[AETHER]
Aether is not energy. It is not matter. It is not "power" in any conventional sense. It is the essence of essence, the raw, formless precondition of becoming, that which dreams of shape before shape is conceived. Known in magical schools of mystic thought as the Fifth Element, or the Prime Substance, Aether flows from the Sea of Potential, a realm beyond all causal constraints: Silvahein. In Silvahein, there is no boundary between possibility and existence, only the eternal surge of pure potential, unfiltered, and unspoken. Aether is this Sea's gift to Halvrendor. All Magic in Halvrendor is but a shadowed abstraction of Aether, filtered into form through mortal limitations. Aether contains infinite potential in a single sliver, so dense with unrealized consequence that a drop, fully realized, could unweave multiversal causality, fracture spheres, or rewrite the fundamental axioms of Halvrendor. Because of this, Aether is unusable in its raw state by anything that still exists within the conventional strata of reality. Minds that attempt to interface with it directly report dreams that unravel into recursive symbolism, or worse, are overwritten by potential forms of themselves that never were. To touch Aether is not to channel it, it is to risk being rewritten by it, mind, body, soul, nucleus, and all, as though the self were a metaphor being edited mid-sentence by Silvahein itself. Thus, Aether is diluted. Filtered. Tamed. It becomes Mana, the weakened, breathable form of Aether that still retains echoes of its primal truth, but obeys the will of a magician. To cast spells is to sculpt Mana; to sculpt Mana is to touch the shadow of Aether. This Pure Potential is known to exist in higher realms such as Arudel, but there it is seen as elemental background noise, irrelevant to the Supernals who operate on ideatic resonance rather than substance. What is infinite potential to mortals is to the Supernal an old tongue. In truth, Aether is not "rare." It is everywhere, which tends to be mana, embedded in the bones of space and mind, humming in the breath between thoughts, folded within every act of becoming. But like breath, it is unnoticed until you learn to unbreathe the world. This pure essence cannot be measured within Halvrendor, for to measure it is to define it, and definition is what Aether rejects. Only through Silvahein's boundary-breaking architectures can one glimpse its current.
[Mana — The Breath of Existence]
Mana, known in some Spheres as Magicka, Ether, or simply Energy, is the refined essence of the cosmos, an echo of the primordial Aether that pours from Silvahein through the Mundalia. It is the most accessible form of arcane force across the Halvrendor and is woven into the nucleus and substance of all living things. Where Aether is raw, infinite, and far too potent to be wielded by mortals, Mana is its tamed shadow, a crystallization of Information Particles, the metaphysical fragments that carry the building blocks of reality across Halvrendor. These particles carry not only the structure of spells, but the very logic of a Sphere's physical and spiritual laws. Thus, Mana is both fuel and language; both fire and scripture. Over countless eons, Mana has evolved across different Spheres, mutating through interaction with the will, fear, and nature of life itself. Several specialized and divergent forms have emerged from this long alchemical dance:
- Chi — The Courage of Will: Chi is a spiritual distillation of Mana, shaped not by the world, but by the individual's inner self. It is forged in the crucible of willpower, discipline, and emotional clarity, and is said to be drawn from the emotion of Courage itself. While standard Mana responds to external patterns, rituals, incantations, and the arcane—Chi responds to belief. A warrior who conquers fear, a monk who attains inner balance, or a sage who accepts truth may find their Chi growing stronger, shaping it into martial force, spiritual resilience, or inner fire. Chi-users manipulate Mana not through formula, but through their state of being.
- Antimana — The Void's Denial: As Mana saturated the Halvrendor and the spheres over millennia, it eventually mutated to preserve equilibrium. The result was Antimana—a dark twin, a natural counterbalance to Mana's boundless flow. Antimana is the denial of form, the negation of structure, and the rejection of divine order. It is unbound by the Laws of the Elohim and flows contrary to the arcane logic of the spheres. Those who wield Antimana, known as the Manaless or Kaizamei, whether by birth or ritual, can cancel magic, shatter divine constructs, or even unravel the conceptual scaffolding of reality itself.
Mana Cancer: When an environment becomes saturated with mana—due to magical disasters, ruptured leylines, or prolonged spiritual warfare—the resulting condition is known as Mana Cancer. Exposure to these zones is akin to radiation sickness, but it affects the body, soul, and nucleus, which is the metaphysical organ. Victims experience an overload of information particles, resulting in spiritual decay, loss of magical ability, and eventual metaphysical collapse. The only known remedy is Spirit Magic, which can realign and purge corrupted information particles, though this art is rare and jealously guarded by spirits and the Alufray.
Hexbeasts — Born of Arcane Ruin: Hexbeasts are the unnatural offspring of unstable or runaway Mana. When a region becomes dangerously over-saturated, the excess mana can congeal and give birth to self-sustaining anomalies—predatory creatures that feed on the nucleus of living beings. Hexbeasts are chaotic, unstable, and infinitely varied, depending on the magical environment that spawned them. Some take the form of beautiful mirages, others of nightmare horrors, but all of them are driven by a hunger to devour. Their origin is not biological, but informational—a tangle of corrupted data made manifest, making them difficult to study and impossible to kill by conventional means.
[NUCLEUS]
The most prominent Concept across the Hortus is known as the nucleus, created by the Supernal of Life. It exists to maintain and absorb mana from the atmosphere into their bodies, as well as managing mana's useful conversion and release. Sometimes referred to as a Metaphysical Organ, the Nucleus also exists as the central and most important part of a lifeform, holding their information, history, physiology, willpower, and entitlements. Without the nucleus, a person cannot exist, or even function, since it's the core of their existence. Individuals known as magicians can manipulate their nucleus or another person's nucleus, but first, they must understand it. Once a magician understands a nucleus, they can change the traits of an individual; for example, if one manipulated the nucleus of a ghost, then they could change the idea of the ghost being incorporeal, or a vampire needing blood. They could also remove these traits from their enemies or themselves, allowing a ghost to become tangible or making a vampire not need blood. In other Multiverses, the Nucleus has many different names such as Roots, Data Cores, or even Hearts. Depending on the Multiverse and the laws established within it, the Nucleus can function differently compared to others.
[MAGIC]
Let's discuss Magic in 09th Garden Mythos. All worlds function differently across Halvrendor. In some worlds, Mana may have its information changed and be converted into something like Ether or Chi, which all function differently with its own unique system, however, they all have one thing in common, and that's how they work. In all worlds, each system can operate differently, but the process of using these systems work the same. Let's dive further into it;
As you may know, Mana is Information Particles, and it can have its information changed to create other systems of information, like ether, or chi. With these newly created systems, the process of using them is the same for everyone, which is a universal system called Magic Arts. Please read the processes to have an understanding:
[What is Magic Arts?]
Magic Arts is the useful shaping of Information and projecting one's ideas into reality. Magic is a literal concept in a tangible form that can be created by merging information particles together. The tangible form of magic appears as a Magic Circle that can conjure spells and supernatural phenomena through one's willpower by projecting their ideas into reality. There are three main universal components for performing the arts of magic. One was the mind, two was the soul, and three was the nucleus.
- The mind is where Willpower is exerted. Without willpower, one cannot give shape to their ideas and perform their spell.
- The soul is the gateway for mana to release. Mana comes from the nucleus, but it needs a way to exit the nucleus without causing accidental Informational overload to the user, or other repercussions, that's where the soul comes in. The soul allows mana to travel from the nucleus in small quantities, or however much the user is trying to manifest, allowing them to then control it with their willpower. It acts somewhat like a stabilizing gateway.
- The Nucleus is the container. It is a Metaphysical Organ that holds mana inside of it, allowing the user to bring out however much they want.
Knowing all of this, we'll now dive into how Magic Arts is usually performed, and the concepts that come along with it.
Willpower: All of magic stems from willpower. It is an all-encompassing force possessed by all living things that could shape the fabric of reality to their heart's desire, mainly by manipulating mana. Magic comes from a magician forcing their will onto reality, or in other words, projecting their ideas into existence. Without willpower, a magician is unable to form spells and project the ideas, thus, training one's willpower will allow them to increase their fighting spirit, potential, and magical prowess, which is important in the Arts of Magic.
Intelligence: Magic is like science, the more you study and understand the idea you're trying to project into reality, the stronger it will become. If one were to study the concept of "gravity", then one would be able to create such a phenomenon by projecting their idea of gravity into existence, even with little understanding of its essence. However, if they study and learn gravity down to its roots, then they will be able to harness the concept of gravity at its full potential. It's the same for almost every spell.
Magic Circles: Magic Circles are tangible concepts that are created when a magician merges information particles together from their Nucleus. A Magic Circle acts as a blank canvas that a magician must paint with their willpower, which is done by projecting their ideas into reality through said willpower. Once an idea is projected, the Magic Circle will harness that idea and make it into a reality. If one were to project their idea of summoning a fireball into existence, then the Magic Circle will channel that idea through its canvas, and impose it into reality, allowing one's abstract thoughts to be made real.
[MAGIC TRAINING]
Magicians must train their Nucleus and Willpower in order to increase their magical prowess. When performing magic, it's all about having a creative mind and imagination and projecting their creative ideas into reality, thus, magicians undergo training of the mind, instinct, willpower, and creativity. Other ways to increase it is with meditation, and attempting to feel the mana through their skin and breathing deep enough to be one with the information of the world, or in other words, mana. Other ways to become stronger in the arts of magic is by studying physics, mathematics, and the fundamental forces of their respective world to have a general understanding of how their reality functions. By studying books and science, a magician can increase their knowledge of certain concepts that they would want to manifest into reality, making their manifestation far more deadly. A magician who knows gravity down to its fundamentals can be more powerful than a magician who doesn't, even if they used Gravity Magic all their life.