Krauja

Krauja is one of two forms of magic in Palidovas along with Auka. Much of it’s history is unknown in the current age, as it originated in the time of the Predecessors. Anyone can use this magic, though effective use is difficult without proper training. Users of this magic system are called kraujar and have the ability to use different byproducts of some animals to power different magical abilities.

Often, the power of this magic system is based on the user’s blood. Kraujars are heavily predispose their offspring to have stronger abilities. This inherently leads to the creation of strong bloodlines of magic users, with both new and old lines. However, heavy use of this system also leads to stronger addiction to the system, which offspring are also exposed to. There are an unknown number of magical materials and therefore an unknown number of abilities.

This magic is inherently addictive and extremely dangerous to use and control.

## Indepth History

While it is commonly believed in this age that the powerful effects originate solely in the materials themselves, the true power comes from a combination of this and the chemical breakdown of these materials within the user’s bloodstream. This ability of the Dovasi was also one of the Precursor race, inherent to the creatures of Palidovas. The blood system identifies foreign entities and breaks down the material. The chemical breakdown process produces power that enables them to release some form of energy or other ability.

Not all creatures have magical qualities that can be used, but many do. There is a lot of research and study dedicated to searching for new creatures materials that might lead to the discovery of new abilities. Most materials are special byproducts of creatures, such as the Amberglass created by sand dragons.

## Imbuing

For each ability, the material needs to be delivered to the bloodstream of the user, so that it can power an ability. There are a number of ways of doing this, all of which fall under a process called Imbuing. The material is typically ground into a powder if not a liquid.

### Digestion

The substance can be ingested, often with some sort of liquid to facilitate swallowing. This method requires the substance to be absorbed by the walls of the stomach into the bloodstream and is introduced more slowly and evenly throughout the body. This method is fairly slow, but is also the safest method of Imbuing, requiring the body to work the least and lessening the body’s desire to take more?. It is much harder to overdose in this manner since the material is more dispersed and the user can more easily gauge how much is in their system.

Time it takes to obtain power: five minutes

### Inhalation

The substance can also be inhaled and introduced the the blood stream in this manner. The dispersal of the substance is less so than ingestion, but is not as confined to one space as injection. Therefore, this is a sort of compromise of quick access to power and the risk of injection.

Time it takes to obtain power: two minutes

### Injection

Injection through cutting open the skin or use of a crude needle or some other form to quickly introduced the substance to the bloodstream. It begins to grant powers more immediately, however, it also forces a concentrated amount of the substance into one space of the blood stream. Overdosing can occur more suddenly, as the user cannot easily gauge how much is in their system at a time and that substance is clumped in one area. When this section of the blood reaches the heart, it can cause stress in many situations, even if the amount was not enough to overdose.

Time it takes to obtain power: 30 seconds

## Addiction/Side Effects

The most obvious side effect is the addictive qualities of using it. Not only does the user from greater addiction to the feeling of the power in their blood through Imbuing, but when using the power, they are more inclined to continue using it. The injection of these materials induces of feeling of euphoria that is very hard to resist and is one of the reasons it is strongly addictive.

Other side effects include tinting of blood color to various warm colors(red, orange, yellow) and increased blood circulation which leads to enhanced glowing. It is therefore very obvious when someone is using this form of magic, as their eye color changes with their blood color and they would glow quite a bit more than normal.

### Overdosing

Krauja is considered a drug, but one that happens to grant magical abilities. When Imbuing, if too much powder is injected for the bloodstream and heart to process or contain at once, the user can overdose. The effects of overdosing depends on the material used.

## Cultural Opinion/Uses

There is a general stigma for kraujar due to the tendency of untrained users to default to simply using their abilities to fulfill a drug addiction. There are a lot of negative connotations to using Krauja without training, which has lead to many schools being built to satisfy these individuals.

Due to it’s reliance on different creatures, not all regions have ready access to every ability. Some cultures rely more heavily on certain abilities due to the abundance of a material in their area. At this point in time, most cultures have some means to secure any known material, though some may be very rare.

### Bloodlines

Anyone can learn, but those from a bloodline can master it easier, have a predisposition to use it, and in some cases may be more powerful. Bloodlines are created whenever a magic user of this system has offspring. There are both old well known bloodlines and newer lesser known ones. The prevalence of these families often depends on their culture of origin. These isn’t a very large difference in old and new bloodlines, as new ones, depending on the originator and descendants, can be just as powerful as older ones. These bloodlines often have family conflict and rivalries, but just as easily get along and marry within each other.

## Training

It is possible for anyone to Imbue and use any material with a magical ability. However, those who are untrained find it much harder to know how much power they are putting into their system and cannot easily control the ability. Using a material for the first time is also very disorienting and distracting, inducing a very powerful feeling of euphoria that is hard to overcome.

For example, if someone who has never Imbued Amberglass before does so, they would be overloaded by pleasant feelings and would become wrapped up in these feelings, being hard pressed to be able to focus on the outside world. Partially due to this distraction and partially due to any lack of training using Amberglass, the resulting output of their magic would be unpredictable and uncontrolled.

Without some semblance of training, either through very long dedicated self teaching or through the instruction of a teacher, Krauja magic is very hard to use in a predictable manner. Training differs for each ability, but typically involves training in mastering the euphoric feels and either ignoring them to focus on the ability, or using them to help focus on the ability. The Shapellion in Deril is a very prominent formal school for kraujar.

Training in each material and its corresponding ability are not directly transferable, though some may be similar in use or type. Essentially, each ability requires dedicated time to train.

## Abilities

These are the current known abilities. Materials must be by products or substances created by a creature, such as venom, Amberglass, and pollen. Materials that are commonly shed, such as fur and horns are not typically magical except in cases where the horn immediately begins to regrow quickly upon being lost.