Dead Zone

Magics

In this world, there aren't many magics that humans can use. Yes, I said humans. The only other known race are dwarves, and there are some dryads hiding in the rainforest that no one knows about. Humans and dwarves can live together, but they have trouble when it comes to actual relationships. Dwarves can live up to around three centuries, so there are still some that are around from the days of Nicholas Flammel. add that to the incredible lifespan and slow reproduction of dwarves, and you have a recipe for some tension. 

Humans give most of the ground here, allowing the dwarves special places in society, and respecting them for their knowledge. Dwarves are slow and steady as a race- though their children are more human in nature than they used to be- so they rarely get jobs as technology developers. They mostly work as history or geology professors, or as engineers. 

With that in mind, you can have a dwarf with no magic but almost any skills you want, or a human that can have one of the following magics, but only a few skills.

MAGIC

Language- most well known for allowing the user-called a translator- to speak to animals, this magic allows you to speak every language on earth perfectly, as well as understand it. More advanced forms extend this to written languages- even computer languages and made up or encrypted languages are understood and used easily if you are an advanced or powerful enough practitioner.

Light- This magic allows one to make any part of their body glow with a bright light. More powerful practitioners- called Flashers by modern media- can make brighter light, but it takes practice and skill to make any more than one part of your body glow. The newer generation has developed a technique that allows them to control the frequency of the light and change the color of their body parts at will- this takes intense practice and extreme skill. 

Sense Magic- This is obvious. Called Mousers, mages with this ability can sense when someone or something is magical- if they try. The stronger the magic, the easier it is to sense, and the more skilled or powerful they are, the more easily they can sense magic and where it comes from- maybe even what kind of magic it is. An advanced technique that not many speak of is the ability to take already existing magic that is sensed, and changing it. This isn't understood well, and it would take lots of power and many, intense hours of practice to even start to achieve this effect. Cannot start with this ability.

Sense Air and water- This ability is self explanatory. Called a 'storm mage', you can sense air currents like wind as well as water currents like... currents. More advanced practitioners can move through places with air and water without having to open their eyes. This is because they can 'see' the world around them simply by feeling how the air and water moves around objects in their area. If you were powerful enough, you could feel words and colors and understand them based solely on how the vibrations from the two affect the way the air moves. It requires either powerful magic and lots of practice, or more practice and skill than you would want to think about to achieve this gift, though people born blind or deaf often develop these abilities very quickly compared to others.

Fire- Simply put, the ability to create fire and be immune to heat. Those with this ability always have red hair, which is a huge hint in modern society. These people typically have trouble creating fire while afraid unless desperation is also felt. The fire created can only get as hot as they are powerful- the average fire mage can only create dull red fire, while the most powerful can create fire so hot it is orange. The skill and focus required to create white fire is hard to achieve, and the amount of power needed for blue flames is almost impossible to be born with. Along with their ability to make fire, Fire mages are immune to heat. They could walk naked through the sahara for three days and only suffer sunburns from UV light and minor dehydration- minor. They can sweat, but rarely do- usually only if they are nervous or working very hard.

Matter- A Matter mage is an odd mage, and unique in their relation to Crasher mages. A matter mage can create pure, stable, matter. Problem is, it is perfectly still, lacking energy and existing in an unchanging mass. It can be any kind of matter, depending on how skilled the mage is, and enough to fill an average barrel with water if they are exceptionally powerful, but it is still and perfect- Water becomes ice instantly, and most other things become more than petrified. If you want any of their matter to last in existence longer than a few milliseconds, you need a Crasher mage.

Crasher- A Crasher mage is basically a walking bomb. They can add energy to any chunk of physical matter and increase the speed of any moving thing unless it reaches the speed of light. How much they can do this to things depends on how powerful they are- Though the kind of energy added can be changed and controlled with enough skill and practice. Interestingly, a Crasher and Matter mage are always born in twin pairs. This is a fascinating little conundrum, and it has brought the number of twins born annually up dramatically. 

Dwarves are all 'mages' with powers oddly similar to the Storm mages and Fire mages; They can sense Stone and manipulate Fire. They can also sense Fire, to the point where they can tell how hot a flame is just by knowing it is there. They can also change a flame without touching it, something extremely rare among human fire mages- it takes intense concentration and immense focus, as well as a strong will.