Nankaï, The Flow Of The Universe

“Our ancestors discovered an affinity with a strange might. It gave them varied abilities from simple rainfall to powerful fire beam. They called this strength Nankaï.”

— a Chan'Matz scholar

The Nankaï is the name of an energy that run through the entire universe. Nicknamed “The Flow of the Universe” for its power shaped, shape and will shape the universe, it was totally randomly molding matter until the first sentient being was created. Now each sentient being locally affect the Nankaï's actions with its mind, be it consciously or unconsciously. This influence of the mind is at the origin of all forms of magic, natural or not. As such, magic is a nearly illimited source of power which limitations depend almost solely on the species using it and magicians have a stronger impact on the world.

Natural Manifestations

Nankaï doesn't seems to exist in a "pure" or "neutral" form but to always manifest itself as one of the elementary essences. Although rarer, it also can manifest itself as one of the composite essences.

Visual

Under normal circumstances it is invisible to the eye of most beings, but when its concentration is high enough it becomes visible to almost all of them. Four main visible states are known :

• a thin mist, when both concentration and strength are low
• a thick mist, when concentration is high and strength is low
• a thin current, when concentration is low and strength is high
• a thick current, when both concentration and strength are high

Minerals

Certainly the most common manifestation, Elementary Essences often crystallize themselves and become gorgeous and powerful minerals with interesting abilities, namely, Elementary OMinerals and more rarely Living Ores.

Living Beings

The two prevalent forms of Nankaï as living beings are the Odrytías and the Gods. They are akin to Primal Points, solely powered by the energy coming directly from Kūsho.

Gods

Gods are a special case for their existence is only due to the thoughts of the sentient beings believing in them. They don't have physical bodies to directly interact with the world but can temporarily possess those who believe in them the most if allowed to or if their mind is weak enough.

Ailments

Out Thoughts

In places where Nankaï's concentration is abnormally high people can perceive echoes of thoughts from others even if they are alone. This phenomena is exhausting and feeble minded people tend to easily faint. Prolonged exposure often provoke incurable insanity.

A

B

Manipulation

The manipulation of Nankaï, or more commonly called “magic”, is a work of the mind that requires a perfect visualization of precise ideas to provoke precise effects. The way these ideas are being focalized on and the way used to simplify this focalization differ vastly depending on multiple characteristics such as species, culture and people.

Chan'Matz

The Chan'Matz's natural calm allows them to use only their mind to channel Nankaï making them extremely powerful. However, the thing that makes their might also complicates the teaching and transmition of their knowledge. To cast their spells they need to focus on sigils composed of symbols that represents the correct ideas, but which symbols represents which ideas depends on the person. Accordingly the learning of spells was difficult and off-putting, asking student to reinterpret the symbols of their teachers in addition to understanding the ideas behind the spells, the task becoming more complex as the spells become so. To counter this problem two decisions were taken, first, all existing sigils would be recorded with descriptions of their symbols and meaning, second, all sigils should be circular and contain symmetry axes. Nevertheless, highly complicated spells often doesn't follow these rules and spells using Composite Essences either needs multiple sigils, one per element, or complex ones. Despite its overall difficulty for most species, this channeling method allows for great customization of spells on a personal level. Its only weaknesses are the cast duration and the appearance of the sigils near the caster which could indicate the nature of the spell to the ennemy. Yet these flaws can be greatly reduced by training.

Trekijàrn

The Trekijàrn aren't naturally predisposed to use magic. Their body being continuously absorbing and transforming surrounding Nankaï for nourishment, using it differently is close to impossible for them. Even though members of the clergy had a small advantage thanks to their faith in their Gods, they still couldn't cast anything else than minor spells. To help focus on their spells they had the idea to use their greatest strength : music. Each note, each chord, each rhythm has precise significations and effects. Although allowing more people to use magic, music was still not enough to use it efficiently and effectively. Aware of the handicap of their species, the Kaalvgd, a family of genious inventors, decided to dedicate their work to the conception of a tool that would allow all Trekijàrn to use magic almost equally. After a dozens of years, a young girl of the family finally created the first Magnarálm, a catalyst that could store and release Nankaï in their place.

Dachteine

The Dachteine

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane