The Source of Mana

Mana is an ancient concept, nearly as old as time istelf. It is a mutation that is part of the user, and can be found within an organ sac attached to the right or left lung. Based upon one's species, such as stroansian and grosant, their mana can either be off the charts or weak and barely managable. While one can be a stroansian or a grosant, they can also be a subspecies, such as dialese, essetid, or oxlian. The placement of the organ sac also holds a definitive choice on whether the mana is strong or weak.

Manifestation

To use mana, one must pay with "mana points," which works similarly to hit points. Normally, each spell a user casts is paid with by their mana points. There are a total of eight levels, the first being "cantrip" and the last being "seventh-level," with users only able to access cantrips the first four levels of their journey.
The more powerful a spell is, the higher risk of the caster's health being put in danger. Fifth through seventh level spells need "mana batteries" obtained from powerful monsters. To put it bluntly, mana batteries are the souls, essence, or spirits of powerful monsters used to activate deadly spells.

Mana Level Examples

For example, if a level six Caleb uses the "fireball" spell, he can only cast it fifteen times due to his mana points being 30.
Now, if Aiden decides to "shadow-hop" at level six between multiple cities without resting, he can jump up to 30 times. However, jumping more than once within an hour can result in terrible consequences.

Some spells can only be cast with a spell focus, such as a wand, holy symbol, spell book, or a staff (the most common). To access one of these spell focuses, one must travel through dungeons and collect loot, obtain it as an heirloom, or buy it from one of the mana shops in the larger cities.

Types of Mana

There are various types of mana within Thaouta, some being outlawed in certain countries or cities due to their unnatural power. Below are descriptions of each type of mana and what makes them tick...

Aqua

Water mana at its finest. It can used for increasing swimming speed or drowning your enemies. There is also the ability of creating ice, whether to stab a threat or create a bridge across a chasm. Those with powerful enough mana can access the water within someone's blood, contorting them or simply draining them of every last drop of their blood.

Flame

As the name suggests, flames as associated with fire, which is great for destruction. Arson is a common path most flame casters take. However, there are a few who see the beauty within the flames and take a gentle path of piece and performance.

Lux

Light is a powerful weapon, especially when it's electrical. Anything that can create shocking results and light up a room can be a powerful tool. And don't forget that lux casters use their mana to power the electric grid across Thaouta.

Natura

Whether the caster is a stonemason or a logger, natura mana is a great resource for building tools, equipment, and houses. Natura casters are connected to nature and can feel everything within the earth, from dirt to trees, and even stone.

Quick Facts

Type:

Metaphysical, Arcane

Users:

Dialese
Essetid
Gnome
Goblin
Grosant
Oxlian
Stroansian

Perception

Those with mana treat each other with respect. However, there are those who see mana as a problem and that it should be eradicated. Grosants view mana as important but also valuable. It is a form of protection and a useful weapon. Stroansians only use their mana for violence. They also condem their mana to being nothng but a weapon and that it can't be used for anything else.

Specialization

There are many uses of mana, such as attacking or defensive spells. One can also borrow the properties of existing creatures, energies, materials, spirits, and substances. The creation of magickal items can be effective, and even has professions surrounding it. A smal selection of magickal items are armor, golems, potions, talismans, tools, and weapons.

Weapons and Other Items

In rare cases, someone with mana can find, buy, or earn a mana-based weapon or item. These items can increase one's mana abilities, or it can increase how many mana points they have. For instance, if someone wore a "Belt of Engraving", they would gain +2 to their mana points. While the "Armor of Kathalos" would increase their ranged defense against mana spells, such as fireball.

Mana Levels

Everyone starts at level one with their mana, which means they have only 5 mana points available. For every level increase, they gain another 5 mana points.

Level Examples

Lv 8:

40 MP

Lv 15

75 MP

Necro

Death mana is the only mana forbidden within the borders of Leigrebath, as grosants, oxlians, and dialese can use the mana. They are seen as a threat to every citizen, while the grosants, oxlians, and dialese only use their mana in non-offensive ways. Although, there are cases where they can bring back the dead and summon zombies to help them fight. Every non-offensive path is linked to summoning ghosts and shadow-hopping.

Ventus

Ventus mana is connected to air, the sky, and storms. While is appears to be a weak form of mana, it is actually one of the deadliest, capable of suffocating someone to death in mere minutes. Others can use this mana as a form of flying or blasting doors open.

Vita

Vita mana is the sustainment of life. It holds the balance of healing mana. Nearly every wound or ailment can be cured with vita mana. Although, wounds inflicted with necro mana take a lot longer to heal and can be permanent. The one thing nobody mentions with vita mana is its ability to drain the life force of something or someone. It can also be used to create something from nothing, but only if the user has exponential levels of power.

by Amelia Nite (Stable Diffusion)

by Amelia Nite (Stable Diffusion)

Amount of Mana Types

Regardless of how powerful one can be, they can only have a certain amount of mana types. Below is a table revealing what their mana types are.

Species	Mana Types
Dialese	3
Elf / Gnome / Human	1
Essetid / Oxlian	2
Grosant / Stroansian	3