The Gift

 HOW MAGIC WORKS IN THIS RP
 

Basic Description

In this RP universe, it is called the Gift. A Gifted human is born with an excess reserve of aura energy, which enables them to perform/use magic. It is a genetic trait that must be passed on from parent to offspring. Over the course of generations, the Gifted gene is present in a large amount of the population-- however, 90% of people possess it in an inactive state, meaning they cannot physiologically access/perform/use the Gift. 
 

(Moderator's Note: A dice-roll, under observation of a Moderator, will be used to determine if a character potentially has the active Gift gene. With d10s: an even number result is active, while an odd number result is inactive. This system may be disregarded at a Moderator's discretion.) 

Physical Appearance

The Gift is highly-individualistic. It is unique to a person's personality and their parentage-- by its strength/potency and its physical representation. Each Gifted human has a generalized color of their aura, which is the same color of their Gift (unless they are performing Elemental Affinity magic.) When a Gifted human uses any kind of magic, a visual representation of one's Gift is visible to others as threads of aura color. Gift colors are often in a similar color-range between family members. 
 

Biology Concepts

As the Gift is directly linked to a character's aura, performing magic will drain (either temporarily or longer, depending on the type of magic used) its user of physical strength and mental energy. This lost energy will replenish naturally over time; however, rest, relaxation and mediation can speed up the process. 

The Gift must be trained, even for basic actions, in order to be useful to its user. Most spells are worked through hand gestures or spoken words. A person's hands are vital to perform magic, as the Gift manifests out of the palms and fingers. The greatest punishment sentenced to a Gifted person is the encasing of their hands into concrete (or cutting them off entirely.) 
 

Important to Note

If an active Gift is left untrained after CHILDHOOD, an active trait becomes dormant and requires extensive training to reawaken it. The process can become more painful as the individual ages before it is near-impossible to reawaken after reaching ADULTHOOD. Young TODDLERS with exceptionally strong Gifts may accidentally use it subconsciously at a basic level without training. 
 

TRAINING OF THE GIFT
OOC Leveling System

For every skill learned/possessed by a character (basic, combative, or specialty), there should be a ranking of experience tracked for each. The levels of experience are Novice, Intermediate, Expert, and Mastery. Below are descriptions for each: 

Novice: Has very little training; normally very young or has not dabbled in a particular skill too much or hardly at all; or has just begun training. 
Intermediate: Average level and decent at the craft; are no longer considered 'noobs' at a skill. 
Expert: Above-average level at their craft; have gained experience over a span of time; and can Mentor Novices/Graduates in training of this skill. 
Mastery: Are the epitome of what a Novice should strive to become; have completed full control of a skill. 
 

(Moderator's Note: Characters must, at least, be 35-years-of-age for consideration to obtain Mastery-level of a skill. Subject to Moderator discretion based on character resources and background.) 

(Moderator's Note: Leveling up a skill requires Moderator approval, which will be assessed through review of acceptable logs that show IC training of a skill.) 

Basic Training of the Gift 
(Orb, Sight, Empathy, Push, Shield.)

Once an active Gift gene is realized during CHILDHOOD (which can be read by someone with trained Sight), basic training typically begins with being a pupil or Apprentice with a Mentor. This Mentor can either be classically-trained from an Institution or an informal volunteer-tutor (like a relative.) Only students with a formal Mentor from an Institution are called Apprentices. 

This first Mentor aids their pupil to learn and gain a basic skill-set for the Gift's practical uses, such as charging runic text with Orbs. These Mentors also teach techniques for rest and recovery post-Gift use. 

For most lowborn, learning a few basic skills is usually the end-point of their short-lived apprenticeship. Few commoners will go beyond basic training (because of lesson costs or family life.) However, some lowborn (and most highborn) users may choose to continue onto advanced training but will likely need to travel to either find a new Mentor (if previous Mentor has nothing else to teach pupil), or seek attendance at an formal Institution. 

Therefore, just like any other learned talent, one must first accomplish a solid foundation of basic skill-training before moving onto advanced skills. 
 

(Moderator's Note: Each 'advanced skill' in the RP requires a prerequisite of specific basic skills, in order for that 'advanced skill' to be learned. If a character has not reached Intermediate-level for the required basic skills, they cannot perform anything stronger than Novice-level in their 'advanced skills'.) 

Advanced Training of the Gift 
(Countering/High Shield, Foci, Augmentation.) 
(High Sight, Healing, Elemental Affinity, Image Magic, Shape-Shifting.) 
(Great Shield, Great Sight.)

Stronger Gift skills are broadly categorized into two areas: combative magic and specialty magic. 

Combative magic can be taught by a someone whom already knows the techniques (for example, retired soldiers or rogues)-- BUT most feudal territories have their own training programs ("boot camps") to develop a Gifted person's combative magic to a selective style of fighting. It is known that the best training for combative magic is learned as a soldier in their region's army, and feudal Lords tend to favor appointing officers out of their Gifted ranks. The first Emperor, Tsi Sgili, is said to have possessed some of the greatest combative Gift techniques and strategy ever seen. 

Specialty magic is a traditional route of Gift academia, and is primarily taught at one of the five Institutions. These Institutions are university-like temples overseen by the Nameless Guild. Each Institution is dedicated to a single type of specialty magic. It is known that an individual's personality will instinctively guide them into a specialty field, rather than it being a choice of willpower. People who attempt to use their Gift to perform magic not appropriate to their innate skill-set or temperament have a nasty habit of dying in ugly, ironic ways or can cause greater harm to those around them. 
 

(Moderator's Note: Members, it is recommended that each of you talk with a Moderator to approve specialty training routes for your character.)

 
 

(GREEN SHADING) BASIC SKILLS 

 

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(Moderator's Note: Every character limited to a maximum of seven (7) points! No exceptions!)

There is no limit to how many basic Gift skills a character can have (a character can certainly have all of them.) Therefore, though it is not mandatory to train all basic abilities, a Gifted character is required to select a minimum of two.

Orb: (1 point) (Akin to Lumos of Harry Potter universe) Small sphere of harmless, luminous light emitted out of the palms. 

Push: (1 point) (Works like a force-push in Star Wars universe) Is a basic outward push of one's Gift that sends a burst of harmless aura-energy in an intended direction. 

Sight: (1 point) Can see auras, can visually discern the tiniest of details, even at a distance of 20 yards; can see remnants of magic left on inanimate objects or see the presence of lingering magic in surrounding areas following 2 hours.

Shield: (1 point) Manifested as a flat-surfaced barrier (24 sq. inch size; maximum duration of 5 seconds) and colored to match the caster's Gift; can be used to physically block objects or natural elements; does not absorb Gift energy, but diminishes its strength. 

Empathy: (1 point) A meditative focus and tactile ability that allows one to recognize if someone else is Gifted; can also read if someone is ill or pregnant. 

(ORANGE SHADING) COMBATIVE TRAINING 
A character may have one or more combative techniques, so long as they've accomplished the prerequisites for that skill.

High Shield: (2 points, only available after completing Shield and Push) Training of a stronger (60 sq. inch size,maximum duration of 30 seconds) shield which can now be projected instead of remaining close to caster; shield can now be used like a mirror to counter the momentum of physical objects and natural elements by re-projecting it in another direction with 1/4 less strength of the original forces. 

Foci: (2 points, only available after completing Orb) Training which enhances inanimate items, primarily weaponry, with one's Gift to empower attacks or strengthen defensive characteristics. 

Augmentation: (2 points, only available after completing Orb and Push) Training which enhances the individual's physical attributes for greater speed, agility, power, stamina, etc. Using augmentation doesn't only use gift energy, it also strains the user's body. Reckless use of the gift, either by using it too long or by using it often in a short amount of time, can permanently damage the user, if not disable them completely.

(RED SHADING) SPECIALTY TRAINING 

It is not mandatory to have a specialty field. But if a writer chooses this route, each individual character is limited to a single (1) specialty field which may be trained after they've accomplished the prerequisites for that specialty.

Elemental Affinity: (2 points, only available after completing Orb and Empathy) Manipulation of the four natural elements (water, earth, air, or fire); cannot create or conjure the elemental itself. 

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(Moderator's Note: The fire element cannot be conjured by itself but there are several ways to call upon it.

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The first and cheapest option is by buying a ring, made out steel and ground down crimson scythe stone. From that moment, the user can conjure the element as long as they are wearing the ring. They can only conjure it with the hand that wears the ring.

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The second option is by getting a tattoo, the ink gets infused with ground down crimson scythe stone and is then ritually applied on the user's body. This is one of the most painful experiences, and takes several weeks to heal. From that moment, the user can actually conjure the element.)

High Sight: (2 points, only available after completing Sight) Can visually discern the tiniest of details, even at a distance of 60 yards; can see remnants of magic left on inanimate objects or see the presence of lingering magic in surrounding areas following 5 hours; and has some measure of night-vision at a distance of 40 yards.

 
Shape-Shifting: (2 points, only available after completing Empathy) Ability to transform one's body at will between the base-human form and a single animal-form of choice. Allowed animal forms are limited to the following categories: bear species, large cat species, wolf/dog species, and predatory-bird species. Natural human eye color is usually reflected in the animal appearance. Shifted animal forms also tend to be slightly larger than their normal counterparts. 

Image Magic: (2 points, only available after completing Sight and Shield) Can project mental illusions onto environment or onto the caster's own body; and temporarily disfigure an item's physical appearance for a determined span of time. 

Healing: (2 points, only available after completing Sight and Empathy) Are techniques used to heal oneself or another individual by draining your own aura-energy to speed up the natural-biological healing process. As one can imagine, the correlation of healing against amount of aura-energy used can be dangerous to the healer. 

(PURPLE SHADING) GREAT SKILLS 
Great skills require a minimum 7 years of study, training, and experience to accomplish an Intermediate level. It is uncommon for multiple people in a single generation to share the same great skill.

Great Shield: (3 points, upgraded ability only available after completing Countering/High Shield) While in deep meditation, this projected dome-like shield can effectively last one full hour and cover 16 sq. meters (roughly half of a basketball court) and can only be broken with certain Gift energies amplified by blue or black scythe stones. As powerful as the Great Shield may be, the caster suffers various risks if maintained past the first hour: the amount of Gift energy to maintain the Great Shield could potentially disable the person for an extended period of time (several hours of recovery) or place the caster into a vegetative state if pushed too far (days of recovery). The Great Shield can abruptly diminish if the caster is disturbed out of concentration during their mediation. 

Great Sight: (3 points, upgraded ability only available after completing High Sight) This advanced form of High Sight allows the individual to experience hallucinogenic visions (with 'film time' of 20 seconds once every three days) by scrying off the wind or seawater. These visions may be glimpses of events happening in faraway places or inferred prophetic scenes yet to occur. Like the Great Shield, Great Sight can be dangerous to its caster: using Great Sight before the third day of recovery will cause seizures that leaves the caster incoherent for several hours, and three occurrences of seizures in a week's time will push the individual to insanity.