Magic

“Very little is known about how 'magic' works in the realms of the gods; and by extension on Earth. According to our preliminary conversations with the Asgardians, their inexplicable powers are in reality a natural effect related to a god's purview, or to a being's fundamental nature. What the Asgardians view as magic is something superficially similar, but entirely different. The difference seems to lie in the scope and power of the effects being conjured, but even our best anthropologists are yet to come up with some definitive explanations of where the boundaries lie.

From what we can gleam from our own legends, the best documented case of true magic is that of Odin. Having sacrificed his eye in the well at the root of Yggdrasil [Root, or roots? Well, or wells? The source texts are fiendishly unclear], he was able to gain true magic. This might be our be our best line of inquiry to figure out this magic before it causes some ungodly cataclysm on Earth.”

- Excerpt from the Departmental Memo of Prof. Garland

The knowledge of magic which once existed among humans, at the time when the Aesir and Vanir walked upon Midgard, has long since all but died out. In the modern world magic is the purview of the illusionist and the charlatan; though there are (of course) still those who claim to practice 'true' magic.

Then, everything changed when the Gods of lore came stamping through UNITED's ITP gate. Now mystical effects can be seen by UNITED personnel on an almost day-to-day basis, which are simply integral parts of a god's being. Instead, what the Gods describe as magic is a rare and revered secret; with it a scrawny elf can kill with a single gesture, dwarves can forge wonders, Freya can hex her enemies and Allfather Odin can plunge his kingdom into a timeless sleep.
The key difference between magical and miracle is that magic must be learned rather than instinctively wielded; despite all his might and wisdom, Odin's knowledge of magic cost him an eye, so few gods are interested in trying to follow in his footsteps.

If the stories of human sorcerers who once wielded powerful spells are true, then perhaps magic could one day return to Midgard.

(OOC note: You can not create a character, god or human, who can use magic at the beginning of the game. Learning how to wield these arcane energies would be extremely difficult for a God, and perhaps even impossible for a human: email the GMs before putting any actions in so we can advise accordingly.)

If you've started learning a magic you should have access to this page