Reaping (Artificial Manacite Creation)
I know what I saw and it's not like anything i've crossed paths with before. For acres in every direction around their factory the land... melted. Plants withered. Waters were thick with the curdled remains of death fish. Animals were stretched every which way... warped like the dreams of a madman. So sick was the land that those who entered were set alight by an invisible fire that burned them from the inside out. The lucky ones died quick.
The Fae brought with them many wonders but none so miraculous as the ability to create Manacite. While this arcane technology obviously led to the downfall of all the people of Tairos it has become more sought-after and valuable than even prior to the Queen's War. Reliance on magic placed a difficult decision on every surviving community. Find remaining manacite caches or let go of their dependency on magic all together. Unfortunately; that decision was out of the hands of many of these settlements as even scraps of manacite became nearly impossible to secure. For those having to do without, magic soon faded to myth.
However; when the Tengu arrived on the eastern shores of Tairos magic suddenly became more than just a distant memory. These avian refugees from a distant land brought with them quantities of manacite not seen since the days of the Fae. More amazing is that they seemed to possess the means to actually create the stone. This was true, in a manner of speaking.
Until coming to Tairos the Tengu had no particular need for manacite. Magic functioned well enough in their homeland and on the journey across the endless oceans. The closer they drew to what would be their new home the more they noticed their magical acumen strangled. They were forced to start harnessing their focusing their alchemical talents toward alternative means of fueling spells. The Speakers consulted with the Conclave and from its depthless knowledge they discovered a process called the Reaping. This eldritch ritual resulted in the creation of physical chucks of mana that could both power spells and even overcharge them under the right circumstances. Unlike the fae process of tapping into Leylines the Reaping harvested raw living energy from natural environments to act as the catalyst.
Where the Leylines are the conduit to a near limitless source of mana, living places are rather finite in what they can provide. Regions tapped by for Reaping quickly become industrial nightmares rife with toxic waste, poisonous air and dangerous levels of radiation. Animal life quickly dies or becomes twisted by the effects of the disaster. The impact of Reaping can transform a region into a wasteland for centuries to come. A fact that the Tengu are largely unaware of. Prior to landing their efforts in Reaping had taken place on the open ocean as they sailed closer to Tairos. They never lingered long enough to see the harm caused.
Reaping was quickly and secretly halted in Tengu Town after it became clear what the dangers were. Instead, they quietly and discreetly began establishing small outposts dotted across isolated areas of the Balmoran Plain. While these properties operate as trading and exploratory outposts they also manage hidden Reaping plants on, below or nearby to their borders. Once the area begins showing the early signs of devastation they cease their efforts and move on to the next viable plot. They do so in the hopes that the land will quickly recover and that their new neighbors won't notice.
Likely they would be right about the land healing itself however that does not seem to be happening. In fact, anywhere they begin Reaping the land spoils at rates far faster than anticipated. The damage only seems to worsen after they move operations and the Tengu are baffled as to why this is occurring. The exact reason is something that is far beyond their experience or expectations. The little specks of toxic rot the Tengu leave behind are like sweet honey to a kind of entity they never could have fathomed... Grandmother Hydra and her kind. These totems and their ilk flock to the Reaping sites and feed upon the venom in nature's veins and the small scar left by the Tengu becomes a spreading blight populated by horrors.
Parent Technologies
Access & Availability
The process is extremely rare and only fully understood by the highest ranking of their kind
Complexity
Reaping is a delicate process requiring precise calculations and very specific equipment. That equipment is largely unknown to the engineers of Tairos as well and it's doubtful any outside of Tengu Town could produce the instruments needed (though likely the old Clockwork factories of the Gnomes could have managed just fine). Lastly, there needs to be some source of life-energy to convert. Reaping would likely be impossible in the wilderness outside Frostmere or the wastelands of Cinderstone
Discovery
It is unknown exactly how the Tengu discovered the Reaping process. It is a guarded secret only a few of their kind know and is not shared outside of their community.
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