Magic Basics

Quanta is the pervasive essence from which the world is built, imparting both form and function into all things. This force serves to facilitate magic in all its many forms, allowing a mage to draw it in and manipulate both themselves and the world around them in equal measure. However, not all humans can wield magic as most are never exposed to an adequate amount of quanta to cause what is known as an [i]Awakening[/i]. This phenomenon occurs when an individual is exposed to enough quanta to suffuse their body and break down its natural resistance. This process activates a system of etheric pathways in the body known as the Quantic Locus. Once this system is opened, it empowers the individual to harness ambient quanta and turn it to their own ends.

Awakened humans, known generally as mages, are capable of drawing in quanta in its many forms and shaping it to exert their will on their bodies and the world they inhabit. This process, known colloquially as Casting, is a somewhat nebulous thing as most mages have their methods. However, though Casting differs in practice, the process itself is straightforward, consisting of three distinct steps: Drawing in, refining, and then expelling quanta. Beyond this, magic is a profoundly complex art requiring both skill and knowledge to master.

Beyond this, a mage possesses an aura of quanta, known as the Nimbus, which is invisible to the ordinary senses. The Nimbus is most notable when a mage is in the act of manipulating quanta as it is almost sure to take on some of its properties, be it from the essence itself or from the spell that follows. Yet, the Nimbus is always present as, with continued use, quanta is trapped in the mage’s body and Locus. With time, trapped quanta is slowly expelled from the Locus, where it enters the Nimbus and remains. Thus, as the amount of quanta suffusing a mage’s body increases, so too does the potency of their Nimbus.

Thus, the Nimbus serves two functions: revealing the form of quanta a mage most frequently uses and indicating when--and to a degree--what type of quanta they are currently using. Both of these are revealed by a mage’s unique Sense Arcanum, which allow an individual to perceive quanta. As one uses magic, this arcane awareness is intertwined with one of the ordinary senses, becoming more potent over time. Nonetheless, while this may make the precise communication of experiencing magic difficult to accurately convey, it does make it exceptionally easy for individual mages to detect and identify the many varieties of quanta present in the world around them. Furthermore, as the Sense Arcanum develops, becoming more intertwined with a sense, a mage will become more attuned to quanta allowing them to more easily differentiate between and understand what is going on. Nonetheless, the senses of a mage impart the same amount of knowledge, it is merely the experience which differs, as familiarity lends understanding.

While an uncommon use for the sense arcanum, mages can use it to approximate the magical corruption of an individual based on the passive potency of their Nimbus. This leads us to magical corruption, a phenomenon that occurs--usually slowly--over time as a mage utilizes magic. This corruption is, essentially, a sort of mutative radiation caused by quanta being traped--and then integrated into--the human body. As a mage uses magic, the corruption gradually progresses, altering their physiology and--at an even slower rate--their psychology until they no longer resemble themselves, let alone anything human. As of yet, there is no known method to reverse the process of magical corruption, though there are methods to slow it down, which will be detailed later on. Once a mage’s corruption has progressed far enough, they are considered an Aberrant. In essence, an Aberrant is a human whose body--and to some extent--mind has been altered by the process of quantic infusion to such a degree that they do not appear entirely--and in extreme cases, at all--human.

With time, humanity discovered methods to slow the corruption inherent to practicing magic, eventually resulting in three distinct styles of utilizing magic, two of which serve to drastically reduce a mage’s rate of quantic corruption. Each of these methods has its own benefits and pitfalls, which are expounded on in detail below.