Manna and Magick

[StoryTeller]

MANNA

Manna is an ancient form of power gifted to Nova from Caster, "Sage of Manna." In contemporary culture, the physical form of manna is known as Caster's Sorrow, due to the violence surrounding the substance in 1364 when the dispute between the Guild of Mages and the Alchemist's Guild precipitated violence. Afterward, magick use was openly persecuted by a radical organization known as the Rose Court, motivated partly by spiritual piety and partly by political influence, and therefore, magick has become viewed as an unholy, taboo form of power. Caster's Sorrow exists freely in the air, and is imperceptible until it begins to crystallize, at which point it forms red-hued crystals that are highly volatile and deadly to the touch.


MAGICK

Magick users are born with "cords" or "veins" that run alongside their blood vessels, known as manna channels. These channels allow free-floating CS to enter through the lungs, skin, and other tissue and travel to the individual's Third Eye, a structure located at the front of the brain. After reaching the Third Eye, CS travels to clusters in the hands and feet, where the magick user is capable of channeling its power. At this point, CS is highly volatile, but not deadly, and typically requires an object aligned with fully crystallized CS to control. Arcane magicks are no longer in use in Nova, their teachings lost in light of persecution and ostracism. Some forms of elemental magick and varied other natural giftings still exist, either through family heritage or by virtue of natural talent, though rare. Magick users inherit their abilities, and a person cannot be modified or made to have the capacity to control manna.

[StoryTeller]

CASTER'S SORROW

So called because of the bloodshed it caused in 1364, Caster’s Sorrow is the red-hued crystal that is the dominant power source in Nova. Proponents of its mystical properties openly opposed its use in mechanical constructs by the Fairchild family, leading to the power struggle that ended in the contemporary declaration that “all magick is abomination and shall be punished by death.” Huge spires outside the city of Nova contain “tuners,” or “singers;” metallic arrays that are caused to vibrate at a frequency that crystallizes CS out of the air. These spires serve a dual purpose: providing the energy supply of all mechanical devices in Nova, and forming a perimeter that can generate an energy barrier for defense in the event of an attack.

CS is stored, in various quantities, in boxes that function like batteries. Street lights, manufacturing machinery, mechanical horses, and home appliances all utilize CS boxes as their power source. Electricity had once been a competing energy source, but the invention of the “singer” array by Aldrich Torrehn in 1264 quickly made it obsolete, as CS not only generates vastly greater quantities of energy, but lasts much longer, and is easily portable. Raw CS is highly volatile, and deadly to human touch. The boxes it is housed in are created from a kind of hybrid steel that uses Sub-Quantum Flux Forging to make it nearly impervious to cracking, bending, warping, or breakage. Early in its predominance, CS spills were common, and it was therefore expensive and difficult to acquire. Modern CS is stored in the boxes in a kind of pseudo-crystallization; during collection, the airborne form is condensed directly into the intended receptacle, which is then pressurized to halt the precipitation. This basically means that the CS remains in powder form, making a greater quantity of its energy available at lower concentrations. It also means that CS spills, when they occur, almost always result in casualties. Fully crystallized CS is utilized in military weaponry, megalithic machinery, and by the Alchemist's Guild for experimental purposes.

SQF Forging: CS arrays are positioned around the material as it being shaped, before it cools, and generate powerful radiant energy that re-aligns the atoms to mimic those of the CS, resulting in a lattice structure that makes the material many times harder and more resilient.