Magic

Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is the act of special powers and abilities that are very rare around the penguin universe. It is unknown how penguins get magic. Magic can be lent, in a very dangerous way, and penguins can be born with some abilities of magic. Not many know about Magic that aren't magicians themselves. The sorcerers protect themselves from the outside and evil, and are especially wise and are usually not caught out.

Background
Magic history goes way back into the 1800s - at the start, strange things happened ... well-behaved penguins would start breaking things and going ballistic, some would go digging up graves and no-one would know who did it... these weird things were all caused by Magic. The BoF reported strange influxes of Wutt Energy coming from the Fourth Wall at that time, which may have caused the anomalies. These things passed into the 1900s and nobody knew anything. In the 1900s, magic began gaining an influence in pop culture and fictional stories. Still, even today, most of the general public does not take it as seriously as it should be.

Description
Magic is defined by the BoF as the voluntary manipulation of Wutt Energy by a living being to control and warp reality. It takes great skill and knowledge of the Fourth Wall to be able to manipulate Wutt Energy like this. Most creatures use special devices to conduct and control Wutt Energy, but magic involves direct control of Wutt Energy from the mind. Energy is usually expelled through appendages in the same code that the Fourth Wall uses to write reality. This allows the sorcerer to manipulate reality.

How to use it
There are two main methods of using magic: spoken and silent. Spoken magic is generally slightly easier to do, though silent magic has the advantage of stealth. In spoken magic, the spell is activated by speaking the task needed to be done (e.g., "Turn the lamp on!"). In silent magic, the spell is activated by thinking about the task needed to be done. Gestures are usually used for more accuracy or effect. In addition, the appendages of the sorcerer glow bright blue when they are using silent magic.

Some spells are easier than others, and the choice of spoken or silent magic can affect their difficulty. For example, trying to "unburn" a charred log would probably be easier with silent magic, since it may be hard to describe the task done in words.

Other methods
A lot of sorcerers use wands to improve the effect of their spells. Wands take out any fuzziness in the string of Wutt Energy pulses to improve the clarity of the spell and amplify its effects. Wandmaking is complicated -- wands are handheld computers that use Wutt Energy instead of electricity and can connect to the Fourth Wall to know what the user is thinking. Because of this, wands are often custom-made for their user.

Another way of using magic is potion-making. Potions are special liquids that can store and preserve spells for a long time. The spell is activated when someone drinks the potion. Potions have to be made with the right ingredients, because each spell requires a different chemical structure to hold it. Once the carrier liquid is mixed, the potion is completed by enchanting the liquid with the desired spell.

Involvement
Magic pops up quite a bit in the higher classes of Fourth-Wall-breaking. The BoF employee population has the highest percentage of sorcerers. This is not very surprising, as the BoF is one of the only organizations that have heavily researched magic and its properties. Two out of the five Masters of the Universe are skilled in magic (Mayor McFlapp and Director Benny), as well as many bureaucrats and Department Heads.

Magical research is conducted mainly by the BoF, in the Department of Research's Magic Office. The Department has uncovered many of magic's secrets and is currently trying to find a way to write all of them down as mathematical laws.

Outside of the BoF, magic loses much of its technicality and science. Recipes for various potions and methods for making homemade wands have been handed down for generations in sorcerers' families, with some improvements here and there. Experimenting is shunned, as it could lead to disastrous results.

Spheres
The magical community is commonly divided into two groups, or "spheres", as they are called. One is the technical sphere. This group consists of the BoF and prominent Fourth-Wall-breakers, as well as scientists aware of magic. The technical sphere (nicknamed the techs or techies) wants to advance magic into the modern age and turn it into a so-called "hard" science, like physics and chemistry. This would include writing down quantitative formulas to describe the behavior of Wutt Energy, spells, and potions, like there are laws for the motion of objects, as well as experimenting with and observing magical phenomena using the scientific method. Here, researchers tinker with magic and use their experimental data as well as known magical laws and formulas to discover new things about sorcery. The technical sphere believes revolutionizing magic will improve its use and safety. The opponents to this are the traditional sphere (nicknamed the trads), consisting mostly of sorcerers who know little about the Fourth Wall, Wutt Energy, and the physics behind them. The traditional spheres want sorcery to stay the way it is, with less theory and more hands-on study. Within the traditional sphere, experimenting is shunned as it could lead to dangerous results. Methods for making wands and recipes (not "formulas" as the techs call them) are handed down through family generations with no scientific research as to why they work. Traditional sphere magicians tend to rely more on the "mind and body" to improve their magic rather than scientifically proven methods, such as different wand styles or materials.

The two spheres are very prominent in magic, with debates between representatives being common and sorcerers quickly becoming identified by their choice of the sphere. Almost every single bit of everyday discussion between magicians involves the two spheres. They've pretty much become a way of life.

Finipines
Refer to the section: Finipines

The ancient magical arts have long been extinguished by anti-magic campaigns made by colonizers, with only five ethnical tribes managing to maintain their traditions and techniques with magic. To do this, however, their techniques had to be re-engineered and transformed into defensive mechanisms to hide away from the rest of society, so they could live in peace and allow their magic to flourish. While the tribes are typically tightly knit and little stray from the groups, some who do to mingle with society usually wind up incorporate modern concepts like Card-Jitsu and wands to their skill set.

Recently, efforts to protect and manage magic and its users have been made by the government, through the secret creation of the Office of Magical Affairs (OMA). Comprised of a council and magical departments, a majority of those who work here are modern magic users of tribal descent. The OMA, while serving as the main safeguard of magic within the country, remains criticized for its highly modernist view of magic and its low representation of ethnical tribesmen in its ranks.

Gensou Island
While the rest of the continent does not take the country seriously, Gensou is known to have the highest percentage of magical folk within the communities with over 90% of inhabitants having some sort of magical prowess. Ranging from elemental manipulation all the way to spellwork, the island is known as a safe haven for anyone who wishes to learn and practice their magic in peace. The strong magical properties of the country are known to have concealed its prominence from the global stage.

Munijoch
Refer to the following articles: The Infinite Engine, Nightwardens, 9

One's best bet at figuring out the magic of the land would be at understanding the existence and function of the country's Infinite Engine, a mysterious artifact found underneath Mt. Graxxar. To this day, scientists and theorists alike are intrigued and baffled at its machinations, though many would agree that it is the source of all magic within the land. It is currently heavily guarded by the government despite clear fact that the mountain is WhiteBloods territory. It has been the point of conflict in many chapters of Munijoch's history, with different forces wanting to destroy, preserve it, or tap into its mysterious powers to usurp others. Tasked with its protection is The Visionary, a practitioner of magic with prowess over all ten Runes.

Beyond this, a few individuals display abilities in magic, hardly making up 1% of the country's population thanks to the purges conducted by the WhiteBlood government. While many would resort to remain underground to practice their craft in peace, there are a few who use it for their own ambitions whether that is good or bad. Magic is perceived by the community as Runes which can be summoned by certain inscriptions, gestures, artifacts. These artifacts are commonly protected by a certain organization, known as the Nightwardens. According to most scholars within the organization, magic can be narrowed down to ten portions of power, some with opposites, others with none. These portions of power are then channeled either through inscriptions or gestures in order to be "summoned" in a manner that assists the user, such as a shield, makeshift weapon, or a pure bolt of its Rune type. 9 has been making strives in the creation of an inscription that all Runes can use without compatibility issues, and allowing for the mass implementation of Runes into weaponry, shielding, or gadgets.

For some wielders of magic, their power can manifest in a variety of ways, mostly through the eyes. Former Munijoch President Joseph Yslenski, a wielder with latent magical prowess, has his eyes flash red as a sign of aggression, though his use of the magic is extremely limited. Others, such as Mark Yslenski, frequently has vacuum portals form within proximity to him while he sleeps to the instability of his magic, in addition to permanently glowing yellow eyes.

Terminology

 * Wutt Energy - A strange space-time phenomenon that can be used to alter reality in various ways. The Fourth Wall is the ultimate source of Wutt Energy.
 * Pectosphere - A layer of the atmosphere carrying magical energy that is commonly tapped into by Card-Jitsu cards.
 * Sorcerer - Anyone who can use magic at will.
 * Ninja - A dark-clothed magic user that utilizes Card-Jitsu.
 * Spell - A string of Wutt Energy pulses that have various effects on reality. Complicated series of spells are used by the BoF and Fourth Wall to control the entire universe. Spells that are harmful are known as curses.
 * Rollback - A common type of spell used to undo various actions. Rollback spells are unique because they fill the room with a blue light, and the distinct sound of a clock ticking can be heard.
 * Wand - A portable, handheld device that can conduct Wutt Energy without being affected itself. These are used for amplifying or better controlling spells.
 * Handle - The part of the wand that is held by the sorcerer. It takes in Wutt Energy. This causes the vibration sorcerers feel when holding their wands.
 * Core - The part of the wand that filters out the unneeded signals in the spell and amplifies its effects. It uses information from the Fourth Wall to figure out what spell the user is saying or thinking of.
 * Nozzle/Tip - The part of the wand that shoots out the filtered spell.
 * Staffs are like wands but are larger and structured differently. They have an enchanted object on the top that is equivalent to the core of the wang but also shoots out spells like the nozzle.
 * Grimoires are textbooks filled with magic. It behaves like a instruction booklet, as it shows how to cast certain spells and how to summon different entities.
 * Sigil - A signature of a spell that can be spoken to summon the spell. Most sigils are complex in style and may be confusing to say. They can be spoken in a complex language.
 * Potion - A liquid whose chemical structure allows it to store a certain kind of spell. Drinking the potion or pouring it on an object releases and activates the spell. Potions have an expiration date -- they "go bad" when the Wutt Energy inside them escapes and scatters.
 * Carrier liquid - The liquid part of the potion that stores the spell. It usually changes color once it's enchanted and turned into a potion.
 * Qi - An energy that flows through bodies who use magic. One is able to manipulate that energy into a strong force.
 * Manipulation - A method of using magic by controlling either a source or, if trained enough, from thin air. One can manipulate any kind of source. Examples are manipulating Fire, Ice, Air or Earth. The Elemental Amulets also help one to manipulate a source.
 * Conjuration - Another method of using magic by summoning it. Conjuring an entity is a complicated method, and wears off after a certain period of time.
 * Card-Jitsu - Not to be mistaken with the card game, it is a set of elemental cards utilized by ninjas as their main self-defense.
 * More may come soon!

Trivia

 * Willy the Penguin has tried to be a Wizard's apprentice, but failed at the attempt.
 * Club Penguin exhibits magic at their annual Medieval Party. Among the enchanted objects is a mirror "programmed" to give random answers to questions.
 * Despite magic being rare around all of Antarctica, it is an extremely common sight to see in Gensou.
 * Natashi is a user of ice magic, but only a beginner.