This post is part of a series I did to describe how magic works in the Vaetra Chronicles. If you would like to read the other posts as well, check out the Theory of Vaetra category.
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Sources and Flows of Vaetra, Volume 1
The Principles of Vaetra
Level: Initiate
Author: Bartrand Longbotul, Professor of Conjuration
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This beginner’s primer regarding the sources and flows of vaetra, or “magic” as it is termed by the uninitiated, seeks to provide a foundational knowledge that the student may build upon with further study. Further training in vaetra manipulation is both difficult and dangerous if the student does not first master the basics, as described herein. Students are encouraged to request assistance should they experience difficulties with any of the concepts.
Sorcery, the manipulation of vaetra to produce physical manifestations, rests upon the following Principles of Vaetra.
Principle #1 – The Source Principle
Life is the source of all vaetra. All living things, plant or animal, produce vaetra. Upon death, vaetra production ceases.
Principle #2 – The Well Principle
Certain materials are capable of collecting and storing vaetra, thereby becoming a “well” of vaetra power. Living creatures that are capable of mobility are wells, as are most large concentrations of water and minerals. Wells have a limited capacity for storing vaetra, based on their size and composition.
Principle #3 – The Link Principle
Some materials can be used to conduct vaetra from one location to another, thus creating a vaetra “link” between the two locations. Metals can be used to create a link, as can water, living flesh, and wood.
Principle #4 – The Manifestation Principle
A small percentage of living creatures are able to use vaetra to manipulate the physical world. They are able to focus vaetra and produce specific manifestations, such as heating the tip of a candle wick until the candle begins to flame.
Manifestation requires a combination of (1) a vaetra power source, (2) an incantation, and (3) a focusing device. The most potent focusing devices are made from gem stones, or more accurately, any clear mineral. Water can be used as a focusing device to create certain diffuse effects, such as fog, but its lack of defined shape thwarts the creation of well-defined manifestations.
The Vaetra Cycle
As stated in the Source Principle, life is the source of all vaetra. When life forms procreate, they pass the seed of vaetra production to their offspring. As life forms die, the vaetra stored within their flesh flows into the soil and collects in the nearest well capable of storing it.
As described in the Manifestation Principle, certain life forms are capable of channeling vaetra. Those life forms can draw vaetra from a well through a link, and use a focusing device to produce manifestations with it. Manifestations transform and consume vaetra, thereby depleting the store of vaetra within the well.
Once students have familiarized themselves with the Principles of Vaetra, they may proceed to the second scroll in this series: Principles of Sorcery.
