Sanguine magic

**Sanguine magic**, also known as **life magic**, was a type of energy manipulation defined by its ability to influence the flow and distribution of the primal life force of living beings. It was distinct from, yet closely related to animal magic, together with which they comprised the magical expressions of the metaphysical primal domains.

## Description

All living beings possessed vital energies, which were responsible for driving the physical processes within a living body, as well as the more psychospiritual phenomena such as consciousness, dreams, and soulbinding. When vital energies were manipulated in a manner intended to influence the biomechanical processes in a living being, the vital energy would polarise towards sanguine magic. This would allow for changes in the physical state of the organism, while leaving their minds and souls relatively unchanged.

If an individual were to sustain an injury or be afflicted by a disease, the vital energies within their body would be altered. In the case of an injury, the object inflicting the injury would absorb some of the vital energy upon impact, where it would disperse as other forms of energy. Blood loss and tissue death from the injury would also be a source of vital energy loss. During disease, the causative agent - whether biological or magic - may feed directly on the vital energy of the victim, resulting in its loss.

## Schools

### Healing

Widely considered the most acceptable use of sanguine magic, healing was the process of using one's own vital energy to mend wounds and treat illness in others. It was a moderately dangerous practice, as the process was an equivalent exchange with the patient, which required careful control and moderation. Reckless use of healing magic could result in the user suffering from ill health themselves, and in extreme cases, even death.

### Cultivation

Plants and fungi were also organisms which relied upon vital energies to grow, and would typically gather it slowly over time from the earth. As animals, as well as other plants and fungi died and returned to the earth, their vital energy could then be taken up by new growth to continue the cycle. This growth could be greatly sped up by use of sanguine magic to flood their roots and stems with energy from another source. Sacrifice of less desirable weeds and shrubs by siphoning their vitality and imbuing it into crops was a common practice amongst users.

Some individuals even used their own vital energy to nourish their gardens, which allowed them to grow even more quickly, and their finished product was often far more beautiful than that which didn't utilise sanguine magic. Use of human vitality for the purposes of cultivation was generally considered taboo, however.

### Malignancy

As a consequence of controlling the energies which govern life, there were a number of practitioners of sanguine magic which used their abilities to harm others. In a similar manner that healing magic worked, malignant sanguine magic redirected the flow of vital energy, where the energy was directed away from the target rather than toward them. There were two types of malignant sanguine magic: *consumptive* and *miasmatic*.

#### Consumptive

Sometimes known as *vampirism*, and often simply *consumption*, this type of sanguine magic was the practice of siphoning the vital energy of the victim's body into the user's. This was generally only moderately harmful to the victim, enough to cause a temporarily but debilitating illness, from which they would recover in a matter of days. It was considered extremely difficult to kill people via consumption, as excessive vital energy in the user weakened their ability to absorb further.

#### Miasmatic

A highly taboo, fringe practice, miasmatic sanguine magic was the extraction of vital energy from the victim's body without the absorption of energy into the user as with consumption. Typically the energy would be dispersed into the air, or blanket the earth in the form of a thin emerald mist. Some users stored this energy in magical vessels for other purposes. Though technically more difficult to achieve, use of this magic was far more capable of killing an individual, due to the energetic resistance within the user not factoring into the strength of the magic.

The name 'miasmatic' was derived from the clouds of mist which were seen to blanket the streets of pillaged villages during the Great War. This made it seem as though a pestilent miasma had swept through towns, bringing death to the townsfolk. Victims were said to have been "taken by the mist" when referring to deaths due to this kind of magic. It considered the most grotesque and perverse use of sanguine magic, and was outlawed in nearly every country.