Siphoning Magic

**User(s)** | Theia Tasya

**Siphoning Magic** (サイフォンの魔法 *Saifon no Mahō*) is a highly unique magic known to very few in the Hylion districts. This magic requires extensive knowledge on Ki and the Ki Circulatory System (KCS) to perform properly, but when successful, it gives the caster the ability to drain away a target's Ki. This can come in the form of draining it from their body or siphoning from an Ki based attack; giving this magic both an offensive and defensive purpose. Once the magic is siphoned into the caster's own body, they can effectively utilize this Ki to replicate spells that they have already seen performed by there target. Though great skill is required to utilize this rare magic, the benefits and rewards will surely guarantee any caster a victory.

## Description

In order to use such a magic and begin to drain the Ki from a mage or construct, the caster must make contact with the target with the use of "siphon tubes". These siphon tubes are actual minuscule capillary like extensions of Ki that the user creates to tap into the Ki circulatory system of the opponent. Because of their size they are able to bypass the membranes and gap junctions within cells to enter into the body and expand to the width of capillary and venous walls to siphon off the flow of Ki. Depending on the expertise of the caster, they can create initial siphon tubes that are fractions of a micrometer to enter through the skin of their opponent unseen and begin working their way deep into the vessels that carry Ki throughout the body; something that would make it extremely detrimental to the target's system if they were to attempt to remove them by physical force. Once inside, the mage must expand the siphon tube large enough to seal off the vessel walls, making it easier to create the parameters needed to siphon magic. Though their invisibility to the human eye plays to the advantage of the caster, the initial siphon size needed for this magic to go into effect limits the cater to close range combat in order to get the skin contact they need to plant their siphon tubes. Atmospheric conditions and outside forces will generally send the microtubes off course, and starting off with a diameter similar to that of a Wire Magic spell would lose the element of surprise with the siphoning. Although many a mage will use a large siphon tube to trick the opponent into thinking it is a typical Wire Magic spell, getting enough skin contact to fray their Ki and leave a microscopic siphon tube attached to their opponent while they "reel back in the wire".

Once they have a siphon tube attached, they can generally extend the length of that tube as long as their magic will allow; but the longer the tube, the slower the siphoning of magic will be. That is why maintained physical contact is the best method of this magic, as it only requires a few millimeters of siphon to get through the thickest of skin and clothing and into the Ki system of their opponent. A touch of only a second will be able to siphon off about 78.86 milliliters of Ki, which is about half a liter per minute. This means for an average mage, who has about 5.5 liters of Ki circulating their body at one time, it would only around eleven minutes to completely rob a person of their magic until their origin restores. Though in combat, sustaining that long of contact with the target isn't feasible unless they are rendered completely immobile; meaning that generally a caster is only able to siphon off about as much Ki as needed for a basic spell before the siphon tubes are damages by an attack. But luckily this magic also works in absorbing offending attacks that come the caster's way as long as they are Ki based. The quality of Ki that is absorbed is far less concentrated, due to the transmutation properties it undergoes during casting, as well as the atmospheric impurities that mix in. So, in order for a mage to take in this Ki and use it as their own power; they need to absorb a far greater quantity of it in order to replicate the attack that they just absorbed.

The basic mechanics of Siphoning Magic is similar to that of an actual siphon; something that requires little effort from the user after the initial priming to continue to drain out the magic from the other person. After attachment of the Ki tubes into the opponents Ki Circulatory System, the caster will then create a pocket of space in their KCS by holding a greater deal of Ki in their magic origin to lower the intravenous pressure of their Ki system. This creates a pressure drop throughout the Ki siphoning tubes, in the same sense that 'sucking' on a straw reduces the pressure along its length all the way to the intake point. The intravenous pressure at the intake point responds to the reduced pressure by forcing the fluid outwards, sustaining the flow to fill in the space at the other end of the siphon and equalize the pressure. This effectively pulls the Ki from the opposing target, forcing it to drain into the caster’s Ki Circulatory System and allowing them to use the properties of said Ki until it runs out of their system. The greater the caster drops their intravenous pressure in comparison to the target, the greater amount of magic they will steal.

Gravity, pressure and molecular cohesion are the acting principles that allows this magic to work without any effort outside of attachment of the Ki tubes. This is because the flow of Ki out of the target’s body depends on the difference in height between the inflow and outflow, as well as the difference in intravenous pressure. Gravity comes into effect for this magic when the attachment point for the siphon tubes is higher than that of its origin. This causes the gravity to push down on the Ki inside the siphon and forces it to flow at a faster rate than that of the intravenous pressure method. This can lead to a mage attaining a greater deal of their magic in a shorter period of time to reap for their own benefits. This also allows the caster to continue to circulate a greater deal of Ki to allow them to continue to attack during the draining process. One of the downsides of this method is its reliance on high differentials and gravity, forcing the user to pay attention to their attachment points and the angles at which the siphon tubes are, in order to keep the flow constant. Another downfall of this method is those who can control gravity, such as those with Gravity Change Magic or Cosmic Magic, can alter the natural flow of gravity to prevent the siphoning of their Ki. That is why most users prefer the intravenous pressure method, as it overcomes this downfall.

The intravenous pressure method is one of the most full proof ways for mages to siphon, as it eliminates the effects of many outside factors. This method is not dependent on atmospheric pressure, as even in varying air pressures ranging from sea level to 39,000 ft altitude had relatively no effect on the flow during experimental tests. This shows that even in a vacuum this magic will still work; something that some users have used to steal the air rich Ki of Wind Mages who attempt an airlock during combat. It has also been shown that in these high-vacuum conditions that the molecular cohesion of Ki, as well as the actions of the intravenous pressure, are the principle factors in the operation of the Siphoning Magic. As a system will try and move towards equilibrium, equalizing the pressure between the two Ki systems, the tight molecular cohesion properties between the molecules themselves and that of the siphon tube walls, allows for the Ki to flow uphill if need be. This cohesive property overcomes the downfall of the gravity method and allows for a mage to feel at ease in the effects of their magic as long as their siphon tubes stay connected. Even if an opposing mage had a high degree of control over their Ki system to help offset the pressure differential that drives the siphon, the caster would just offset it until the opponent would effectively have to cut off use of their magic entirely to prevent it from being stolen.

## Trivia

* The numbers used for the rate of siphoning come from the rate at which blood pumps through the body, as well as how much blood an average human has in their body.