Concepts

Under construction! This page is a lexicon as well as an introductory primer to some concepts in Terra lore.

= FAQ =

Auraflow: of or relating to the flow of aura through all of Terra, especially 1Terra's lifecycle or 2the flow of aura through Terra's lifeforms.

Auratic: of or relating to aura, esp. that which is powered by it.

Aurite: of or relating to a category of aura-rich antimonial mineral found deep within Terra's crust, generally associated with Yue Machina and the Yue Empire for being known as its pioneers.

Aurometer: A broad term for devices that can measure aura, such as measuring ambient aura in certain areas, of auratic machines, or a person's auraflow, which is sometimes referred to as "battle power" in the output of such devices.

Eikon: Primal fragments of the first aurasource which were the first beings to roam Terra and live as they chose. See eikons for more info.

Things of Note
do people use cars

= Overview = bla bla bla

Aura
Aura is a source of life and magic on Terra. As an omnipresent energy that flows all through the planet, aura can be found in not just living beings - be it man, animal or plant - but the air around them and the ground they walk on. When a new life comes into the world, it is born with a specific concentration of aura, some stronger than others. As such, it can be taken that a young and healthy being would have a better aura concentration than an aging, or corrupted one.

When aura leaves a being's body entirely, this is a phenomenon known as death. A dead person's aura scatters into the earth through the currents of Terra, where it will eventually seek reuse. This cycle, maintained by the planet since the beginning of time, is vital to Terra and its people.

Like a five-sided prism, Aura can be divided into five elements that make up one whole - fire, lightning, water, earth, and air. The whole is not considered to have an elemental aspect, so it is referred to as just "aura". The elements that make up Aura can be said to influence nature. For example, in areas of the world where the ambient aura leans towards the fire element, incredibly dry and hot climates can result, like deserts. The same can be said to an extent of lifeforms, such as plants and animals in an area as well; one such example would be when drakin possess elemental aspect and take on traits needed to carry on life. Outside of these five elements and their respective applications (ice from water, for example) there are no other elements.

There is, however, something that is known as auratic charge. Auratic charge is an exceedingly uncommon phenomenon that is exhibited when external forces influence aura. Though it is impossible to change the fundamental structure of aura, the leading theory is that when certain influences are exerted, the resulting corrupted energy is something that may be difficult to recognize as aura. When aura undergoes auratic charge, the availability of its original elements diminish to the point where they are nearly inaccessible. This has helped, for example, advance the application of Aether in technology, but may also mean dangerous pollution for the planet. Terra typically rejects aura that has been subject to auratic charge from passing through its earth.
 * Aether is highly astral aura which takes on celestial properties. As if the noise of an ancient universe had overexposed it, it is pure white.
 * Vual is Vual-tainted aura, and a highly unstable and dangerous energy. Due to the prevalence of Vual bleeds, auratic charge resulting in corrupted Vual energies has also become a well-known phenomenon.
 * Sin is a form of corrupted auratic energies made for one purpose: to destroy. Engineered by Lucifer, they are a product of enmity which are even more difficult to use than other products of auratic charge. But, they are highly destructive.

Though there are only the five elements, many years of development and exposure have resulted in a large variety of auratic technniques. Aura manipulation is one broad subset of these techniques, though it is not the only one. When aura is manipulated in a way that its result deviates from natural phenomenon, this is known as Magic.

Non-living or inanimate things, such as machines and other objects, can still possess trace amounts of aura from their surroundings, and in some cases are even powered by aura. However, they are not a part of the circulation of aura in the way that Terra and her children are; and so could not be considered to be truly alive. There has been much speculation about this matter in academia to date, and it is still not fully clear.

Soul
Man is made different from its kin by its soul. On a more abstract scale, a soul is the capability of greater free choice and thought, and the possession of unique individuality and self which alters each person's auraflow in a special way. It is said that the first beings with this consciousness were the eikons, born themselves from shards of the aurasource's raw will, which they departed primarily unto the greater races such as the aulin. But not every soul came to be at the hands of an eikon: elements of nature and fauna have come to possess souls on some occasion, pointing to it perhaps having become a greater quality of aura. Though the eikons were primal wisps of what is now called soul, the greater races are the largest example of living beings with developed souls.

Though auraflow exists everywhere without need for a soul, a soul cannot remain without a tie to the world in the form of auraflow - like a beating heart. When a person dies final death, when every last trace of aura has left their body, the soul, too, must depart along it. Because a soul is tied to the last of a person's aura but is typified by its own unique properties, it remains in the world if earthly ties still exist, such as the ancestral worship of it's descendants, strong grievances it had in life, etc. Summoners call these spirits.

In the before-times, these souls had nowhere to go, and when the air was still rich with ambient aura, they could be seen like a sea of lights in the nature without trying. They roamed the earth, becoming these wisps or possessing elements of nature and wildlife. Over time, due to the conscious nature of souls, the lack of a body and a source of consistent auraflow to guard them made them susceptible to the aura taint. As a result, many would naturally turn into monsters.

Furthermore, souls that remained on the earth built up overtime and began to deplete the health of the planet. Souls kept the aura of the dead from dispersing fully into Terra's auraflow. As such, the first ancient soothsayers came to exist. They created the soulstream, placed seals to keep out other beings and aura taint, and began to guide the wandering souls through it so that their aura could finally disperse and pass through the earths' core. Over time, the ancient soothsayers became tied to protecting the health of the planet and it's auraflow, and supporting the lifecycle, such as purifying aura corruption.