Asaeic Arts

**An introduction to Asa**

This was mentioned before, and if you have once talked with an Aresen or Mage you may have heard the term Asa popping up. It is horribly challenging to explain what Asa is, even the greatest Mages who walked under the sky have trouble grasping the true nature of Asa. And yet it is the foundation for all Asaeic arts, which makes up over three quarters of all magic. It is not a substance nor an energy. Biological Aresen Lyllia Anselwin described as a “somewhat spiritual presence. It’s a funny thing, you can just feel it.” I have yet to hear a more accurate description.

Asa does not reside in the material realm, rather it resides in a plane of its own. One can think of the Asaeic plane as cloth over our world. A world with such an Asaeic plane is called  Aelic or an Ael\* world. Within this plane Asa can flow freely in all directions, however it is attracted to places where there is matter and energy within the material realm. It is especially attracted to souls. *The concept of the Asaeic plane is unknown to even the highest of Asaeic Scholars. Only a few close colleagues of mine (such as the aforementioned Lyllia) know of this.*

When Asa leaves the Asaeic Plane (more on that later) it lingers in the material realm for mere instances, if not acted upon by a magical method. When it enters this semiphysicial state it can be molded into shapes which affect the very fabric of reality. The manipulation of Asa to form specific shapes that have different effects is known as the Asaeic Arts. An Asaeic Spell can contain a single shape (a base) or a sequence of shapes. How one shapes Asa is incredibly varied, they deserve an entire book to their own.

In this state Asa is not bound by space or time. A mage may be able to cast a spell and with the right modifying shape and order of activation, they can control exactly where the effect will occur. This however takes great skill and Asaeic knowledge. If no shape is given to Asa, it will return to anywhere in the Asaeic plane.

There are ways to manifest Asa in the material realm. The result is a substance known as which has been called many names over the ages. Its physical form is very puzzling. In its purest form, it takes the form of a brittle, colourless crystal. It easily breaks to form a powder with a similar consistency as fine sand.

There are two types of Asa; Ramesa (Absence) and Daloan (Existence). Both can cast any kind of spell, however each will produce stronger effects with less Asa loss if used to cast a spell with a base shape of the same type. Ramesa will be more efficient when casting spells with a Sao (fire), Fuame (air) or Ramesa Base. Daloan, on the other hand, is more efficient with spells with bases of Hapem (earth), Maeya (water)

 *Explanation: The Trifold nature of Being*

Any living being has three parts to its existence, in an Asaeic sense. Those are Enape (The physical body/matter), Mona (the physical memories and sentiments), and Salya (the “Soul”). In the realm of Asaeic arts, the soul is by far the most important to comprehend.

**An introduction to Souls**

*The original word used for “Soul”* Salya *means the same in both High Aelic and modern Thian, thus it is always translated as “soul”.*

All living organisms and some inanimate objects in an Ael world possess souls. A soul exists mainly within the Aelic plane, however it is anchored to a material host and part of them. This occurs through an anchor point ill refer to as the “Soul Anchor”. Some of the most common anchoR points are the heart, eye, nape, and forehead for most animals. However they can appear anywhere in the body. The location of soul anchors in beings without these organs has not yet been fully documented, however they tend to focus on parts especially important to survival. Throughout the entirety of my research, there has never been a soul anchored to the brain of an organism.

*Aresen believe the Soul Anchor is the actual soul, and that Asa is stored within it as a form of energy.*

There are three main properties you should keep in mind about souls. Knowing these will most likely help you understand what exactly a soul is. The properties in question are:

1. Souls have shapes. These shapes are identical to spell shapes and the study of these soul shapes is what led to the creation of spell shapes. The most common shapes are the secondary base shapes Hapem, Maeya, Sao and Fuame.
2. Souls serve as links to the Asaeic plane, allowing Asa to be drawn into the material realm. The stronger the souls link between the planes is, the more Asa can pass through at any one time.
3. Souls attract Asa. The “Attraction” can be compared to physical gravity. The souls attraction allows it to store Asa. Unless there are vast differences in soul attraction, a soul will not attract Asa currently attracted to another soul.

There is one last property, however this one is a little bit of an odd one out.

1. Souls produce Asa over time. The type of Asa that is produced depends on the primary base shape of the soul.

Souls can be categorised as either Sanae (Breathing, Living), Isanae (Not Alive, Inanimate) or Keri (Dead). Which of these a soul pertains to is closely related to one last property. Sanae souls always abide by this property. They are producing Asa at the point of their inspection. Keri souls are former Sanae souls. They once produced Asa, but now they no longer do so. Unlike when a mortal dies, the Souls are not bound to eternal state of Keri. Given the right circumstances they may once again breathe. Isanae souls are ones who have been created artificially, or at least reside with in an inanimate object. It is widely believed that Isanae souls never produce Asa, however this is not true. While rare, there are Sana Isanae souls. Which may sound like a contradiction and is a pain to say. I have dubbed these Aenis (active) Isanae Souls.

The nature of a souls connection to a physical body may cause the physical aspects of the a being’s Psya to imprint themselves onto the soul. Depending on how strong the link is, it is possible for the Mona and the soul to become one and the same. The nature of the soul, in other words its precise shape, can also affect the Mona of the being. After the host of a soul dies, it is not uncommon that it finds another host. The imprint of previous host Mona may manifest itself in the new host through subconscious knowledge, memories with uncertain origin, or dreams. If, however, the Soul carries a large portion or the entirety of the Mona of a previous host, it may be able to imprint itself fully upon the new host.

If this happens at an early stage, where the host’s own Mona hasn’t fully developed, the host merely adapts and absorbs traits of the soul Mona. However,

If the Soul Mona imprints itself in later stages of life, there can be a couple of stipulations. The host may reject the idea of having an entire life worth of Mona, or the personalities of the hosts are too different. This can lead to behaviour similar to schizophrenia. The Soul Mona and the physical Mona remain entirely separate. Depending on which Mona controls the host, the host acts differently and has different memories.

Other cases involve the Mona forming dual personalities, yet only one manifests as the dominant character. The other may remain hidden or be able to communicate with the new Mona. However, all situations in which the Mona of an individual is split between Soul and Physical, only the Mona within the Soul was able to cast spells or was in any way sensitive to Asa. The Soul Mona remaining entirely inactive while still present is one of the main causes for Asa insensitive individuals.

Lastly, it is possible that both Mona combine to form a single individual. This occurrence is highly rare, as the factors leading up to the situation are very uncommon on their own; A Soul carrying a full Mona, the manifestation of this Mona only later in life, the similarity between the Mona, and the Host Mona having the capacity to absorb. The exact outcomes of this have never fully been documented, however I presume the connection to the Asaeic plane and thus their Asaeic potential to be incredible.

**General Asaeic Manipulation**

Here it is, the basis of what is now commonly known as “Spells”(Aera). This, and its extensions, is what is commonly understood when one talks about the Asaeic Arts.