Malefaction

Malefaction is the use of magic to cause harm. Most magical traditions throughout history have had a taboo against using magicplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigMagic

In common terms, magic is the art of producing a desired outcome through occult means. Various arts are described as magical, from common street illusionists, village herbalists, and rituals for the intercession of deities. However, true magic is the art and science of elemental mastery, harnessing elemental creatures and instructing them to perform simple or complex tasks. for selfish and dangerous purposes, but the Rasian Academy, as the premier institution of thaumaturgy, was the most effective at regulating it.

Malefaction is broadly defined as the use of thaumaturgy to cause harm to any individual. As such it included using magic to commit, aid or abet any civic crime, such as fraud, theft, assault and murder. Additionally, using magic to harass, manipulate, intimidate or spy on individual is also considered malefaction.

As the result of famous incidents of malefaction which brought the Academy into disrepute, most notably the reign of the notorious Grand Master Belikast, a number of thaumaturgical disciplines were entirely banned. Most notable of these were neuromancy, manipulation of the brain, and all the arts of offensive battle magic. Under the Magisteriate, practicing or even studying these arts was considered malefaction. This ban essentially destroyed the Holistician school who relied on neuromantic arts, and led to the dominance of the Magisters.

At Rasia, the punishment for malefaction was expurgation - a humiliating expulsion from the Academy, being stripped of their magical powers, and being subject to measures which prevented the criminal from ever using magic again. They were also subject to civic justice for the crimes they committed, which was usually death in the case of the worst crimes.