Windwalking

Windwalking is the most widely-used magic system in Vindrur's world. It is designed and fueled by Vindrur. Those who use this system are called Windwalkers, and they are able to break down the material form which is air to access Vindrur's magic within, which must be inhaled to activate.

## MECHANICS

*Windwalking* is a magic system that centers around the manipulation of air within and outside of one-self. A user of the Windwalking system is called a Windwalker. Air is a vessel for air magic, and Windwalkers are the only ones who can break apart the material vessel and access the magic inside it. This process is called Breathing, and then is used to change the user's form or influence the air around them.

Breathing plays an essential part in Windwalking, as it determines the potency and intensity of the results, and how long the Windwalker can maintain their energy. It's often compared to a sport or dance, with rhythmic Breathing being an essential key.

A non-windwalker would experience breathing as a normal calm thing, but Windwalkers experience a rush of air-like energy that is more intense and brimming. This energy is Vindrur's magic stored within the vessel that is air, and Windwalkers are able to break through the vessel and access the magic within it.

Windwalkers are able to do air-related feats that are split into two types: Inhallurgy and Exhallurgy.

### INHALLURGY

Inhallurgy is when the Windwalker Breaths in and holds it - thus granting them the ability to manipulate their physical form. Their spiritual body would use the air magic and then influence their physical form.

#### HOLDING

When a Windwalker is able to hold their Breath intentionally for five heartbeats, they begin to Hold. They can Hold on command, and this allows the Windwalker to change their physical form into "air form", making their bodies blurry, untangible. and air-like.The action of changing into air form is called Holding. Half-Holding if changing into a half-half state of physical and gas form (and looking like a ghost).

Their form becomes more air-like the more they breath in. While Holding, a Windwalker is able to Alter if they wish to. While Holding, Windwalkers can move around obstacles easier, float or fly (depending on the wind current), and can phase through attack.Exhaling out again would make the Windwalker return to physical state and retain again physical properties.

However, if a Windwalker doesn't hold themselves together, it will drift apart. This can result in body alterations once exhaled (often referred to as "accidental Altering"), missing body parts, and death. Death, in this case, happens when a Windwalker drifts too far apart and literally becomes air.

Here are some feats that are well-known amongst the Windwalkers, though aren't common:

#### ALTERING

Altering refers to the change of shape of a Windwalker (either physical or air form). Whenever Windwalkers Hold, they can choose to alter their air form. This helps the Windwalkers to navigate obstacles easier, or drifting through enclosed spaces that their physical form couldn't, or escape a grappling situation. This involves rearranging your particles in a way that's useful and convenient to you.Windwalkers can even Hold little amounts of air, and Alter minor details about themselves (such as tattoos, etc.)

However, whenever exhaled, the Windwalker must rearrange their particles back to where it once was to retain back their bodies. This is not a simple task of putting back, and Windwalkers must keep track of their particles.If this is neglected, Windwalkers can end up with extremely deformed bodies (and often they choke to death in those bodies), placing organs/body parts in wrong positions, or missing body parts.But this ability can be utilized in physical form. Windwalkers can intentionally locate their limbs for better reach, or put their eyes onto different places, or even healing.

##### MELDING

Melding is a sub-variant of Altering. Windwalkers can "absorb" regular objects, making it apart of themselves (even storing it inside their bodies). This happens when they Alter their body in a way that sorrounds that obejct. However, they cannot pick apart that object as it's not apart of them.

##### HEALING

Healing is a sub-variant of Altering. Healing involves collecting the damaged particles and rearranging it to its original position, or fixing a broken limb or sealing up a wound. This works as long as a body part isn't dismembered or unattached from the body. A Windwalking can only influence themselves using Inhallurgy (thus can only heal themselves).

For example, as long as a Windwalker's finger is still dangling off their hand, they can still heal them and put it back in their place. If the finger is already chopped from the hand, it's no longer possible to Heal.

#### INVISIBILITY

Invisbility is an incredibly advanced form of Holding. This is the most dangerous and hardest to master form of Holding (also called Full-Holding).

Invisibility is a branch of Altering, and is accessed through taking in as much breath as possible and scatter your particles as much as possible - thus making you invisible.This is, surprisingly, extremely easy to access. But what makes it so hard to master is able to return back to physical form in its original shape.

This is dangerous because high chance is that the Windwalker would disperse and die when trying to be invisible. And once they're invisible, they must hold their particles and return back to original form, which is difficult when they're that dispersed. It's incredibly rare to have an invisible Windwalker, but definitely possible.

All Windwalkers *can* access Full-Hold, they just don't *do* it because once they Full-Hold most of them can't revert back to their physical form, thus they'd die. A lot of accidents like this have happened, so it's advised to not Full-Hold until one is comfortable with Half-Holding.

Full-Holding is arguably one of the hardest if not the hardest thing to achieve in Holding. The Windwalkers who could Full-Hold on first try and make it back alive had had luck and huge skills after years of training, and even then a lot of them are hesitant to Full-Hold again.

### EXHALLURGY

Exhallurgy is when the Windwalker Breaths in and out - thus granting them the ability to manipulate air outside of themselves to influence others or the air around them.This is less risky than Inhallurgy. The result depends on how much breath is used, how fast the Windwalker channels it/exhales it, and the skills of the Windwalker. The duration depends on how long can the Windwalker can hold onto the exhaled particles before breathing in again (thus the particles are let go of).

Exhallurgy experience side-effects more often as its process is more spontaneous. The quicker they exhale, the sharper/faster their exhaled feats become (which is preferable in wind/jet boosters, pressurized air, etc. ).Because of this, doing exhallurgy is more tiresome on average (because Windwalkers often perform exhallurgy a lot in a short period).

A majority of Windwalkers are Exhallurgy-based. Exhallurgy are safer in practice, takes less years of training, but is more exhausting.

Some exhallurgy feats includes (but not limited to):

* **Pressurized/Compressed air:** this can be used to launch projectiles that zips through the air, combined with air movement manipulating and used to cut things by heating it up, etc. This can also be used to compress air into a tight space and release it, serving as a booster (often used to "Hop", basically to conjure compressed air under one's feet, then releasing it to push them upwards). If taken to a more extreme level, it an cause explosions.
* **Air vacuum:** this can be used to suck out the air within a space (easier done when it's a small space). It can be used to scale walls and sticking things together, projectile,
* **Air movement:** This includes manipulating movements of wind, whether it can be fast or slow. This is often seen paired with pressurized air to conjure up ever-spinning fast projectile, compress it enough to cause wounds, and launch it. This can also be used to push and pull things around (which can be quite useful/practical in daily life). Air movement can also heat up or cool down things.
* **Illusions:** this includes auditory and visual illusions by manipulating the sound lengths and wavelengths in the air. Auditory illusions are easier to perform, and visual illusions need a much more intricate and care put in it (visual illusions come as far as mirages can go, and Windwalkers can't achieve something like a perfect mirror 3d reflection).

## LIMITATIONS

Windwalkers are limited to time duration (how long they can hold their breath) and how much Breath is used. Generally, individual Windwalkers can't create tornadoes, hurricanes, large wind blasts, and they're limited to smaller-scale uses of air.

All of the Windwalking abilities can be rendered useless if Windwalkers cannot get access to air that they can breath. This can be used against them by making smoke, removing them from breathable air (this happened to Thayrin).

The potency of Windwalking also relies on how much air magic is within the air vessel. Too much air magic is chaotic if that air is breathable enough for Windwalkers to break down.

A Windwalker cannot perform Inhallurgy and Exhallurgy at once. They may be vulnerable during Holding without the uses of Exhallurgy to stop strong winds.

### SIDE-EFFECTS

Whenever a Windwalker Breaths, they feel a fuzzy warmth/burning and/or tightening in their chests. Extended use of Windwalking results in exhaustion and fatigue. Wind magic is chaotic, and it can either empower the Windwalker or overwhelm/tire them.

A Windwaker usually keeps air magic in their lungs, though this lets them store less of air magic but suffers from less severe side-effects. More experienced Windwalkers will utilize their whole body in order to store more magic and become much stronger, although side-effects are more severe and affects their whole body. Taking in an overwhelming amount of air results in the lungs and/or blood vessels exploding.

Windwalkers tire out like any other magic users. It's more exhausting than your average sport, and can leave a Windwalker out of Breath. Over time these will become too much, and will suck out the physical/mental energy of Windwalkers, leaving them tired and suffering from side-effects.

These side-effects range in severity depending on long and how much Windwalking has been performed, but includes:

* ***Common side-effects***: Headaches/vertigos, drowsiness, nausea/vomiting, tightness/discomfort of the chest, weakness, sore muscles
* ***Mild side-effects:*** Abnormal heart rhythms, shallow/struggle of breath, tightness of the throat, unconsciousness, paralysis (though rather temporary).
* ***Heavy side-effects:*** Heart attacks, strokes, full-body paralysis, inability to breath/respiratory failure, heart failure, death.

They also experience something called a Blockage, in which during Exhallurgy or Inhallurgy, a block of air freezes and gets stuck in their body. This can lead to stroke, internal bleeding, sudden loss of breath, etc.

## KNOWN WINDWALKERS

* Thayrin
* Darren