A/N: I hold the right to edit, add, and/or reimagine any text within any "Information" chapter. These are as they appear in my notes, and are subject to change up-until the end of this story.
Information within all "Information" chapters could be considered spoilers. You have been warned.
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Mana System
Mana Circuits
- Mana circuits are an internal structure originating from within the brain following alongside (in most cases) the nervous system. They facilitate the movement of mana throughout the body.
Affinities
- Affinities are actually related to mana circuits. Another structure within the overarching Mana System is called Affinities. These are essentially filters that are placed throughout the mana system that allow the user to transmute neutral mana into elemental mana.
- - The more "filters" throughout the body, the higher quality/efficiency the elemental mana.
- Elemental magic does not simply call upon what they describe outright. They also have something called "aspects", which is something to describe specialized effects/versions of said element. The elements and their aspects are:
Fire (Flame, Explosion)
Earth (Rock, Metal)
Water (Liquid, Ice)
Air (Gust, Cutting)
Lightning (Current, Speed)
Light (Radiance, Healing)
Darkness (Shadow, Concealment)
Void (Space)
Tiers
Tiers constitute the quality of a mana filter. Sometimes they are referred to as "Talent", referring to the talent an individual has for a particular form of elemental magic. From lowest to highest:
- Low
- Medium
- High
- Prime
Magic
Spells
- Spells are the system by which mana is turned into an external phenomenon. Spells are categorized in difficulty levels/stars:
★ (1)
- Simple, one circle, less than 10 instructions.
★★ (2)
- Two circles, less than 15 instructions for each, or one circle with less than 30 total.
- - This calculation of "one circle = total" follows for the rest (i.e. 4 w/ 20 max each = 2 w/ 40 each, 1 with 80 each).
★★★ (3)
- Three circles with less than 20 instructions for each. (Total: 60)
★★★★ (4)
- Four circles with less than 30 instructions for each. (Total: 120)
★★★★★ (5)
- Five circles with less than 50 instructions for each. (Total: 250)
★★★★★★ (6)
- Six circles with less than 80 instructions for each. (Total: 480)
★★★★★★★ (7)
- Seven circles with less than 130 instructions for each. (Total: 910)
★★★★★★★★ (8)
- Eight circles with less than 200 instructions for each. (Total: 1600)
★★★★★★★★★ (9)
- Nine circles with less than 300 instructions for each. (Total: 2700)
Mages are considered "_____"-star if they are capable of casting five spells of the same category. It is generally recommended to never cast spells more than one level above your official level.
There are different types of spells:
- Control: Spells that are controlled after they are cast.
- Duration: Spells that linger for a duration after they are cast.
- Launch: Spells that are left to complete their task after they are cast, only decay when they accomplish their set goal/are destroyed/run out of juice.
Spell Circles
Spell circles are the structure that spells are derived from. They come in two parts:
- The Housing (circle)
- The Encoding (instructions)
Housing
- Spell housings (aka the circle) houses the main "code" of the spell. Making one isn't as difficult as encoding, but it is not as simple as "spawn circle".
- - To make a spell housing, one must first draw out neutral mana and manipulate it into the correct shape. Not all spells require the same exact shapes.
- - The normal types are:
Ring: A spell housing shaped like a ring, one flat side on the outside, one on the inside. Used for supplementary spell circles mainly.
Disc: A spell housing with considerably more surface area, shaped like a flat disc. This typically contains the main meat of the spell.
Cone: A spell housing shaped like a cone. This is used for spells that need to travel great distances.
- - Certain spells may require multiple discs, rings, maybe even cones. It all depends.
- - The location of the housing also matters. Usually, a spell will be cast from the hands or feet, but certain spells that have to do with sight or sound should be cast near to where they are meant to be used. Spells can also be cast internally, but this is an extremely dangerous procedure.
Encoding
- Spell encodings are essentially "classes" (if you are familiar with object oriented programming languages) composed of instructions (the code in this metaphor), and they are what imparts functionality on spells. Without them, you would just be pushing a ton of mana through your circuits with no end goal in mind. Instructions are essentially lines of code that dictate certain functions the mana will have. Instruction sets look like this:
{TAKE-2.D}-{HOLD-2}-{FUEL-C}
(Take 2star Darkness, Hold 2star, Fuel Control-type)
- Not all instructions have -1.D, -1, etc. after them. These are mainly used to have certain instructions that are meant to be used at different levels/with different mana/with different spell types.
- - EX: {TAKE-2.D} takes a set amount of elemental darkness mana that will work for a generic 2-star spell. {TAKE-5.F} takes a set amount of elemental fire mana that will work for a generic 5-star spell.
- - These instructions save instruction space, but may not give the most efficient outcome for each spell.
Steps
(1) Create the spell housing(s)
(2) Encode: encoding only needs to happen from the top down, meaning that elemental mana can be sent into the spell before this step is complete.
(3) Feed mana
(4) Cast