Magic in the Black Steel World

Existence in the world of Black Steel can be imagined as propogating through two very different but powerfully interactive "realities" -- one very like our own in terms of physical law, the other a "magical world" that few humans can witness directly, governed by very different laws indeed. In general, anything that exists in one world necessarily exists in both (though its form in the "magical world" does not resemble the one it holds in our own) but exceptions can be created by the proper exertion of will by someone who knows how to do it, and these exceptions can have significant effects on the reality of both worlds, usually in the course of restoring the two worlds' equilibrium (that is, in the course of ceasing by one means or another to be exceptions). The act of creating such exceptions, at least as humans have learned to do it, typically involves mystical-looking motions of the hands or body, carefully modulated speech or singing, and exertion of will in the magical world, and is generally known as "weaving spells." Human beings are not alone however in their use of the interface between worlds; dragons and elves are known to have special relationships with this interface, other races have been known to wield sorcerous power as well, and even some unthinking beasts appear to have evolved means of creating certain "magical" effects. Moreover, there is a great deal of evidence that magical spell-like boons are granted to priests of the world's various pantheons, not by the priests themselves but by something deeper within the magical world. Some have theorized that the will and worship of each major religion's faithful is sufficient to create these effects, or perhaps to create (or draw unknown beings to fill the roles of) "deities" that provide the boons themselves, most likely at one or more removes. Others argue however that priests are merely passing down traditions of ways found long ago to exploit laws of the magical world not yet known to humans in detail (a faint parallel might be drawn with "Eastern" vs. "Western" medicine in the modern world).