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(I wrote the original concept for the lore several years ago, it was pretty crappy but I linked it at the bottom for the sake of space) Credit to Kevin Walker, picture does not accurately depict the magic I thought it was slightly relevant though Before you is the journal of the aging, disgruntled Halfling known as Bolo Willowbottom. A hobbit of short height and notoriously short temper. The journal is bound in leather, held closed by a rusted lock. [sic] “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” Thoughts and Research “I had begun this journal several years ago based upon the thought of harnessing the pure mana of the void as a source of energy. I soon found it impossible, yet I feel as if I am on the verge of a breakthrough, something of interest to some mages, perhaps. The void, the driving life force of the planes of existence, a plane of infinite power. Yet, a plane of infinitely untapped power. The void is tied to every living thing in the universe, Elves, Uruks, Hobbits, even animals. Yet, it remains a plane of untapped potential and energy. The power of the void has manifested itself through our everyday lives, magic twisting and shifting the world around us, yet its potential is yet unrealized in the world. Throughout several years we have noticed strange events of the void coming into our world, adulterating the world around us. However, it has never been quite as prevalent to the eye of the people. Sure, we have evocation elements and physical manifestations from the void but even those soon disappear after they are conjured. Yet, we know the void can physically manifest energy in the outside world, it acts like a one way door on both sides, that which comes in does not go back. That that comes out kinda goes back in but not quite. I have realized that the power of the void, mana is simply a form of raw, untapped energy. The unrealized potential of its power is never seen, yet we can apply it to many situations. I began research late into last year, undergoing journeys of months to places far outside and met friend and foe along the way. I spoke to a void translocationist, asking him about a theory that I had come up with. Was it possible to evoke pure mana from the void? Could it be stable enough to sustain itself outside of the void? I quickly found that the answer was no, if pure mana did exist it would not be stable enough to manifest itself. However, this did lead to my last theory, the topic of what I currently write about. What happens when this energy does manifest itself? Some months later I found my interest piqued by a conversation I had overheard from a Caliphate Mage, a void node had appeared somewhere in the realm. I did not pursue out of the little knowledge I would even receive, if any about the rumor. I did however, travel to the Caliphate where I met the son of an old friend to the Halflings, Faiz. However, I also ran into the solution to my problem. Yes, this energy could exist on a theoretical scale but it could not manifest in a stable way. That is, it would immediately implode upon itself. This energy, even the smallest amount cannot sustain itself for more than a few mere milliseconds before ceasing to exist in our realm and implodes upon itself, but if that were all I could tell you, this journal would be much shorter I guess. However, what I found most interesting was that upon imploding upon itself it caused a disruption among solid, inanimate objects. In essence, the magic causes all objects to fall apart, the energy so great that the object cannot sustain themselves as a whole and turn to dust. This is what I found most interesting, wood and paper being turned to ash before my very eyes. However, this is not what I was interested in, the energy that was conjured was miniscule, smaller than the human eye could see yet caused destruction. My theory however, is that this energy cannot exist much larger than what I had been able to procure, the problem is I am afraid anything larger could become unstable and threaten our very existence, or worse. I will not publish this, I fear that I have found something that is out of the reach of the hands of men. Whoever does find it, I will be long dead, and yet I maintain distrust for this magic, will continue to experiment with it. I will continue destroying garbage, yet I fear that this magic has taken much a toll on my aging body. ~Elder Bolo Willowbottom, Elder of Lenfarthing, Elder of Willow Hollow, Elder of the Halfling People” Outline and Inner Workings A mysterious magic similar to that of void translocation it deals with the raw inner workings of the void itself. Disintegration is the transduction of energy from the void into the physical world through pure mana. Although little is known of the physical limits of it, the biggest limit of it being the user itself, the physical body incapable of bringing forth the mana needed for destruction. The energy made by the user is small yet powerful, taking a great deal of effort. Through direct contact of the body to the object, energy is evoked disrupting the charge of the bonds between objects themselves. As quickly as the energy appears it quickly implodes, moving through the object quite like a stone dropping into a still lake it moves through the object destroying all that it touches until it simply disappears, the energy and the catalyst simply ceasing to exist. Curious enough, the energy that manifests itself through the user cannot touch life itself, trees, animals, people, even the air itself cannot disintegrate the life force of people too great to be torn apart by the minute energy created. It is also well to note that this cannot destroy large objects or aurum, making it fairly useless when trying to siege walls or break through solid rock. Disintegration of an object requires the most intent focus, and takes large amounts of energy and care, mana being evoked puts immense amounts of stress and pressure on the heart of the user. The user must be of a stable mind and body. Ultimately, it is fairly useless in combat against large groups or skilled fighters. In short, it just isn’t practical to catch a sword and turn it into dust, and therefore it is a niche magic, useful for thieves, vagrants, and assassins hoping to catch their victims off guard. Casting Users can only cast when they are in direct contact with and understand the object that they are trying to destroy. They must feel the essence of the object, feel its inner power and make it known to them. Only then when they conjure mana will it turn to dust. It is quite impossible for the magic to be cast from a distance, the mana so short lived and exhausting to create in the physical plane that it simply is impractical for it to be cast in such a way. Like most magic, a connection to the void must be made, and the energy evoked into the object, this happens quicker than most magic, but is wildly ineffective as bigger, or denser objects are destroyed. The energy is created and implodes mere milliseconds after it comes into existence, the destruction would look almost instantaneous but would take place over a very miniscule amount of time. The magic relies on the manipulation of mana, and the user must maintain physical contact with the object, the energy would manifest in the hand of the caster after a brief period of focus. Final Thoughts I think I have hit most questions that would arise, and through my talks with Jistuma have tried to fit it into a niche part of roleplay, one where it would be simply, simpler for the person to instead learn a traditional combat magic. This magic fits most into the niche of defensive magic, or simply thievery magic, allowing people to break things, or rather disintegrate them. I think that it looks fairly useless to many people and quite frankly I have to disagree. I think that it fills a certain niche on the server where regular evocation and other arts simply don’t exist. This is the original concept I created many years ago, the writing is poorly reflective of what I thought the magic should be like as I was 13 at the time and yeah it's pretty crappy but give it a read anyways.