1. Magic Lore

The Shaping of the Magical World

Beneath the visible world flows a hidden current — ancient, structured, and bound to blood. Mana is not merely energy. It is a planetary inheritance, older than memory and woven into evolution itself. From it rose bloodlines, conduits, academies, and the last fortress of magical civilization: Ossirian Deep.

The World

The planet is ancient and outwardly mundane. Most Mortalkin live unaware that beneath stone, desert, and sea runs a vast network of invisible mana streams. Science explains the world. Mana sustains it.

Closest to Ossirian Deep lies the desert kingdom of Nivaris — a vast, sun-blasted empire of trade routes, glass towers, and wind-carved cathedrals. To Mortalkin, it is simply another great civilization. To those who know, it stands above one of the planet’s deepest mana scars.

The Flamefall (~65 Million Years Ago)

The extinction of the dinosaurs was not solely an asteroid impact. The object carried extraterrestrial mana — raw, unstructured, and volatile. When it struck, it embedded that foreign force into the planet’s crust.

Life adapted around it.

Over millions of years, exposure to lingering mana altered biological evolution. Every living thing born after the Flamefall carries some trace of it.

Mana is not an invention of humanity. It is an infection humanity survived.

The Sixfold Awakening

In early human civilizations, mana expression stabilized into six dominant patterns:

Fire – acceleration, destruction, entropy
Water – flow, cohesion, reflection
Earth – stability, mass, endurance
Metal – refinement, precision, structure
Wood – growth, adaptation, vitality
Ambient – probability, imagination, raw potential

Ambient is not simply another element. It is the underlying field from which the others differentiate. It defies strict classification and resists full control.

Every mana-born human develops a single Mana Core at birth. This core determines lifelong attunement to one mana line. No verified human has ever possessed two cores.

Animals, however, sometimes do.

@Mana‑Born Fauna

Certain creatures evolved to sustain multiple mana signatures simultaneously. These Mana-Born Fauna wield innate magic without conduits and often exist at the apex of magical ecosystems.

They are studied, revered, and sometimes hunted.

Their existence quietly challenges the doctrine that humans are limited to one core.

The Conduit Age (1st–9th Century)

Humanity learned to shape mana through external anchors known as conduits. Crafted from dragon bone, deep-crystal, volcanic glass, and other mana-reactive materials, conduits allowed structured casting and spell preservation.

From this innovation rose magical aristocracies.

Archivists — scholars of preparation and modular spellcraft — mastered conduit theory. Warrior orders such as the Stave-Knights fused martial discipline with mana shaping. Bloodlines began preserving both conduits and techniques as hereditary assets.

Magic became codified.

Then it became political.

The Arcane Accord (~900 CE)

Bloodline wars threatened global collapse. The Arcane Accord unified the dominant houses under strict magical law and established six academies aligned to the mana lines.

Five have since fallen.

Ossirian Deep remains — submerged, fortified, and isolated — the last institutional authority over structured magic.

Mana Purity Index (MPI)

The Mana Purity Index measures bloodline stability and mana attunement. It is both scientific tool and social hierarchy.

16–20: True-Blooded
Rare hereditary traits. High conduit affinity. Advanced lineage spells.

11–15: Strong Line
Stable casting. Minor conduit amplification.

6–10: Mixed Line
Occasional instability. Reduced efficiency.

1–5: Faint Line
Frequent miscasts. Limited conduit tolerance.

0: Null
No natural casting ability.

Birth modifiers influence MPI through lineage and environmental exposure, but a Mana Core’s alignment cannot be changed after formation.

MPI determines access, education tier, and in some regions, legal status.

It is respected. It is rarely questioned.

The Nature of Casters

Archivists

Archivists require conduits to cast. Their strength lies in preparation and adaptability.

Through attuned conduits they may:
– Prepare and exchange spells daily
– Amplify range or control
– Store rituals within the conduit
– Access inherited lineage techniques

Without a conduit, an Archivist cannot cast.

Their power is flexible — and dependent.

Naturals

Naturals cast directly from their Mana Core. Their spells are internalized through repetition and become embodied technique.

They:
– Do not require conduits
– Cannot swap spells without ritual severance
– Cannot cast from scrolls or external focuses
– Are immune to conduit corruption

Their magic is stable but inflexible. They are formidable in sustained combat but limited in rapid adaptation.

Conduit Forms

Conduits vary by tradition and purpose.

Wands – precise, dueling focus
Staffs – ritual amplification
Orbs – divination and tracking
Bound Tattoos – permanent but volatile

Martial conduits integrate weapon and focus into a single instrument, often soul-bonded for recall and shared mana storage.

Soul Conduits

A Soul Conduit is created when a mage willingly binds their consciousness into a conduit at death. The ritual is sacred and irreversible.

Benefits may include:
– Reflexive defensive casting
– Accelerated spell activation
– Retained lineage spells
– Autonomous countermeasures

Soul Conduits are both relic and ancestor.

Attunement

Only Archivists and select bonded casters may formally attune to conduits.

Attunement requires focused meditation and mana compatibility. Misalignment can cause backlash, mana disruption, or partial possession in the case of unstable soul relics.

Conduits amplify power.

They also remember.

The Divide

To Mortalkin, magic is myth.

To the Deep, the mundane world is unstable and irrational — governed by forces that ignore mana law.

The academy endures beneath the ocean, regulating conduits, bloodlines, and magical inheritance. It teaches that Mana Cores are singular. That lineage defines potential. That structure prevents collapse.

Few dare to test those assumptions.

Fewer survive doing so.