Energy Magic

Summary

Energy magic, also known by its common ancestral name of lightning magic, is an unusual art dedicated to the creation, manipulation, and utilization of mana in a high-energy state. It is the natural evolution of fire magic, although independently arriving at energy magic is also a possibility. While most mages train into the magic, some exceptions are born with an affinity toward it. These natural born ones typically take on characteristics of lightning (hence the name), but some may be closer to night stars and other phenomena.
Often considered the ultimate destructive force, energy magic has long been the envy of the power hungry and the dominating. Thus, much of the history of the art form is dedicated toward military needs, and its more civil applications have languished. With the ever increasing advent of technology, however, energy magic has come to be regarded under a different light. Particular types of smithing, forging, and engineering have come to demand it in order to create new materials, or realize exotic designs. In this way, energy magic has turned into a spearhead of innovation and a curious source of study. As it stands currently, many energy mages live in a state of flux, with most still ending up in military circles.

Effect

Energy magic concerns energy, principally in the form high-intensity power such as lightning. The art form allows one to create energy beams, electrical arcs, condense it into a smaller explosive form, and other highly volatile states.

Side/Secondary Effects

A common side effect is the intense heat produced by energy magic; the highly destructive 'beams' aside, they can radiate skin-scorching heat at close distances, making near-misses still fairly harmful. Controlling this excess heat is an important hallmark of an energy mage, as they can quickly succumb to its effects as well if they do not handle it. It is said the greatest ones produce no heat at all, obtaining 'perfect' control over energy itself.

Manifestation

One notable property of energy magic is its transient nature--high-energy mana dissipates into lower energy forms fairly quickly. Thus, similar to fire magic minus the rampant blazes, it is sustained by its respective mage and vanishes otherwise. The actual color and form of the magic varies, though it is often visually bright/blinding, with a radiating orange-red color reminiscent of fire. Some variants exhibit blue, teal, gold, and crimson, though overall this is more a visual difference than one of strength.

Source

Internal mana; it is conceivably possible to extract ambient energy from intense sources, such as sunlight and ongoing fires. However, these function more to 'kickstart' an energy mage, and once actual energy magic is ongoing, virtually all their magic is drawn from them alone. It is very rare to find anything in nature on Veltrona that can actually supplement them. Thus far, lightning is the only known occurrence, hence energy mages are their strongest during great storms.