Magic on the Island and in HARPG
The Drabardi are born with what you could call a unknown magical seed. It's not until it have matured that it will be able to develop it's magic fully. There are two types of magic, elemental or mental magic. The elemental magic is basically a telekinetic ability to manipulate one of the four elements (air, water, earth, fire). Often they get the same 'seed of magic' as either of their parents but they still usually seek out one of the divine sisters (or the brother!) to help their magic awaken. While they can't create their element as create for example fire or a gust of wind, they have control over it, but this don't come automatically. The donkey must train to gain this control by practice. Its unknown of why, but the elemental magic ability is always strongest in donkeys born on the island. Those born off the island seems to develop a stronger mental magic instead. For each generation the magic will lose one level of strength until in the sixth generation the Island donkeys HARPG offspring will become a 'magical dud'. Breeding a HARPG donkey with a newly exported Island donkey will give the resulting foal the same max level of magic as it's HARPG born parent even if the island born have a higher level of magic. Humans usually don't notice the magic in the donkey since its usually subtle.
I have a Island donkey and I want it to do magic.
How does it work? Does it have to have magic?Well, for your island donkey to really connect and be able to preform its elemental magic it need to take the "Path of Magic". The magic test is taken when the donkey reach magical maturity at 3-4 years of age. You can see in the links in the sidemenu what kind of magic your donkey will be able to do - all depending on what LP you have in the magic skill and what path you chosed.
If you dont want your Island donkey to have magic that is ok too. Then you simply wont do the Path of Magic test and it will be seen as the Daughters of the Mother dont care that much about your lil' ass. Statuswise in the herd your donkey might get a odd glance but that is most likely all that will happen (unless you want it to be shunned in RP). If you want it to mainly develop its mental magic only you still need to pick a path and work out a good story on why it wont work on the elemental level (in other words, you put all the magic points you get towards the mental magic instead of the elemental).
I'm in HARPG only - is it a must to have a magical ass?
Of course not! You can use your imported island Drabardi donkey in HARPG as a normal common type donkey with no magical abilities at all from the start if you wish. The magical side to this breed is purely optional. Unless the rider/owner of the donkey know about its magical abilities in the first place, the rider/owner may never know that their donkey is a special magical being. Most HARPG donkeys seem to be more prone to develop their mental magic more than their elemental magic, in other words the mental magic is the dominant, and the elemental is the subordinate magic and tied to the island home. The magic don't affect their longeared shape at all, and it will not develop horns or wings. It will look just like a normal donkey aside for possibly their coloring. So anyone not aware of their magic abilities won't be able to see it directly. There is no need for HARPG donkeys to do a Magic Test (unless you want them to have done it before they were captured and shipped off the island).
Other Magic related information
Magic Mentors (Island) This is only for Island donkeys. A magic mentor is often a older donkey with a higher magic skill than your own. They are said to be blessed by the Mother-of-All for their understanding of her magic. Most mentors are sure to teach what could happen if the young one stray from the right/good path but there might be rotten eggs as well - so beware. Either way - a mentor will boost your donkeys magic skill - just be sure it is used for something good! There are perks to become a magic mentor as well (and not just get the help of one), but the road to become one is long and hard. There are not many that prevails that long. The titles are given at the "Magic Upgrades". Restrictions The Drabardi's magic have but one restriction: it can't normally act as a god/goddess-like power. It can't for example bring back deceased to life (not even with Mending magic), nor can the donkey kill someone with a blink of their eyes (using their magic). Nothing that is going to severely permanently affect anyone else's character, or even an NPC, is allowed without an ok from a) the player of the other character b) the group depending what it's about, ie everything that is done between players, magically or not, good or most especially bad, need to be agreed upon first. A donkey with foresight will not always get the full picture, only snippets that can be hard to decipher.