Natural Laws & Magic

Unlike Earth, magic is something universally present in Metamoor, something every living thing holds inside and is able to make use of. As such, the people of Metamoor don't call it magic. It is simply something they are capable of, like walking or breathing or lifting an arm.

The biggest example which is mentioned again and again in the comics is the ability of every Galhot to shape shift after reaching a certain age. They can change their appearance. While their general features remain, they can make tails appear or disappear, change skin and hair both in color and texture as well as any other part of their body in shape and visual perception.

But there are many other types of magic which are worthy of note. Let's delve a little deeper into the natural laws of Metamoor!

While all Galhot (people from Metamoor) are capable of magic one way or another, their level of skill varies.

Let's have a closer look at the shape shifting business. Every Galhot is capable of it however children up to a certain age are still developing the skill and may encounter problems when attempting to use it. This is thematized in issue XXX when a Galhot family with two young children flees to Earth and changes their appearance to human in order to fit in. The older of their children is not yet ready and has trouble changing his form entirely, especially so when excited or anxious, while the baby cannot change it at all. 
We see several people using this skill. Cedric changes from human to his snake-like form and back on a regular basis and takes on the form of completely different people as well, such as Mr. Collins (issue 11). Ms. Rudolph - or Galgheita as her Metamooran name goes - uses the skill to become a human elder and takes up position as a teacher at Sheffield Institute. Then there are Alborn and Miriadel who shift to human in order to raise Elyon on Earth. Even Elyon herself changes her human form in issue 11, posing as Will's new swimming instructor. 
There are mentions of other people shifting later in the comics when a big group of people try to flee Metamoor through a portal. 
It isn't clear if there are any restrictions to this skill. It appears that the general features of a person in most cases remain no after changing so there is a certain resemblance left, Cedric being the exception. Whether this is voluntary by the people themselves or whether this is something dictated by level of skill is unclear. Also it isn't explained if there are other types of limits to it, for example if it takes a toll on the people using it. Ms. Rudolph seems strained by her human form and upon returning to her original one, relieved. An indicator that upholding the human form for a long period of time can be exhausting. 

A counterexample is Vathek who never once changed his appearance while on Earth which could indicate that he doesn't enjoy changing his shape or simply has no talent for it. 

Besides the above mentioned shape shifting, levitation of objects is a common practice. Ms. Rudolph uses it in issue 12 to serve tea and cookies to the girls in a floating manner, explaining that everyone in Metamoor is capable of such a small feat. We also see her levitating a glowing source of light in issue 8 as Galgheita. 

She can also disappear or rather make herself invisible and walk through walls. Elyon shows these powers in issue 4 while luring the W.i.t.c.h. girls into a trap and even Cedric magically appears in issue 8 alongside Elyon. Again, whether this is restricted to the amount of energy the person using the skill has left or maybe to certain walls that can be walked through, is never truly explained. 

We have different forms of attacks too which are performed mostly by Cedric on the girls, but also by Phobos, Elyon or even Vathek. 

Then we have bubble magic. We see its use in two different forms. Cedric uses it in issue XXX to capture the W.i.t.c.h. girls and in the Elyon special we also see small bubbles holding little fires floating about her campfire and later the cell she is being held in. 

Finally we have a multitude of usage of magic through Elyon and Phobos. Let's get to Elyon in the next section. Phobos however technically is only so powerful because he uses Metamoor's raw energy itself, slowly sucking it dry and turning the rest of the world miserable in turn. This also means that his use of magic could give us hints to other types of magic which can be found across Metamoor. We know he uses his magic to create plant-life but also to evolve. He evolves the whisperers from mere plants and later turns them further into the XXXX. He also uses these powers to evolve Cedric, enhancing his magical abilities, giving him wings at a time and even turning him into a strange monster (issue XXX). 

It is said that power is being passed down along the female line of succession of the royal Escanor bloodline. Phobos first fears, then chooses to use a coronation which will bring Elyon to her true magical potential; the inheritance of her power running through the crown of light. It is also noted how Elyon, as a female descendant already holds a much greater power than most, which can only be rivaled by Phobos through directly sucking magical energy from the life force of the planet of Metamoor. Not only does she wield water in an impressive display (probably through using levitation?) but she undos all of Phobos' magical spells and punishments and returns most of Metamoor's life force to the planet and still holds a considerable amount of power herself. 
It is possible that this strange occurance of magical power only being passed down the female line, which introduced the matriarchy in general. 

Another rule of the world is that the power of magic must never challenge the power of nature (issue 29). An earthquake hits a town but when Elyon wants to interfere with her magic, she is stopped because of this law. 

Here's a little list of magical devices we see being used in Metamoor: 

• a round map of Meridian showing live where people walk or run
• a carry light in triangle form
• a symbol on the floor functioning as teleportation 
• Phobos' diary which only reacts to magic 
• Phobos' seal which can open portals
• Scrolls that reveal their contents only after the seal was broken
• bubbles big enough to hold a human, functioning as magical cages, decreasing the flow of time for the inmate
• a bracelet for long-distance communication
• a double bladed sword made up of violent and aggressive magic, deadly when struck by it
• a floating platform functioning as elevator
• a magical net used by Frost the hunter

There is only one mention of a magician and that is in issue 14 where Cedric is disguised once more as another snake-like person wearing a red long coat with hood. He introduces himself as Ravel, a magician from outside Meridian. The way that people simply accept this title and occupation gives hint that this is in fact something that exists in the world of Metamoor. The question is what distinguishes a magician from the average Galhot. After all, everyone in Metamoor is capable of magic one way or another. Maybe it is by their training or their skill?