Aqua

Capable of weaving aquatic wonders both beautiful and destructive, the Aquari utilize the Aether in water, bending it to their will. Aqua requires a Minor Merit to pursue.

Aqua

History

Galdr, and by extension Aqua, is one of the most ancient forms of Arcana; it has existed since before even the fae and predates the Metaphor of Imber over which it holds governance. As such, its true origins have been lost to the rivers of time. Like the other elemental Arcana, practitioners of Aqua can be found within any society that allows or puts value unto the arcane arts and many that don’t. It has proven invaluable to the development of agriculture, infrastructure, art and so on the world over.

Acquisition

Mark of Aqua.

Like other types of Galdr, Aqua is spread from one sorcerer unto another. Unfortunately, only about half of initiates survive.

In order to begin, the mark of Aqua is inscribed into the tissue (be it skin, muscle or bone) using the initiator's aether and then bodily fluids of the donor - most often blood - are offered to the initiate, forcing the student to undergo a spiritual trial outlined in each individual form of Galdr.

For those initiating into Aqua, the first symptoms to make manifest are usually dropsy and hyperhidrosis. The swelling and rapid influx of liquid can cause blood vessels to burst and skin to rupture. This is, perhaps implicitly, a notably painful experience, but provided nothing too vital is damaged in the process, the initiate will level out and their symptoms will wane into moderate Mageburn over the course of a few hours. Rarely, the initiation might last up to a day.

Mageburn Symptoms

• Lesser: Mild Tachycardia, Hyperhidrosis, Dyspnea, Anxiety
• Moderate: Tachycardia, Severe Hyperhidrosis, Muscle Pain, Weakened Bones, Panic Attacks
• Greater: Spontaneous Limb Liquefaction, Dropsy, Risk of Myocardial Infarction
• Liquescence: Permanent liquefaction of the entire body; the Aquari effectively becomes a gelatinous mass.

Spells

Like all Galdr, Aqua uses the Metaphor of Aether to cast.

Hydromancy

In the broadest sense, hydromancy is the manipulation of water-based liquids. Through it, the Aquari can do anything from finely wending water through the air to dragging large bodies of water up into crashing waves. They will wield rotating water jets capable of drilling through flesh and eventually harder materials, or they might stagger a damp target by 'pushing' the clinging condensation clinging to skin or held within clothes against their body. Aquari may even learn to puppeteer other living things by taking control of the blood that flows through their veins.

When manipulating existing liquids with Hydromancy, the spell reserve cost is reduced by one third when using existing liquid rather than just creating water from Aether outright. Gathering it and then shooting it off is slower, but may be performed with one cast provided there is a suitable source of liquid nearby. This concept may also be applied to conversions by Aquamorphosis.

• Note: Splitting water into multiple projectiles will weaken its drilling force and overall strength to the tier below.

Aquamorphosis

Aquamorphosis is the process through which the mage shifts the liquid's state of matter between liquid, solid and gas. The most common use for this is pulling water from the air around them.

Arid environments require 2x the amount of Aether to convert liquid from the air.

Abyssal Pulse

Perhaps analogous to sonar, an Aquari can send out an aetheric pulse into bodies of water or, at higher levels, the moisture in the air in order to detect and locate intelligent life around them.

Tideweaver's Embrace

Tideweaver’s Embrace is the process through which the Aquari may shift their own flesh to water and back.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

Just starting out, a novice is only capable of simple, though still wondrous, aquatic feats.

• Hydromancy:
  • A novice may create and then finely control up to 8 fl.oz., or 1 cup, at a time.
  • Their water or ice may cause cuts and lesions at this level.
  • A novice may move a wave of up to 20 gallons of water, ice, or fog at a time.
  • Blood manipulation is possible at novice, but it is so weak that it will do little other than cause the target discomfort unless pulled from an already existing open wound.

Limited to one target at a time.

• Aquamorphosis:
  • A novice may create and then finely control up to 4 fl.oz., or half a cup, at a time.
  • As a novice, converting the water’s state of matter is a strenuous process. It is a very slow process taking minutes.
  • They may shift the state of half of the amount usable by Hydromancy per cast.
• Abyssal Pulse:
  • As a novice, the mage can only utilize this skill to detect creatures submerged in, or touching, bodies of water.
  • The radius is about 10ft centralized around the caster.
• Tideweaver's Embrace:
  • At novice, this skill is limited; effectively, the Aquari can increase the percentage of their bodies that is water by a negligible amount. While niche, this can be used to create a thin film of water over the skin to make the mage more resistant to fire, for example.
  • Though minor, these changes take significant effort for the mage to impart unto themselves.

Apprentice

The apprentice Aquari has grown a modicum more comfortable with their spellweaving but is still fairly weak.

• Hydromancy:
  • An apprentice may create and then finely control up to 24 fl.oz., or 3 cups, at a time.
  • Their water or ice may drill through wood and wound deeply at this stage.
  • An apprentice may move a wave of up to 200 gallons of water, ice, or fog at a time.
  • The apprentice may slow down or disrupt movement by temporarily locking up limbs and making it overall more difficult for a target to move their bodies.

Limited to one target at a time.

• Aquamorphosis:
  • An Apprentice may create and then finely control up to 12 fl.oz, or 1.5 cups, at a time.
  • As an apprentice, the casting time is about 10 seconds.
  • They may shift the state of half of the amount usable by Hydromancy per cast.
• Abyssal Pulse:
  • As an apprentice, the mage can only utilize this skill to detect creatures submerged in, or touching, bodies of water.
  • The radius is about 15ft centralized around the caster.
• Tideweaver's Embrace:
  • The apprentice may slowly start to convert small parts of themselves (the size of hands or feet) entirely to water at a time.
  • Though minor, these changes take significant effort for the mage to impart unto themselves.

Journeyman

The journeyman Aquari is a proficient spellcaster and steadily on their way to being deadly as an unexpected riptide.

• Hydromancy:
  • A journeyman may create and then finely control up to 80 fl.oz., or 10 cups, at a time.
  • Their water or ice may drill through stone and most unprotected bodies at this stage.
  • An expert may move a wave of up to 1,500 gallons of water, ice, or fog at a time.
  • They may, at this stage, manipulate physically weak targets as if they are puppets, though stronger targets will have more natural resilience against the effect.

Limited to one target at a time.

• Aquamorphosis:
  • A master may create and then finely control up to 40 fl.oz, or 5 cups, at a time.
  • For a journeyman, converting water from one state to another need only take a few moments.
  • They may shift the state of half of the amount usable by Hydromancy per cast.
• Abyssal Pulse:
  • As a journeyman, the mage can only utilize this skill to detect creatures submerged in, or touching, bodies of water.
  • The radius is about 20ft centralized around the caster.
• Tideweaver's Embrace:
  • A journeyman may convert up to entire limbs to liquid, though the process is still fairly slow.
  • The speed at which they may shift their bodies is still far from fast, though the process is quite a bit quicker than at apprentice or as a novice.

Expert

Now potent sorcerers in their own right, the expert Aquari manipulates their magic with the flowing ease or deadly force of the oceans themselves.

Starting at expert, Aquari may infuse aspects of their other personal magics into their Hydromancy provided said magics are equal or greater than expert, too.

• Hydromancy:
  • An expert may create and then finely control up to 24 cups, or 1.5 gallons, at a time.
  • Their water or ice may drill through the toughness of steel at this stage.
  • An expert may move a wave of up to 6,000 gallons of water, ice, or fog at a time.
  • An expert can wrench control of the bodies of even strong targets with little effort.

Limited to one target at a time.

• Aquamorphosis:
  • An expert may create and then finely control up to 16 cups, or 1 gallon, at a time.
  • Converting water from one state to another need only take a few moments.
  • They may shift the state of ⅔ of the amount usable by Hydromancy per cast.
• Abyssal Pulse:
  • As an expert, the mage may utilize this skill to detect creatures submerged in, or touching, bodies of water.
  • They gain the ability to send the aether pulse through the air around them, though it only works in particularly humid environments.
  • The radius is about 25ft centralized around the caster.
• Tideweaver's Embrace:
  • The expert may swiftly shift up to half of their body to water at once.

Master

Wielding the Arcana with brilliance, the master Aquari is a force of nature unto themselves.

Master Aquari may infuse aspects of their other personal magics into their Hydromancy provided said magics are equal or greater than expert, too.

• Hydromancy:
  • A master may create and then finely control up to 240 cups, or 15 gallons, at a time.
  • Their water or ice may drill through 1.5x the toughness of steel at this stage.
  • A master may move a wave of up to 40,000 gallons of water, ice, or fog at a time.
  • The master may manipulate with the same potency as an expert, but their influence extends to a handful of people at once.
• Aquamorphosis:
  • A master may create and then finely control up to 240 cups, or 15 gallons, at a time.
  • The master can convert water from one state to the next in the blink of an eye.
  • They may shift the state equal to the amount usable by Hydromancy per cast.
• Abyssal Pulse:
  • As a master, the mage may utilize this skill to detect creatures submerged in, or touching, bodies of water.
  • They may also send the aether pulse through the air around them, though it only works in particularly humid environments.
  • The radius is about 35ft centralized around the caster.
• Tideweaver's Embrace:
  • The master can quickly convert their entire bodies to water and back should they so wish.

Apotheosi

Now an Ascendant, the Nereite is a sorcerer of legendary potency. More than having simply embraced the tides, they have become one with the waters of the world.

The Nereite may infuse aspects of their other personal magics into their Hydromancy.

• Hydromancy:
  • A Nereite may create and then finely control up to 2400 cups, or 150 gallons, at a time.
  • Their water or ice may drill through 2x the toughness of steel at this stage.
  • A Nereite may move a wave of up to 660,000 gallons of water, ice, or fog at a time.
  • The Nereite may manipulate with the same potency as a master, but their influence extends to an entire crowd of people at once.
• Aquamorphosis:
  • A Nereite may create and then finely control up to 2400 cups, or 150 gallons, at a time.
  • The Nereite can convert water from one state to the next in the blink of an eye.
  • They may shift the state equal to the amount usable by Hydromancy per cast.
• Abyssal Pulse:
  • Now a Nereite, the mage may utilize this skill to detect creatures submerged in, or touching, bodies of water.
  • They may also send the aether pulse through the air around them; the only time it will fail to travel is if the atmosphere is arid, such as in a desert.
  • The radius is about 60ft centralized around the caster.
• Tideweaver's Embrace:
  • The Nereite can quickly convert their entire bodies to water and back as well as rapidly expand in scale, pulling water from sources around them such that they themselves can embody up to 150 gallons. They are, effectively, a tidal wave unto themselves.

Variants

Kyanosis

When the Æld'Norai exiled the Ælves who would one day become the Cor'Norai, the Arche of Lacon known as Lævos offered them shelter in exchange for their fealty, mind and soul. To them, he gifted an Imberic perversion of Aqua he had created to assert his dominion over Imber: Kyanosis.

Kyanosis utilizes Imber Spell Reserves rather than Aether to manipulate water. The waters it manufactures directly are vibrantly cyan, like a sunlit lagoon. This water is used as a smokescreen to hunt as it is difficult to see through for all but those with the sight of Lacopia which Cor'Norai or Krakon are born with. They will also use it to coordinate attacks, designating regions of convergence or herding fish into densely packed swarms.

• Practitioners' skin takes on a cyan hue, regardless of race; this can be so pale in some as to be greyish.
• Kyanic Water will stain nearly everything if allowed to soak, from textiles and leather to clay or even metal and stone; Cor'Norai blades often take on a vibrant cyan hue for this reason.

Acquisition

The Cor'Norai who wield Kyanosis may initiate others with this discipline by inscribing upon them the Alchemic symbol for Imber and then feeding them Kyanosic water with intent. The conceptual seed will be planted within their soul, and they will be initiated in much the same way as normal Aqua. With Support Forum permission, Lævos may convert Aetheric Aqua into Imberic Kyanosis.

Contrivances

To craft with Aqua, one must find and work alongside an Aquari or acquire the Arcana themselves. Galdr, having stemmed from Aether itself, does not provide materials from the Galsterei, but rather, the Galsterei infuses the crafts with their Aether and thus their intent. Otherwise, Contrivances may be crafted from the Galsterei's Sundered Alkahest directly.

Some examples of crafts an Aquari might assist with include:

• Charms that ward off their ability to manipulate one’s blood and other bodily fluids.
• Flasks or other containers that passively fill themselves by pulling water vapor from the air
• Chemistry sets that automatically filter substrates and other substances, create mixtures, solutions, etc.
• Water filtration systems
• Dowsing Rods

”There was a horrible drought affecting the entire region last year that struck at the start of growing season; would've ravaged our winter food stores if not for the sorcerer that paid me a visit, saying my farm had fed her since she was young so she ought to return the favor. She agreed to stay with me ‘til the drought passed, ensuring my crops had enough water the entire time. A right blessing, she was.” - A Rural Farmer

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