Magic exists throughout this world as a beautiful, whimsical, and deeply evocative force. It is real, visible, and emotionally resonant—but also volatile and imperfect. Magic is admired for what it can create, yet rarely trusted with what must never fail.
In cities like Raverie, magic is treated as something to be experienced, not something to be relied upon. Precision machinery and clockwork have taken over the roles where consistency matters, while magic remains a source of wonder, inspiration, and personal expression.
Magic is inherently unpredictable
It responds to emotion, intent, environment, and unknown variables
The same act of magic may never manifest in exactly the same way twice
This unpredictability is often what makes magic feel alive and enchanting
To many, magic feels less like a tool and more like a conversation with the world—one that sometimes answers beautifully, and sometimes does not answer at all.
Because magic is so closely tied to emotion, intent, and unresolved states, it does not always release a living being cleanly at death.
In this world, ghosts exist as a natural consequence of magic’s imperfection.
When a living being dies while bound by something unresolved—
a powerful regret, an unfulfilled promise, a consuming attachment, or a truth left unspoken—the magic that once responded to their emotions may fail to let go. Rather than dissipating, it holds an echo of the being in place, forming a ghost.
Ghosts are not fully alive, nor are they entirely gone. They are impressions sustained by magical inertia.
Common characteristics of ghosts include:
They are most often anchored to places, such as homes, crossroads, workshops, or battle sites
Some are bound to objects—heirlooms, tools, letters, or artifacts heavy with personal meaning
Rarely, a ghost may be tied to another living being, drawn by unresolved relationships or shared guilt
Ghosts are not inherently hostile. Many are passive, repetitive, or quietly observant, reenacting fragments of memory or emotion rather than acting with intent. Others may react strongly to changes in their environment, especially if those changes touch upon what binds them.
Importantly, ghosts are not created deliberately. They are considered a side effect—one of many ways magic fails to behave cleanly or predictably. Attempts to control, manufacture, or rely on ghosts are widely viewed as reckless.
To scholars and witches alike, ghosts serve as a reminder that magic does not simply end when life does. If something is left unresolved, magic may linger—whether the world wants it to or not.
Magic is widely considered something lovely, curious, and subtly dangerous.
Small magical effects can be charming, poetic, or amusing
Larger workings may spiral, misfire, or transform beyond their intent
Failures are rarely mundane—they are strange, symbolic, or excessive
Because of this duality, magic is respected rather than mastered.
Despite its beauty, magic is almost never used as the foundation for essential systems.
Critical infrastructure—such as:
City power and heating
Defense and security
Food production
Transportation and communication
is built on clockwork precision and mechanical certainty.
Magic may be incorporated as an enhancement or flourish, but never as the sole mechanism. A magical system might work wonderfully—until it doesn’t, and the consequences are often dramatic.
In earlier times, magic was woven more tightly into daily life.
People once relied on magic to:
Ease labor
Guide travel
Support crafts
Assist with weather and seasons
As automation advanced, these roles were gradually replaced. The shift was not driven by fear of magic, but by a desire for reliability. Magic did not vanish—it became something more personal and optional.
Magic is still present among ordinary people.
Many individuals possess minor, often unconscious magical traits
These may manifest as small elemental quirks, intuition, or subtle effects
Such magic is usually harmless, decorative, or deeply personal
These small expressions are often viewed with fondness, as part of the world’s quiet charm.
Most modern magic is practiced through conduits and artifacts, which help guide its flow.
Examples include:
Chronomancers using enchanted watches to frame and limit time manipulation
Pactbearers channeling magic through a bond with a spiritual entity
Frost Globe Channelers shaping weather magic through crafted globes
These tools do not eliminate unpredictability, but they give magic a shape, making it safer to invite into the world.
Witches are a rare and striking exception.
They possess an innate connection to magic itself
They cast without tools, mechanisms, or stabilizers
Their magic is expressive, symbolic, and deeply intuitive
Witchcraft is often seen as beautiful and unsettling in equal measure—pure magic, untouched by gears or safeguards.
One of the few institutions where magic is openly and deliberately used.
Magic is paired with clockwork launch systems
Mechanical devices catapult magical seeds into the atmosphere
These seeds gently influence snowfall, wind, or rain
Even here, magic is guided, bounded, and supervised, allowed to shape outcomes but never left to act alone.
Personal artifacts and heirlooms
Artistic or expressive spellcraft
Witchcraft and spiritual traditions
Experimental and academic environments
Citywide systems
Automatons’ core logic
Long-term public infrastructure
Safety-critical mechanisms
Magic is seen as:
Beautiful and whimsical
Emotionally resonant
Unreliable but inspiring
Best approached with care and respect
In Raverie, magic is not rejected—it is kept close to the heart, and away from the engine room.