the Dim

a magic system used by a few. accessible to anyone and innate rather than via words or potions.

the Dim can:
- affect physical sensations
- summon items
- concretely alter reality
- be used to intoxicate
- be physically distilled
- have wishes and knowledge

the Dim has no appearance, though it is associated with the color white in some circles/churches. this is done through the purity (unaltered) appearance of everything except clothes, jewelry, and makeup, all of which must be white. practitioners involved in churches must tie their hair up outside of their practice (no hair must be hanging perpendicular to the floor) or hide it entirely.

when used in medicine: magical medicine cannot set a problem right, because it can't change the current state of anything. magical healers use their magic as an anesthetic and a diagnostic, but they must also be trained in traditional medicine. there are many schools of thought and thus methods of training new healers, but the one our practitioner's story focuses on is taught to imagine your magic as a knot of yarn. they are then taught how to untie the yarn and get their answers.

when used recreationally: early on, amateur magical healers learned that trying to speak with magic and failing leads to magic on your tongue. instructors are usually required to leave a tongue scraper and a sink in their classrooms. it was experimentation that led to realizing swallowing your magic can affect you. the effects of magic are different for everyone, but it is more dangerous in medicine since you are literally swallowing your words. since most individual practitioners don't speak with magic and rather will things to happen through thought, many do not know about the uses for distilled magic. there are also some severely unethical instructors who force their students to swallow all their magic- or force them to distill it for their superiors.

when used by independent practitioners: Dim magic runs on manifestation. confidence in what you are saying or thinking is key to making it work. once you've achieved this, you can do almost anything except change the nature of an already existing thing, i.e. you can summon green pants and you can summon Green to color your pants, but you cant snap your fingers and turn your pants green. likewise you have to pool magic in your hands and touch someone to change their mood.

in touch-based magic, the effects will last as long as you are still touching the person or object, regardless of whether you lose your intention.
i.e. if you pool Happy in your hands and press it into someone, they will continue to feel the effects until you let go. if you alter a dress with touch-based magic, the changes will last as long as you are wearing the dress, etc, even if you forget you used magic.
touch-based magic is intermediate to learn and is best for cosmetic alters, medicine, and intimate partners (or anyone who has license to touch other people for extended periods.)

in speech-based magic, the effects will last until the person or object forgets what you said verbatim.
i.e. if you motivate your friend by saying "you'll do great out there tonight" with magical intent, the effects will last until they misremember your words ("you will do great out there tonight," "you're gonna do great out there," etc.) even if you forget what you said. it is best to stick to simple sentences when using this magic on people for that reason.
speech-based magic is difficult to learn, and best for objects (since objects will never forget something.)

in thought-based magic, the effects will go away as soon as you lose your intention.
i.e. if you think "I need a sword" with magical intent, a sword will form in your hands and this will last until you are no longer thinking about needing a sword. this is tricky to master because thinking about having a sword will still make it disappear.
thought-based magic is the easiest to learn, and best for temporary encouragement and high-stress situations.

in script-based magic, the effects last as long as your writing does.
i.e. if you carve "this table is fireproof" into a table with magical intent, the table will remain fireproof until the writing is obscured, destroyed, or otherwise altered to be unreadable. if you write "I am steve's best friend" with magical intent, you will remain best friends until the words are scribbled out or the paper is destroyed.
script-based magic is nearly impossible to learn and works for most situations.

the role of many who participate in the church is to heal. contrary to the popular definition of church, churches that serve the Dim often do not function as places of worship. everyone who goes to church works for the church, and the function of going is to provide a service. this service is magical medicine. both the traditional and magical aspects of medicine require training and healers are usually chosen to be trained as late as age thirteen but as early as birth.

slowly, practitioners will learn how to call upon magic at will and how to form it in their minds, but confidence takes a long time to build so not many learn fast. practitioners are usually individual, as Dim magic is not usually collaborative, but they tend to settle in communities around the strongest magic patches, both for convenience and confidence the secret will be kept.