Hydrocarbons

Author's Note: Work in progress. This is going to take some time to write...

---

Hydrocarbons are a chemical compound that consists only of Hydrogen and Carbon. The vast majority of hydrocarbons can be easily conjured with the use of magic. After it is conjured, mages then send it forward with thermal energy in a flurry of spectuacular fiery attacks or is used as a shield. Conjured hydrocarbons also have some minor uses in other applications.

There are dozens of different types of hydrocarbons, each with their own specific mixture of hydrogen and carbon, but several specific types are used much more than any others. Each of them have their own effects when charged with Mana or Aether. All pure hydrocarbons will burn a bright blue flame to start but as it reacts with the air ir rapidly cools and turns yellow to orange to red. Some mages are able to manipulate their magic to cause the flames to always appear blue, or really any color they want.

From a standpoint of heat and destructive power, Mages assign a number for the effectiveness of hydrocarbons as compared to the simplest one: Methane. Methane has a Fire Power value (or FP) of 1, while Ethane has an FP value of 1.7. This is measured by how long it takes to heat up a portion of water by a specific temperature. The presence of mana interferes with these numbers greatly, especially in heavier hydrocarbons, and the technology level of Vreathe isn't at a state where it can be measured independently. Most fire mages consider the values to be close enough for the purposes of casting magic.

From this number, Mages take the amount of Mana Point it took to conjure the compound. The conjuring cost of Carbon is 4 MP per kilogram, and Hydrogen is less than 0.1. Some mana is lost in the conversion of the compound. Mages take this conjuring cost and use it with the FP value to calculate an efficiency rating. This rating hardly matters to the vast majority of mages on Vreathe, but some try to get the most efficient use of their magic and use these values to squeeze as much fire magic as possible out of the same amount of mana.

---

Methane

Methane is created by conjuring 1 part Carbon and 4 parts Hydrogen. These parts will automatically be combined into Methane at creation. Methane is conjured by mages to create what they refer to as Low Energy Fire Magic beacuse of its ease to create and manipulate. It takes around 5 Mana Point to conjure per kilogram by weight, or 1.49 m³ by volume of methane. Mages need nowhere near this much to create simple fire spells.

When not used in fire magic, Methane has an unstable effect with charged with mana. The mana will slowly convert into thermal energy, but not quite enough to set off a spontaneous combustion. When charged with Aether, Methane does nothing until it is set on fire. The flame will give off no heat, but will stay as bright. This gentle fire is created and charged by teachers and used to show young mages how to handle fire properly before they are given the knowledge to conjure it on their own.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Gas

5 MP
<1 MP
1 FP
20%

---

"Power is low and Range is low. Not the best thing to use for fire magic."

- Ren

---

Ethane

Ethane is created by conjuring 2 parts Carbon and 6 parts Hydrogen. Unlike Methane and most other lighter hydrocarbons, Ethane conjurs as a liquid. In a liquid form Ethane has a temperature approaching 200°C below zero. It isn't known why Ethane conjures in a liquid form while most compounds and elements conjure at whatever state they would be in at room temperature (around 25°C), some, such as Ethane and Nitrogen conjure at significantly colder temperatures.

Ethane can be rapidly heated and turned into effective, and explosive, fire spells, but more skilled mages will make use of it as a freezing cold liquid first. These mages will spray it on an enemy. In this state ethane is cold enough to almost instanty cause frostbite. This often enough to incapacitate an enemy. The ethane will rapidly warm and evaporate away if left alone. If an enemy is still fighting or the mage just wants to kill them, then they will use magic to rapidly heat the ethane, causing it to explosively ignite, usually causing enough damage to instantly kill whatever it was covering.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Liquid

10 MP
<1 MP
1.7 FP
17%

---

"Range is very high in liquid form. Power is still low, but it can be quite explosive! "

- Ren

---

Acetylene

Acetylene is created by conjuring 2 parts Carbon and 2 parts Hydrogen. Short of adding physics breaking Aether into the mix, Acetylene produces one of the hottest known flames, though the range of these flames is quite short and not very practical for combat purposes. Once a mage starts conjuring this gas, they will also conjure pure oxygen at almost the same time. Applying thermal energy will produce a dense torch flame. Most mages project this flame out of two straightened fingers, often the middle finger and index finger.

In this state, the flame is hot enough to slowly melt steel. Experienced mages can modulate the flame for maximum effectiveness, melting steel in seconds. Using magic to make an acetylene flame does make Magical Oxy-fuel welding possible on Vreathe. Elves and humans both use it to weld most metals together with ease, though the elves will use various different welding methods on different metals (like using a hydrogen-oxygen flame for welding aluminum).

Of course, once Aether is thrown into the mix, the heat of an acetylene flame can get out of control. Mages can compress the flame and shoot it from their hands, producing a powerful, rapdily moving, almost plasma-like bolt of fire.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Gas

8.3 MP
<1 MP
1.5 FP
18%

---

"The flames this produces are very high power, but the range is nonexistent. I actually use this in combat more than you would think possible!"

- Ren

---

Propane

Propane is created by conjuring 3 parts Carbon and 8 parts Hydrogen. Propane is used in a similar way to Acetylene, by mages shooting it forward from their hands and igniting it to create a torch flame. Mages are able to create a large high volume flame easily with propane, though it is nowhere near at hot as can be made with acetylene. More experienced mages know that the temperature isn't necessarily the most important thing and can modulate a propane flame to actually burn, cut, and weld more effectively.

While it has its combat uses, propane is usually produced by mages and stored in high pressure containers to be used elsewhere, often as a cooking fuel or heating. Elves, orcs, and humans use propane in this way, though it can be quite expensive so it is limited to the richest. There are plenty of other way to heat a home, either with some form of heat producing aethercite or just burning wood.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Gas

14.6 MP
<1 MP
2.57 FP
17.6%

"Propane can produce a high power torch flame, but the range is still kind of low."

- Ren

---

Propylene

Propylene is created by conjuring 3 parts Carbon and 6 parts Hydrogen. It is conjured in a vapor state, but is quite cold, but also not quite a liquid. It readily heats up to room temperature and expands outward. the result is that if thermal energy is applied to it, it produced a large explosive flame. The explosion is somewhat unpredictable though, so care much be taken if this is a mage's choice of hydrocarbon for fire magic.

Aside from combat, propylene is the subject of research among a number of Iron Age chemists. They do it to chase the research of William Tailor, who died a few decades ago in 2964 I.A.. William was on the verge of discovering a new type of material that was strong and chemically resistant, thermal resistant, and resistant to most solvents. He even traveled around Eastern Vreathe showing off a sample of this material in a bid to get more funding so his research could continue.

Unfortunately he caught the attention of the orcs, who tracked him down and killed him. Orcs are survivors of the Silver Age Cataclysm and actively work to prevent Iron Age humans from reaching that same technology level.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Gas

14 MP
<1 MP
2.3 FP
16.4%

"Eh, I would consider Propylene to be medium power, with a medium range. the state it's in when conjuring is also strange and somewhat unpredictable, so I don't use it very often for my fire magic."

- Ren

---

Butane

Butane is created by conjuring 4 parts Carbon and 10 parts Hydrogen.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Gas

19.1 MP
<1 MP
3.2 FP
16.7%

---

Hexane

Hexane is created by conjuring 6 parts Carbon and 14 parts Hydrogen.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

liquid

28.6 MP
<1 MP
4.6 FP
16%

---

Heptane

Heptane is created by conjuring 7 parts Carbon and 16 parts Hydrogen.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

liquid

33.3 MP
<1 MP
5.1 FP
15.3%

---

Octane

Octane is created by conjuring 8 parts Carbon and 18 parts Hydrogen.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

liquid

38 MP
<1 MP
8.8 FP
23%

---

Decane

Decane is created by conjuring 10 parts Carbon and 22 parts Hydrogen.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

liquid

47 MP
<1 MP
9.1 FP
19.3%

---

Hexadecane

Hecadecane is created by conjuring 16 parts Carbon and 34 parts Hydrogen. The material is heavy and dense, so conjuring cost is a bit high for humans to use effectively but for elves, it is still quite easy. This dense liquid fuel is able to be thrown quite far across the battlefield, and it doesn't evaporate easily like other liquid hydrocarbons do. When set on fire, it burns for some time before being put out.

While it is conjured as a liquid, it will quickly settle at whatever the temperature is in the area. At temperatures below 18°C, it turns into a flaky, waxy solid. This is mixed with other hydrocarbons to lower the melting point, and create an effective heating fuel. A very experienced mage will conjure hexadecane along with several other hydrocarbons at the same time, and create a supremely effective flame throw.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

liquid

75.3 MP
1 MP
13.1 FP
17.4%

"This has a High Power and a Medium Range. It doesn't burn quite as readily as lighter fuels, but it has its uses..."

- Ren

---

Nonacosane

Nonacosane is difficult for human mages to conjure in any appreciable amount due to the conjuring cost. Even though this compound can burn, and burn rather well, it is generally unreactive. Mages will conjure large quantities of this in a split second to create a thin shield of what is basically just wax. This wax can insulate against magical energies and can make for an effective shield against certain attacks. As far as any offensive magic goes, this isn't useful.

Nonacosane specifically is used by mages on Vreathe to create a sort of Sticky Fire. They mix it with other hydrocarbons, sulfur, and quicklime to create bombs that are able to burn under almost any condition. The thick oily substance will even burn floating on the top of water. Experienced mages are able to conjure all the necessary elements to make a sort of magical napalm, creating a magical fire bomb able to stick to and burn almost anything.

Creating fire magic through the use of Nonocosane is considered to be quite inhumane because of how difficult it is to put out the flames. Multiple countries have signed treaties banning the conjuration of it on the battlefield, including Cassel, Yurria, Lyonne, Ledo, Faeon, and Ordland. Galleska refused to sign the treaty and their Napalm magic is one of the only things currently stopping the advance of the Iruakint.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Solid

136 MP
4 MP
28.4 FP
20%

"Yeah, I know how to create Magical Napalm. I have never used it against a living thing though. The stories I've heard from other mages keeps me from wanting to try..."

- Ren

---

Hentriacontane

Hentriacontane is usually not conjured by mages at all. Instead it is extracted from beeswax or from coal. It is a component of paraffin wax, which has a range of uses. As far as magic casting is concerned, This compound and similar hydrocarbons are excellent insulators against magical energy.

Only the most experienced mages can create an effective shield with this compound and when they do, they are more or less immune to any magic based attack for a short time. Once Aether is thrown into the mix, the conjured material starts to rapidly crystalize and becomes quite tough. It becomes transparent as well. In this form, it can absorb magic attacks and store the mana for future use. Mages that make use of this will conjure the material into a small buckler sized shield to block attacks, then reuse the blocked energy, sending it straight back to the enemy.

Phase of Matter:

Conjuring Cost:
Manipulation Cost:
Fire Power Value:
Mana to FP Efficiency:

Solid

145 MP
8 MP
24.3 FP
16.7%

"This stuff is so difficult to get out of your clothes. I will never use this as a shield again."

- Ren

---