Veins Of The Cords

Veins are also known as threads, strands and types of magic.

While casters can manipulate any strand depending on the spell they need, they tend to gravitate to a few strands. Different groupings of strands make up different casting types, from druids to clerics; even pacts utilize different groups of strands.

Each strand type is a different micro-universe with a different biome and universal principles. The internal properties of these strands dictate what the strand is able to manipulate.

Barrier

Cord Colour: Light Blue
Barrier strands not only keep things from entering specific areas, it keep things inside specific areas. The most prominent example is the containment of POPs. Casters use barriers to protect objects, areas, buildings and even people. The size and effectiveness of barrier spells depends on the skill of the caster and the amount of magic power. Barrier spells only last as long as the caster is alive (or it is dismissed) unless their source is tied to something like an object or another person. Once a barrier is cast, it only needs to stay tied to the barrier strand and does not require further maintenance - though it can be improved with additional spells.

Death

Cord Colour: Grey
Tied to necromancy strands, death strands are the representation of the frail mortal coil. Due to the cyclical rebirth of everything, death encompasses all aspects, from living to dying to rebirth. Casters can use death strands to manipulate how, when and where souls reincarnate, revive the deceased, predict how long a person has left before they die, and many others. Death strands can be used in conjunction with sight strands to see the many possibilities of someone's life, even a gestating infant's. Extremist sects use this method to "weed out rebellion" by aborting the infants more likely to become insurgents. Some death casters - often referred to as Sand Timers - can also use their powers to track down criminals fated to live long lives and intervene. However, death casters are generally peaceful and use their powers to soothe the passing of others by reaffirming the cyclical rebirth of all life.

Divination

Cord Colour: Light Yellow
Unlike other strand types, divination is a tricky strand to utilize. It is far stronger than most strands due to its unique connection to the gods of the Prime Nexus. Divination casters often misinterpret their own spells - casters believe that this is due to the language of the gods being extremely difficult to understand. Skilled divination casters are extremely valuable and extremely rare.

Elemental

Air

Cord Colour: Light Orange
Air refers to the various gases of the universe. Casters can manipulate any gas, from the air inside of someone's lungs to poisonous fumes. If it is a gas, it can be manipulated with air strands.

Fire

Cord Colour: Red
Fire refers to all heat within the universe - even that which is not conjured by fire. Casters can add or remove heat from spaces, and skilled casters can learn frost magic, as it is the absence of heat. Interestingly, frost magic is classified as a sub-strand of fire magic.

Water

Cord Colour: Dark Blue
Water strands can manipulate any liquid in the universe, from the water in a body to the sludge of sewage. Casters can add or remove water from any given space, giving them the ability to rehydrate a body or even perform a blood transfusion if they are a skilled healer.

Earth

Cord Colour: Dark Green
Earth is the real lifeblood of the universe. It makes up the majority of hospitable planets, and gives earth casters the ability to manipulate not only stones and dirt but also the growth of plants. It is unknown why earth strands manipulate plant growth, though many druids speculate it has a connection to the ability to change the fertility of the soil and the moisture content by shaping the dirt to introduce new elements.

Emotions

Cord Colour: Dark Yellow
Emotions (that aren't fear) share a strand as they find harmonious balance together when in perfect unison. Casters can control the emotions of any creature, those with and without sapience. Manipulating emotions allows casters to influence and sway the opinions of anyone, though it is strongly forbidden to influence emotions of love in most nations, as love is seen as a sacred bond.

Fear

Cord Colour: Dark Orange
While connected to emotions, fear manifests itself as its own strand due to its immense power. Casters can elevate and induce fear in their targets, causing anything from hallucinations to adrenaline rushes. Fear casters are extremely useful in high-stress environments to keep people calm - though not all fear casters use their powers for good. Many casters torment others, as power can be a corrupting force if left unchecked.

Flush

Cord Colour: Light Green
Flush strands are strands that manipulate the universe and how it behaves.

Evocation is often used in conjunction with elemental strands, as evocation strands create something out of nothing. Casters believe they evoke the will of the universe to bring into existence that which should be but not yet is. Evocation is used in spells that create various things, such as water, fire or earth spells.

Enchantment

Enchantment changes the properties of an object or area. It can be used in conjunction with a barrier spell to prevent certain people entering or by itself to create an infinite space within a storage container. Casters typically use enchantments for quality of life enchantments, which can be sold and bartered for very high prices.

Gravity

Cord Colour: Light Purple
Gravity strands alter the gravitational pull on a target. Casters can make targets float, collapse in on itself, and move in various directions. Gravity strands can be used in tandem with enchantment and barrier strands to make buildings float or make objects lighter. This was used in Skylifts to allow them to soar through the air more easily. Despite the many ways gravity strands can be used with other strands, by itself, gravity strands are extremely powerful and dangerous in the hands of skilled casters. Gravity strands can be used to alter the gravitational pull of whole planets or the materials on the planet, though these spells typically require multiple casters. Powerful solo casters are more capable of floating mountains or altering the gravitational pull of a lake.

Illusion

Cord Colour: Brown
Illusion strands alter what isn't there; however, unlike transmutation strands, illusion strands do not manifest anything into physical reality. Instead, it creates the illusion of reality. These illusions can be created with extreme detail to fool others into thinking they're real, or as simple parlour tricks to amuse others. Each caster has their own unique illusion style, just as each artist has their own unique art style. Despite their versatility for evil, the most common casters are performers who seek to bring wonder to the world by telling stories of faraway lands (which are more than often false).

Sight

Cord Colour: Magenta
Sight strands see into future, past, or even present moments. This power allows the caster to predict events or spy on others and is generally considered the most neutral of the strands. Sight strands are also tied to a physical element called Neuterium, which is used to make Ether, as well as organic matter grown within POPs. In the hands of casters, this magic is extraordinarily powerful, allowing the wielder to stretch their mind across the universe and learn everything by bearing witness to all that has and will exist.

Sleep

Cord Colour: Black
Sleep is the unconscious abyss that creeps in around minds. Casters can use this power to make others fall asleep, visit dreams, and render people comatose. Dream Stalkers are wanderers who lose themselves within the dream realm, refusing to return to their body, which decays without them until they are trapped in the dream realm, unable to die yet unable to live. The realm of dreams can be deceiving and enticing, which can easily sway the unpracticed caster. It is often handled with care and moderation.

Temporal

Cord Colour: White
Unlike the other strands, which are innate to all casters, temporal magic can only be casted by those tied to temporal magic during development. Casters with the ability to use temporal magic are seen as unique from other casters, as they are exceedingly rare. The citizens of Ybis do not know what causes this strange phenomenon. Most temporal casters end up being Wanderers, or they become The Body.

Babies born, conceived or gestated inside of POPs12 form a connection with the fabric of time and space, which allows them to cast temporal magic. Consuming large amounts of plants or animals that grew inside of POPs during gestation causes the same effect.

Void

Cord Colour: Dark Purple
Void strands are strands that affect the appearance of the universe.

Necromancy

Necromancy magic is the most straightforward of the strand types, as its sole purpose is to revive the dead. Necromancy casters can use this ability in many ways, from keeping themself alive to keeping a lover alive to reanimating a skeleton servant. Depending on the death rites of a culture, this practice can be frowned upon or even punishable by death on the premise of desecrating a corpse. Necromancy is unable to revive the deceased.

Transmutation

Transmutation strands alter the physical properties of objects or creatures. These strands affect even the physical universe without being cast, altering even creatures into apex predators. Casters can use this magic to enhance the ability of an ally, change their personal appearance, or render an enemy harmless. Skilled casters can make these effects last forever, but more amateur casters can only change the appearance of something for a few hours (depending on the spell).