Magic Mechanics

The world of Arcana Uncharted is saturated in wild magic, which has the ability to affect the world in mysterious and astonishing ways. Magic can warp a landscape into twisting crystal spires or churn the clouds until they rain diamonds; it can bring bloom to a singing forest, or teach a river to run backward on Tuesdays. The potential for magic's effect on the world of Aeon is limitless.

But magic doesn't simply affect a character's environment. For the diligent or born blessed, magic can manifest into a talent, a special ability that grants your character unique gameplay options.

Most residents of Aeon develop a talent through study and practice, intentionally honing a talent like you would learn to play a musical instrument. Of course, some characters are simply born with magic inherent to them - the 'story' of how your character acquires a talent is largely up to you, the user!

Every talent blossoms from one of the eleven elemental magics, and how easily your character develops their talent relies on their affinity. Read on to discover more!

The Elemental Magic
Arcana Uncharted has eleven elemental magics, further divided into three groups called a 'class'.

The Pure Class: Wind, Water, Fire, Earth.

The Hybrid Class: Vapor, Metal, Lightning, Life.

The Anomaly Class: Void, Cosmic, Time.

The pure class is comprised of elements in their rawest form. The hybrid class is composed of magics that appear to be a mixture of pure magics, i.e. from fire and wind bursts lightning. The anomaly class is considered the most volatile and inherently dangerous; residents who attempt to learn them are liable to fall into trouble.

Every faction's landmass has a single dominant magic that dominates the region, i.e. Cosmos' dominant magic is Cosmic.

Time magic is the only magic considered unattainable by Aeon's populace. Its secrets are jealousy guarded by the Capitol, the only living practitioners of the art.

Affinities
An affinity is a character's inherent talent for learning a type of magic, and is based on their breed. For example, pegasi and peryton characters have a natural affinity for Wind or Lightning. It's up to you which affinity your pegasus would have -wind or lightning?- and once locked in, giving your character a talent that corresponds to their affinity will allow them to level that talent more easily. You don't have to give your character a talent that matches their affinity, but it can save you a lot of leveling if you do!
 * Hippocampi and Kelpies have an affinity for Water or Vapor.


 * Kirin and Qilin have an affinity for Fire or Metal.


 * Dryads and Spriggans have an affinity for Earth or Life.


 * Pegasus and Peryton have an affinity for Wind or Lightning.


 * Unicorn and Re’em have an affinity for a Pure Class.


 * Horse and Deer have an affinity for a Hybrid Class.

Hybrid characters will take on the affinity of whatever breed is dominant in their genetic makeup. If your hybrid character is a perfect mix of breeds, you may pick one affinity that corresponds to one of those breeds.

Leveling
To level your talent, you must meet the following requirements for each level, in the order described. When you have reached a new level, send a note to the group with a link to your Manuscript and the completed requirements.

Note that you can collab on leveling images, which can be put towards leveling one character for each participant.

Talents start at level 0 unless your character has an affinity for their given talent!

Pure and Hybrid Class Leveling (No Affinity)
These instructions are for leveling a pure (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water) or hybrid (Life, Vapor, Metal, Lightning) talent.

Level 1 Requirements: Level 2 Requirements: Level 3 Requirements: .
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 5 mana.
 * Image of literature piece worth at least 5 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 5 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 8 mana.
 * Imagine or literature piece worth at least 8 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 12 mana.

Pure and Hybrid Class Leveling (With an Affinity)
These instructions are for leveling a pure (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water) or hybrid (Life, Vapor, Metal, Lightning) that your character's affinity aligns with.

Level 1 Requirements: Level 2 Requirements: Level 3 Requirements: .
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 5 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 8 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 12 mana.

Anomaly Class Leveling
These instructions are for anomaly class talents (Cosmic and Void).

Level 1 Requirements: Level 2 Requirements: Level 3 Requirements: .
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 8 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 8 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 8 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 11 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 12 mana.
 * Imagine or literature piece worth at least 11 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 11 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 12 mana.
 * Image or literature piece worth at least 12 mana.

"But what do these pieces need to depict?" you ask.

It is entirely up to you! Your character developing their talent is a story in itself, an experience deeply personal to each and every individual. Use the leveling pieces to show us how your character grows their talent, and perhaps grows with their talent. Do they struggle with each step forward? Do they stumble into their abilities blithely, almost unaware? Do they 'level up' at a critical moment, harnessing their untapped energy to save a loved one or unleash righteous fury on an adversary? The possibilities are endless!

Acquiring a Talent
Talents are purchased at the Arcanum. As mentioned previously, most characters will (narratively) acquire a talent through diligent practice, but some are born with their abilities, and may have very little control over their magic.

Such things are up to you, the creator!

If you would like to bring in a character who canonically acquired their talent prior to their introduction to the group, you simply need to discuss this with your faction leader, have them approve your character's concept ahead of time, then complete all of your leveling images before the character is accepted into the group.