In the world of Blackfalcon, a gifted is anyone who possesses an innate magical gift. Gifted are capable of producing magical effects through force of will, without any spellcasting knowledge. Each gifted has their own set of powers, which are clustered around a particular concept, skill, or other ability. As they grow stronger, their abilities improve and expand, as does their natural resistance to magic.

History

Gifted are a recent occurrence. They were first discovered almost twenty-five years ago, and likely came into existence only shortly beforehand. While humans do not have enough magical knowledge to know if this is truly unprecedented, the magical world has a long enough memory to be sure that this is something that has never happened before. The origin of gifted remain a mystery, though the prevailing theory is that it has something to do with human exposure to higher levels of magic, which somehow resulted in magic being used in previously unknown ways. Humans have only been studying gifted for as long as they have been studying magic - they lack the grounding to truly understand what rules of magic gifted break. The magical world sees them as aberrations, so those who have the knowledge to understand them have, by and large, not tried to do so.

Awakening

A gifted can awaken and gain his or her abilities in any number of ways. Some are born to gifted parents, and soon develop a gift themselves. Some naturally develop powers as they grow, often displaying abilities around puberty. In magical races, these naturally developed powers often relate to their species, but not always. Curiously, some of these naturally developed powers have occurred in long-lived magical races, appearing in creatures who were born long before gifted existed. Finally, it is possible to gain powers under extraordinary circumstances, often related to ancient magic, powerful artifacts, places of great power, or especially traumatic events. In the event of such an extraordinary awakening, new gifted often display great surges of power that are later impossible to them. Regardless of the method of awakening, new gifted universally begin with only limited or weakened powers, or simply poor control. However, even without formal training, gifted quickly become stronger.

Growth

A newly awakened gifted is often not particularly extraordinary, capable of minor magical feats that accomplished spellcasters could easily duplicate. However, gifted gain these abilities without any effort, rather than through extensive study. On top of that, gifted naturally become stronger, learning new facets of their abilities, improving their magic resistance, and being able to create stronger and more long-lasting effects. With proper training and focus, gifts can develop in a wide variety of ways. Within reason, gifts tend to work the way their wielder expects them to work, and grow based on what they use and how they use it.

Even a moderately proficient gifted can rival master spellcasters in effectiveness, and do not require the amount of ritual preparation of traditional spells. Powerful gifted are capable of impossible feats of magic, the likes of which have not been seen in millennia, since magic went into hiding.