Mabaik is a sand magic used by the people of Tantse Minor and the southern desert. It is a relatively unknown magic and is not common outside of those places. It consists of two core abilities, with a few minor abilities. The major abilities are called abilities, while the minor abilities are called forms.
- The ability to magically move sand around you with a glass rod known as a Baikat. This ability is known as Kaibut.
- This means that you can spin your Baikat quickly in a circular motion to propel the sand. This is known as Kaibukai.
- This means that you can point to a place and jab with your Baikat quickly sending the sand in that direction. This is known as Kaiwuvaik.
- The ability to freeze the sand in place by jabbing your Baikat into the ground. This form is known as Tavut.
However, both abilities come with plenty of flaws. Kaibut requires a fair amount of physical strength to lift even an ounce of sand, meaning Maibak users must stay in shape and are not able to use a lot of sand. Using Kaibukai or Kaiwuvaik can get sand in someone's eye if not used properly. Also, Kaiwukai is known to occasionally go haywire, creating a dust devil. When someone does this, they are usually swept up in the dust devil and die. No one knows why it does this sometimes, but it is thought to have a link to the condition of the user's Baikat. Tavut also has flaws. If sand gets in the eye of someone and then is frozen, the eye will be badly damaged and possibly blinded upon blinking with frozen sand in their eye. The sand when frozen can be unfrozen by anyone. If you set up a small fortress out of frozen sand, your enemy or enemies could unfreeze the sand causing everything inside to be buried in a pile of sand; possibly killing whoever is inside.
If one is to learn how to use the Magic of the Mabaik, they first must get a Baikat. Baikats are best described as having two glass spheres on either end of a black metal rod. Each sphere contains a gold nugget that has been harvested from the various gold deposits in the Tantse Minor. It is though that both the gold and the sand contain magnetic materials that allow for the manipulation of the sand. Once one has acquired a Baikat, they next must strengthen themselves and become physically fit, as while not being fit allows for a few hundred grains of sand, you need to be strong in order to use an ounce or more. Next, one must learn the abilities of Kaibut and Tavut. This is best done by using scrolls found in the Castle of Petoun and practicing by reading and/or using those scrolls. Now that one has learned the two basic abilities, they must master the Kaibukai Form and the Kaiwuvaik Form. This is best done at a target range designed for Mabaik training. There is only one of these left and it is found in the southern desert. Finally, when you are able to use the minor abilities of Mabaik, you have become a true Master of the Mabaik Ways and can learn other forms through scrolls.
If you have decided to do so, creating a Mabaik form involves three steps. First, you must figure out the purpose of your form. These could be a variety of things such as, creating a statue with Tavut, using Kaiwuvaik to blow sand into a machine to power it, or propelling yourself forward with Kaibukai. Second, you must design a scroll to perform this action. This takes months of work, requiring an artist to record how the form looks, and someone to practice the form to fully describe it on the page. Once this is done, there is one more step. You must carry your scroll to the library of Petoun. Once this is done, you have created and recorded a form that could be used for generations of Mabaik users on end.
The origin of Mabaik starts around 120 years before the start of the River Coast Calendar, and is credited to the now extinct Mabain tribe that lived in the Tantse Minor. These people first learned that the inside of Baikats is magnetic to the sand and around this time and slowly learned to use this to their advantage, creating small dams that blocked up the Baiku and Kwob Rivers, and allowing them to build small houses in these rivers. It is thought that these dams may have powered machines beyond comprehension. Boats that were used sand as a fuel, automated horses made out of sand, and even gateways to the stars themselves. Eventually, the Riverfolk, as we know them now, migrated to the River Coast and killed off the Mabain tribe through spreading disease, tribal warfare, and interbreeding with the local population. The culture of the Mabain tribe is now long forgotten, however the magic of Mabaik remains today with their descendants. Those who use Mabaik are called Mabaiku.
All of that is why the magic of Mabaik has an infamous reputation as a mystical yet defined magic in the southern desert and most of southern Kaimaeni.
Comments