Theramancy is the magic of life. Some might say it is the ability to use magic on living creatures, as opposed to creative magic, especially that wielded by reconfigurationists, which is magic used to change inanimate objects. There is some crossover. Reconfiguration magic can transform lumber, or even downed trees, into wooden tools or furniture even though the wood is a dead tree. Theramancers can also work with dead plants and creatures. However, the longer it has been dead the more it pulls into the realm of reconfiguration magic and away from theramancy. One common use of theramancy on formerly living matter is the cleansing of food. A skilled theramancer can make spoiled meat fresh again.
Theramancy is most commonly used for healing and curing, but it has many other applications. A theramancer can make a person stronger, or transform into a different kind of creature, or cause plants to bloom, or make a recently broken limb from a tree sprout new leaves as if still alive. In urban centers with a large magus population, cosmetic theramancy can be bought that will cause hair to grow in beats, or change the color of one’s eyes, or permanently alter one’s height up or down by a few inches.
Healer’s sickness is a common repercussion for those who use theramancy. It is usually short-lived, a few measures of symptoms similar to an extreme flu or food poisoning, but its aftereffects could last most of a rotation. Theraddiction is a common repercussion for recipients of too much theramancy. Theraddicts need theramancy and can feel symptoms akin to starvation or dehydration when they do not get it frequently enough. Extreme theraddiction can lead to grim consequences such as trying to get injured so as to receive more healing magic.
To the bold goes the theramancy. This common expression refers to taking the offensive to win a fight even though it means you are likely to get injured and need healing magic. It is a good reminder that theramancers have long been associated with battlefields. Some remain on the fringes to tend to injuries, but others participate more directly by enhancing soldiers or unleashing modified beasts.
The most common specialties within theramancy are presented here. Healers are the magi most associated with theramancy and specialize in its most basic form: healing. Automorphs are magi who specialize in transforming themselves into different kinds of creatures, real or imagined. The feared allamorphs specialize in transforming others, often into innocuous creatures that can then be easily ignored such as rats, toads, or squirrels. Enhancers specialize in increasing physical characteristics to make their targets faster, stronger, smarter, or just prettier in the case of cosmetic theramancy. Phytomancers specialize in using their magic on plants instead of animals, and are responsible for many magical plants, and the steppefire. One unofficial specialty is known as harmers. These theramancers have learned to reverse the healing effects of their magic and can make injuries appear, cause heart attacks, or even force the body’s internal mechanisms to turn on each other. Many nations have tried to ban this type of theramancy, but in practice it can be very difficult to detect and therefore prove.
Of all the types of magi, theramancers have long been the most accepted. Few communities turn away someone who can mend broken bones and cure illnesses with a wave of a hand.
Kristofor Loren Carlson 