Mana is a magical life force produced by the earth and most organic beings. Mana is used by magicians and magical creatures for casting spells, concocting potions, crafting artifacts, and various other activities. Because mana is useful, locations that are dense with mana are coveted.
There are many uses for mana. The following is a non-exhaustive list:
If needed, mana can be extracted from organic beings, but this is considered taboo.
There are two main users of mana: magicians and magical creatures.
Mana is an important part of a magician’s life. They use it in their day to day activities, and it would be unthinkable to them to live a life without it.
Magical creatures also use mana for the same purposes as magicians. But there are two important differences between magicians and magical creatures. First, without mana, magical creatures will vanish. Second, their bodies cannot produce mana of their own, so they seek out ways to replenish it. Common methods include eating, bonding with plants, and resting in mana-dense areas. In addition, the habitat of magical creatures influences the types of magic they can use. For example, a creature living in a forest will be able to use wind and earth magic.
In rare cases, non-magicians can learn to use mana. For example, when the fairy Aislinn bonded with the human Jane O’Young, the latter became able to use magic. But cases like these don’t happen often because magical creatures are picky about who or what they form bonds with. Furthermore, they cannot be forced to form bonds. And even if they were to agree, the magical creature would become the master, and the human would become the familiar, which is undesirable for the human.
Earth also produces its own mana. Radiating from the center of the earth, mana flows through ley lines to various locations across the planet. It is common for magicians and magical creatures to establish their buildings near mana-rich areas.
When magicians migrated to escape persecution, they funneled the earth’s natural mana into New Salem. Mana functions the same way in both Earth and New Salem, but there is one difference: Earth has high ambient magical pressure. If a magician from New Salem were to cast a spell on Earth, they would find it difficult, but not impossible. Their spells would be weaker and less effective, but with time the magician can acclimate to Earth’s ambient magical pressure. On the other hand, if a magician from Earth were to cast a spell in New Salem, they would find their spells more powerful than usual.