Char

Deep in the basement of Blumoor college is an infernal machine. A great forge which turns enchanted brick and stone to dust. Which smelts bone, and soul, and mind into something more pure. Just magic. Just Char.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Char is a black, chalky substance. Not too dissimilar from charcoal or ash. What sets it apart from these substances though is just how dark it is. It is blacker than any night sky. A deeper shadow than any cave could produce. It is as though light just disappears into it. It smells burnt. Always. It never stops reeking of smoke and fire and coals and death. Those who have the displeasure of tasting it describes it as having soot shoveled in your mouth, buckets of it, like you cant taste anything else.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Char is condensed, refined, Verve. People who consume it are able to use it to cast spells, however it is not very potent and a lot would be required to even come close to the power of other creatures.

Origin & Source

Deep within the halls of Blumoor College is the nations best kept secret. The soul forge - a great smelter capable of destroying any material shoveled into its chamber. Almost any. A sleeping Starspawn works day and night to keep the infernal machine burning. Fanatic scholars shovel relics into the flames. Things from the old world. Not just that though - they'll toss anything magical in. Bones, blood, swords, rocks, souls, you name it. Nothing is sacred to them.

What's left? Char. Only Char remains in the smelter.

History & Usage

Everyday use

This is how mages in Blumoor practice their magic. They shoot up char into blackened veins and wait for it to kick in. Once you have Char in your system you can perform miracles. Heal the sick, slay the guilty, ignite a campfire or freeze over a lake. The trick with Char though is that it does not last.

See, humans were never supposed to understand how magic works and Blumoor knows this. Thus, the amount of Verve found in Char is so miniscule that it is almost manageable by the human mind. Almost.

Most simply put, when you have Char in your system you are magical.

Learning Magic

Utilizing the Verve in your system once you have consumed Char can be a rather difficult task. For those unfamiliar with the workings and mechanics of magic it can be akin to learning to walk as a toddler. Although a lot more jarring. Perhaps like learning to breath.

Often, small quantities of Ichor are administered to the mind in tandem with Char, to help the process. Furthermore, Blumoor prides themselves in the teaching of magical "spells", effects which are supposedly efficient and simple to conjure with the use of Char. Spells are taught as a series of mental, somatic and sometimes material components meant to help focus the mind of a mage so they may use magic.

Primarily, this would be a series of things one must think of. Such as, if one wishes to summon fire, they would have to first imagine the heat, then the light, the smell, the sound. They would have to imagine where the fire appears, what it would look like in that space, how the things in that space would interact with the fire. Mages often have means of assistance when going through these mental gymnastics. Phrases or hand symbols meant to help them memorize all the aspects of fire. Material components are also often common. Such as a burned piece of wood, or perhaps some ash.

Hazards

Char is incredibly addictive and harmful to your body. It begins eating away at your very being, corrupting it. Rotting your teeth or soiling your lungs. Take enough Char and your body will begin shutting down. Breaking in a way which even the most skilled healers cannot help.

Most people do not die to their body though. See, once you've had it its hard not to have it. Divine power is sickeningly sweet, and hard to let go of. The most common death relating to Char is overdosing on the substance. Taking a far too large dose and losing your mind entirely. Succumbing to insanity in its purest form.

Side-Effects

Common ailments relating to the consumption of Char include.

• Coughing up black tar with other raspatory problems.
• Blood-clots, circulation problems, numbness, cold.
• Black tumor-like growths.
• Loss of appendages and/or other organs due to rotting.
• Infertility, problems surrounding child-birth.
• Insanity (only in rare cases).

Odor

Smokey, pungent, dead.

Taste

Burnt, like coals.

Color

Inconceivably black.

Veins after repeated use of Char.