The Cords (Magic) General Information

The Cords is named after a miscommunication of information. The Cord was misinterpreted as referring to magic, thus resulting in the name the Cords.

The Cord is an interconnected web that resembles a tapestry and stretches across the multiverse. This Cord overlaps with each other thanks to (almost) every living being having at least one strand connected to them. The strands of individuals weave together with the collective to form large tapestries that can only be seen using certain spells or by those who have access to specific abilities.

The Cord is a conductor of magic. At its core, magic is caused by tiny microbes which can influence the world around them. These microbes resemble tardigrades and live within a vast micro-universe that spans across all realms, the Cord. Living beings can manipulate these microbes to bend and reshape reality in order to cast spells. However, this manipulation does not kill the microbes. Rather, it creates more microbes, which causes the microbes to identify the individual as a "friendly" host. Thus the microbes flock more to that individual, giving them a stronger connection to the Cord and allowing them to cast stronger spells. Microbes do not understand reproduction in the same way most living beings do, so when a baby is born from that individual, the microbes assume that they are the same individual. The baby starts out at the same level of magical power as the dam, which means they grow a stronger connection to the Cord as they get older, surpassing their dam's magical abilities.

These microbes are thought to be the true "first species" of Thaorin's Gate. Other creatures live within the cords, such as Nomphoirs.

Every Cord strand ties into a ley line, which is essentially a point of origin. All ley lines are connected, forming the spiderweb framework for the Cord. When someone travels a great distance, their strand(s) will continue to remain attached to the ley lines, moving along them with the individual.

Key Ley Lines

These larger, thicker strands have a greater magical power, usually made from Primordial magic. They can influence the regions they pass through to have a stronger magical connection, and any time key ley lines cross over each other, the area surrounding the intersection becomes a "charged point of connection" or ChPC. ChPC have the highest concentration of magic, allowing the most microbes to pass through the connection, making spells more potent and sometimes stronger.

Stands

Strands, otherwise known as veins, are the magical energy (or simply energy) that make up the Cord. Strands are made up of a singular type of magic; this is where they originate from. Each cord has its own colour, corresponding with its origin (such as fire being red and gravity being purple). These strands are easily manipulated into spells or runes when casting to give them their distinctive colouring. If viewed through magical means, strands appear as a braided chain that originates from the base of the individual's neck.