Vir

"Vir is everything, it is in everything. To breathe, is to consume it. To eat, is to consume it. To control it however, is pure folly." Fetimar Thyn, Scholar of Vir Metaphysics.

Vir, originally discribed as Mana by practitioners of "Old Magic", was thought to be a bountiful and infinite source of both creation and destruction. Its discovery lead to a brief magical renaissance known as the "Time of Enlightenment". Lasting only 23 "Years", this was a time of rapid changes in technology, culture and art that reshaped almost every facet of life on Sudraste. Unfortunately Mana and Spellcasting had military uses that quickly lead to power struggles between the nations of Sudraste. The date of the first Magical War marked the beginning of the "Age of Dissention".
It is now understood that Vir is a finite magical source that permiates the world of Sudraske. Scholars have identified eight elemental sources of Vir to date outlined as the Prime Elements. These elements make up the physical and material world. Furthermore, six of the elements possess distinct properties and have a unique element they ascendant to while the remaining two stand in opposition of each other. _{Refer to below Table of Prime Elements for a diagram of the elemental relations in the "Old Tongue".}
Many scholars have theorized that there are potentially more elements yet to be discovered. To date, all research into the discovery of additional elements has yielded no results.

Manifestation

The uneducated use of Vir is strictly forbidden by all cultures in the world of Sudraske and is a punishable offense. As Vir is a finite source it is never consumed, it is simply Syphoned, Cast and it is then Dissipated.
The act of Syphoning is the process of channeling and condensing Vir from their respective sources. Vir can be collected from a source even if the source is not in the immedate vicinity. This means that Castings requiring larger amounts of a specific Vir will draw on more and more distant sources as closer sources are depleted.
The act of Casting is the releasing of Syphoned Vir in a concentrated and maniplulated form in what is called a spell. The manipulation of Vir will often require various components to obtain a desired result. The components are classified as verbal, somatic and material and are used in very specific and precise combination.
Once cast, the Vir will dissipate back into the world following Source Currents to the sources they were drawn from. This results in the immediate area physically changing, the extent of this depending on how much Vir was dissipated. Examples of this include sudden storms, rapid decay of life and droughts. It is for these reasons that uneducated magic users are persecuted without mercy as the results can be unpredictable and violent.
Modern Casters refer to the elements as follows:

• Fire = Ignis-Vir
• Ice = Glacies-Vir
• Wind = Ventus-Vir
• Earth = Terra-Vir
• Thunder = Tonitrua-Vir
• Water = Aqua-Vir
• Light = Lux-Vir
• Darkness = Tenebris-Vir

_{"Primal Beyond" - MTG - Art by Mark Tedin}

Type

Natural