ManaCondrea / Mana Cores:
Type of organ unique to mana sensitive animals and monsters that crystalize into a core upon death. It is responsible for the appropriation and filtration of ambient mana within the body.
While a damaged condrea may impair one’s ability to generate its own mana, it is believed that it has no actual role in using it.
A stopgap method to circumvent a damaged condrea is to use ambient mana instead. While it
presents its own challenges and risks (low concentration of mana in the air, mana drunkenness or OUME syndrome) it ensures a mage or a fighter can continue to use its abilities, albeit reduced in duration and potency.
Condrea-less beings, however, often present no sign that they are mana sensitive or able to use magic in any classical way. (See Thaumaturgy)
Upon extraction or death, the condrea crystallizes into a core. The organ will transform into a crystalline substance that will act as both a passive mana accumulator, and a ManaBank.
A core can be used to store one’s own mana into it and can be directly accessed by contact or
conductivity (See Mana Ores). High mages and above are rumored to be able to access core contents remotely.
Mana Ores / Mana Crystals:
Materials known for their unique reaction to magic, high mana conductivity or storage capacity.
Often used for enchantments or to house cores, Ores can be forged into equipment. Said equipment will often be shaped into jewelry or integrated into armor. Armors made of pure mana Ore are extremely rare and onerous, using an alloy with more mundane material will be preferred, as most ores are soft metals.
Crystals are often natural ManaBank, able to house a quantity of mana depending on its size,
material and purity. The crystal can accept any mana and will systematically transform it into ambient mana unless it is harmonized to a user. (See Harmonization)
In that case, any mana added to the crystal will be converted into the user’s own mana to use
whenever.
Some Crystals and Ores have more unique reactions when mana is poured into them. For example, Mana Rubies heats up, and Mana Sapphires generate cold.
All kinds of Ore and Crystals are sought after and expensive as their extraction is limited to the few mining areas known so far. If mana Ore can spontaneously generate in veins of mundane ore (Copper into Oricalcum, Mercury into Knightsbane and so on) the quantity found rarely go over a percent of the mine’s lifetime yield.
Another source of mana minerals and crystals are also ancient battlefields where intense magic clashed into each other. The best example would be the World’s End, at the extreme north of our continent, where ancient magics still ravage the land and saturate the heavens themselves.
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As they entered the surrounding forest, Alaster and his group fanned out a little, gradually exiting the sentries’ perimeter as more and more trees and foliage masked them.
He sniffed, burnt meat and fur mixing with the boiling of the tree sap overtaking his sense of smell, making him swallow hard, pushing back the urge to vomit.
At least, all of the monsters within ten meters of the forest were dead, as he doubted he could fight any of them off while covering his muzzle.
Himself, Len and his father had their weapon prepped, as they aimed to go deeper into the forest, where live targets would lurk. He felt anxious about it, remembering how lucky he was the first time he met a PseudoWolf.
But this time, I’m prepared, I’ve been training for a while now, and unlike back then, I’m not alone.
He still remembered the taste of the monster’s flesh and blood, and just thinking about it made his breath quicken. He remembered it all. How it felt to fight for his life, his claws digging into the monster’s hide trying to keep it distracted from Jek, that asshole.
And later, how vividly he remembered the taste of blood. How it wasn’t that bad, and that he wouldn’t mind-
His hand tightened around his punch-dagger, his claws scraping against the scales on the base of his palm as he tried to dissipate the intrusive thoughts.
He made his way deeper into the forest as his group was slowly fanning out to cover more ground.
Felix was on his right, and Len at his left, both had their weapons at the ready. He unsheathed his dagger, fingers slotted into the punching guard, ready to stab whatever is brave enough to come close.
Alaster took a deep breath and looked inward, sensing his own magic reserves and winced. Ever since he went all out on the firing range, his heart felt achy when he tried to use magic.
It felt dumb to him to think about it as if it was a bruise, but he had not the words to describe it any other way. It just felt painful to touch or use it, even prodding with his mana sense made him flinch.
“Nothing on my side” Felix declared, still scanning his area, ready to plunge his spear at the first hint of a monster.
“Nothing on mine either” Len said in turn, his eyes glowing softly. “Seems like we won’t find anything that close to the walls. maybe we need to go deeper ?”
“I don’t know about that, Felix said we needed to stay close enough for the sentries to see us.” Alaster quickly answered. “I don’t think it’s safe for us to go further.”
Felix was about to speak, only to get cut off by the group on their left, calling for support.
Felix was the first to move, adjusting his grip on the spear, he bolted toward the noise. “Move, move, move!” he hurried, passing Len, who froze a second before falling in line with his teacher. Alaster startled, staring at the two disappearing between foliage.
He blinked once, coming back to his senses and hurried behind them, clutching his dagger.
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After a short sprint through the bushes, Alaster came to the rescue of the others, albeit a little later than the rest of his group.
Of the three man squad, only one was still standing.
Their adult was on the ground, ankles and throat bleeding into the mossy ground, Their spear broken, the pointy end buried into the side of a Wolf. Carrie, one of the teen villagers, laid against a tree, pulverized bark surrounding her, her sling still loaded. No blood there, Alaster hoped she only passed out.
And behind these two, Jek was the one still standing. Clutching his father’s wand like a lifeline, yet he didn’t use it. Fear paralyzed him as he faced the two Dire wolves responsible for his group's demise.
While Felix and Len engaged the Wolves, Alaster experimented a strong sensation of déjà vu.
Felix's spear staves off the wounded one, while Len’s dagger keeps the other one at bay.
“Take the wounded and run to the wall, quick!” Barked Felix behind him.
Alaster jolted into action, approaching Carrie and placed his palm on her, repressing a pained shudder to cast a levitation spell on her, holding onto the manalink between himself and her. Once he was sure the magic took and her form lifted from the ground, he quickly moved to the critically wounded adventurer, repeating the process.
As Felix’s spear dove deep into the Wolf’s flesh, eliciting a painful whine, Jek’s eyes widened, his frozen, fearful expression turned to pure panic.
“No no no no NO NO NO! BEGONE!” He yelled hysterically, pointing his wand toward the Wolves, and incidentally, to his own wounded group and saviors.
Alaster barely heard him, focused on his rescue effort. He sensed the strong fluctuation of mana coming from Jek an instant before the wand discharged its spell. The world turned upside down before he could react and a blast of pure kinetic energy sent him tumbling, hitting branches and bushes before finishing his short flights into a tree. His thoughts were cut short, his mind retreating on itself to stave off the agony in his back.
Next thing he knew, he was upside down, legs over his head, tail caught into the branches of a tree. The first thing he felt was the pain radiating all over his body, every scratch and bruise burning up. When he finally opened his eyes, he couldn’t recognize where he was.
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In a cone from where Jek once stood, the trees were uprooted, the bushes devoid of leaves, grass blown away, leaving the ground bare.
He must have passed out after hitting that tree, because Jek was further ahead into the cone, a dagger in his hand, stabbing into something out of Alaster’s view.
Slowly, hearing came back to him, the ringing in his ear quieting down to Jek yelling profanities, stabbing what looked like a mangled Dire Wolf’s corpse.
Alaster’s hand twitched, this was his dagger, he must have dropped it during his short flight.
Searching around, he located Len and Felix, passed out on the ground for the Elf, and smashed against a Wolf’s body for the second. Alaster focused into his Mana Sense, and felt relieved as they both felt alive, if he believed their mana signature.
He blinked, and turned his head towards Jek, who had noticed Alaster’s stirring. He was mumbling a great deal, clutching Al’s dagger in one hand, his wand in the other.
“...that’s all because of you...” Jek accused, eyes mad, approaching him. A chill came down his spine and he tried to move away, but his tail got caught in the thick branches of the tree, keeping him upside down and weakly flailing, his movements sending jolts of pain in his spine and chest.
“Oh...” Alaster started, wide eyed. “I uh .. what ?”
“Ever since that time in the woods, everything went WRONG!” Jek yelled, aiming his want towards Al, face contorted with rage, body twitching. “It is all your fault !”
“I saved your life !” Al protested, bewildered. “I saved you from that Monster!”
“That is what it looked like to you? I saw you jump on the wolf, clawing and biting, like a rabid beast. And when I told everyone the witch convinced them you were ‘normal’!” Jek laughed in disbelief. “Only my father believed me, he knew from the start! And our attempt to keep you away from everyone during the feast failed. Worse, my father .... my dad died to the same kind of beast you “saved” me from!” He jabbed the wand tip on Al’s nose. “Coïncidence ? I think not!”
Al recoiled from the touch. Jek had lost it, that was the only answer. Sadness from being considered a monster barely had time to settle for the annoyance and unfairness of the accusations to send him over his limit, transforming into rage. It was not his fault, that was unfair! He never hurt anyone, and yet , they were all wary of him, for something he “might” do. He saved Jek’s life, he didn’t do anything bad, he just defended himself. He wasn’t even there when the council master died.
Alaster growled and snapped his maw at the wand, forcing Jek to step back.
“You Fhn..damned idiot...” he snapped and jerked around, tearing himself from the tree, standing up, hunched over, claws out. “YOU are the one having it out for me since the beginning! I have done nothing wrong! Now put that shit wand down before I claw your face off!”
Jek blanched, wand aimed at Alaster’s chest “Stand Back ! I swear to the gods, I shot you once, I can do it again !”
All in his agitation, Jek stepped back, giving off a warning blast and tightening his grip on the dagger. That same dagger Alaster has been stockpiling mana for a while now, the Dire Wolf’s core embedded within it glowing like a small star in his mana sense.
As he tried to mentally reach for it, in an attempt to release all the stored mana in a single blast, Alaster doubled over, a dull ache deep in his chest, his own reserves of mana protesting against the attempt. What little magic he was already holding onto slipped off his grasp during the spasm.
Jek, surprised, and afraid Alaster was trying something, he fired his wand, sending Alaster crashing into the tree. Pain flashed in his right arm as it swiveled outward, clear of the trunk to hit with the back of his hand on the tree’s side, his shoulder’s articulation popping out of its socket.
His cries of agony seemed to spur Jek into action, sending him another blast, shredding his cloak and making bark fly in the air.
Alaster’s body slumped against the tree, panting hard as his arm hangs limply on his side. Through the flashes of pain (and tears), he saw Jek’s mana dwindling to nothing, the wand hungrily feeding off its wielder to power the spells it could launch.
Jek’s mana aura died to dull gray as he used the wand a final time, the spell fizzling out and only producing a puff of air barely stronger than a Felix’s forge bellow, Al breathed in and helped himself to stand up, the cold air already starting to infiltrate into the rips in his clothes.
Tired and wounded, his core hurting as if swollen, Alaster’s train of thoughts just stopped, replaced by sheer instinct. His dagger gone, in the hands of Jek himself, he did the only thing he could at this point to make it stop.
Leaning forward and squatting a little, his clawed toes digging inside the sole of his boots, he launched himself forward with all his strength, mindlessly plunging forward to tackle his exhausted opponent, his claws out, ready to strike.
Rearing himself up, straddling Jek, his working claw shot to disarm his opponent, prying first the dagger off their hand, then the wand. The scuffle was short, as he cared little about the amount of force he used, nor for the cuts and scratches his nails inflicted upon the other’s kid arm, hand and fingers. Finally, both weapons landed a few feet away, out of reach.
Thankfully, the young lizardman was never really unarmed, even with a mana core depleted and bruised, and his dagger stolen.
Alaster wound up a clawed swipe, aiming at Jek’s chest, effortlessly digging into the bully’s gambeson and ripping off the fabric and stuffing away.
“W...Wait-hey !” Jek yelped, trying to push off the furious ball of claws and scales atop of him, realizing just how hurt and unarmed he was, bloody hands trying to veer away the incoming swipes, only managing to put them off course just enough to dig into his armor and shred it further, digging trenches and pulling out stuffing, each blow closer and closer to deal real damage. “Get away from me!”
Alaster’s fury, only amplified, his swipes grew wilder, stronger, all ideas to hold back, to incapacitate gone, his mind filled with static, his reptilian pupils reduced to thin slits, laser focused on his prey.
He shuddered as a weird, pleasing sensation went up his spine as he kept up the efforts, his breath growing labored, his movements more and more sluggish as he tired himself out without any method behind it.
But at last, Jek’s hands were ruined and slippery with blood, unable to push off his swipes anymore. He lifted his claw one last time, his body and a part of his mind he never realized he had looking forward to the kill. One last swipe, right into the throat is all it takes his mind intuited, his thought process reduced to feeling, hunches and sensations, the internal monologue replaced with static full of intent. Finish it.
His claw swung down... and hit the ground next to Jek’s neck. Pain exploded in his elbow. He made another attempt, but this time the pain flashed all over his left side, making him hiss and roll away, curling up to pounce on the interruption.
He did not get to. Before his eyes zeroed on his new opponent, the butt of Felix’s spear crashed on top of his head, sending him to the ground, unconscious.
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The Eyes slithered into the forgotten temple, frustrated. The connection It established with the little One was almost severed a mere hour after the initial contact, a blink in an existence as old as It is. Hours stretched into days then weeks and the Existence started to worry. Did it go too far ? Did It somehow damage the little One when It sent Its feelers on him? All It could see now were staggered pictures and unintelligible sounds, nothing It could use to make sense of what happened around and alleviate Its boredom.
The signal seemed to get better for a moment, making It see where the little One was, atop a tower of sorts before it went garbled again.
Then, out of the blue, the candle dimmed, the flame flickering, as if it was about to go out. Alarmed, It approached, and debated exerting some of Its influence right here and then when it suddenly burned brighter, the pale blue flame grew hotter and took the red of rage.
The Eyes recognized it for what it was. An intense emotion went through the soul link. It went still, eyes glued to the now red, flickering flame.
This usually went two ways: Either the flame went back to normal, albeit a little weaker for a moment, or it extinguished completely.
It decided to send a little help their way, materialized into intent to push through, the flame growing wilder.
It regretted the lack of context and its current impotence. If only it could see what happened!
The soulflame’s glow suddenly dimmed, the color returning to its usual blue.
It felt relieved, and it surprised Them. How much could It care for an existence It never met before and just hatched?
It decided it was a welcome change in its eternal watch, and Its determination to monitor this small candle grew.
After all this sudden agitation, the wait started anew.
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As soon as Andrea saw the explosion, she jumped off the tower, gathering mana to slow her fall just enough to land safely.
“I swear to Nemid, if anything happens to my baby and his father, I'll...”
She fumed, her hands grabbing the sides of her robes to lift them sprint toward the palisade. Explosions kept ringing, pushing her to go faster.
“This doesn't sound like the work of a monster, what the hell is happening ?”
She ran along the palisade, almost a blur, passing through the gates without pause despite the guards motioning her to stop.
She did not bother avoiding the bushes and trees, going right through the woods toward the source of the explosions.
She passed the rescue team, carefully making their way toward the origin of the explosions.
When she broke through into the newly made clearing, only Felix was standing.
The place was a mess of crushed trees and bushes, the ground turned into a muddy slop.
Len was lying still at the periphery, his back against a ravaged tree. Next to him, two villagers, unmoving.
Felix stood over that little bastard Jek, a foot planted on the boy’s belly, pinning him down. He was a mess of cuts and bruises as well, his metal pauldron dented by impacts and his leather cuirass completely soiled and shredded.
Jek was not faring as well, his forearms bloody, clutching at the smith’s boot, trying to push it away, to breathe.
But Felix did not seem to notice, staring at something else entirely.
Andrea froze as she followed his gaze, recognizing immediately the white tail poking out of the body’s backside.
Alaster laid there, head in the mud, immobile.
“Sorry ‘Drea, things got a little crazy out there.” Felix had a small smile , leaning on his spear. “I had to stop Al from skewering Jek, not that this lil puke did not deserve it for attacking us out of the blue.”
Andrea approached her son, noticing the cuts and bruises all over his clothes and body, and his arm at a weird angle. She stared down at him, and the bump on his head while the rescue team finally arrived, deploying the stretchers and taking away the wounded and the dead.
Reassured that her baby boy would be fine by a Healer, she pinched her nose and sighed.
She turned to the stretcher containing Jek, and gave some orders.
She’ll know exactly what happened.