[Book] Living Vitality

[Solus]

Living Vitality - The First Draft
Author: Alyssa Ithildran

The following is a journal, a documentary compiled of various researches done of one of the branches of arcane magic. Written is the core aspects of the splintered branch, its capabilities and its limits. I’ll be including various drawings and sketches to showcase it.​

Core Aspect
Living Vitality utilizes the magic of Life within Formistry and Volatile Energy within Evicism. Life touches the expanse of living material: plants, animals, flesh and bones. Volatile energy touches upon the more dangerous forms of energy: The extremes of temperatures - of hot and cold, lightning, etc. Together, Living Vitality bends the forms of living materials and alters the extremes of its energy- either inhabiting it, extracting from it, or enhancing it. The Mage becomes the natural channel that creates and casts spells that molds both Life and Volatile Energy into one.

The Channel
Unlike Evicism in general, where one might require a physical object or a crystal gem as their focus, Living Vitality doesn’t require additional conduits to cast spells. In order to utilize this form of magic, one needs the capabilities of their hands- to touch and conjure new threads using either the energy around them, or enhancing living matter to create something new. This does not mean one can’t have a focus. Research is yet to be had if one can use one, despite not requiring it.

Abilities
This subset of magic covers some basis of abilities that each branch might be able to cover individually, but together, it can also create new and unique ways of casting to reach one's goals. The following listed examples I've personally worked on, that are only a glimpse into Living Vitality- and what it can do can take on different forms- limited by a Mage’s creativity.

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Example 1 ||
Contained Cauterization. The first within the branch- Much like its namesake, cauterization, this version is contained enough to heal a vital wound, internal or external, that it simultaneously burns enough to close up. Painfully, but usefully.

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Example 2 ||
Fae Warden. A new unique introduction to the extended branch- this is a companion spell that aids the Mage in various tasks around one's home or living quarters. Using the energy within the atmosphere and specific plants, the Mage creates a beast made of an amalgamation of hide and other living matter. The beast carries a flare of energy and is able to tread in both the coldest and hottest climates without faltering.

Example 3 ||
Unnamed. This example is more of a theorized spell where it heals one's internal illness by increasing the temperature of the body. Sweating out and physically purging colds, plagues and other ailments upon an immobile patient.

Example 4 ||
Unnamed. Another theoretical example, untested, is the Mage lighting their hands, or even body, in friendly fire that does not harm them. Depending on the intensity of the fire, harming others with physical hits can and will burn them through their flesh. Volatile Energy may be able to do this on its own, though with Living Vitality, it could come with other twists- harming one internally, for example.

Limits
Expansive are the abilities of magic and so are its limits. Although Life and Volatile Energy can overlay together, as learned here, there also comes boundaries within the magic where it can’t obviously expand into other known schools. Such as Animancy and Cogimency and other subsets of Formistry and Evicism. The limits of one's magic also coincides with how much a mage has learned of their abilities and how much they can wield as they grow into their powers. Living Vitality also has its own scale, where one can be more focused upon the aspect of Life or the aspect of Volatile Energy.. For example, one is able to heal more, or be attuned with nature, when focused on Life, while another may be able to incur stronger and violent forms of energy if focused otherwise.

Personal Morality
This part is a bit of a runon of the topic and I won't be upset if the reader skips on ahead. With power unblessed by gods, I’ve learned to hold up my own morals regarding how and when to use Magic. With respect to the forests, Living Vitality weld by those I teach should not harm the forests or beings of nature unless it’s for their benefit and growth. People that become adversaries will face this Magic because of their own lack of morality and choices. It can be used to harm, to show no mercy, to those who deserve it.

Relations to Gestalts
With respect to the Veil, Living Vitality plays an impact on it, as all magic does. Each casted spell may thin it if largely focused in one area. Though after conversations with others about it, by sparsely casting - as well as casting in different places of the continent - the Veil doesn’t seem to drastically show itself enough to seem to be punctured.

Gestalts, strangely named as it is, is a group of mages working together to create something unique that melds their magic together. The word might be a morph of both ‘to gesticulate” and “to alter”, creating ‘gestalt’. Anyways, even with a grand gestalt cast, where the magic of Life and Energy came together to create a healing springs, the Veil fluctuated for a few weeks before its storms calmed. To be fair of the account, the Gestalt itself wasn’t groundbreaking enough to cause a chaotic outburst- to both gods and people. So I theorize that smaller contained forms of gestalts will eventually find that their effects on the Veil will heal.

Conclusion
Living Vitality is unique in its ways, like many other mixed schools of magic. It’s been a curious learning experience to find its limits, its reaches and how far its scope can cover. Still- there’s much to be learned. This journal covers the first half of my journey and there is still yet more to come.

Curious queries can be sent to Alyssa Ithildran by a letter to the Compendium Library.

Signed,
Alyssa Ithildran
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(ooc: Original Draft of the book is in Alyssa's Sanctum.
First Draft will be within the Compendium Library)​