Flux

## History of Flux

Flux, the elixir, liquid mana - the fluid has many names, but one purpose. To provide usable magic. Ever since Paranthor collected all of the Divine Relics, the magic around the known world has been disrupted and the art of spellcasting has died out as no spells could be cast. Urdinian society, so heavily tied to the use of magic in all facets of life, collapsed. Civil war raged, famine and pestilence plagued the land, and all scientific knowledge evaporated. Eventually, things settled and people rebuilt, society continued to function, but not to a fraction of the height that it once was.

That was until Flux was developed sixty years ago. A group of arcane researchers known as the Sorcerer’s Guild devoted decades to bringing magic back to Urdinia, and eventually, a solution was found. Magic was still present, but the pools of magic around the world dwindled and drifted away from the material world. Using a machine to siphon energy through funnels engraved with sygaldry, magic itself was attracted into a funnel, collected, and transmuted into a physical gas. However the process produced very little, and the gas was extremely volatile. Any disturbance could cause it to explode with unpredictable results.

Two innovations made this gas, called Flux, the material it is today. The first was the solution to the problem of producing enough of the material. It had been long known that some pools of magic were deeper than others. Although a topographic map of pools had not been developed yet, it was also understood that some areas were obviously more naturally magical than others. Ancient forests, deep caverns into the Underdark, stormy islands surrounded by sea monsters, and lakes with forgotten island temples. In these places, the collecting funnels worked at a much faster rate, and the gas could be collected in enough quantity to be used.

The second innovation was by pure serendipity. A few years after the first gas was collected, one of the original bottles was found to have undergone a strange development. No longer was it gas, but instead it was a liquid. The liquid was experimented on and found to be far more stable, and easier to draw energy from. With this last piece to the puzzle, Flux started to be used as a source of arcane energy, and magic once again flowed through Urdinian society. The revolution was almost overnight as within only a few decades refineries covered the land and nearly everything ran on Flux.

## Usage

Flux comes in two forms: gaseous (or crude) and liquid (or refined). The gaseous form appears as a swirling, yellow vapor and is highly volatile. The gas is usually packed into large steel canisters and locked to prevent tampering and accidental release. The liquid, meanwhile, is an ever-changing color and much more stable. The government has mandated that all of the liquid be packed into clear vials of five different standard sizes, ranging from three inches to ten feet. The standardized size is to ensure that they properly plug into whatever machinery needs them. There’s plenty of unregulated Flux in circulation, however, which often comes in nonstandard sizes. This proves troublesome for using it on machinery, but it can still be used in other ways.

Flux can essentially be used as a reservoir of energy for spell-like effects. These effects are created when the Flux is channeled through wards, which are circular or hexagonal diagrams with specific symbology and words in different arcane scripts. These scripts are often Runes, Draconic, Sylvan, Infernal, or Celestial. The language is often, but not always, tied to the effect of the ward. The ward is activated by direct contact with Flux, which it consumes in the process. More Flux is consumed by more powerful wards.