Life Magic is one the main schools of Xeuá Magic ("linking, connecting magic"). Life Magic is the magic of life itself, as it flows through living things. Where life is abundant, as in the undergrowth of a rainforest, it is very strong. Where life is rare, as in a desert, it is weak. Where no other life is present, any use of it will drain the user terribly. Only Redbark Brownies have a true genetic aptitude for it. It is thought by some that Brownies' unique cosmology, being formed from pieces of the magical tree of life, caused a percentage (known as Redbarks) to be imbued with the inherent ability to match their own life-force/aura (cár'áll) to the life-force of other living things, thus exerting a degree of control upon them. The difficulties other races face in learning Life Magic are thought to stem from this difference in cosmology: no other race contains as part of their makeup a minute portion of the Tree of Life. Other races thus tend to learn Life Magic much more slowly than Redbark Brownies (Brownies other than Redbarks have great difficulty in even learning the first two or three levels of Life Magic).

Image description: The Brownie Shamans, speakers for the spiritual world. Picture drawn by Bard Judith.

Classification. Within the essence of existence, also called the cár'áll or simply the aura, the four elements are loosely connected to each other in an intricate pattern. This pattern, known as the web of the Xeuá, forms life and order out of chaos. It makes life possible, and in essence is the energy of life, the energy of Caelereth itself. There are many different ways in which this energy is expressed. One of these is the energy that is unique in living things. It is this energy which is manipulated by Life Magic, and is called simply "life" or sometimes the "life-force" (cár'ámn, Styrásh cár'ámn) by practitioners of Life Magic.

Basic Principles. The Xeuá-magician Khaelvan III. taught at the Ximaxian Academy in the 9th Century and is still considered the foremost human expert in Life Magic. He boiled Life Magic down to the following three principles:

• Life Magic does not drain the user, it drains a nearby living thing.
• Life Magic draws of that energy which keeps living things alive.
• Life Magic can only affect the energy which keeps living things alive.

Usage and Limitations. Life Magic is quite different than most of the other magical specializations. The use of magical words is unneccessary, at least in the practice of Brownies due to their natural affinity to this kind of magic. Instead of directly from reagents, Life Magic draws its energy from a source, which can be anything living, and uses the reagents only as catalysts for the magician's mind. A Brownie Life Magic adept, therefore, does not tire as he/she uses his/her skills if the magic is properly attached to its source, directing the life-force from a living thing, through themselves, and into another living thing for a specific purpose through an act of will. Something nearby will thus lose of its life in order to fuel the magic. Life Magic in general is a magical act of distributing lifeforce. Normally, a Life Magic adept will try to let the source be something that will recover rapidly, such as grass, or the leaves of a tree. Simple magic, if it has its source attached to such, will cause them to wilt. Stronger magic will cause them to shrivel or even to "kill" them. The target of Life Magic, like its source, must also be something alive. This target may have its life added to, altered, or taken away from.

Several practicioners of Life Magic, if sufficiently familiar with each other's habits of thinking and acting, may act in concert, multiplying the power (not the level) of the spells possible for them to cast exponentially.

History. After the War of the Chosen, Life Magic was never banned among the Brownies, as all magic was among the other races, but it lay mainly unused and almost forgotten as the Brownie people struggled to survive as the pets and entrees of the other races. It was not widely used again until Keekoo once again united the Brownie people. Sadly, by this time much knowledge had been lost, and the magical talents of the most powerful team of lifemagi today is only a shadow of what once was possible in the glorious days of Birn. Each Brownie tribe set up their own method of training Redbarks to reach their full potential. Life Magic was analyzed, categorized and its possible roots and effects described along with the other magical disciplines at the Magical Academy of Ximax. Advances have thus been made, but the most awe-inspiring possibilities lie buried still in the past. Training for non-Brownies that wish to become lifemagi is available at the Magical Academy of Ximax, and especially at the Seven Schools of Magic located on Aeruillin on the edge of the Void.

Spell Levels. The Brownie Greenflower was first Archmage of Life at Ximax. She felt that her people would find use for a similar system of magic levels to designate the abilities theoretically available to a Redbark. The following system took firm hold, both in Ximax and the Seven Schools, as well as among Brownies everywhere, and has been used ever since. The Life Magic Spell Levels can be summarized as follows:

I. Novitate Spells (Levels 1-3)

• Level 1
  Extremely simple spells, any Brownie can learn these quite simply. Not so easy to learn for others anyway. Often, these spells are eruptions, magicks that young Redbarks cast before they have been trained. An example of a level 1 spell is Accelerated Growth.

• Level 2
  Slightly less simple, these will require a bit of study to learn. An example of a level 2 spell is Controlled Accelerated Growth.

• Level 3
  Earlier level spells just require power. Level 3 and higher require finesse and detailed control of the microscopic living systems involved. An example of a spell of this level is Controlled Motion Without Growth.

II. Initiate Spells (Levels 4-6)

• Level 4
  Formal schooling will bring these spells into the aspiring sorcerer's range. Use of the magical language may amplify a spell, but is not necessary for Life Magic spells. At this level, the glands and excretions of animals and plants come under the initiate's control. Examples at this level are: Create Panic, Dull Pain (by releasing endorphins). Athletic Boost (releases adrenalin to give temporary extra speed or strength), and Madden (driving a creature out of its mind by chemical imbalances).

• Level 5
  At this level, the initiate will first learn how to control nerves and involuntary muscles, giving the initiate the ability to inflict pain without damage (such as Skin Spark and Heart Burn), or to stop the heart of a predator (a spell called Heart Death).

• Level 6
  As the Initiate prepares to enter the status of a full-fledged mage, they will be trusted with the knowledge of more and more dangerous techniques. This level focuses mainly on overloading the cells of a plant or creature with an excess of the life-force, causing controlled cell rupture, with the extreme being to cause the creature to burst into flame as every cell in its body ruptures (this extreme is called Spontaneous Combustion).

III. Magicitai Spells (Levels 7-9)

• Level 7
  Now a full Manipulator of Magic, lifemagi will learn how to control more finely the drain of life they put on their source. This means that they now have the ability to cause premature aging, among other related things.

• Level 8
  The middle level of Birni magic arts. At this level lifemagi will gain the ability to override another creature's will, forcing its muscles and limbs to obey the caster rather then the creature itself. Examples of this are Self-Aware Hand and Slave Maker.

• Level 9
  Only the best of the gifted Redbarks make it to this level. At this level it becomes possible to "tie off" the life-force of a piece of wood, meat, or any other piece of a living thing, so that the life-force circles endlessly without needing any further input, and remains alive indefinitely (called "Everlife").

IV. Magus and Archmage Spells (Levels 10-12)

• Level 10
  Just as with the other specialties of magic, a metamorphosis in the magi takes place at this level. They now draw their own life-force from their surroundings, and as such their injuries heal at a startling rate, aging slows almost to a standstill, and eating becomes optional.

• Level 11
  The highest level that any Birni Redbark could have hoped to achieve within one century. These powerful spells reach into the very genetic essence of living things, causing controlled mutations, limited only by each the potential present in each living thing. Genetic improvements are possible through this level.

• Level 12
  Now legendary, these godlike spells have been lost since the fall of Birn. Creating a new life form from scratch, using surrounding living materials, as well as fully providing life to that which is inert, be it stone or a dead person, are the highlights of this level. Life and death are literally in the hands of these most gifted ones, as they control and warp all of the life-force around them at will.