Navigation of the Void
Probably the most well known use of the Vacare powers. While they are no longer unique in possessing this ability, several ideologies would prefer their hands to be in a living, breathing entity rather than a vat-grown brain. Vacare’s understanding and interaction with the Void allows them to lead ships through spaceplanes between systems. What exactly forms these lanes is yet unknown. The navigation of the Void appears to come natural to most Vacare. Relative little time studying the Void and their powers is required to safely guide a ship from system to system. Due to the low danger and generous pay of the job, many who hold Vacare potential chose to never advance beyond Navigator. Recently Vacares have been suggesting alternative methods of navigation. Where they abandon the safety of the established spaceplanes and travel directly through the Void. However, the dangerous of this kind of transportation and navigation have been shown by the Order of The Exalted Suns. Where nearly a whole expedition was lost.
Mentalism
Named after the focus upon mental powers, the mentalism branch of the Vacare powers encompass many disciplines. Ranging from empathy for diplomats, to dread for integrators. Mentalism allows Vacare to delve in the minds of others through meditation. This can be done passively to gauge a person’s emotions or actively to alter their thoughts. Vacare diplomates are sought all through the Empire for their ability to gauge the probability of a deal. As well as to read the minds of the other party to see what they truly want. Interrogators often apply their powers more aggressively. Either by forcing illusions upon the brain of their victim, making them feel, see, hear and smell things that are not real. Or by directly delving into the memories of a subject to retrieve the memories. Strong Vacare are even to control the part of the brain that controls motor functions to such an extend that a body becomes a puppet while the mind fights the control. The greatest Vacare around are able to control even the brain as a whole. Though this clearly requires uninterrupted focus and can only be maintained for several minutes at best. Upon discovery of mentalism, a great many institutions developed ways to fight this control. Mental conditioning and training was enough for soldiers to fight off any mental control during combat situation. Others created circlets using certain traditional technology or parts of a cloned Vacare brain to fight off mentalism. However, much like digital or physical defense, mental defense is very much a matter of probing and finding weaknesses.
Physicism
The realm of Physicism governs all Vacare powers that manipulate reality in one way or another. The most obvious, well known and most spread use is
telekinesis. Where a Vacare can apply force upon objects. The manipulation of the solid state of matter appears to be the easiest to master. As many younger Vacare accidentally end up using this power from a young age. Liquid state control requires exponentially more control. Theories of why diverge though Aivira claims this is because with matter, one can simply exercise force upon one point. While with liquid force must be spread over a surface, creating a forcefield. So far telekinetic control over gas has had none to negligible results.
Visism is the second sub branch of phycisim. It is certainly the most variable branch as it can manifest itself almost entirely unique within each Vacare. Though similarities can be drawn. Vis is the force that can be drawn from the Void. While Vacare’s understanding can and often does vary, a certain level of comprehending the concept is required. This power can then manifest in several ways. Lightning and fire are two very common applications. The third most common is often referred to as Voidmass. It is theorized that Voidmass is Vis directly manifested. Though due to the sometimes very divergent understandings of Voidmass of several Vacare, it is very hard to be sure of anything. Other forms of Visism exist. Especially as many older Vacare, upon discovery of their powers become reclusive and go on a journey to discover their powers on their own.
It is to be noted that Physicism is the favorite branch of any and all directly offensive Vacare. This has led to a centuries of research into negating these powers. With little to no success (certain technologies have been develop to nullify phyicisim. However, it often requires the application of a shackle-like device. Which means it is next to useless on a battlefield. Less so for arrests). This changed with the creation of the Order of the Exalted Suns. Or specifically with the Knights of Null, who somewhat are able to deny a Vacare access to his magic. Very little is known on how they do this.
Mysticism
The Mysticism branch is by far the most variable, chaotic and incomprehensible branch. It is often used to classify facilitations of the Void’s power that are not home in Phyicism or Mentalism. The most well-known sub branches are pre-cognition and divination. Under
pre-cognition, we understand the ability to predict or see a ‘vision’ of an event that will happen within 3 minutes. Pre-cognitions are often surprisingly accurate (though not always 100%). Which makes their use in combat invaluable. Still, the accuracy and clearness of the vision very much depends on the strength, understanding and training of the Vacare in question.
Divination is a much more ‘muddled’ branch that tries to predict futures much further away. While not entirely inaccurate all the time, divination is never a sure way of predicting the future. According to Aivira, divination’s predictions are not its primary purpose. The Vacare of Aurax have theorized that divination’s main purpose is communication with the Void. This would explain the sometimes alien, incomprehensible things diviners claim to have seen. Or the strange sounds the muttered when divining the future. But again, proof is at best inconclusive.
Invocation is the third most well-known Mystic sub branch. Invocation governs every act of pulling something from the void that, at best, can described as ‘an entity’. The most common (even though summoning is very new and highly uncommon) use of summoning is bind an entity to an inanimate object. This can something as simple as a carboard box. Though the entity will soon return to the void in that case. Recently summoners have put these entities in Hosts. Metal ‘bodies’ akin to robots with very little actual mechanisms inside. In the most basic examples, they use suits of armor as Hosts. This way these entities appear to be able to move. Communication has been one way only so far. The summoner can order the entity and mostly the entity obeys if it can. But when commanded to talk, apparently nothing happens.
Many more small branches exist. These small offspring are often underdeveloped and practitioners have a crude understanding of what they do at best.
As is natural with humans, Vacare have sought out ways to improve their powers in one way or the other. There are locations, for example, the Aurax system that for some reason allows a Vacare greater control over their powers. Which in turn allows them to learn said powers easier and practice them safely.
Petrichor
A psycho-active secretion of the Tantalum fungus native to the caverns and hives of Celestine V. It only appears on Celestine V and the planet is highly xenos-infested. Petrichor must be refined before consumption. The secret of this cultivation and refinement are a closely guarded secret of the Choir of the Subtle Voice. A Vacare Sect within the Grand Duchy of Far Valyrius.
Cognition Engine Anomaly
When the Aurora Foundation first used its newly created Cognition Engines, an accident must have occurred. Speculation is rampant and what happened is subject to a lot of debate. What exactly happened is unknown and reports are kept behind lock and seal. Never the less, it is well known that the sole ship to return housed several children of extreme Vacare potential unseen before. This has led to the belief that direct exposure to the Void could lead to greater enhanced abilities. So far this is unconfirmed at it appears that very few institutions are not willing to give up the manpower the resources.
Aurax Implants
While called Aurax Implants, these implants can be found all over the empire and can be manufactured by all. The first of these implants were manufactured at Aivira, hence the name. Aurax Implants are a safe way to increase a Vacare’s control (and depending on the model, even enhance it slightly). Despite not possessing the monopoly on the designs, Aivira is at the forefront of developing the new designs. Lately they have split up 2 branches named after their local Vacare ideologies. The Aineth Kairn Implant (or Kairn-Implant) enhances a Vacare’s Physicism potential while the Ither-Implant enhanced the Mentalism side.