Manipulation

What is often called magic, or arcane magic, manipulation is the art of harnessing arcane energy to reshape and mold the world around you. While no one is inherently born with the ability to use magic, it is a difficult art, meaning that there are still few who are able to use proficiently use it, usually of the upper classes. Manipulations are distinct from the thaumaturgy of the church, despite them both being called magic by commoners. There are six schools of manipulation, each based on a different one of the world essences, excluding Lledri and Amea. Along with the six schools, which determine what a manipulation can do, there are also a few different methods to actually perform the manipulation.

True Magic

The most iconic method of manipulation is often called true magic, since it requires nothing but the manipulator themself. The manipulator reaches out themselves to directly harness arcane energy to manipulate an essence. While nothing has been proven concretely, most scholars accept that this is possible through the arcane energy innate to all mortals: the soul. True magic is performed through the interaction of the arcane energy of someone's soul and the energy in the world, allowing an attuenement between the two. However, several peoples cannot perform true magic, such as humans and crovae, although scholars are unsure as to what differs between their souls.
Performers of true magic, generically called true mages, will usually specializing in a specific school of manipulation, although that does not prevent them from using others. Each of these specialized mages have their own name as well. Alchemists can shape Etya, Kineticists utilize Ajak, Chronologists adjust the flow of Ologi, Humorists influence peoples' Ilfinn, Shadowdancers affect peoples' Ysgo, and Mentalists control peoples' Kiri. It should be noted that manipulating Ilfinn, Ysgo, and Kiri are usually illegal due to the many dubious uses of those schools of magic.

Esoterica and Simulacra

Since humans, one of the more populous peoples of Belkora, could not use true magic, they found a way to manipulate the essences without the use of mages. Instead, they created a false soul, called a simulacrum. This simulacrum of a magic soul can take many forms, but usually looks like a wand, staff, or book, collectively called esoterica. When one's esoterica is on their person, they can perform manipulations as easily as a mage. While humans and other peoples without true magic treat these manipulators the same as true mages and often call them all mages, true mages find this insulting and will usually call simulacra wielders false mages or esoterics

Enscribed Magic

There are many uses to manipulations that arcane scholars have studied how to access magic without needing to dedicate years to the study of the arcane. Their solution is the creation of runes and glyphs, together called enscribed magic. Those that learn how to create runes and glyphs, called scribes, will often sell their creations to mercenaries, governments, and businesses alike. While runes and glyphs differ in exactly how they work, scribes can create both and there are several similarities: primarily the fact that the magic is performed in the enscribing of the rune or glyph rather than at the casting, and that runes and glyphs both disappear when they are used, having to be rescribed when used.

Runes

Runes are the more versatile form of enscribed magic. When a rune is enscribed to a piece of paper, the power of one of the essences is locked into the piece of paper, depending on the rune. When the holder uses the rune, the paper burns up and they can perform one basic manipulation of the essence bound into the rune. Due to their versatility and portable nature, runes are preferred by those that often travel and find themselves in novel situations, like mercenaries. Scribes that specialize in runes are called runesmiths.

Glyphs

While runes are versatile and portable, glyphs are specific and stationary. When enscribed in an object or a surface, the scribe imbues the glyph with both a trigger and a specific effect, manipulating an essence in a predefined way when the trigger goes off, causing the glyph to disappear. Glyphs are usually larger and more complex than runes, allowing scribes to imbue them with much more varied manipulations. Since they cannot be moved, glyphs are often used for security or to help with stationary businesses like stores or restaurants. Addtionally, since glyphs can only be imbued with a single purpose at creation, rules against manipulating certain essences are looser, such as allowing an inn to apply Ilfinn glyphs that enhance people's already existing positive emotions, or theaters using Ysgo glyphs for special effects. Scribes that specialize in glyphs are called glyphbinders.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane