I prefer to keep the actual, literal way things work more vague [i]ala[/i] Tolkien at first. I'm not saying that specific brand of celtic/nordic folk magic with elves and rings and orcs and inexplicably peaceful hobbit-towns and shit but the idea that the nature of magic is mysterious, perhaps unknowable? At least at first, if say later someone wants to flesh things out-I think if we just namedrop a lot in early posts, and let other players take off with ideas then it will all come together. This works democratically too-the less popular ideas will be less fleshed out, the more popular ones will be re-visited again and again.