Energy Manipulation Overview

The Enmanities

All things in Leland have an inherent, metaphysical energy to them in addition to the naturally occurring physical energies associated with the physical world. Humans and animals alike are born with the ability to sense and manipulate certain types of these energies in certain ways. This type of ability is referred to as an enmanity. It is important to note that with the exception of sound-related abilities, humans are incapable of creating these energies themselves. They must rely solely on what energy is available to them, though it may be converted or otherwise changed depending on the type of energy.

Types of Energy Manipulation

Enmantic Evolution

It is believed that the enmanities as they are known today evolved over many millennia of unrecorded history. It is likely that the first to evolve were Flora and Geonature, given their connection to the physical world, though some scholars believe that Light would have evolved around the same time if not shortly thereafter. Composition, Flux, Melody, and Aura likely evolved as humans began making technical discoveries and forming social groups. All of these enmanities have been documented in other species besides humans, though the evidence for Aura is considered shaky in some circles. The general consensus between scholars is that Persuasion was the last of the enmanities to evolve due to it only being documented in humans.

Many scholars agree that a new enmanity may manifest as life itself continues to evolve.

Manifestation

The age at which a child manifests their enmanity is dependent on both the individual child and their type of enmanity, though this is usually between the ages of four and eleven. Generally, enmanities associated with the physical (Flora, Geonature, Composition) manifest the earliest. A twice-gifted child will manifest their enmanities independent of one another, sometimes years apart.

Inheritance

Enmanities are inherited matrilineally. A child will only manifest an enmanity present somewhere in the mother's blood line. A father will pass the potential for his enmanity (and those present in his bloodline) onto his child who will in essence act as a carrier for it. Enmanities can lay dormant for generations, sometimes being completely forgotten until they suddenly reappear.

Enmanities and Society

Identification

Pre-Queendom Period

Prior to the formation of the Queendom of Leland, cultures had their own traditions for testing, celebrating and identifying individuals in relation to their enmanities.

Most simply allowed for the child to manifest in their own time and celebrated accordingly, but others took manifestation as a sign that a child was ready for a particular test or trial. In Sinconan culture, a child manifesting their enmanity was a sign that they were eligible to complete their coming-of-age survival test, a tradition still practiced to this day.

There was no universal system that was understood across all cultures for identification, but some were prolific enough that they were recognizable to outsiders. The Reicaro wore beads of a particular color as hair adornment depending on their enmantiy. The Cesnockwe tattooed three leaves on the base of a herbator's thumb.

Queendom Period

The Queendom Period saw the introduction of universal testing to determine a person's enmanity and an accompanying tattoo system to identify a person's enmanity on sight. At the age of twelve a child was required to submit for aptitude testing and be officially registered based on the results. They would be tattooed by specially trained efflucists under the left ear in black ink unless the individual was a member of the Golden Noble class, in which case their tattoo would be done in gold ink.

The unintended consequence of this universal system was the creation of an unspoken hierarchy based on a person's enmanity. Imperants already had a strangle hold on political power and walked in the highest of social circles, but the remaining enmanates struggled amonngst themselves to be seen as better than the rest. The metaphysical enmanities were generally held in higher regard than the physical enmanities. Entandnels saw the worst treatment under this system, suffering discrimination and often being forced into slums in larger cities.

At the fall of the Queendom, this system was the downfall of the Golden Noble class. If it weren't for their tattoos they would have been able to blend in with other enmanates and potentially avoid the violence of anti-imperant hostility. Instead, both the imperant and non-imperant of the Golden Noble class were easily identified, rounded up, and executed in large numbers.

Leland Confederacy

In modern Leland, the Confederacy requires all children to submit for aptitude testing at the ages of four, seven, and eleven. Even if a child shows an enmanity during earlier testing, they must continue to be tested in the event that they are twice-gifted. In the event that a child manifests after the age of eleven they can submit for voluntary testing. Someone who contracts Regifted Syndrome may also submit for testing regardless of age once they have recovered from the initial infection. The result of this testing is registered with the local municipal clerk who shares the information with the registrar's office in Deamei City.

The Confederacy has no legal requirement that an individual's enmanity be identifiable on sight, but some parts of the country follow cultural traditions that make it obvious, such as herbators of Cesnockwe descent in Cesland. In some places there still exists a social hierarchy related to enmanities, but it is much less prevalent than it was during the Queendom Period.

Education

While general education is compulsory, the curriculum does not include enmantic studies. Instead, this is left up to parents and communities to decide how children should be taught to use their enmanities. Some parents choose to teach enmanities at home, especially those whose livelihood or family identity is tied to their enmanity, such as an apothecary run by a family of sanosceanes. Some community schools offer after-school programs where volunteers work with children on their enmanities. Tutors can be hired, a popular choice when a child manifests an enmanity that isn't common in the area and no one else in the family possesses it. This can be a lucrative profession for enmanates who enjoy traveling. Private schools that incorporate enmantic studies into their curriculums are also an option, and some of the most elite of these schools focus on a specific enmanity.

Further education is also an option if an individual wishes to further pursue their enmanitic studies past a basic understanding. Universities offer programs in broad disciplines as well as specializations in techniques like yunography. Apprenticeships in certain enmantic disciplines is common as well, particularly in fabricant, constructive, and amperant Geonature.

Professions

There are a number of enmanity-specific professions, some of which require specialized training or certification. Maintenance workers on a channeled rail system must be aggregants, specifically familiar with amperant Geonature. A clejador, while historically a position reserved for a leader's most trusted visaurant advisor, must be properly licensed in order to protect all parties from liability. Herbators can easily find work in areas with a booming agricultural industry.

While there are certain professions that require a person to possess a particular enmanity, a person's ability to find work is not determined solely by their enmanity. In fact, many people take on roles that have nothing to do with their enmanity. A non-meledere singer can be just as popular as a cantanere. A non-compisceane is just as capable of working in a kitchen as an escasceane.

Terminology

enmanity | n. energy manipulation ability

enmanate | n. someone who possesses an energy manipulation ability

enmantic | adj. related to the enmanities

entandnel | n. someone who possesses no measurable enmanity but is still susceptible to the enmanities of others

descandnel | n. someone who possesses no measurable enmanity and is not susceptible to the enmanities of others

twice gifted | adj. used to describe someone who possesses two enmanities

double dip | n. slang term for someone who is twice gifted

thrice gifted | adj. used to describe someone who possesses three enmanities due to complications from Regifted Syndrome

energy slippage | n. the tendency of the energy within an object or flow to return to its natural state over time after being manipulated

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Enmanity Manifestation Rates
(including twice-gifted)
In the Leland Confederacy
Geonature: 24%
Flora: 23%
Light: 16%
Composition: 15%
Flux: 11%
Melody: 9%
Entandnel/Descandnel: 6%
Aura: 2%
Persuasion: <1%

Enmantic Color Associations

• Aura: Silver/Black
• Composition: Orange
• Flora: Blue
• Flux: Purple
• Geonature: Green
• Light: White
• Melody: Red
• Persuasion: Gold/Yellow