Aura

Aura is the energy of the Heart. Magic is done with Aura.

Emotions
Aura is generated from the emotions of any organism capable of feeling emotions. It then builds up around them. Each individual organism has a certain maximum volume of Aura they can hold. Any excess Aura drifts away from its source and joins a ley line.

Creatures that do not use magic do not use their Aura. This causes all their Aura to drift away over time and eventually join the natural ley lines.

Ley lines
A vast network of flowing Aura lines that run across most of Val. It is invisible to the naked eye and can only be sensed by magic users.

Nexus
Points where the ley lines meet. High concentration of Aura builds up in these spots. Objects that are around a nexus long enough eventually absorb some of the Aura. Flora and fauna near a nexus grow larger than normal and are often used in Alchemical potions.

Enchanted items
Items can also be imbued with Aura. How much Aura an object can hold depends on its size and the materials its made from. A magic user can extract this Aura for their spells.

Origins
The first beings to use Aura were the Fairies. They were born among the magical trees in west Val and have an innate ability to channel Aura into magic. They use this magic to protect themselves from the larger creatures that live all around their forest.

Elves and Humans learned to use magic from the fairies. Humans soon began experimenting and created all kinds of new spells and ways to use Aura.

Later the other races learned about Aura too. And used it in their own ways.

Magic
Aura has the unique ability to take on the properties of any elemental force. It will then behave exactly as that element would. However it still is Aura and will dissipate over time. No magic spell is ever permanent. However magic users can extend the effect by using more Aura if needed. Aura crystals can also be used to extend the spell.

Another property of Aura is that it is relatively easy to mold into any desired shape once you know how. The hard part is being able to do it fast enough before it starts dissipating.

Magic users are trained to do both these things together. By combining the right shape and right element(s) you can do almost anything with a magic spell, as long as you have enough Aura and skill. This versatility is why Aura is the most widely used energy in Val today.

Mechanics of magic
Magic is the process of manipulating Aura into a certain form that causes the desired effect. In order to do this magic users form the Aura into a certain shape and give it the properties of one (or more) of the 28 elements.

In general you need four things to perform magic spells. Aura from any source, a controller to make the Aura flow, a conductor to gather the Aura and send it in the right direction and lastly a trigger to form the Aura in the desired shape and element. For example by shaping Aura into a ball and giving it the properties of fire you can create a fireball.

Most users tend to specialize in either a certain shape or element. For example Jex specializes in arrow shaped magic but uses multiple elements. Meanwhile Az specializes in Fire element magic but can shape the flames in many different forms.

Mages
Mages generally use their own aura as a Aura source. But they can use nearby ley lines, enchanted items or special potions that replenish their Aura.

They act as the controller, manipulating the Aura with their will. It takes most students a year to learn how to just control their own Aura.

As a conducter they mostly use staves and wands. But other objects can be used but aren't always as effective. The best conductor materials are Angelic metal and Fairy wood.

As a trigger mages say a spellword or entire chants. More complex spells require longer and more complex chants. In order to avoid accidentally setting off spells mages tend to use a language they don't use in conversations. Ancient Demonic and Angelic are popular choices.

Most mages learn how to control their emotions. As Aura is linked to emotions and being calm makes Aura easier to shape. However controlling your emotions does not mean suppressing them. A magic user who suppresses their emotions can lose control of their Aura and this often ends with unwanted explosions.

Witches
Witches are mostly similar to mages. Unlike normal mages they also study Alchemy so they have easier access to Aura potions, etc. They are also less likely to use staves and wands. Instead they often use items they have an emotional connection with as conductors.

The biggest difference is their method of triggering spells. Instead of chanting they use symbols. They can draw symbols in the air with small traces of Aura. Usually the symbols are inside a circle. More complex circles are required for more complex spells. Each element has its own symbol and so do most basic shapes. More complex shapes are often made by writting words inside the circles in strategic places. And sometimes special lines are used to guide the Aura in a specific direction.

Another difference is that most witches don't attempt to control their emotions. They embrace them and this often makes their spells more powerfull. At the cost of burning through their Aura much faster. However, long lasting low Aura levels carry the risk of causing chronic depression. And when a magic user runs out of Aura completely they often collapse and can sometimes fall into a coma.

Witches do not go to magic schools. They pass their trade on from master to apprentice. Often living isolated from the rest of the world two or sometimes small groups of witches live together for years. This often causes nearby towns to be suspicious of them.

Spellweavers
Spellweaving is a method invented and mainly used by dwarven Aura users. Thousands of years in Isolation from the other races caused Dwarves to develop their own method of spellcasting. Their method can be seen as a combination of mages verbal casting and the witches magic symbols.

They spin threads of Aura and weave them together into patterns symbolizing the spell they wish to use. While they do this they chant to keep the threads of Aura in place. Allowing them to weave very complex spells. Also giving the spells a more cohesive structure that allows them to last much longer.

However this means that the one weaving the spell has to concentrate deeply to avoid making mistakes. Once a mistake has been made it cannot be undone. Which means the spell will hold a weakness unless the weaver starts from scratch. This is why Spellweaving is considered the most difficult form of spellcasting.

Dwarves have special communities where they can live and learn to weave spells. They typically spend a year or ten in these communities. Others can spend decades while a few stay and dedicate their entire life to teaching the art to others.

These communities tend to only accept women. Because magic is seen as feminine in dwarven culture. However a handful of communities are open to men as well. Although how open they are varies from place to place.

Men can also learn to weave spells by being tutored by a spellweaver who has left their community. Some individuals are more willing to do this than others though. Either way male spellweavers tend to be looked down upon by dwarven society.

Rune magic
Rune magic uses symbols drawn on objects as triggers. It was an attempt by witches to let demons use magic. As most demons are incredibly bad at manipulating Aura. Therefore runes often resemble the symbols witches use.

The symbols are put on an object and all the user has to do is aim the object in the correct way and push Aura through. At first the symbols were carved into stones but these days they can be put on almost anything. Weapons, scrolls, cards, walls and even on the users body as a tattoo.

Rune magic is popular among the Dark elves. They often combine them with normal verbal spell casting. Demons that use magic always use Rune magic. Since they cannot mold Aura themselves.

The same principles of rune magic allows Aura to be used in technology. Which the Goblins found out soon after discovering Aura as an energy source.

Power source
Aura is a great source of power for all kinds of machines. It is safer to use than the other energies and also has a near endless supply. Goblins have made all kinds of technology that is powered by Aura engines. Including Airships, Robots, guns, Refrigerators, etc.

In technology a machine takes on the role of both the controler and conductor. The Aura flow is controlled by a complex system of pipes and relays. When activated the relays open up and let the Aura through and let it flow into a rune like figure that acts as a trigger for the desired effect. Most machines are built specifically for one effect.

The only challenge is to keep Aura from dissipating and joining the flow of the ley lines. To accomplish this the goblins compress the Aura into small semi-solid spheres called Aura sources. Or sometimes they use natural occuring Aura crystals but those are more rare.

Jex Cahill
Jex is a combat mage and a member of ChaoZ. He specializes in magic arrows and can use multiple elements. Light magic arrows seem to be his most used spell. He also can control Ki. His conductor is a staff. He also uses his staff as a melee weapon. Which might explain why he keeps breaking and replacing them. He currently has two of them. One of them, the staff of wisdom, is home to Danielle. A former Gargoyle who somehow ended up inside the staff.

Azertiqa
Az is a powerfull witch and a member of ChaoZ. She specializes in fire magic. She can form it in almost any shape she wants. She also carries a living giant sword by the name of Kai. Kai itself can also use two lightning spells. Az does not allow her sword to talk. She also has a familliar who is called Glacy. He has some low level ice magic of his own. As a witch she also is well versed in alchemy.

Ziome
Ziome is Az her apprentice as a witch. She specializes in alchemy rather than magic. The magic that she does have has the element of life and most of it is healing magic. Her conductor is a broom which she uses to fly and protect herself. She also knows a basic fireball spell that she learned from Az.

Corvus
A leader of an upstart criminal gang in Ostea the crime city of the High elven kingdom. He uses special cards inscribed with runes. He has a full deck of these cards. Not much is known yet about his other abilities if he has them.

Avena
A dark elven woman with tattoos covering her body that fuction as runes. So far she has been seen creating portals, turning surfaces into titanium and summoning walls/spouts of water. She can also turn that water into titanium. She is currently the main antagonist in "A royal pain in the elves" rp. Magic seems to be only one part of her arsenal of powers however.

Valkyria
The empress of Valkyrea, a small remaining part of what was once the Blackshroud empire in north-east Centrea. She specializes in the element of darkness. But lacks skill when it comes to shaping it. Her main spells include waves of liquid darkness, shadow barriers and shadow platforms to walk on. Recently she has also discovered her powers as an heir of Death, controling Aether instead.