Singularity Sphere

Summary

Born from Velandra, Sovereign of the Heavens' endless mana, her singularity spheres have ever been her signature magical form. Though a mage with no conceivable equal, and capable of all kinds of magical arts, the humble sphere would be the first form of magic she wove.
As a child, her peasant family couldn't always afford luxuries or niceties, and childrens' toys ranked among those. While her siblings earned and got their own, disfavor and scorn ever kept Velandra from hers. Little more than a toddler and already frustrated at how no one shared with her, Velandra's desires gave purpose to her growing power. The airs churned before her one evening, and a pitch-black sphere warbled into existence. Overjoyed at having her own qiu–or playing ball–the young Velandra played with her new found toy. Although her parents tried getting rid of it, Velandra simply made more when they weren't looking.
The qiu would become the means to which she explored magic. As physical objects, they could float, be hurled, or otherwise interact with the world as she wished. But, they were existences much more than a simple playing ball–they were convergence points of her mana. A proverbial doorway that could channel her otherwise limitless source, allowing her to do magical arts far beyond her peers. Though she came to learn how to channel her mana through more conventional means, the qiu remained a trustworthy tool on her belt.
In time, as Velandra grew older, wiser, and learned more of the world, the qiu itself changed somewhat. Although its basic structure remained the same, Velandra constructed magical arrays upon her qiu. These arrays took on different forms: hedron-like glass prisms, magical circuit rings, external aides like crysium devices, and more. They all, ultimately, turned the qiu into a two-step magical process. The array would draw upon the inner core for power, and then transform it into whatever effect it'd been built to do. While Velandra would later abandon material components, the idea of constructing magical circuits became a foundational bedrock for her qiu.
However, at that point both a grown woman and one with social expectation, she couldn't simply keep calling them 'qiu'. A child's play thing it once was, but not any more. So, from Velandra's studies of Yonfao and other philosophies, she regarded them from there on as singularity spheres. The actual word for 'singularity' is the same as 'infinity' in her culture, being douyon. The root concept ties into the endlessness of Yon, and several other ideas like immortality and transcendence. The distinction arises when a location is invoked, either literally or not. That is, in the concept of the infinite, there is a specific 'point' within it somewhere.
To the eye observing one of the spheres, it distinctly is such a point within the world. A sphere of perfect, non-reflective darkness, ringed by a glowing purple horizon of Velandra's mana, always the center piece of someone's vision. The boundless world moves more around them than they to it, and that alone is quite the fantastical thing to experience. Many people tend to call them 'black suns', as they are as immovable as the sun, but thankfully nowhere near as blinding. Some simply regard them as 'douyon' directly, particularly philosophers.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

The singularity sphere's appearance is that of a perfect black sphere or circle, an eclipse-like existence nearly identical to an actual black hole. The event horizon spins with a colorful, fiery swirl of Velandra's distinct purple mana-aura. This same horizon, rather than 'fall inward', spews 'outward' very slightly, making it more like a burning black sun in appearance.
When in the presence of other strong mana types, such as a lot of ambient mana in an environment, it will 'conflict', causing the horizon to change colors. One can see it take on many different appearances as a result, from fantastical teal-colored plasma, to fire's red burn, water's cool blue, and so on. It quite visibly demonstrates the 'conflict' of different mana types coming into contact in such situations.
The sphere itself can be touched safely, and it is semi-solid like gelatin. It doesn't convey any sense of wetness, hot/cold, or other conventional sensations. Lacking the words to describe it, those who have touched them regard it like a 'solid cloud'. It is a markedly similar experience to the zarlona.
There's a spectrum the singularity spheres exist within: stable, toward unstable. As a sphere becomes 'unstable', it releases more mana, and thus power. This is a rather visible thing, as the sphere's horizon and perfect darkness begin warbling and moving much more energetically. It is through harnessing that mechanism that they can be drawn upon for magical purposes. Similarly, the size of a sphere usually affects how much mana comes through. Hence, a large sphere pumps more power than a smaller sphere.
Velandra's arrays upon the spheres are themselves varied and differing in nature. The hedron prisms are the most common form, as they offer the most direct access to their raw power. In such a state, if a sphere isn't being used, it simply exists and the prism may or may not be invisible. If it is being used for that purpose, though, the prism becomes increasingly visible. Similarly, the more other arrays can be seen, the more power they're drawing and utilizing for magic.
As they're linked to Velandra herself, she is instinctually aware of them and what they're involved with. While she cannot perceive through them, or receive any kind of sensation (e.g, hot or cold), she knows 'something is happening'. With a simple thought, a sphere will collapse and wink out of existence immediately. Thus, despite their unfathomably valuable nature, it is impossible to 'steal' them or from them. Velandra simply closes the mana valve, and that is that.
Being they're directly apart of Velandra, how she feels and whatever happens to her affects them. For example, if she stopped existing, all the spheres would vanish instantly along with her mana. This means anything powered by them, such as the Heavenly Palace or Horizon Blades, would stop functioning. The former would undoubtedly fall from the sky as a result.

Significance

The few privileged scholars allowed to study and work with Velandra's singularity spheres have all but, in no uncertain terms, marveled at their limitless potential. Fields of magic, once considered impractical or unfeasible, found a new lease on life thanks to the power of a single sphere. Such gave Velandra and her followers, who would later become the Xaishan Accord, quite an advantage.
While Velandra is quite strict about who gets access to her spheres, some limited forms of technology have emerged. Horizon Blades are the eminent example, being capably destructive weapons. If properly harnessed in equipment or infrastructure (as seen in the Heavenly Palace itself), they can power almost anything. Massive foundries, magical laboratories, lamp posts, igniting house-heating furnaces, and anywhere that could use mana on the palace is fueled by her spheres.
The possibilities they represent, and Velandra's magical arts as a whole, have even drawn the eyes of sokral. Their bidding for even one sphere is embarrassingly fierce, and their attention has set a spotlight on Velandra herself. Those covetous of power or ways to use it enviously eye her, and she remains on her guard against them. In knowing something like the spheres is possible, though, quite a number of mages have started researching how to make them theirselves.
If such a thing is even possible.

Item type

Magical

Current Holder

Velandra, Sovereign of the Heavens

Rarity

Only Velandra is known to be able to create singularity spheres.

Weight

???

Dimensions

Variable

Base Price

Priceless