Arcane Energy/Vessels

Arcane energy, or aether, is a resource that can be housed in various vessels for ease of use depending on the sought use. The vessels can be broken down into several categories.

The Archivist Division is in the process of publishing new information, the items below are simple placeholders.

Focus

A focus is used to assist a spellweaver in channeling their aether, whether it be naturally from their aether gland or the environment around them. While foci are easily obtainable to the common folk, advanced spellweavers—especially those studying in the Arcane Sciences Division—will often opt to use them as their licensed weapon. A focus's durability and usefulness will always depend on several factors: the material, its size, what element it is channeling, and how demanding the spells are. Alternatively, a focus does not have to be a luxurious purchase; races like Sectum will bond with an object with great meaning and use it as a focus their whole life if possible.

Essence

Aether essence is a completely inorganic, manufactured version of aether, stored in various glasslike housings that are easy to break. It functions primarily to fuel magitech items like a a battery in an attempt to draw less from organic aether within the environment. Essence is no where near close to being perfected, but so far, it appears to work successfully in a similar nature to the organic Aether. Essence is to be used for recurring daily life events within the world to make it more accessible to even those that struggle with their magical abilities, suffer from biological inhibitors, or simply do not want to learn magic

Essence, however, is also very hard to craft, and is incredibly limited due to it being a locked away resource. The only individuals who have access to essence easily are Arcane Science Division researchers. Magitech item distribution is highly controlled, and is often only offered as a purchasable item to high-ranking or upper-class residents of Eversun City. This is also in part due to the fear of overdistribution and overproduction. These outcomes could potentially be disastrous.

There seems to be rumors of darker practices by others not of the Adventurers' Guild used to create their own run-down versions of essence. There have been several attempts of thievery as well.

Runes

A rune is a visual symbol etched into an object that has a pre-casted spell stored within. It is a magically charged item that can only carry one spell alone, and periodically needs recharging. This technology is a more primitive alternative to essence, as runes can be etched into any vessel as long as the vessel is reinforced to release said spell without breaking but requires someone to cast the spell in the first place and constantly requires recasting. This technology is mostly utilized by the Outerworld Division, as their personal protection equipment makes use of a large number of runes to magically deter the effects of chaotic aether seeping into their bodies.

Charms

Charms are similar to essence in a way that it can hold aether, but only organic aether. It is also stored in a glasslike or resin housing, but at a much, much smaller scale. Charms are meant to be portable and out-of-the-way, being able to quickly and easy transfer aether to the object it is enhancing or hold it for long periods of time without draining into the environment. They typically require a skilled spellweaver to refill the housing of the charms with their own organic aether, as a lot of control is required to channel aether into it without breaking or cracking. With the compression of aether into a tiny, fragile housing, charms can potentially be dangerous if they break.

Charms are considered the most versatile yet limited type of aether vessel. They pair very well with runes, as charms can be used as a type of backup battery or generator for when a rune runs out of the aether etched into it.

Every single Guild Identification Card is embedded with a heavily reinforced charm provided by the Adventurers' Guild, acting as a sort of identification code that grants authorization to certain relevant area of the Hearth. These charms are special in the case that their aether cannot be extracted or refilled.

Crystals

Crystals are minerals naturally supercharged with aether found in the environment. Crystals are highly complicated to grade and master, and require an intense course in minerology and geology to truly understand their components and inner workings. They need to be refined prior to activation and regular use, and the process can take several days. Unlike charms, crystals can be recharged and are a powerhouse of a battery, however they are much more difficult or expensive to procure and have a high risk of misuse. When attaching crystals to an object like a charm, if the user has a fair grasp on controlling their aether and spells, they can use the attachment as a controller. Arcane scientists have separated crystals into two categories: quartz and gemstones.

Quartz

Quartz are a more common and abundant mineral that is easy to mine from the environment. The base color of the mineral determines the type of aether it is naturally charged with, and the clarity of the refined mineral determines how much aether it holds. More impurities means there's more blockage in the vessel.

Gemstones

Gemstones are a less common, more difficult to control, and more luxurious crystal to procure. They can be dyed different colors and cut with several different shapes and sizes, with more faces containing more arcane energy. Some gemstones can be used purely for aesthetic purposes, such as embedding a piece of jewelry intended for a wedding or other flashy purposes, and can come in special cuts such as hearts.