do not understand and will not like it when others practice their art around them. Usage of magic is especially frowned upon when it involves anyone else other than the caster, as they fear an evil mage might try to charm or otherwise control them. While the guards in larger settlements take the misuse of magic seriously, smaller towns rarely have guards with enough training or numbers to enforce any laws against powerful magic users.

Magical items are likewise viewed with suspicion and fear and so their trade is either outright forbidden or strictly regulated.

The Downfall and magic
The ritual used to transport the cities to their demiplanes is one of the well know acts of magic, along with the gateways that connect the capital cities. Though magic is widely used within all cities it's functions remain a mystery to those that do not practice the art. After the Downfall most mages were needed to enhance the yields from the limited available farmland within the otherwise barren demiplanes to prevent famines.

The level of magic is believed to have diminished since the downfall as the number of mages is limited and they haven't had the luxury of using their magic or their time for training, research or other ways to further their understanding and abilities.

Airships
The airships that allow travel between the islands and transport goods are another important piece of magic in the world. Though it is obviously magic that powers the airships' flight and protective barrier, their exact function is a trade secret.

The ships are almost identical to the sailing ships used even before the Downfall in appearance, other than the crucial magical enchantments on them. Most newer ships, especially the larger ones, have masts that can be commanded to fold into themselves and lower to become just a few feet tall. This is to allow their passing through the gateways and to reduce air resistance, as the mast and the accompanying sails are not needed during flight. Older as well as cheaper ships use the enchantments on the sails and mast to move the ship and are thus always needed even if there is no wind.

The most crucial part of an airship are its keel and an amulet or other magical control device. The keel is the very core of the ship and its enchantments, and if it is broken the ship cannot fly. To control the magical properties of the airship an amulet, a ring or another form of accessory is used. The captain or first mate of the ship usually uses this item to control some of the ships properties and most ships cannot even set sail without its use. Some ships are designed to be manned by smaller crews and aid the ship's operation with magic instead of needing a crewmember to do those tasks.

Spell scrolls and plates
Spells can be inscribed into a scroll so that someone else can cast that spell later, even one with no magical abilities at all, by simply reading the command word from the scroll to cast the spell. Spell scrolls however are expensive to make and are destroyed when the spell is cast. To combat this the spell plates were developed: they allow for multiple uses of the spell to be stored and are cheaper to make in comparison to making scrolls for the same amount of casts. They are however heavier as the spell is carved onto a rectangular metal plate and require far more raw magic to make, needing multiple mages or an especially powerful one to make a single plate. Otherwise the plates are identical to scrolls, turning to dust once all of their magic has been expended.