Practical Magic of the Fourth Era

A short summary of the uses of magic in my AU, by no means a complete list. And please, check out my roleplay blog if you like! http://through-these-hallowed-halls.tumblr.com/

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Practical Magic of the Fourth Era With the advent of graces such as electricity, refrigeration, and indoor plumbing, one may easily come to the conclusion that the arcane arts no longer have any sort of practical use in our enlightened age and are banished to backroom parlor tricks; this could be nowhere farther from the truth. What technology still struggles to alleviate, quaint old magic comes to the rescue.

Medicine and Healthcare Restoration magic has many practical uses for the contemporary Imperial doctor, from cauterizing wounds to alleviating illnesses. Common practice in every hospital throughout the Empire is to treat most wounds with a cauterizing Restoration spell; the spell works in ways that it disinfects the immediate area around the wound and acts as a “barrier” to keep bacteria out and stop blood flow. Restoration is also helpful for repairing broken bones or reattaching severed appendages. However, and unfortunately, even the strongest variations of these spells have their limits; no cauterizing spell can save a backwater Nibenese from profusely bleeding out of his stomach as a result of a horrific hunting accident, and no grafting spell can reattach that horrifically mangled arm back to the torso of the hysterical Dunmer on the operating table.

One aspect of medicine which hasn’t changed by any means is alchemical medicine; in any small Heartland town one can find that the local alchemist still sees no dearth of business, his shelves always stocked with essential willow anther and painted troll fat. Surprisingly, medicine in the form of bitter tonic composed of crushed alchemical ingredients mixed with water and a thickening agent is still by far the most common method of consuming said medicine. Those on the more squeamish side, however, have the option of taking pills.

Entertainment Bygone are the days of live theatre and tavern music, as most citizens of the Empire prefer their entertainment in the form of vinyl records or cinema. What many aren’t aware of is that the production of those cheesy B-Movies that you happen to love so much employ the use of magic.

If one were to take a tour of any major motion picture studio, they would be shocked to see that very little of the sets have any actual physical objects, save for foreground objects and most costumes. Directors and producers employ liberal use of Illusion and Alteration magic, using it to construct backdrops and fabricate special effects so stunning they would make even the cockiest Telvanni lord blush. In addition, when physical resources are scarce, many costume designers and makeup artists will employ Illusion magic to create outfits. There is, however, a small but growing band of directors, producers, and actors who have forsaken commonplace practice of using magic and in turn vowed to use only physical sets, props, and costumes.

Military In the same vein as the entertainment industry, the Imperial Legion is quite fond of magic. At first glance it seems that firearms, such as the Stendarr Standard Issue Rifle (or SSIR), would eliminate the need for archaic means such as Destruction magic. In reality, each brigade within the Legion has at least one regiment composed of battlemages, often found fighting alongside their mundane comrades. Not only is Destruction magic adept on the battlefield, but also Alteration and Illusion magic, as well.

One well-publicized success involving Illusion magic is during the Morrowind Civil War, where the 18th Cheydinhal Arcane Regiment belonging to the 1st Heartland Battalion fooled rebel Dunmer scouts into believing that an Imperial Battalion were heading towards the opposite direction by casting “dummy” soldiers and tanks, where they were in reality closing in on an opposing enemy battalion encamped nearby, leading to a crushing victory for Imperial forces.