But first, let's start with this.
~Magic System~
There has been some question as to the magic system within this roleplay. I will admit, I did not elaborate on a clear enough level here, as I suspected. I will now elaborate further on the classes of magic, and types that may be used.
~Augmentation~
This is my personal favorite and the one I understand best. Augmentation magic is just as it sounds, using your element to augment something connected to you. For instance, Twain Solemnheart, my character, uses his power of Light to augment his sword when the going gets rough. This causes the three and a half foot long edge of steel to gain attributes of the Light element. The metal may shimmer, glow, or shine of its own account, the apex of which will be the diamond in his sword, to which there is great significance to be explained at a later date.
Augmentation magic is not limited to just weaponry though. It can be employed to nearly anything touching your character's body. For instance, say you are the fire user. It is possible for you to be in a fight and grab hold of someone's weapon. Using your element you can quickly heat the weapon, causing your foe to drop it. This however would be considered godmodding against another player, unless permission is given. If we wind up in a brawl with a bunch of NPCs however, it's fair game. Just a few augmentation examples will follow.
Light: Twain's blade glowing brighter, causing more damage. Light is energy in its purest form. This will allow the blade to slice easier and perhaps even spark when clashing with another weapon or object.
Shadow: Coating a blade or self in shadow, becoming nearly invisible durring the night. Shadow can act as a type of poison when coating a blade.
Earth: Works better with weapons made of wood. Can create barbs that drip poison or acid.
Water: Ice a weapon, so that when it breaks the skin, instant freezing of local tissue occures.
Fire: Cause weaponry or self to catch fire, without harm to self or weapon. Extra damage here is self explanatory.
Wind: Guess who gets a slight electrical charge? Wind. Added weapon damage is easy to understand here.
~Alchemical~
The art of alchemy in this world is about the same as any other. An added feature in this world is that while in transmutation, the alchemist may put a bit of their element into the mix, changing the end product slightly to hold a bit of their own essence and element. Here's and example.
Twain needs to transmute a small ball of bronze into something else. He's out in the middle of no where, and it's dark. The sky is overcast. Little to no light is available. Durring the transmutation, he could easily invoke some of his magical power, causing the new end product, let's saw a staff or something, to glow lightly, giving him just enough light to see, and increasing damage if used as a weapon. It does however, take an extremely large toll on him, since the item will hold the enchantment by itself when away from him for up to a month. While touching him, it will leach from his magical energy, and thereby, his life force. In that one instant it was like he cast a very large spell. He might feel weak at the knees or even sick to his stomach. He may vomit. It's the price of magic. Alchemy also does take energy from the body normally, without elemental addatives. It is very risky to add your element. As stated before, the element will linger in the new item, where in augmentation magic, once you let it go, the object returns to normal.
~Projection~
This is what a lot of us think of when we think magic. It is, by my definition, projecting the element outwards, as in the case of a fire using throwing a fire ball, a water character throwing a spear of ice, earth hurling a boulder, wind causing a gust, you get the idea. This is the second most common class of magic in the world, with a close tail on Augmentation. This requires the caster to put in 100% of their own energy to create the spell. It can be instant or a build up. If you build up you can create larger spells at less of a cost, but if you work instantly, it's a higher cost for a weaker spell, at least in the ratio. Here is an example.
Let's say Twain is fighting against a spell user. The spell user is slowly building up a powerful spell. It is draining his magical ability at a slow and steady rate, but one he can measure. Twain uses only instant spells, which are weak in comparrison, but much faster. They do battle. Twain shoots out blades of light instantly, like throwing knives that fly in a straight line. This takes a quick toll on him, because it instantly saps his energy, without time to recharge. If he keeps this up, exhaustion will quickly overtake him, and he wouldn't get anywhere near the potency of the enemy mage, whose magical energy has the slightest ability to restore itself as he works on the spell. It is a net loss, but not as severe as an instant cast.
~Manipulation~
This is not only the rarest class of magic, but also the most difficult. Here, you literally manipulate the element. Low level spells are easy enough to do, such as taking a camp fire and molding the blaze. However, if your element is more one of spirit than one of a concrete matter, this is a particularly risky field. High level manipulation magic is the most lethal to use. It has strong ties into Augmentation magic at this stage, but you no longer need to be in contact with the object you are working with. For an example, high level Augmentation magic allows you to create high potency concentrations of elemental power in an object. Manipulation magic lets you make that same object out of pure element, right on the spot. This is going to be endgame stuff for the most part.
An example of this can be used in the history of the Three Drakes of Light. The first to come and rise as a Light Drake, Lucien, fought a great battle before his ascension. Durring this battle, he went from wearing only white robes, to becoming encased within reflective armor, made of concentrated element. Not only was there armor, but he also had a large array of weaponry made of pure light, as well as angelic wings. Normally, such a spell would consume nearly the entire body within minutes, leaving nothing but a dried husk. To achieve this form requires the aid of the elemental dragon your element corrisponds with directly, meaning without them there with you, this is not possible. There is no other way, since it simply requires far too much energy.
A forbidden field of this magic may be known as Necromancy, which is only available to the character of Shadows. If you want this power ((necromancy)), you and I will be talking. A lot.
~Added Information~
Most everyone should see this one coming. Crystals play a large part in magic use in this roleplay. Are they required for magic? No. But, they do amplify it. Think about the sun and a magnifying glass. It's the same concept here. Your magical power is the sun and the crystal is the magnifying glass. The higher quality crystal, the more amplification. Crystals can amplify magic up to five times, but most only add a little bit to someone's base power. Quality can be measured in the size and clarity of the crystal. If they are cut, so is the power. Naturally occuring wonders are what make this magical world go round. Crystal types for the elements are as follows.
Light: Diamond
Shadow: Jet
Earth: Emerald
Water: Sapphire
Fire: Ruby
Wind: Topaz