When Spells Collide

When Spells Collide

There comes a time when two forces of magic collide with one another. The following is the current ruling on such magical interaction.

When mana involved in spell work collides, energy is released, causing distortions to the immediate surroundings. Control of the mana in either spell is lost, weakening the spell itself. This only occurs when the surface area of mana of multiple spells touch, and only the mana touching is lost. In this way, if a spear of mana were to hit a thin wall of mana, both in the form of spells, the mana at the tip of the spear and at the point of contact in the wall would be lost from the spell. This would shorten and dull the spear, while it would create a hole in the wall.

As for elementally charged magic, there are always two actions that occur: the collision of mana, and the collision of the elemental power. The collision of mana occurs in the same fashion as stated above, although control of the spell and its power must be taken into account. The collision of elemental power is determined by similarity, polarity, or unrelatedness. If the colliding spells share the same element, then the elemental charge is rapidly released from both spells, causing immediate manifestation. If the colliding spells have polar elements, they also rapidly release, but react very violently, creating an entropic manifestation of the two in question. If the colliding spells do not share type nor polarize, then nothing happens to the elemental charge, only the mana involved. Elemental charge is, of course, released as the mana feedbacks upon itself. The sudden manifestations of either element caused by the loss of mana keeping them in control react as they would under normal, physical conditions. Note: These interactions do not affect interactions between pure forms of elements.

Examples:
Same Type Interaction: When two fireballs meet, they release heat extremely fast and cause flames to erupt in a large radius, relative to the spells interacting.
Polar Type Interaction: When a water spell and fire spell meet, scalding hot steam floods the area. When an earth and wind spell meet, a vicious sandstorm spawns. Both interactions are relative to the size and type of the spells interacting.
Unrelated Type Interaction: When a fire spell and an earth spell meet, their mana simply hits one another. As stated above, the sudden manifestations of either element caused by the loss of mana keeping them in control react as they would under normal, physical conditions. The flames would heat the rock. If the heat was intense enough, magma could be created.

Pure forms of elements reacting with one another is rare enough that interactions between two spells of pure nature would be taken into case-by-case consideration.

How elements react generally depends on a new-ish concept: Elemental spells take mana and an elemental charge. The mana is used both for the spell and to keep the charge more or less in line for the spell. In a fireball example, it would be fire charged and the mana required would be used to form the spell, control the fire charge, and give it velocity. Keeping the fire charge in line expends mana, and fire charge that isn't kept in control by mana is released, manifesting itself as flames, causing a fireball to look like a ball of fire. This part is to be considered a basis for elemental spell work in execution, and to be separate of all the above.

Concept created by Tuv and Chaoswizkid.