All power in this world stems from Mana, the unseen lifeblood that flows through creation. It exists in every breath of wind, in every stone, in every soul. But how mortals wield it divides into two distinct paths:
Magic – the bending of natural elements and world laws through inherited affinity.
Gift – divine and beast-born distortions of reality, blessings that create or alter laws themselves.
Yet neither path is fixed. Both can evolve, and in their evolution lies either salvation or ruin.
1. Magic – The Affinity of Elements
Birthright
To wield Magic, one must be born with mana.
Those born manaless can never wield magic, nor perceive mana—save for the rare "Sightless Seers" who, despite lacking mana, are born able to see its flows.
Affinity
Affinities reveal themselves at ages 3–4, often during emotional extremes.
Common Affinity Count: 1–2.
Rare Affinity Count: 3–4, marking immense mana capacity.
Elements
Recognized affinities: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Ice, and the lesser-known "world laws" (metal, sound, gravity).
Light and Darkness stand apart, existing as both elemental affinities and Gifts.
Evolution
Affinities may evolve into Gifts under dire circumstances: life-or-death, profound emotional upheaval or upon meeting secret thresholds of mastery.
When evolution occurs, the Affinity is given a Name — the sign of true power.Example: A flame mage may evolve into the Gift of Cinderwake, wielding living fire that devours mana itself.
If an Affinity already bore a Name before evolution, it ascends further, becoming devastatingly potent.
2. Gifts – The Supernatural Distortions
Origin
Gifts are bestowed, not inherited. They stem from gods, primordial beasts, or forgotten forces.
Where Magic bends the rules of nature, Gifts bend the fabric of reality itself.
Domains
Common examples include:Time (stasis, reversal)
Space (folding, portals)
Mind (domination, foresight)
Body (mutation, regeneration)
Soul (binding, resurrection)
Fate (probability distortion)
Gifts often twist the body: scaled skin, slitted eyes, wings, tails, horns. They mirror desire, shaping themselves toward what the bearer craves most.
Manifestation
Gifts awaken between birth and age 13. After that, the chance is gone.
One Gift is the norm.Two Gifts are possible but mythically rare.
Gifted with no mana may sometimes, miraculously, be granted mana through their Gift.
Evolution
Like Affinities, Gifts can evolve, ascending into Transcendent Gifts — powers with names that echo in myth.
Named Gifts output vastly more mana and abilities than unnamed ones.
Evolution always exacts a toll: survival against impossible odds, shattering grief, or the alignment of cosmic conditions.
Example: A simple "Gift of Luck" evolving into the Gift of Inevitability, where outcomes themselves bend around the bearer.
Light and Darkness – The Paradoxical Paths
Both Magic AffinityandGift Domain, depending on manifestation.
Light as magic: rays, healing warmth, radiant fire.
Light as gift: revelation, truth-binding, transcendence.
Darkness as magic: void, shadowflame, consuming absence.
Darkness as gift: corruption, fear-weaving, annihilation of existence.
Both are whispered to be fragments of the First Fire and First Void, the primordial siblings of creation.
3. The Balancing Phenomenon – The Once-in-Eras Event
Every five centuries, the world tilts into imbalance. Mana seeks correction.
When this occurs, a mortal with neither mana nor gift is chosen — often late in life, long past expectation — and granted an unprecedented power to restore equilibrium.
This happens once every 500 years, a mere 1% chance in recorded history.
These chosen are not simply mages or Gifted; they are new entities the world had never known.
Their powers reshape myths themselves — birthing forces like the Dragon Gift, the Angelic Gift, or other unheard-of dominions.
Such beings become pivot points of history: saviors, destroyers, or both.
In this world, no power is truly static. Every flame might become a godfire, every whisper of time a storm, every curse a genesis. And every bearer, mage or Gifted, walks the razor's edge between becoming a Guardian… or an Overlord.