Soulfire

Inside each of us is a link to the pool of energy. Some are born with the ability to draw from that place, however, channeling the power, wears away your soulfire. Each person has a finite amount of soulfire. One it is gone, the soul withers away, and does not pass to the realms beyond. It is a final death. This is most common in Hedge Mages, and other primitve arcane users, who use thier power, not knowing that it is slowly killing them. Some say there are ways to use another's soulfire. Either by choice or not. Some witches can perform rituals to steal another person's soulfire and use it, keeping it it totems, or other strange places. They often choose the very young as they have the most soulfire. There are even roumors that a cabal of sorcerors, has found a way to pull soulfire from somone randomly. these sorcerors' power seeks out a being with strong soulfire, and uses it until they are used up. Then the power seek out another. The sorcerers do not even know who thier benifactor is, only that they will die, of seemingly no cause.