Overview
"Arialian Magic" is the historical and colloquial designation for the early, unstructured application of Planar Catalysis and Eidos Interfacing practiced by the Ikor caste of the Arial continent. Within the AIR catalogue, this era of magical development is classified as the *Ritualistic Phase of Planar Manipulation*.
Precataclysmic Distribution and the Ark Paradigm
Prior to the Virian Cataclysm, the Flesh Engineer Ark distributed a finite number of Planar Tension Catalysts to loyal Ikor lineages. Ark deliberately withheld the underlying mechanics of Tenax expenditure and geometric calculation from the mortal users. Instead, he provided highly simplified, ritualized instructions disguised as religious dogma.
This methodology served a dual purpose: it granted the Ikor an absolute, undeniable monopoly on planar manipulation, and it prevented independent technological innovation. The resulting "magic" was highly inefficient. The Catalysts responded solely to the users' baseline Eidos resonance and cognitive focus, while the superfluous chants, physical gestures, and celestial alignments prescribed by the shamans were entirely ignored by the artifacts.
The Cataclysmic Dispersal
The Virian Cataclysm shattered the centralized hierarchy of the Old Arialian Empire. As Ikor families perished or fled the devastation of the outskirts, the centralized monopoly on the artifacts collapsed. The majority of Catalysts were lost, buried in the planar scarring, or scattered across the continent as refugees abandoned their ancestral seats.
Post-Cataclysmic Status and Cultural Perception
Currently, only a few thousand Planar Tension Catalysts are estimated to remain across Arial, with a significantly smaller number actively located or in use.
Loss of Operational Knowledge
Because the mechanical knowledge required to safely operate the artifacts was tied to the pre-Cataclysm elders, the surviving populations were left with powerful but incomprehensible devices. When the elders died, the "spells" and rituals were lost. The remaining populations possessed the physical Catalysts but lacked the cognitive framework to safely trigger them, turning the artifacts into highly dangerous, unpredictable heirlooms.
Secrecy and Mythologization
To protect the artifacts from rival tribes, Shakor enforcers, and outskirt raiders, the remaining Ikor lineages strictly hid their Catalysts, passing them down in absolute secrecy as family treasures. Public display of a Catalyst invites theft and violence.
This enforced secrecy, combined with the total loss of operational knowledge, has elevated the Catalysts from technological tools to mythical, legendary objects within Arialian culture.