//ACCESSING DATABASE.
//SEARCH PARAMETERS ; RECENT ENTRIES - CURRENT RESEARCH - MAGIC - MUTATION - BIOLOGY.
//REPORT FOUND.
//OPENING…
First records of "magic" encountered in data package obtained through Administrator Machina.
Initial environmental observations point to a highly irradiated environment.
Sun deemed as the probable cause.
Possibilities of mutations in current biome deemed very high.
Most recent samples displaying "magical abilities" showed capabilities ranging from pyro-kinesis, electro-kinesis and limited water manipulation.
Results of encounter processed and added to most likely theoretical model.
Limited biological analysis of residual tissue used for current assumptions.
Origin & Nature of Magic ;
"Magic", as it is called on Drasil, originates from genetic mutations stemming from exposure of the general population to the radiation of their star over millions of years.
In order to survive the powerful radiation of their star, the entire biological ecosystem of Drasil has mutated to tolerate it. It is done thanks to ion's transfer & release in the cells in order to balance energetic imbalance brought on by irradiation.
As a side-effect, "magical" capabilities were born in certain individuals who mutated enough to develop conscious body control over the process, and who managed to use the ion's mechanisms of protection to harness more radiation than normal, and control it as bio-electrical & bio-thermal energy focused discharges to impact the world around them.
While the technological level of Drasil is low, and the true nature of the process unknown to its population, it has been discovered by them that "magical" capabilities do stem from genetics, and as such are cultivated by marriage between strong bloodlines to further the chance of viable mutations providing increased talent in energy storage and internal/external manipulation.
General Attributes ;
Mana Pool :
What is called "mana pool" is actually the individual body capacity to keep charged ions in his body consciously, before the subconscious mind releases the rest in a preservation instinct to survive. The reason it grows over time is by accustoming the body of the discharge and recharge process, thus making it adapt, or mutate, to store more over time.
Energy Consumption :
Using magic, in general, forces the body to overuse the part of the cells responsible for the ion balancing radiation protection. As such, it drains heavily on body nutriments and oxygen. Mages planning to use magic should stay immobile as much as possible, to prevent muscle exertion, and eat and sleep well before any use. The only exception to that rule being Body Strengthening users, who also boost their oxygen intake and digestion system during periods of enhancement to support the added physical burden. The latter should however make sure to eat good rations before and after combat situations where they have to use it.
Chants ;
Even if the true process doesn't require it, the people of Drasil have been using vocal techniques to focus and help them control the magical aspect of their biology. It is theorized that "chanting" allows for the creation of certain brain wave patterns which can match a corresponding matter manipulation interaction. As such, it is more of a mental crutch, that serves as a universal thought pattern for certain basic magic actions. Chant-less casting is possible, but requires a lot more concentration, and an intrinsic knowledge of the task to perform. As such, it is rare to encounter. Matter manipulation, either through magnetism, energetic, or thermal interactions, being a difficult task, more complex chants will be required for more consequent "spells".
Mana Overuse/Backlash :
When a mage over-exert himself and his magical capabilities, either by using them for a too long period of time, or by releasing a big "spell" that comes very close to the limit of what he can provide in energy in one go, what is called mana backlash occurs.
What happens is that the body stops providing protection from the environment's radiation.
That happens either because of ion imbalance incurred by rapid and fast depletion of nearly all the charged ions in the body, equivalent to a big spell. Or because long use over time has damaged the part of the cells responsible for managing the ions manipulation or production, which is crucial in balancing environmental radiation in the organism. Both cases causes the body to send nutriments and oxygen to the body cell's part responsible in mass to get them to restart the protection & balancing process as fast as possible.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
During that time, symptoms can include extreme physical weakness, as well as lightheadedness, if not total blackout caused by brain nutriment & oxygen deprivation.
Most light cases end rapidly, with few and reduced symptoms, as the body gets back on track quickly if it wasn't pushed too hard during the event leading to its shutdown.
However in serious cases, nutriment and oxygen deprivation lasts so long that organ shutdown, brain damage and even death can occur.
To resume, Mana Backlash is a physiological survival reflex of the body that forces it to change its energy distribution and consumption patterns to resist environmental conditions.
Side-effects ;
Because of the nature of magical capabilities, all persons exhibiting strong magical talent possess increased cellular regeneration, to tolerate the overabundance of irradiation and cell damage. It gives the user perks such as increased natural healing, and longer lifespan as DNA has mutated in these bloodlines to resist better to time or external factors degradations.
Constant use of magic can also lead to increased rate of mutation in the individual. Physical features can be brought to change over time after periods of intense use. It is important to track those changes with extreme caution as they can be fatal in some cases.
As a side note, it is also important to note that external magical capabilities are impeded by metallic garments. Because magic requires microwave emitting, and magnetism, wearing highly conductive or magnetic metal can be fatal if the magical actions undertaken are too strong.
Affinities & Schools ;
The people of Drasil, despite their ignorance of the true nature of magic, have divided magical capabilities in different schools and sub-schools. They are as following :
SCHOOL SUB-SCHOOL Fire Ice Magma Earth Metal Magma Water Ice Weather Air Lightning Sound Weather Light Darkness Life Healing Death Necromancy Curses Unknown Nature Body Strenghtening Mind Familiar Taming Void
[INCOMPLETE - MORE DATA NECESSARY]
Regardless of this basic idealistic repartition, they each correspond more or less to specific capabilities exhibited by different meta-physical mechanisms. It is also important to remember that all people capable of external "mana" and "elemental" control have latent talents in electricity and magnetism manipulation, required to control atoms, chemical reactions and physical phenomena away from their own bodies.
Fire covers every thermal interaction with the environment. Mostly done with microwave emitting, it is interesting to note that the Ice sub-school of Water actually belongs more closely to Fire than Water, as good energetic thermal control is needed to take the heat out of the water or air and freeze the intended target.
Earth covers magnetic manipulation of solid matter. However, the strength required to move dense molecular structures makes it near impossible for the mages of this school to exert the fine control needed to manipulate the more volatile gaseous matter of the Air school.
Water covers magnetic manipulation of liquid matter. They do not exhibit the strength of Earth mages, making them unable to move dense atom structures, and lack the control needed to move volatile gases like Air mages do. They provide a middle ground in terms of control and strength between the two other schools.
Air covers magnetic manipulation of gaseous matter. As they exhibit more control than their Earth or Water mage counterparts, the Air mages have shown to also possess advanced electrical manipulation to some degree, as it stems from magnetic interactions and ionization control. It is however rare, as the amount of energy needed to release potent electrical current is very high, and the body has trouble tolerating it.
Light and Darkness magic are actually of the same school, unbeknownst to most of the local mage population. They both deal in photon manipulation. It is achieved through quantum states created by atomic vibration at certain frequencies, alongside magnetic fields, to achieve control. On the Light side, they are concentrated, to be used as a laser, with simple optic lens mechanics to concentrate it to potent efficiency, while on the dark side, it is done to pull them away from the targeted area, thus creating pockets of space where no light can reach.
Life and Nature are just like Light and Darkness : the two sides of the same coin, if not the two half of the same face. They both focus on biological matter manipulation. Life deals more with complex animal biological organisms. It is close to the Water School, given the nature of the matter being worked on.
Nature, on the other hand, focuses on simpler biological plant life, and is very close to the Earth school due to the physical nature of plant life.
Death is the only school that doesn't really come close to a particular scientific field. It's necromancy sub-school is closer to Earth, with solid matter manipulation (bodies), and Mind, with the creations of functioning electrical neural networks (to control & create puppets). But it's Curses sub-school is closer to Life and Nature, with the results of spells affecting biological organisms, albeit in a negative way most of the time. Being a forbidden magic too hasn't helped it being fully understood, even to this day.
Body Strengthening is the one of two school dealing only in internal energy manipulation. Electrical and thermal energies are manipulated inside the body to provide better nerve response and better muscle performance. It does however comes with drawbacks as overuse will literally force the body to tear itself apart and fry from the inside out, if it doesn't starve first.
Mind magic is the second school that deals only in internal energy manipulation. More precisely in the understanding of the neural network of the brain, and it's manipulation with electrical signals. It is an extremely rare ability to develop as the knowledge required asks for deep understanding of very complex information at very fast speeds. People using mind magic are often recruited as interrogators or spies, making them generally feared by the populace. However its sub-school of Familiar Taming & Binding is deeply appreciated by young mages, as they can craft the necessary talismans to "traduce" the intentions of a master to a beast, and tame them in the process. It provides close-combat protectors to mages if they feel physically weak after using up their magical capabilities.
Void is a special affinity as it signifies the total absence of magic. Magic coming from radiation, electrical, magnetic and thermic interactions, anything immune to these energy types is said to possess void affinity.
It happens very rarely to have people born with void affinity. However they all die young because of the lack of the ion radiation balancing mechanism in their body's cells. Theoretically they could survive deep enough underground, or in specially insulated environments. However the lack of scientific knowledge on Drasil has made this impossible.
[NOTE : MORE DATA REQUIRED - CONTINUE TO MONITOR ENVIRONMENT - EXTREME CAUTION REQUIRED IN ENCOUNTER WITH "MAGES" - IF POSSIBLE, ACQUIRE MORE BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS.]
//END OF REPORT.
//ARCHIVING...
//CLOSING DATABANKS.