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The Magic of Catah Salkiy Ethestras - The most powerful of all abilities is that which is possessed by salkiys. They do not refer to their abilities as magic, and get rather upset when others do so. Salkiys call their abilities the ethestras, and view them as gifts from the gods. Ethestras is like a force. All salkiys have an innate ability to sense and manipulate this force, but they do not innately know how to control their abilities, so they spend years learning this. All salkiys must have at least a rudimentary training in their abilities, because failure to have some control over them will result in a disease called lyheus which is fatal and claims its victims within a few years of contraction. A communicable, air-borne form of lyheus exists, though it is relatively rare. It is caused by a virus that disrupts certain genes responsible for the control of the ethestras. There is no cure for this virus and victims will usually die within a year of contraction. Ethestras is primarily elemental in nature. It is strongest in fire and water, and very weak in air. It has medium strength in earth. Well-trained salkiys can perform primitive mind-controlling and mind-reading spells, though this is another weak area. Salkiys excel at simple self-affecting cells, such as putting a shield around themselves. It takes more advanced knowledge to extend this to others. Most salkiys can physically change small features of their appearance, but very few are able to completely shape-shift into other creatures. Healing abilities are present but mediocre. Ekalap Ethestras - This is exactly like salkiy ethestras, though the form is different enough that ekalaps cannot learn salkiy abilities and vice versa. Ekalaps are strong and weak in the same areas as salkiys, though their relative strengths in the elements are different. Ekalaps are very strong in fire like salkiys, but weak in water. They are very strong in air, however. They, like salkiys, have mediocre control over earth. Healing Magic (Wyrtessian Magic) - This is a special form of magic that is only found in a race of humans called the Wyrtessians. These people are able to harness the natural magical force in the planet and in plants to use it for healing (or other, considerably more malevolent, uses). Very talented users can act as a conduit, taking magical energy into their bodies and then directly using it for some purpose. The only stipulation here is that he or she must be near high concentrations of magic. These magical "pools" exist all over the land, and the Wyrtessians have the ability to sense the presence of a nearby pool. Most others make potions infused with this energy in order to use the magic. Potion-makers can gather magic in places other than areas of high concentration, though this takes considerable concentration and talent. Furryms - Furryms don't actually have magic, but psychic abilities. They have mind-reading powers and telepathy, as well as telekinetic and pyrokinetic abilities. They can control minds to an extent. This is used mostly by Furrym priests that pretend to invoke the elements by making observers think they are seeing or feeling the presence of an element. Most Furryms keep to themselves, but many are priests of the Catah religion, where their abilities can be put to good use. They have no healing abilities. Group Magic - Some humans, specifically the Nicholeans and closely related races (Wyrtessians excepted, see above), can invoke simple elemental magic with forceful focus of their will. This must be done with a group of people, who often use chanting as a way to focus their will on a single purpose. It is most often used in Nicholean religious ceremonies, since it takes too much energy to be of much practical use. The practitioners of this type of magic believe they are conduits for the gods and that the abilities come from these gods, not from any innate talent within themselves. To use group magic, people must find areas of high magic concentration. They do not have the ability to sense the presence of these pools, but find and map them through trial and error. Fortunately, magical pools stay intact and in the same place for hundreds of years. Over time, places with high magical concentration have become sites for temples and shrines. Very few people are still alive who are able to perform this type of magic, and most have forgotten there is anything special about the sites of their temples. Healing abilities are minimal, but healing spells can be performed.
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