Ptychi

Ptychi is a form of magic that takes advantage of the art and practice of Origami and turns it into a way to cast spells. One of the Mystical Matrices in the greater arcana of the Manaformic Law, Ptychi is a powerful art that relies heavily on the shape and folds used for the creation of an Origami figure.

Manifestation

Ptychi requires the usage of Arcanic Paper, which is either created from the infusion of Mana within wood pulp in the manufacturing of paper OR producing paper from Everwood.

Ptychi works by the conversion of any and all folds made in the paper into energy that is then used up by the paper. Combine this with the intricate art of Origami, and you have a way to use various paper creations in many different ways of spellcasting. This includes: Fold Reversal, Paper Life, and Burncasting.

Fold Reversal

Fold Reversal is the most common and simpliest of Ptychi. Simply put, after the paper is enchanted with a spell and then folded into whatever shape is desired, all one has to do to trigger it is to make one unfold. This will trigger a process within the paper, resulting in it unfolding by itself, releasing all of the magic built up within it.

Paper Life

With the right enchantments placed within the paper, upon the completion of the Origami, it can come to life depending on what it is. From origami birds to cats, these living pieces of paper can act as long as they have mana within them-- with some practitioners of Ptychi often transferring mana from within them into the Ptychi. Some individuals will often spend an entire day crafting an entire army of birds, which can prove to be particularly effective.

Burncasting

Burncasting is often considered a way to quickly expel a massive amount of energy from Ptychi in a short amount of time, at the cost of the paper itself. After folding up the origami into the desired shape, the piece is then set on fire, with the result being that the magic cast afterward is a lot stronger than it was prior. The downside to this, of course, is that the paper is destroyed.

A brief history

A Stack of Arcanic Paper

The most common look of Arcanic Paper for Ptychi, with this stack having originated from Terra Eclipsis.

The art of Ptychi is ancient, having originated from Terra Eclipsis shortly after the end of the First Elven-Dragon War. Although magical scrolls and spellbooks were common in those days, the constant search for stronger ways of casting spells gave birth to a large variety of methods for magic. This is due to the discovery that an instrument of any sort for directing Mana results in stronger, more focused spells.

Although the origin of Ptychi is disputed, a common story goes that a noble following underneath one of the Karmas, speculated to be either The Knight or The Engineer; discovered his daughter making paper cranes out of a scroll for summoning lightning. When he took the folded-up scroll and tried to unfold it, a bolt of lightning suddenly launched out of the crane, strong enough to destroy the wall of his home. Although they both made it out okay, the experience left a mark on the noble, who would experiment with various different scrolls before eventually bringing his findings to the Karma.

Since then, the usage of this mystical form of Origami became heavily revered, eventually resulting in the discovery of the other two Mystical Matrices-- of which made use of simple physical laws to create powerful, magical contraptions and spells. When

The Bloom

occured on Earth, the usage of Ptychi-- which was only considered to be seen in the fringes of society in that realm thanks to a few elves having made their home on Earth, exploded in popularity.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane