Nanaya — Roleplayer Guild

Just a place to dump miscellaneous lore for the setting my RPs take place in, which in terms of text RPs, is currently limited to Iris Ascendis. It did start as a Pathfinder 2e campaign though, which is why some specific terms will seem familiar. Not all of it will be relevant, but it's nice to assume that a character would know something based on their background, right? Right. So here we are. It'll probably be an indefinite WIP, but that's okay.

Essence

Essence, also known in some cultures of the world as 'Iris Ascendis', is the invisible energy that makes up all life. From the people of the world, to the ground they walk upon, the trees and rocks, the water, even the air - it's all inherently made of essence. Essence also interacts with itself in different forms, as conscious and subconscious thoughts also give rise to different types. Simpler things like a sword may contain a combination of essence codewords such as "sharp" and "sturdy" that influence its effectiveness and properties, and the act of casting what's known as magic is to alter life's codewords on a given cluster of essence they can reach, temporarily or permanently.

People, however, are more complex than inanimate objects. The concept of "essence inheritance," or simply "inheritance," is the phenomenon of essence fusing with other essence that comes within the same proximity for long enough. As living things interact with the world and change it, so too does the world change them. Staying around somebody too long who has the essence of "courage" brewing at the forefront, may eventually cause the other person to slowly inherit that courageous essence as well, their personality becoming influenced over time by essence that encourages bold, risk-taking activities. With the vast amount of different emotional essence the average person interacts with on their day-to-day, it's uncommon for somebody to change too drastically off of mere essence alone, but such cases have happened; most commonly, depressed hermits stewing in their own gloomy essence become consumed by it, sinking deeper and deeper until other essence can slowly filter out the overwhelming presence pushing them down. This isn't to say that essence dictates all emotion, but merely that it enhances and amplifies emotions a person is feeling if concentrated for too long or felt too intensely.

As such, people are built of many hundreds if not thousands of different essence codewords every single day, infinitely more complex than the average inanimate object. The ability to look into the thousands of tiny dots of essence within oneself and withdraw a specific concept for the purpose of magic would require a strong will and intensive study of essence manipulation; a needle in a haystack within one's own body, as it were. Within that, though, each person has what is known as a "prime essence." What this essence is, is unique to each individual. Unlike regular essence that passes through and is gradually filtered out into nonexistence through the passage of time without constant exposure to that concept, a person's prime essence is always with them, ready to be drawn from at a moment's notice should they know how. A person's prime essence can be an emotion, a concept, an element, or should ancient Rekordian mythos be believed, even a color; though no person alive in the modern day is known to have a color as their prime essence's codeword. The general rule is that an individual's prime essence is more powerful the simpler it is and the more flexible the associated word is, though that's not always the case.

A simple example of essence manipulation through the use of standard magic could be to grant a simple sword the codeword of "fire" to create a flaming sword. Typically, more complex objects are more difficult to implant essence into, though familiar objects to the user become less daunting over years of daily interaction. Ethos use, specifically, is the act of drawing upon one's prime essence and withdrawing it outward into the world to enforce their will upon it. Unlike some magic, Ethos-based abilities cannot stay active indefinitely, as theirs is an ability imposing themselves upon the world. This is in contrast to regular schools of magic, in which casters are altering what already exists externally or that has been temporarily added to them from daily interactions. An Ethos can be anything within the limitations of what their prime essence's codeword can accomplish, and is activated with a phrase spoken aloud. This is often a quote from something important to the person, the name of a mysterious tale from a land beyond (OOC: real world fairy tale titles), or a phrase that in some way relates to their Ethos' powers.

Some examples of Ethos powers in the past include a man who could challenge opponents to a coin flip and grant blessings and curses to either himself or his opponent depending on who won the coin flip, a woman who could glimpse an alternate reality version of herself living the version of her life that could come to pass if she made the worst decisions at certain key points, and a cat who could summon a strange suit of red armor onto himself that made him powerful enough to defeat an entire city's guard forces. Ethos is still an uncommon ability to the point that consistency in what it can do is still under research, but it's clear that those who possess one are never to be underestimated in their capabilities.

A person's prime essence is sometimes also said to be one's 'soul', and influences who they are and what they're inherently capable of. A prime essence can only ever be given to a living thing, and each is unique to the individual with an assigned 'codeword'. This codeword represents the concept, emotion or singular focus most important to the person on a subconscious level. While rare, a person's codeword can alter or even change entirely depending on drastic events in their life causing them to entirely redesign who they are from the very beginning.

Most people will go their whole lives without using their prime essence consciously, or even becoming aware of what their codeword is. The basic functions of one's prime essence ensures that a person's organs are functioning as normal, that their body moves appropriate for its age, and that wounds heal naturally over longer periods of time. This essence also dictates how long one's lifespan is, and will slowly erode and flicker out over time as a person draws closer to their natural death. In this regard, the average person only has about 60% of their natural lifespan to make use of the full potential of their prime essence, after which it will start to degrade - and with it, everything empowered by it.

An individual's prime essence can also permanently degrade faster if they use it for prolonged periods and enter a state of self-damage known as 'essence rebound' for too long. Rebound often appears in the form of spontaneous cuts and burns across the body while pushing manipulation or magic fueled by their prime essence too far. If one notices these symptoms and continues to interact with essence, they're at risk of damaging their prime essence beyond repair, taking years off their life in seconds and lowering their overall potential. In some cases, pushing beyond rebound for too long may result in permanently losing the ability to manipulate essence for the simplest of tasks, even if they avoid death. Using prime essence to fuel a Personal Barrier will result in a similar experience to prolonged rebound, though far worse and far faster - it'd be the equivalent of attempting to block an attack by holding one's internal organs up as a shield.

A person's prime essence is also cut in half from its current state if they're brought back from the dead through rare and costly rituals used to return departed souls to life, with additional degradation depending on how long the individual was dead for. In most cases, people who die can only ever be brought back once, and even then, typically only if they were young when they died. Those revived by such magic will typically go on to live very short lives afterwards, should they die naturally.

Emotional essence, otherwise known as 'nama', is the most plentiful kind among society and people as an intangible force. It is considered the weakest form that essence can take, as the various wisps drawn out by the collective consciousness can't stay consistent and maintain their existence for as long as other types. As emotions pass and change, so too does emotional essence circulate and exit the bodies of living things, typically vanishing from an individual's body slowly over the course of a regular day as new events occur in their life. It's also the most common type of essence sacrificed to maintain a Personal Barrier, as it has the most minor short term effects upon being expelled, usually resulting in fatigue or minor depression once all emotional essence has been exhausted. Even so, it's recommended that a Personal Barrier user burning their nama seek either the aid of others or significant rest once they are free of danger. While nama can't normally be passed from person to person forcibly, the process of extended socializing with people the individual enjoys can mitigate the worst of the mental damage that lacking emotional essence for long periods can cause; nama will flow back in on its own, naturally, as an individual finds their circle of comfort. 

Typically, this type of essence can't exist in nonliving things, though exceptions do exist – rare and high-ranking rituals in which emotional essence is bound to an object have been known to occur in the past. Even then, the object in question would only be capable of feeling the emotions given to it at the time of its ritual, with no additions possible. It wouldn't be truly sentient, but rather experience the emotions it was given life with.

There have been rare cases reported in which nama has been shown to go above its own potential, when one or multiple emotions in combination flare in intensity and overwhelm all other essence in a person's body by becoming the sole focus subconsciously. This phenomenon has come to be known as a 'Single State Overdrive' and has yet to be fully comprehended by modern scholars. Those who have experienced one in their life have universally expressed the same sentiment: that it can't be reproduced intentionally, but must be felt in the moment and will pass soon after. It's been said to be a state of either hyper competence in activities relating to the singular emotion overtaking them, or otherwise extreme blinding rage paired with monstrous power in the case of the specific emotional essence of 'anger'. Many practitioners of essence and combat alike will go their whole lives without ever experiencing a Single State Overdrive, while others have had multiple reached within their lives, all with no discernable way to quantify it. When it ends, however, all have stated the immense exhaustion to the point of near paralysis that overtook them for anywhere from several minutes to hours or even days. Their bodies each had to heal over longer periods of time to once more take in essence at a normal rate, and some rare cases would even become afflicted by an incurable ailment in which emotional essence apart from their Single State Overdrive's emotion would cease to be received by them.

While considered the overall weakest type of essence for combat purposes, it is also simultaneously the most essential for sustaining one's life. While even more uncommon than users of Single State Overdrive, a handful of cases have existed in the past in which individuals somehow managed to lose all nama for periods of time long enough that they ceased to think. These people would continue to live in the sense that all of their organs functioned as normal, and they would instinctively chew and swallow food if given it, but they were otherwise motionless dolls. They would no longer recognize the world around them, and would continue to live only in the biological sense, never to speak another word or act of their own will. In all such documented cases, it's unknown how these people were brought to this point, however.

Conceptual essence, otherwise known as 'rupa', is the kind that makes up physical matter and influences properties of the tangible. All things living and non-living possess conceptual essence to some extent, with more complex objects possessing more within them. If one were to imagine a sword, they might think of all the individual pieces that go into what a sword represents. A sword would have 'sharp' rupa to allow it to slash or pierce, significant 'sturdy' rupa to allow it to maintain its form when clashing against solid objects, or even 'soft' rupa for the leather-wrapped handle bound to it. In situations involving a contest of durability, the object that possesses a higher concentration of 'sturdy' rupa typically, but not always, wins out and damages or weathers the opposing force. At the same time, most materials seem to have a limit to how much of a single type of conceptual essence they can possess before shattering under their own power. From studies conducted on rupa, all objects have a natural limit to how much they can take in before they break from the crushing force of their own conceptual essences. 

It's the combination of various types of conceptual essence - of rupa - that allows objects to gain the properties they're typically known for. In simpler objects like a rock or a type of ore, these things exist inherently, while things made artificially through essence manipulation, the burden is on the crafter to make an object that can fuse together different types of naturally made rupa. Air itself is made of rupa, though it's also considered one of the more difficult to fuse into a tangible construct. Due to its plentiful nature across Castalia, air is the form that essence manipulation most commonly takes up. A sudden and unexpected change in the course of the winds, the gathering of intense wind pressure from seemingly nothing, or a crushing lack of air in a given area are all common signs of essence manipulation. In that way, air is considered by many to be the default state that essence can take up when used by a manipulator.

This essence type also makes up the building blocks for elemental essence. For an experienced essence manipulator, fire can be conjured from nothing if the conceptual essence of 'warmth' clusters together strongly enough to be ignited through intense concentration at a single desired point. For this to be done without the assistance of one of the four magic conduits, however, would require either immense dedication to the study of essence or the permanent sacrificing of portions of one's prime essence to accomplish it. Even then, it would require intense focus for minutes or even hours on end to accomplish without spellcasting.

Elemental essence, otherwise known as 'maha', is the most powerful and complete type of essence. Many scholars choose not to consider maha as something to be grouped with nama or rupa, as elemental essence is a mixture of conceptual essences. Nevertheless, the majority favor elemental essence as deserving of its own separate classification, and so the world has advanced under that notion. In comparison to other types of essence, it is by far the most easily understood due to its inherent nature as fused essence. In the same way that a living thing is comprised of various motes of nama and rupa, so too is elemental essence created through the fusion of rupa codewords that cause a reaction significant enough to alter reality. Fire from nothing can be created through the crushing together of enough 'warmth' rupa in a compact cluster by an experienced manipulator, while ice could be made from sufficient 'cold' rupa with the same requirement of a dense cluster.

Maha also exists naturally, in that fires will start on their own, lightning will strike down upon the land in the midst of a storm, and water will recycle itself through torrents of rain, among other similar reactions. In such cases where the element already exists, a manipulator's job becomes far easier. Rather than needing to dedicate one's minutes or hours to the creation of an element, it can also simply be borrowed should the element be nearby to tether oneself to. Typically this requires the 'mobility' rupa codeword of air nearby to direct an existing element, alongside intense concentration assuming one isn't a trained spellcaster. Even for the most trained manipulators, though, creating or even moving an element at will is often a difficult task that can be solved easier by making use of proper magic; it often leaves the individual vulnerable if attempted in the middle of battle due to the unmoving focus and one-mindedness it requires, otherwise.

As it currently stands, the current elements widely accepted as maha are as follows, though more obscure and less accepted variants do exist. Many believe all individuals are born with a natural lean towards one element or another and that their personality is influenced by it, though that has never entered the realm of facts.

Fire: Flames, burning and a passionate spirit. Created through rupa codewords involving heat or friction.
Water: Liquids, fluid motions and flexible perception. Created through rupa codewords involving fluidity or flexibility.
Earth: Rocks, metals and enduring willpower. Created through rupa codewords involving sturdiness or heaviness.
Wind: Air, pure essence and freedom to pursue. Created through rupa codewords involving mobility, sharpness, flexibility or heaviness.
Ice: Ice, coldness and a logical mind. Created through rupa codewords involving cold, sturdiness or fluidity.
Lightning: Storms, speed and instinct. Created through rupa codewords involving heat, friction, radiance or sharpness.
Light: Light, brightness and immovable pride. Created through rupa codewords involving heat or radiance.
Shadow: Obscurity, subtlety and silent ambition. Created through rupa codewords involving cold, radiance, flexibility or fluidity.
Void: The pure and original power of the Dark God, to destroy and create in equal measure through the power of the Umbral Throne by paradoxically channeling and giving form to the emptiness of the void. Can't be created through regular means - requires one to understand Kazaar's 'Idea of Absence' passed through ancient Umbralist teachings.

Leylines are the veins of the land, and through them, immeasurable rivers of essence of all types flow. Rather than a dedicated concept or element, leylines take in the collective motes that have strayed from others throughout their daily lives unused. When nama or rupa fade from a person, they are funneled into the nearest leyline and deposit whatever remains into it, should the essence make it there at all. In this respect, leylines are a magnet for essence that converts all these stray emotions, concepts and elements into a single line running across the land. These lines of collected essence dart across the entire world, even across oceans, and can be drawn from at 'fountains' - specific locations in which these lines end and gather. Drawing power from a leyline is typically not a focused effort for a manipulator or mage, and tends to happen passively simply by being within the radius of a fountain; they will simply feel empowered and draw upon small portions of a leyline when using essence at a time, though conscious effort will be required if one wishes not to draw from the leyline.

There are limitations, however. Each leyline is governed by one of the four casting conduits, and works as a power balance for the beings that naturally align with those conduits. Draining too much from a given natural leyline will draw the attention of the spirits and creatures that ally with that conduit, which will inevitably lead to a confrontation if a natural leyline is drawn from too frequently or in too large an amount. As a result, natural leylines near society are typically sealed off as part of an agreement to maintain balance with the conduit spirits and to not bring disaster upon those who would abuse the power of leylines. Between those conduits, there are also two particular restrictions: that arcane and divine users cannot draw from the leylines of one another, and the same between primal and occult users. Should a primal caster try to draw from an occult leyline, for example, it would simply not work. Due to this restriction, however, there is an opposite effect - the potency of a caster's spells and ability to manipulate essence will temporarily double if they draw from a leyline matching their own. If a caster has taken up multiple conduits, the restrictions apply across all of them and they will not gain the double potency enhancement no matter what leyline they access.

Artificial leylines, however, have come into popularity in more recent years among places of magical and essence-based study. Rather than natural lines across the world, artificial leylines are veins smaller in both reach and potential created through means not yet publicly known. In return, due to their status as inventions rather than natural occurrences, their frequent usage does not anger conduit spirits - rather, they aren't even aware of any such usage in the first place. They can typically only be drawn from in small amounts, as they simply don't contain as much essence as a natural leyline can, and most are heavily regulated under government supervision or are used for purely instructional purposes. The conduit restrictions are still present even with artificial leylines, however.

The phenomenon of Leyline Overcharge is still extremely experimental even in the modern day. It's a risky procedure that involves the merging of one's prime essence with a leyline and attempting to draw a leyline inside oneself - in effect, trying to win a tug-of-war against the world's most powerful magnet. Due to the effort needed, such a process requires minutes of completely motionless concentration even for the most veteran manipulators and mages. This time can be reduced if the individual's conduit is a perfect match with the leyline they're attempting to draw from, though even in that hypothetical, it would require at least a full minute of unbroken channeling on average to accomplish. Failure to win this battle of wills against a leyline even with unbroken concentration can result in dangerous and long-lasting consequences such as full-body paralysis or death, if one doesn't concede soon enough after the expected time.

Should the manipulator's prime essence win against the leyline, the overcharge will complete upon uttering the Fragmented Word known as 'Falkris' and declare that they will invoke it - which will repel the leyline's attempt to devour the individual's essence and bring forth the merged power of the invoker and the leyline. In all recorded cases, an overcharge is so incomprehensibly explosive that all individuals not prepared with a Personal Barrier within the vicinity of its activation will experience serious injuries or even death. Its activation splits reality, temporarily separating the two layered realities that existence continues through. The Overlapping World of Ascendia temporarily overtakes Castalia within the precise radius of the leyline's fountain - a world in which essence does not flow, and those brought in are responsible for survival off of their own essence until the overcharge has ended. Those without sufficient nama, rupa or maha to sustain themselves will slowly begin to grow fatigued, hungry and thirsty at a rapid rate, and eventually begin suffocating once only their prime essence remains. Natives of Castalia don't have bodies built to survive in Ascendia due to the reliance on essence, and as such their time there is always limited.

An overcharge, however, doesn't last long. The gathered power from the leyline, its size dependent on the combined strength of the invoker's prime essence and their own natural endurance, takes root within them and them alone. Should they choose not to use that power for the purpose of casting or essence manipulation, all of their physical capabilities will exceed their regular limits and be burned in smaller amounts as they move. The overcharged essence will be automatically used in small doses if the invoker is hit by an attack while not consciously raising a Personal Barrier, giving them a reactive shield acting in their survival.

What each overcharge can do varies depending on the invoker and the leyline they access, however. The environment of Ascendia is warped within the radius of that fountain to better suit the invoker, though the exact environment borrows from a mixture of the invoker's prime essence and the conduit of the leyline they overcharged. In general, though, an invoker's prime essence influences the leyline more heavily than vice versa, and as a result, the area is often a personal memory or mindscape of the invoker - or in rare cases, the most pure incarnation of their prime essence stretched to fit across an area. An invoker can make full use of their prime essence's codeword to alter the environment around them by making use of the leyline's essence, though it does burn usage of the power much quicker this way. As an example, somebody with the prime essence of 'Spiky' could create spikes on any piece of terrain, or somebody with the prime essence of 'Perceptive' could extend their senses to perfectly perceive all things within the fountain's radius.

When the gathered essence is fully used, a similar breaking of reality will occur, complete with all the same danger of not maintaining a Personal Barrier. The overcharge will end, and all within will return to Castalia at the spot in which they stand.

Each overcharge comes with general properties depending on the conduit that will take effect no matter who the invoker is, listed below.

Arcane: Arcane magic can be cast without incantations. All within will lose nama faster, while rupa becomes more potent.
Divine: Divine magic can be cast without incantations. Those without an active Personal Barrier other than the invoker will be brought to kneel by crushing gravity.
Occult: Occult magic can be cast without incantations. Prime essence sacrificed by all within will be given back when the overcharge ends.
Primal: Primal magic can be cast without incantations. Spell incantations not of the primal conduit must be spoken backwards to cast for all within.

Essence has no color, it simply "is". Despite this, stories have persisted throughout history that some individuals manipulating essence have emitted auras of different colors while doing so. Some of these stories persisted and became legends almost forgotten; in some smaller circles or within impossibly rare tomes, however, stories of 'The Seven Prismatic Essences' can be found. While this is technically public knowledge, many people even in researched fields of essence won't know of these stories, or at best know them as campfire tales. Essence could never take up such a simple yet abstract concept as a color, as it would defy modern research into the subject in its entirety.

"Red is wrathful."

The story of red dates back to the mid to late 100's when word spoke of a being of immense size and power, cloaked in shadows to obscure itself, crushing settlements and towns across the coast of the Northern Neutral Territories. The most memorable things about it, apart from its stature to match an ogre and booming voice as it raged, were its feral red eyes and the crimson aura that would surround its strikes as it slaughtered even the most capable knights and adventurers. One day it simply disappeared, and survivors were left to rebuild their homes and continue living their lives. Some of the more superstitious citizens in the NNT have since come to adapt the phrase "red is wrathful" to remind themselves to stay calm in moments of anger and to be kinder to others. Due to how long ago it was, though, many in the modern day refuse to believe this giant ever existed.

"Orange sunsets bring hope."

Tales of an orange-like essence can be traced back to the year 766 at the earliest. During the Hellflame Rebellion of Eastern Loustrain on the continent of Ventric, it was said that a warrior of unknown origins joined the assault on the capital city of Il'rouh. She broke through the defenses of the devout soldiers protecting Il'rouh's tyrants alongside her fellow rebels with master swordplay and archery, and allowed the city to be overrun and taken. As that happened, she was said to have rushed the royal palace herself, engaging Shogun Izumo, Emperor Koji and all of their guards in combat. The one thing that everyone in Il'rouh on both sides remembered by the end of that day, was the emergence of the unnamed warrior from atop the roof of the palace. She bled and limped, her armor and sword broken, with the heads of Izumo and Koji in each hand. The sunset reflected from behind her as she tossed their heads from the top of the palace to the streets of the city, giving the rebels the last morale boost they needed to finally reclaim Il'rouh from its tyrannical hold that day. It was said that she smiled as the sunset seemed to almost merge with her, giving her a glow of divinity as she stood.

She vanished after that, gone in a blink before anybody could so much as thank her. But the oppressed who had finally found their freedom that day would never forget the glory of that burning sunset, and she continued to go down in legends as the 'Samurai of the Sunset'. Her existence inspired the forming of the Shoguknights, a warrior order dedicated to freedom and peacekeeping within Eastern Loustrain that went on to have their own chronicles to inspire others.

Rumors pop up, now and again, of the reappearance of a woman matching the description of the Sunset Samurai. Whether it be something as minor as merchants brushing against highwaymen or bandits extorting villagers for money, or something as major as another tyrant bringing misery to the lower class, it's said that she somehow still wanders even in the modern day bringing justice. 

A brief prayer is often uttered by Loustrainians in times of dire need, as well as by those desperate and suffering in places of tyrannical leadership: "Orange sunsets bring hope."

"Gold is glorious."

If gold were ever to have a story, it'd be the tales of 'Gavin the Gilded', sometimes simplified to 'Golden Gavin'. They were a series of children's books that were written in the 500's by a Rekordian prince and renowned bard by the name of Hashmal Merkis. Gavin the Gilded was a hero with a piercing golden glare that could turn evildoers into friends, scare monsters into petrification, inspire the cowardly to become brave, or resolve divorces amicably. Many novels and picture books alike were written of Gavin, as well as several stage plays and musical numbers that have endured into the modern day. His aura of gold was said to stun the masses into awe, though claims as to whether he ever existed remain dubious. Hashmal insisted to his dying breath that the golden hero he wrote of was real, whispering, "Gold is glorious," as he passed.

"Green always watches."

There are no known stories of green essence or any hints to indicate its existence even as a tall tale or superstition. Despite this, and with no known origin of the phrase or whom first spread it into a state of niche popularity, a whispered phrase of unknown intent exists: "Green always watches."

"Blue always advances."

Blue originates not from any kind of person, but from a constellation. In the night sky, the inexplicably blue constellation known as the 'Crossed Bishops' was said to guide travelers to their desired destinations, reunite lost lovers, and create destinies for future heroes. A cult eventually formed around this constellation that came to call themselves the 'Blue Circle', that gave praise to the Crossed Bishops as if they were an all-powerful, benevolent guide of fate. Little was known publicly of this cult, other than that they kept to themselves in a small gated community in the Northern Neutral Territories. One morning, the entire community of the Blue Circle no longer existed, burned and crushed into a crater in the year 395 SR with no survivors or intact structures. 

Witnesses from a nearby hamlet reported waking up in the middle of the night from the feeling of intense heat. They looked out their windows, and saw the bright blue constellation burn away, and in its place, a near blinding red light descended. They stated that it was as if a piece of the sky itself fell onto an area far off, and it was only pieced together later that the location would roughly match up with the crater where the Blue Circle formerly resided. From that day on, the Crossed Bishops never again appeared in the night sky, but believers in the constellation and Blue Circle supporters alike still hold hope that the will of that blue glow persists. To this day, many people in times of hardship or adversity remind themselves of the same words that kept the Blue Circle faithful: "Blue always advances."

"Indigo understands."

Indigo is one of the least comprehended, in that many wonder if it truly is one of the prismatic essences or something else entirely, if the stories were real at all. The common thread tying all of them together is statements from citizens of different cities worldwide - from as early as the 900's to as recently as the 1500's - claiming that someone they knew suddenly became obsessed with one thing or another. For one person it could be the study of essence, or another the art of swordsmanship, or another a sudden desire to become a master artist or musician. They would immerse themselves in these studies day after day, night after night, not able to be pulled away by their loved ones or even the proper authorities. When somebody undergoing this process was pulled away from their work, it's said they would react violently and lash out at anyone restraining or moving them with supernatural strength until they could return to their studies. If people were successful in restraining the person, the sufferer would inexplicably have their prime essence burned through within hours upon checking on them.

Within a week, all of the people who had reportedly undergone these symptoms had, according to witnesses, become a true master at the object of their obsession and then promptly died with their prime essence burned into nothingness. Throughout the process of the obsessive and harmful training these people experienced, they would all supposedly utter the same phrase to themselves at all hours of the day in a voice lacking all emotion.

"Indigo understands."

"Violet inspires truth."

Tales of violet-colored essence have only begun to spread as late as the early to mid 1400's. The most famous tales documented in diaries of the time would indicate that some key figures in Rekordia that would eventually go on to attempt a rebellion against Queen Everember were initially inspired to do so with visits in their dreams from the 'Woman in the Violet Cloak'. They wrote that they were shown, dream by dream, the future that would come to pass if they did nothing and lived in silence, and were encouraged by the violet woman to fight for the generations to come. This eventually ended in the Afternoon Revolt of 1460, when countless rebels and innocents alike were killed by the Clockwork Queen, and no Rekordians received any dreams from the violet woman after that. All who dreamt of her were killed in the carnage caused by the queen, apart from one man. That man finds himself locked in the dungeons beneath the Sacred Record to this day, on the queen's orders, and will never see the sun again until the day he dies.

Rarely, one individual or another will receive an inspirational dream from this violet-cloaked woman, showing them the path they need to take to ensure their most desired future. Strangely, none could ever recall her appearance apart from the cloak, saying that it was as if a spinning vortex coated her flesh when they tried to remember. Not much else is known of the woman apart from the insistence from believers that she continues to appear in people's dreams, guiding people towards either salvation or ruin as she sees fit. Those who dream of her all hear her speak the same parting words: "Violet inspires truth."

Magic

Magic is the process of shortening or even skipping the channeling time of essence manipulation by limiting its potential and versatility. By utilizing the three restrictions of incantations, casting motions and materials - or, failing the material requirement, sufficient nama, rupa and maha stored - one may cast a spell. The process of manipulating essence directly can be an arduous experience requiring intense concentration, and in comparison to magic, it's considered a dying art. Rather than spending minutes creating, gathering and condensing flames in silent, strained concentration, a modern spellcaster could instead follow the three restrictions created and documented to cast the 'Fireball' spell in seconds. Many have even begun the process of shortening the process such that merely saying the name of the spell in their native tongue would prove enough to fulfill the restriction of an incantation. 

Because each spell has a specific effect with defined rules and limitations, their ceiling is lower than what can be accomplished through manipulation; in return, it allows for the goal to be accomplished far faster than one attempting to do the same thing with manipulation. In the terminology of many modern Vaalin Union mages, spells are 'macros' to accomplish a specific task with efficiency.

This is in contrast to essence manipulation, which is the practice of combining and moving essence without restrictions. Those who do so are called 'manipulators', and are rare at an advanced level due to the impracticality of it. Many with knowledge of essence will manipulate at some point in their daily lives, but those who use it in combat with any kind of efficiency are rare indeed. A fireball or heal will take minutes to manifest when done by the average manipulator, while a spellcaster could achieve such things in seconds at the cost of the three restrictions and more expended essence than a manipulator would use. Some rare prodigy manipulators have existed, such as Shaktis Wund, but it's typically a practice not relied upon in moments in which time is of the essence. The parsing and specific fusing of essences of different types within or around oneself required for manipulation, combined with the need for intense concentration, simply don't allow for the same instant usefulness of spells.

The four primary casting conduits consist of arcane, divine, occult and primal. Each has a role to play in the continued balance of the world, and none is considered superior to the others inherently. Below, the capabilities and specialties of each are described.

Magic was once a concept that belonged solely to Umbralism. In the days of Rekordia's founding as mortalkind's first nation around the Sacred Record, the texts discovered within the clocktower gave rise to the world's first and oldest spellcasters. Essence manipulation was discovered by working backwards from those texts, as was research into essence as a broader concept. All magic was from the divine conduit under Kazaar's influence, and any who wished to make use of its life-giving power would pledge themselves. 

It wasn't until the year 76 SR when Shaktis Wund, exiled from Rekordia and removed of all noble titles, found his way to a humble crater on the southwestern corner of the continent of Vein alongside other Wunds. It was as far from Rekordia as one could be, and it was in this place that he saw something that made him stay. No official record has survived documenting what he discovered that day, but it was said that Shaktis found some kind of power in the depths of the crater that compelled him to stay and build on top of it. He was said to be a careless drifter before then, but it was almost overnight that his entire ideology revolved around building a community and researching essence. As more people gathered to his cause, he eventually founded the Shaktis Principality in the year 95 SR, appointing himself as the first 'Vaal', the humble crater settlement being declared Vaal Shakta. With this founding, he spread his teachings of what he came to call the arcane conduit through his understanding of pure essence itself, declaring that mortalkind would no longer need to be the playthings of a deity to harness power to rival them.

In some circles it's called 'The Way of Defiance' for its rise to power as a teaching to rival the divine conduit in a time in which it reigned alone. Shaktis was a man who desired convenience as he grew older, and so many of his spells were to aid in the daily lives of commonfolk. The arcane conduit, as it spread, took on this mentality - to aid the lives of those still in front of them, or to take away the lives of those who would rob them of peace. Due to its power resulting from the study of pure essence and the reactions of combining differing essences, it's considered the most abstract and freeform conduit even in the modern day. While it does lack in healing potential in comparison to the other conduits with the additional life-sustaining gifts they receive from external forces, it makes up for it in being able to accomplish virtually anything else. At the peak of power, arcane spellcasters would have the potential for widescale destruction or reality alteration due to the immense understanding of every dot of essence within reach.

The divine conduit was the first to grace Castalia, and has remained as one of the most common to the current day. It was around from the beginning of the Sacred Record, and thus the beginning of recorded time, when the first humans delved into the tower's holy texts. While Kazaar was the first god to allow mortalkind to partake of the divine conduit, many others followed to allow different groups to twist magic to their own ends. While Umbralism was seen as a force of righteousness acting in the good name of the Dark One, many lesser gods desired to divide mortalkind and see them annihilate one another, granting their divine teachings to any who would bow to them. While the divine conduit is generally regarded as 'holy', such a term doesn't always lend itself to shining paladins and wise clerics and monks.

What the divine conduit can accomplish largely depends on the god that one has dedicated themselves to. As a baseline, representatives of the divine conduit fall somewhere on the spectrum between 'creation' and 'destruction', even within the same religion. A cleric or wiseman might choose to align with creation under a deity for the purpose of assisting in the growth of communities or in helping the downtrodden, while another within the same religion might align with destruction to eliminate threats to their god's will.

The capabilities and specialties of the divine conduit depend on the god the individual has devoted themselves to. An Umbralist would find a specialty in long and complex rituals, shadow and lifedrain spells and, eventually, access to the 'Void' element and all it contains. An Astrite would be gifted with enhanced defensive magic, searing light spells and the special talent of 'wind reading' with prolonged practice. All divine magic, however, can operate within the confines of creation and destruction regardless of the god's specific gifts - to heal and harm are the rights of a divine spellcaster. At the peak of power, a divine spellcaster could temporarily become the container for their god's prime essence, or in rarer cases, even summon their god to their side for a brief moment.

The occult conduit is said to originate from the enigmatic being known as Death, the 'Grim Reaper'. Rising from the collective consciousness, superstition after superstition building as cultures began to wonder and discover, occultism is mystery made manifest. It's unknown which came first: that belief in superstitions granted power, or that those very superstitions were real and powerful enough to inspire that belief in the first place. Regardless, occultism has innate ties to effigies, medicines and curses stronger than the other conduits - all inspired, at first, by stories shared around from culture to culture of ways to strengthen one's vitality enough to escape the Reaper for even one more day, or to allow another to fall closer towards his grasp. Occultist spellcasters received a negative reputation for much of history for their conduit's ties to Death, though this was shaken and forgotten by many as other beliefs broke into popularity and were reinforced by occultism.

Superstition eventually strayed away from a fear of Death as life expectancy of the masses increased. This eventually warped into numerology, gyromancy, astrology and many others. Occultism became a practice more of making the best of the new world in which the Reaper didn't lurk around every corner, and instead allowed breathing room for more personalized uncertainties - that a gambler would lose all their money at the casino without their lucky pocket watch, that misfortune would befall any who open an umbrella inside, or that certain dates held power for good or ill.

These beliefs eventually gave rise to negative clusters of essence known as 'Malforms' - spirits of essence made sentient from superstition or given power through hatred and fear, using hated and feared people as the core that the essence would gather around and consume. These spirits would spread across the world, forming pacts with the weak, desperate and ambitious. Being the manifestations of superstitions or fears, they were able to grant people the powers of the occult in limited quantities through pacts. Eventually, otherworldly beings such as devils or ghosts would become associated with malforms through belief, and become eligible for these same power granting pacts.

An occult spellcaster can either find power in superstitions and beliefs of a given culture or cultures, form a pact with a malform, devil or ghost, or find some mixture of the two methods. The spells they can cast depend on the beliefs and stories they draw from and the spirit they've become bound to. Generally, though, most occultists have some means by which to alter fortunes or curse others. The occult does also have ties to the origins of alchemy, and as such, many occult practices allow one to use essence for medicinal purposes. At the peak of power, an occult spellcaster could change fate, draw power from belief itself, or unleash the full potential of a contracted spirit under their command.

The primal conduit was born from the land, dormant until people became aware of its will. The earliest teachings came from feykind when the greatest among the fairies, the Emerald Lord, shared the life-giving magic of his people with all who would listen. While he was later betrayed by many of those he aided, the fey still chose to ally with mortalkind and grant them the knowledge of the world's eyes and ears. In time, Castalia itself responded to the people, growing vast and vibrant with world wonders and restorative essences. In many ways, the primal conduit is the one that aligns heaviest with the idea that essence is to be used to serve the betterment of the world and its people for the pure sake of doing so.

Despite this, primal teachings are not wholly for the benefit of others. Primal teachings also include magic taught by nature spirits not associated with the fey, many of whom believe in the survivalist mentality of, "Only the strong survive." Prey eat the vegetation, predators eat the prey, and the ground eventually takes in the corpses of both to sustain the vegetation - such things are also primal. Survival of the fittest, learning from the land, and caring for the world's continued existence are all things that primal magic seeks to accomplish.

A primal spellcaster can learn easiest from the texts of the fey, though fey themselves are rare enough in the present day that for most, the texts will often be all that they have to go on. Others may meditate in seclusion and try to learn to 'speak' to the land directly to learn primal teachings, or find themselves chosen and empowered by Castalia's own moving essence to fulfill a purpose. For those who couldn't learn through any of those methods, they could still attempt to forge a partnership with a fey or other nature spirit. Unlike occult pacts or divine worship, a primal partnership is one of accepted equals. An occult pact is typically the occultist drawing power from a spirit or devil under the acknowledgement that the spirit will likely always remain superior to the caster, and the same is true of divine worship. A partnership under the primal conduit, however, requires that both parties fully accept that neither is above the other in their dynamic; and further, that they pledge that when one of them dies, both do.

Typically, primal magic can accomplish most things, with some specialties if they find themselves in a partnership. Primal magic is usually the least destructive of all the conduits, with very few publicly known spells detailing ways to cause mass destruction. Primal magic has incredible potential for healing, divination, illusions and various shapeshifting techniques, among other practices unique to any spirit the mage might be partnered to. At the peak of power, a primal spellcaster could create life, perceive the world's flow of essence, or fuse with their partnered nature spirit to become a champion of Castalia.
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