Magic (The Artefacts of Power)

The magic in the book series The Artefacts of Power by Maggie Furey is based upon the four elements; there is water magic, earth magic, fire magic and wind magic. Mages of the setting tend to specialize in one of them, predisposition toward one element over the others seems to be part of a bloodline. Some applications of magic combines elements; one mage performs weather magic by combining wind magic and water magic.

A notable standout point in the setting's magic is that beside magics of the four elements, counted as positive magics, there exist a negative magic countpart to each of them. Opposite earth magic exists old magic, that empowers magical races such as fey-like creatures and the intelligent spirits of mountains. Opposite wind magic exists wild magic, that is connected to natural disasters such as tornados and earthquakes. Opposite fire magic exists cold magic, which seems to cause heat death through applied entropy. Opposite water magic exists death magic, which can manipulate the forces that govern the afterlife and perform necromancy. Generally, mages do not have a connection to negative magics or the ability to perform them, though there is a mage in the books that as the offspring of a human and a fey-like creature is an exception.

The book series are named after four magical artefacts in the setting that are the epitome of magic and also possess intelligence. These are the Cauldron of Rebirth, the Staff of Earth, the Harp of Winds and the Sword of Flame. They grant vast power over their respective elements, but also over their elements negative magic counterpart. The artefacts were created long ago, and no one knows any longer how they were made.

There were four magical species connected to the four elemental magics; the mages of the earth, the leviathans of the waters, the dragons of the fire and the winged folk of the wind. An ancient event caused the winged folk to lose their connection to magic and for the dragons to disappear from the world. The leviathans kept to themselves and were forgotten. The mages, capable of accessing any of the elemental magics, maintained a society that steadily declined over history until the time of the beginning of the book series where only a handful are left. They look like humans, but live for centuries and most of them have a racistic attitude towards normal humans, which they consider to be a unrelated species despite cross-breeding being possible.