Mana

Mana is the life force of every creature in the Barren, a (usually) invisible power that is used in spellcasting and interaction with the magical forces of the world.

Biological Relations

A soul passively generates mana which is spread through the body using mana lines that follow the bloodstream of all creatures. Something that should be known about the Barren is that everything can be explained with magic such as the example of the bloodstream, they don't exist to carry oxygen but to spread mana, creatures still breathe to obtain oxygen but it instead keeps only the heart pumping, the brain doesn't contain the memories or personality of the creature (the soul does) instead its how the soul is expressed through the body.

Ghosts

When a creature dies the soul remains, and if the soul is powerful enough it can continue producing mana. The mana still looks for a bloodstream to follow, but because there's non the mana spreads wide across where it thinks the skin is looking for the missing veins, resulting in an ethereal form known as a ghost.

Natural Relations

Innaminate objects also have mana, just of their own variety. Though objects don't have souls they do still function like parts of the body (or realm in their world). For example, for a realm to continue to exist (or live) it needs every part of it to receive an even amount of mana like creatures. But realms don't have blood? That's where river spirits come in, creating rivers and bodies of water that act like the realm's veins. As a result, water that hasn't lost its mana and joined the ocean (called freshwater) is rich in mana, and is why it's a staple in the life of creatures as typically the mana that the soul produces alone isn't enough to keep the body alive, requiring them to receive mana from drinking this water.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane