Volume III: The Arcanum

The Source

"We do not create magic. We inherit the dying screams of worlds that never were." — Archmagister Threnn Vos, executed for heresy, 3rd Era

I. The Nature of Veth

Magic in Vaelthur is not a gift. It is not an innate talent, a divine blessing, or a natural force. Magic is salvage—the art of harnessing crystallized potential from worlds destroyed in the Sundering.

This substance is called Veth (VETH, rhymes with "death"), a word derived from the old tongue meaning "that which almost was." Veth exists in multiple forms, but its essence remains constant: it is the solidified possibility of realities that the Sundering erased from existence.

To understand Veth is to understand loss given physical form.

II. The Forms of Veth

Veth manifests in three primary states, each with distinct properties and applications:

Raw Veth (Veth'aal)

Found exclusively within Rifts, Raw Veth appears as crystalline formations ranging from pale gray to deep obsidian. These crystals pulse with an inner light—not warmth, but a cold luminescence that some describe as homesick, yearning for a reality that no longer exists.

Raw Veth cannot be used directly. Attempting to channel it results in catastrophic feedback, as the unfocused potential seeks to remake reality according to laws that no longer apply. The results are invariably fatal, often spectacularly so.

Raw Veth must be refined before use.

Refined Veth (Veth'ora)

Through processes developed over millennia, practitioners learned to stabilize Raw Veth into usable form. Refined Veth appears as luminous dust or small, perfectly spherical pearls of shifting color. In this state, the crystallized potential has been attuned to Vaelthur's reality, making it compatible with the current laws of existence.

Refined Veth is the fuel of practical magic. It can be stored indefinitely, traded as currency, and consumed to power various applications. The refining process is closely guarded by those who control it—representing one of the primary sources of economic and political power in the known world.

Ambient Veth (Veth'sur)

Over centuries, Refined Veth slowly decays, releasing its potential into the environment. This dispersed energy—Ambient Veth—permeates Vaelthur unevenly, concentrating in areas near Rift activity and dissipating in regions far from such phenomena.

Ambient Veth cannot power complex magic, but it is responsible for several phenomena:

• The unnatural fertility of Riftland soil
• The emergence of magical creatures and plants
• The "sixth sense" many beings develop for detecting nearby Rifts
• Low-level enchantments that require no active maintenance

III. Gathering the Source

The acquisition of Raw Veth is the most dangerous and most necessary profession in Vaelthur. Those who venture into Rifts to harvest crystallized potential are called Riftwalkers, and their trade shapes the economy of nations.

The Rift Harvest

Rifts are echoes of destroyed worlds—pockets of alien reality where the Sundering's damage never fully healed. Within these spaces, Raw Veth crystallizes naturally, forming deposits of varying size and purity. The deeper one ventures into a Rift, the larger and more potent the Veth deposits become.

The process of harvesting is straightforward: locate deposits, extract crystals using specialized tools, and return to the mortal plane before the Rift's unstable nature proves fatal. The difficulty lies entirely in execution.

Rifts are hostile. Not maliciously—they simply operate according to rules that do not align with mortal existence. Gravity may reverse. Time may dilate. The very air may become toxic to lungs evolved for Vaelthur's atmosphere. And the creatures that dwell within Rifts—beings spawned from destroyed potential—defend their territory with instinctive ferocity.

Rifts reset. Because they are echoes rather than true places, Rifts eventually return to their original state. Harvested Veth regenerates. Slain creatures respawn. This makes Rifts sustainable resources rather than exhaustible mines, but it also means that no Rift is ever truly "cleared." The danger never diminishes.

Rifts are limited. Only so many beings can enter a Rift at once before its fragile pseudo-reality begins to collapse. This natural limitation prevents large armies from simply overwhelming Rift defenses with numbers and has led to the rise of small, elite Riftwalking teams.

The Refinement Monopolies

Raw Veth is worthless without refinement, and the refining process is controlled by a handful of powerful institutions:

The Crucible Guilds — Originally craft organizations, these guilds evolved into the primary refiners of Veth in most civilized regions. They guard their techniques jealously, passing methods from master to apprentice through sworn oaths of secrecy. The Crucible Guilds maintain political neutrality, selling Refined Veth to all parties—for the right price.

The Orders of the Source — Religious organizations that view Veth refinement as sacred duty, preserving the essence of destroyed creation from further degradation. The Orders charge lower prices than the Guilds but impose conditions on purchasers, refusing to sell to those they deem "unworthy."

Independent Refiners — Rogue alchemists, exiled scholars, and self-taught practitioners who have reverse-engineered portions of the refining process. Their product is often inferior and sometimes dangerous, but it provides an alternative for those unwilling or unable to deal with established institutions.

IV. The Cost of Power

Magic is not free. The consumption of Veth—the burning of crystallized potential—carries consequences that increase with the scale of power wielded.

Personal Costs

When a practitioner channels Refined Veth, they are not merely expending fuel. They are touching the essence of realities that no longer exist. This contact leaves marks.

Vethburn — Acute overuse of magical energy results in visible deterioration: graying of hair, premature aging, and in severe cases, the crystallization of tissues into Veth-like formations. Vethburn is painful, debilitating, and partially irreversible.

Echosight — Prolonged exposure to Veth causes practitioners to perceive traces of destroyed potential overlaid on current reality. At mild levels, this manifests as occasional glimpses of "what might have been." At severe levels, practitioners struggle to distinguish between what is and what almost was, often descending into madness.

Threshold Collapse — The ultimate cost. Practitioners who channel too much Veth too quickly risk dissolving the boundary between themselves and the destroyed realities they're drawing upon. The result is not death but unmaking—the practitioner ceases to exist in any meaningful sense, their being absorbed into the Void between fragments.

Environmental Costs

Magic use affects the surrounding environment. Ambient Veth levels rise in areas of heavy magical activity, producing various effects:

Blightlands — Regions where decades of magical warfare have saturated the soil with concentrated Ambient Veth. These areas spawn horrific mutations, support no natural life, and slowly expand if not contained.

Vethstorms — Atmospheric disturbances caused by rapid releases of magical energy. Vethstorms warp reality in unpredictable ways, from harmless light displays to localized temporal anomalies.

Rift Bleeding — Extreme magical activity can thin the boundary between Vaelthur and the echo-realms, causing existing Rifts to expand or new ones to form. This is simultaneously valuable (new Veth sources) and catastrophic (new dangers unleashed).

V. The Disciplines

Over millennia, practitioners developed distinct approaches to channeling Veth, each with specific strengths and limitations. These Disciplines are not natural categories but learned frameworks—ways of understanding and directing crystallized potential.

Shaping (Manipulation of Physical Reality)

The most intuitive and widely practiced discipline. Shapers channel Veth to alter the physical world directly: moving objects, generating heat or cold, creating barriers, and similar effects.

Strengths: Immediately practical, relatively predictable results, lower Vethburn risk Limitations: Limited to physical effects, cannot affect minds or spirits, scales poorly (moving a boulder requires exponentially more Veth than moving a stone)

Binding (Manipulation of Connections)

Binders manipulate the relationships between things rather than the things themselves. They create links, sever ties, and alter how entities interact with each other.

Strengths: Subtle effects that are difficult to detect or counter, excellent for enchantment and wardcraft Limitations: Requires deep understanding of target relationships, effects can cascade unpredictably, high risk of Echosight

Calling (Manipulation of Echoes)

The most dangerous discipline. Callers reach into the Rifts themselves, drawing forth echoes of destroyed realities—summoning creatures, manifesting objects, or invoking phenomena that have no natural place in Vaelthur.

Strengths: Access to powers and entities that cannot otherwise exist, potentially unlimited scope Limitations: Extremely high Vethburn risk, summoned entities are often hostile or unstable, severe consequences for errors

Mending (Manipulation of Living Essence)

Menders channel Veth to affect organic matter, accelerating healing, purging disease, or enhancing biological function. Some darker practitioners use this discipline to corrupt rather than cure.

Strengths: Invaluable for medical applications, can enhance physical capabilities Limitations: Cannot affect non-living matter, risk of uncontrolled mutation, recipients may develop Veth dependency

Voidtouching (Manipulation of Absence)

The rarest and most feared discipline. Voidtouchers channel not the crystallized potential of destroyed worlds, but the absence between them—the Void itself. Their magic unmakes rather than creates.

Strengths: Effects are nearly impossible to counter or undo, can permanently destroy magical constructs Limitations: Extreme danger to practitioner, effects cannot be precisely controlled, universally reviled and often illegal

VI. The Economy of Power

Veth is the foundation of Vaelthur's economy. More valuable than gold, more essential than food, it determines the rise and fall of nations.

As Currency

Refined Veth serves as the universal standard of value across civilized lands. While local currencies exist, all are ultimately measured against Veth exchange rates. A merchant may trade in silver coins, but large transactions settle in Veth pearls.

As Strategic Resource

Control of Rift access equals control of Veth supply. Nations wage wars not for territory alone, but for the Rifts that territory contains. A kingdom with three productive Rifts can maintain a larger magical infrastructure than one with a hundred times its land area.

As Social Stratification

Access to Veth determines social position. The wealthy can afford magical healing, enhanced tools, and protective enchantments. The poor cannot. This gap widens with each generation, as those with Veth can acquire more, while those without fall further behind.

VII. The Heretic's Question

Throughout the ages, scholars have asked the forbidden question: Is there enough Veth to heal the Sundering?

The Rifts contain crystallized potential from destroyed realities. The Void between fragments still holds traces of the original Veil. If enough Veth could be gathered—refined—focused—could the damage be undone? Could the Veil be rewoven?

Most dismiss this as fantasy. The Sundering was cosmic in scale; no mortal effort could reverse it. Others fear the question itself, warning that attempting such a feat would more likely trigger a second Sundering than restore what was lost.

But some pursue the answer with obsessive dedication. The Restorationists believe that sufficient Veth, properly channeled, could patch the wounds in reality. The Transcendentalists seek to use accumulated Veth to elevate themselves to Shaelim-like status. The Nihilists aim to finish what the Sundering started, using Veth to collapse what remains of existence into the Void.

In Vaelthur, magic is not merely power. It is the inheritance of annihilation, the crystallized dreams of dead worlds, and perhaps—for those bold or mad enough to try—the key to remaking reality itself.

Thus ends the account of Veth and its uses. What follows is the history of those who learned to wield it—and how that power shaped them.

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