Maiga

In the broadest sense, Maiga is the energy that binds the world and what allows everything to take form. Before it was created by The Pantheon, there was nothing but the void. With Maiga, matter could be bound and made to create forms, and thus Tarsis and all upon it came to be.

It is generally accepted that there are two main types of Maiga, referred to as Grand Maiga and Common Maiga.

Grand Maiga

This refers to Maiga found to be immune to the effects of Shapers and thought to be the direct result of The Pantheon's work in The Grand Binding, hence its name. It is found in animal, particularly intelligent, life and where the world is old, typically in large bodies of stone many meters below the surface or through mountain ranges. It is believed that The Pantheon intentionally made this choice in order to keep Shapers from literally unmaking Tarsis or its denizens. Despite numerous attempts to do so, there has never been a case of anyone successfully harnessing Grand Maiga in any capacity to date. What has been discovered in these attempts was that Common Maiga, or rather the effects of its use, could physically alter or even destroy things infused with Grand Maiga.

Upon death, a large portion of a being's Grand Maiga has been seen to leave the body and swiftly drift southward, giving rise to the belief of souls and Mortemhiem. What becomes of this Maiga is unknown and is the focus of many studies, though progress is slowed significantly due to no significant findings, even at Tarsis' true or magnetic south.

Common Maiga

What is typically meant whenever anyone refers to Maiga outside of academic circles. Common Maiga fills all of Tarsis, from the lowest depth of the seas to the greatest mountain peak and beyond. It is in plant life, topsoil, water, rock, and within animal life to a lesser extent than Grand Maiga. Due to its abundance, it has become a cureall for the problems of civilization, primarily as a fuel for devices ranging from minor hand tools to vehicles to weapons. Charging has long been the way of harvesting Maiga for use by funneling it into Charges that are attached to a device. It has been noted that Maiga never seems to be destroyed, as Shapers have long witnessed "spent" Maiga dissipating into the ambient Maiga in the air, capable of being immediately used to recharge devices, even the same one it was just used in. It can also be used to create or control elemental effects, though Shapers are far superior at this use of Maiga compared to the average being.

The use of Maiga is not a totally effortless, or even in some cases safe, endeavor. Channeling Maiga is akin to using any muscle in the body; it can be strengthened with practice, but is taxing and can be pushed to harmful extremes. For most, a few hours of focused channeling won't result in any more fatigue than a similar time spent on physical labour would induce. Going beyond that for these people may start to result in cramps, body-wide exhaustion, and/or headaches. Shapers, despite their gift, have a greater risk of greater harm for testing their limits. While the feats they can accomplish are awe-inspiring, they can risk fractured or broken bones, ruptured flesh, sensory loss, spontaneous combustion, or even accelerated aging.