INFUSION

First of all, it would be wrong to call Infusion a power system; a complete misnomer born out of the ignorance and lack a of understanding of mortals. Infusion is not aligned with any Aspect or Incarnation, so it would be wrong to call it as such. The term 'magic system' would be correct though. After all, Infusion does engage with multiple 'magics'.

But let me give you a better picture.

Infusion is the amalgamation of three distinct power systems. Because Khaffat's Locality presents three power systems, these have blended together into a fourth quasi-system that we call Infusion. The better definition, though, would be to say that Infusion is the shape that power has taken in Khaffat as Evolution, Nurture, and Enlightenment can exist independently of each other.

Yes, you are thinking correctly, Infusion and vitality could be considered the same thing. However, semantics tend to get in the middle, and it's hard to give a concrete definition.

It is better to think of it as a power system, even if I have stated the opposite many times already. Just think of it as a model or an assumption like you would do with an atomic model or the direction of the current of electricity.

What interests me about Infusion is that it allows the different power systems of Khaffat to merge together, especially in… synergetic ways.

Infusion's power system definition would be something like: the ability to move vitality. Simple as that as there is not much else to it. If we want to specify inwardly moving vitality, we would say Nurture. If we want to specify outwardly moving vitality, we would say…

Well, it depends.

Both Evolution and Enlightenment work on the movement of outward vitality, and so does the flowing stance of Nurture.

Let us go step by step.

Infusion does not play much of a role in Nurture except in the flowing stance. You could say it is the exception that confirms the rule.

Now, Evolution on the other hand… You could argue that Evolution wouldn't exist without Infusion as it requires you to push vitality to a pre-natal living being, but you would be wrong. As I've explained, Infusion is the amalgamation of the three power systems, meaning that specific property of Infusion actually originates from Evolution.

In simpler words, in a world where only Evolution existed as a power system, you could still 'infuse' your vitality in other beings. But don't get stuff mixed, such movements of vitality wouldn't result in outer infusions, that is the jurisdiction of another power system.

Enlightenment doesn't work with Infusion as you would think, this is mostly because this is the only power system of the three that works in the cognitive plane rather than the corporeal one. But one could argue that Enlightenment users get 'infused' with the vitality of the cognitive plane to perform their magic.

What is interesting about Enlightenment is that it performs similarly to Nurture when Infusion comes into play.

Yes, as you will have guessed by now the source of the outer infusions is Enlightenment. It's a bit counterintuitive as outer infusions work in the corporeal plane, but such is how the Existence works. Amalgamations sometimes become their own thing, their own… Aspect.

This becomes more logical when you ponder on how outer infusions are created: with the imagination of the user. Sure, there are many limitations, but people can make any outer infusion possible with enough conviction or knowledge.

These outer infusions are interesting because even if they are born from a mixture of Evolution and Enlightenment, you can intercede them with Nurture. A cultivator with an established outer infusion can 'hijack' it so it becomes a second internal infusion, or a stance as they would call them.

Stolen novel; please report.

Now, there's a difference between an outer infusion and a stance. If the outer infusion is left as it is, it will only provide a static increase factor of the desired capabilities. This is especially easy to observe with the accelerated growth outer infusion that boosts the growth factor – not aging factor, important distinction – of the living being by a value of two. This is due to the fact that you are using their existing vitality reserves to boost their growth, not that different from wielding a stance with no previous increase in reserves.

But an augment of static value is useless for a cultivator, they usually work in shifting magnitudes. That's why and how they mold the outer infusion into a second stance, halving the power of their other stance but allowing them to wield two at the same time.

You can guess which one is more valuable.

The effects of Infusion aren't just limited to the existence of outer infusions, though. There are far more synergetic effects like negating the loss of permanent vitality of Evolution, the body modifications of Nurture, and the physicalizing thoughts of Enlightenment.

The first one you may understand by your own Incarnation, so let me elaborate on the following points. As you are aware, Nurture does modify the body when wielding a stance, but it does not modify it as much as it should. When active on the strength stance, the muscle mass of the body should increase many times over what it does. The fact that this does not occur is thanks to Evolution. Instead of outright increasing muscle mass, when donning the strength stance the body 'evolves' instead of 'adapting' to a self where it was already stronger.

This means that in a world without Evolution, Nurture wouldn't be as effective. The sense stance would greatly modify internal and external organs, the speed stance would need the user to lose massive amounts of body weight, and so on.

This is perhaps the greatest and untold synergy of the three vital arts of Khaffat.

Finally, the physicalizing thoughts of Enlightenment. By definition, Enlightenment cannot interfere with the corporeal plane, any acts that do so are because the power system is either pulling Evolution – for outer infusions – or Nurture – for physical manifestations of abilities.

The compounding and synergistic effects of the three power systems are what result in Infusion. A world where one of them lacked is a world where they wouldn't have been able to exercise their utmost potential.

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RELIGION

Sulnaya was* the religion of Ydaz, even if recently it has had a resurgence. The mandate of Aaliyah-al-Ydaz led to a degradation of the faith as the faithful were provided with everything they could wish and the very Sultanah partially opposed acts of worship that contradicted her esteemed intellectualism movement. Satisfaction is the bane of faith, after all.

Some say that Aaliyah-al-Ydaz valued her ideals more than her children, and they would be correct.

But the Sultanah is not the matter of this document, but the religion of her state.

What is most interesting about Sulnaya is the differences between it and other religions of Khaffat. Most other faiths preach about divinities and afterlives, and whilst the latter holds true for Sulnaya, it is in its own way.

The faith of Sulnaya has no forms of divine figures except the Heavenly Descendant, which would be the temporal head of the faith. Even though in some branches of the faith the Heavenly Descendant is worshipped as a divinity, it is important to note that a Heavenly Descendant is a person, and therefore falls out of the definition of 'divinity' as it is normally portrayed by virtue of being a mortal, and most importantly, real.

Not to discredit other religions, I personally find them fascinating, but for the average believer a god you can see has more weight than one you cannot. There are other religions that have portrayed these 'gods-on-earth' divinities before though.

The main tenets of Sulnaya are a strong sense of community, exaltation of the flesh, sacred pregnancies and births, and a unique viewpoint on the afterlife compared to other religions.

Some scholars have already mentioned before, but I have the pleasure of admitting that the magic of the imperials, Nurture, is part of these tenets that have to do with all flesh related. It would not be wrong to assume that without Nurture, Sulnaya would have never existed.

However, I would like to shed some light on the afterlife I have mentioned. Other religions preach about one final afterlife after death, a paradise; some others, though, either state nothingness after death, or a cycle of endless reincarnation. Sulnaya predicates on nine hells – afterlives for the sake of the argument – that people live in. Depending on one's purity of heart and communion with the flesh, they would be brought up or down into the hells. The higher, the better.

This may be common knowledge, but there are only two known hells out of nine. Our hell, earth, the penultimate of them; and the heavens, the last hell and the one where suffering is minimized.

Yet new proof has demonstrated that people have experienced other hells and have come back to tell the tale, I myself can corroborate such claims. We have discovered the antepenultimate hell, and we expect to find more as time goes on.

*Sulnaya still is the official religion of Ydaz, but it is no longer enforced. Consider this a personal touch of dramatic effect.

Excerpt of Evolution of Religion by Grand Vizier Ayad.