Mana Rupture
“Mana in its purest form is entirely neutral in its energy. After the long history of Torlas, however, there is very little uninfluenced Mana to be found...”Mana Ruptures are, as they sound, explosions of Mana that create chaotic, random effects and leave any magic-sensitive person in the vicinity reeling and dizzy. Some Ruptures are completely destructive, others completely creative, others completely cosmetic, but most are a dizzying mix. Even those that seem harmless at first glance can turn out to have grimmer consequences; stories around about green hair that turned out to be poisonous to anyone else, or a tall, strangely beautiful structure that took all the resources to build from under the ground and eventually the entire clearing collapsed into the depths of the earth.
Manifestation
Mana Ruptures are colourful events that move outwards from the place of initial rupture like a shockwave. The visual and physical effects depend on the mana-influences involved, as does the size of the event, but anybody within a few miles is going to be aware of it, especially if they're mana-sensitive.
Localization
While Mana Ruptures can technically occur anywhere there is mana, they tend to be found more in Mana-dense environments such as the Kandar Wastelands, the Polar Coast, or the Ambora Mountain Range. It can also be triggered by Phantasia Delirium in innate magic-users in situations where their mana is not compatible with that in the environment.
Mechanisms
Laymen often understand Mana Ruptures as something akin to a geyser, a build-up of energy released all at once. While this is technically accurate for what is referred to as Type A Ruptures by Curadas researchers and oil-fire Ruptures by Kandar, this is a quite rare form of Ruptures only found in particular Mana-dense areas where the Mana is almost all one influence. To truly understand the nature of Mana Ruptures, the nature of Mana itself must first be understood. Laymen, of course, can usually at least distinguish between Wildspinner and Thaumaturge and Gifted, but even those who are untrained and use magic have an instinctive understanding of Mana that goes far beyond this. In simple terms, all mana started uninfluenced and neutral. Since magic is cast by drawing Mana through your body and shaping it with your intentions and personality, it retains a small amount of that energy, almost like a memory. If the same kinds of magic are cast a lot in an area, the mana in that area becomes saturated with what is called an influence. Influences are described by different magic-users in different ways on different axis depending on their own experiences, but can be broadly understood as elemental. Magic-users can tell if the mana in the area has been used to create a lot of fire, do a lot of healing, manipulate the clouds, etc.Type A Rupture
Type A Ruptures are caused by large amounts of mana in an area being activated by an influx of mana from a supplementary influence. They are called oil-fire by Kandar as it is described by them as a similar effect to pouring oil on a fire, or how winds blowing can feed a wildfire -- the supplementary injection of mana sparks a self-feeding reaction where the two mana influences react to each other until one is neutralized by the reaction to the point that the Rupture can no longer sustain itself and subsides. These can be caused by a magic-user in Phantasia Delirium, but is most often found in mana-dense areas where otherwise normal occurrences that cause movement of mana, such as storms, floods, or fires, move larger amounts than you would find elsewhere and cause this response in some occasions.Type B Rupture
Type B Ruptures are more comparable to the hot and cold winds of a tornado feeding it, or as the Kandar name suggests oil-water, pouring water on an oil fire. The clash of two such differently influenced Mana streams causes an explosive and destructive reaction, both trying to overwhelm the other and dominate the area with their own influence. These type of Ruptures tend to continue for an extended period of time as it depends on the balance of power between the involved influences remaining relatively equal and they tend to weaken at the same pace. Type B Ruptures are the most common and can occur in a far broader range of areas than Type A; they can be found in mana-dense areas, but can also be triggered in less dense but more sharply influenced areas. Even short-lived Type B ruptures can be started by dumping of the wrongly influenced Mana in the wrong place. It is worth mentioning that many people, including a number of the particularly mana-sensitive Kandar, theorise that the Kandar Everstorms are some kind of self-sustaining Type B Rupture.Type C Rupture
A Type C Rupture, rather amusingly called an idiot-fire by the Kandar, occurs when an inexperienced magic-user makes the decision to try and neutralise an existing Rupture instead of letting it sort itself out, adding to the mana in the mix. Type C Ruptures usually end up with a mix of the causes of Type A and B Ruptures, and are much more volatile and long-lasting.
Type
Metaphysical, Arcane
