Ambient Magic

Magic used to be all around us, and in some places in the world you can still find it. There you can feel magic in its purest form.
The magic used by people filtered by their nature, be they human, birdkin, or rabbitkin. Ambient magic on the other hand... Its the closest thing I've felt to the magic of the gods themselves, be they good or ill.

— Lecturer at Yiselxà Academia

Ambient magic is the magic present in nature. Whether one looks at the air, stone or the sea all inanimate objects are infused with at least a little magic. All magical creatures draw upon this field to some extent, some indirectly. Sentients or Monsters convert it directly into their mana, an approach more commonly known. On the other hand, some plants may draw it in from the water along with other nutrients, making the plant magical just by being in the right spot.

Manifestation

Field Types

Ambient magic comes in several forms depending on the surroundings. There are two 'base' forms of magic that all magic breaks down to: ether and void magic. The general effect of a ambient magic field comes from the percentages of these two.

The safest kind of ambient magic is a 50/50 mix of ether and void. Here, the ill effects of both magics are balanced out by each other, leaving a neutral field of magic. People prefer living in areas with this sort of magic, but unfortunately, among other things, the Starfall destroyed most of these areas.

Secondly, there is high ether/low void magical fields. Very common in the modern age, this type rarely does anything unless in high concentrations. If the density is high enough, the ether magic can shut down the systems of anything living over time, right down to the plants. Only a Monster produced from pure magic could live in this long term.

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Ether Magic

Ether is essentially a stabilizer. It can't do much on its own, but is still dangerous to non-magical systems. Ether is found most in inanimate matter, rather than living creatures.

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Void Magic

Void magic is chaos, infinite possibilities. While having more options than its opposite, its nearly impossible to control and often rough on biological systems.

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Third, a low ether/high void magic, which is commonplace in the Wastelands. High void fields are the most well known and the easiest to see the consequences of. While a high ether could produce pure magic Monsters, only high density void magic produces the mutated Monsters than are seen across the continent.
All magical fields are somewhere along this scale, one way or another.

Field Density

The second form of categorization for magical fields is about their density. Known as Mertush's Scale, the ranking starts at zero and goes to ten. At zero, no magic at all is present in the area. Only one place with this sheer lack of magic has been recorded, and the magic has since recovered to a one on the scale. At one to three, minimal to small amounts magic is present. Four to six was the average density before the Starfall. At seven and above, animals are at risk for turning into monsters. At eight and above, Mana Poisoning is a real threat to the average human adult.
Once the density reaches ten, the local environment is at the point of saturation. At this point magic will either form Monsters, or crystallize into a Dungeon's core. Dungeon cores anchor the magical field and keep it from dissipating naturally. With the magic unable to leave, excess magic will either change the environment around it, or go into the core, making it larger.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane

Examples

• Wastelands: 10 ether/90 void; 8-10 D
• Paiynion Cave: 90 ether/10 void; 8-9 D
• Vashes Desert: 30 ether/70 void; 5-7 D
• Lemikkâgi Island: 70 ether/30 void;3-5D
• The Midlands: 60 ether/40 void; 2-4 D
• Ràpà̃j Peninsula: 70 ether/30 void; 1-3 D