Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the study and use of the properties of the Meta energy which suffuses the universe. Humanity was without it for a long time, but in modern era it is as much a staple of their existence as it is for the Sazashi and Verin.

The Source of the Meta

Metaphysics marks the end of the known and the beginning of the unknown.

Where is it from?

The origin of the meta is a source of controversy.
Some claim it is an exotic particle which Sophont evolved to manipulate. Others claim it was bestowed upon the universe by The Wheel as a gift for achieving Sophonce. There are many more opinions on the matter than that, and some that even mix those theistic and atheistic threads.
In the tens of thousands of years since the discovery of the meta, casters have increased its efficiency and flow through the body by creating mass enchantments and anchoring them to Divinorium. It’s said that the first casters could hardly summon flame without burning themselves, yet modern masters can call down tornadoes of flame, tremble the earth with great quakes, and drive to madness the minds of all who oppose them.

As an easier question: where it it physically?

The meta flows from the Monoliths and the Sovereign. Where they are, meta congregates and spreads outwards. On hub worlds, the presence of the Monoliths is such that meta is in an almost dangerous abundance—fuelling errant thoughts to become wild echoes which pose a threat to society.
In space, and on new worlds—regions known as Null Voids—it is nonexistent. It must be brought, stored within people and batteries (with little differentiation between the two) and carried to new worlds. Even then, that store is only temporary without a Monolith to provide meta.

How is it used?

The fundamental act of the Psiolic is of breathing.
We inhale raw meta and exhale change.

— Hierus Nomen, Psiolic Philosopher

The Sovereign and the Monoliths are the only source of meta.
All other Sophont act as a sponge for Meta, storing it up to a Meta Capacity which they may expand to cast spells.
Casting is a process done willfully. It is the conscious casting of a spark of one's soul configured into an Element and a School. It is often accompanied by somatics such as: gestures, words, song, diagrams, or whatever else helps the Caster to focus on the act. Which Somatics best fit the Cast depends on the element related to it. For example, Gas Psiolic will often sweep and flex their arms, while Auric casters will often sing or talk as they Cast. Casting meta expends it.

Can it be used up?

Meta is seemingly infinite, to a degree. Monoliths and Sovereign are a constant source of it, but they only produce it at a certain rate, a rate slower than the entire population could it if they tried.
It can be used up within a region, turning it into a Null Void or a Meta Sink. In the case of a Null Void, extant souls will eventually wear out and disperse over the course of a few days, leaving those within it without souls and without meta, in a state of Null Sickness
Once these sophont meet someone with a soul, theirs will once more re-develop.

Elements and Schools

The meta is so woven into the universe that even today Casters find new and fascinating applications for it. The core application is that of the Elements. Meta tends to work closely with physics, but doesn’t do so strictly.

Elements

The Elements are the material aspects which Meta may affect. There are seven core which all casters can use, but certain races or casters may have access to more.

When the Old Pantheon of the Verin discovered the Elements they anchored each to different parts of the body, this was as much a necessity as it was to reinforce that psiolics must master themselves to master their power. The more skilled and developed the body is, the more powerful the psiolic is in that element.

Element	Description
Gas	Associated with UBS and the respiratory system. Affects volumes of gaseous matter.
Liquid	Associated with LBS and the circulatory system. Affects volumes of liquid matter.
Solid	Associated with VIT and the Skeleton. Affects volumes of solid matter.
Energy	Associated with RCT and the Nervous system. Generates and controls energy.
Kinetic	Associated with PER and the Sensory systems. Moves objects around and creates barriers.
Meta	Associated with MTP and your mastery of it. Affect the Meta directly.
Auric	Associated with NRV and the Soul. Affect echoes, souls, and other such things.
Astral

Schools

The Schools are the way by which a Caster commands the Elements. Every School and Element interacts in different ways, but each School has a general usage.

Divination

Divination is the School of observation; use it to reveal hidden detail about the world around you.

To describe Divination is like describing color to the blind—the words can be understood, but the true experience is lost in translation.

The world of our sight is like the habitation in prison.

— Plato

Immolation

Immolation is the School of entropy; use it to disrupt, disturb, or destroy. It always has a place in overcoming any obstacle.

It's hard to match the great disruptor. Battles bend to your whims, and the impossible merely becomes an interesting challenge.

Right or wrong, it's very pleasant to break something from time to time.

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Combination

Combination is the School of convergence and settling. It can merge like subsets of an element, or render properties of them inert

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

— Sun Tzu

Manipulation

Manipulation is the School of mobility, configuration and order. It can alter the properties of an element, or shape the form which it takes

We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.

— Marshall McLuhan