Vaeneths (VAY-neth)
These weren't just questions — they were questions whose answers could be truly dangerous. Because if, even for just a moment, her will aligned — what would happen, really? Something bad, she knew that. Something that people still spoke in hushed whispers about in dark corners of the orphanage.
So she forced herself to remember all the ways that her plan could go wrong, all the reasons this glamourised prison wasn't really all that bad. She hated it — but nothing was worth going over to the dark side.
And so we come to Vaeneths. For better or for worse, Vaeneths have a will far stronger — far purer — than others. They are those who can feel the Vaelith. Using their will, Vaeneths can take hold of the Vaelith to manipulate elements themselves.
But just as one could be more inclined towards seeing than hearing, Vaeneths are of different kinds — of different Affinities. Some manipulate light, others heat. It is for this reason that Vaeneths are not all powerful — being able to dim the lights will do nothing when faced with a dark room of untold dangers, and sparking a fire would be futile in a flood. So yes, Vaeneths can do far more than humans can. But at the end of the day, they are still mere mortals — mortals who can alter the sea of the Vaeneth.
Radiant, Heat, Mechanical, Electrical, Nuclear, Chemical, Gravity
Purity
What kind of person lives without contradiction? Only the mad, or the divine.
They say purity isn’t goodness. It’s will without contradiction — intent unbroken by doubt. The world does not reward the kind or the cautious. The Vaelith listens only to those who know what they want so completely that nothing inside them disagrees.
Conjuring
Absence frightens them. They stare into the void and never remember they are meant to speak to it.
Vaeneths can amplify, manipulate, even alter some features of the elements, yet in darkness, the will finds nothing to hold on to. In the absence of light, they cannot illuminate.
Thus, only the very purest of minds — such that have not been recorded at the beginning of the narrative — can Conjure. Minds that need no proof of existence to harness their elements.
Most Vaeneths weaken even when the force of energy that their Affinity deals in is not in abundance. Their minds see the absence, and associate it with their own weakness — and when success depends on absolute faith in one's power and intent, that thought becomes their downfall. By their own reasoning, what weight do they hold when the very thing they command — simply isn't there?
Limits of Manipulation
The Vaelith can be, in principle, used over an infinite area.
The Vaelith draws upon willpower. As such, the Vaelith can only harness elements within the bounds of an area that the Vaeneth is aware of, and consciously attempts to manipulate.
Regular Vaeneths reach this limit at approximately 25 feet — the typical sphere of human situational awareness. This varies based on the purity and strength of will, thus the belief of a possibly infinite area of manipulation.
The Two Keys
Two gates must open: the seed within, and the storm without.
Being a Vaeneth means two crucial things — having the Potential to be a Vaeneth, and experiencing an Awakening. Only those who have the Potential could ever be Vaeneths — try as they may, others would only be aligning their wills in vain.
However, having the Potential does not guarantee being able to touch the Vaelith. The Awakening is the moment the Vaelith's true power is revealed, a moment that disperses the mist to connect them with the unique depths of their power.
This is part of the reason that being a Vaeneth is so rare. Potential is random, and even those who have it may live their whole lives without an Awakening — power to touch the very sea that flows through the veil of reality... never being channelled.
Potential
Not every spark becomes a flame. Some hearts hold the tinder, yet never catch the fire. Only those touched by the sea before knowing themselves may rise.
Potential to be a Vaeneth means only one thing — that a human may, at some point in their lives and the key word being 'may', be able to touch the Vaelith.
Potential comes from two crucial elements — one out of a human's control, and entirely random, and the other a function of how they think.
The first is the moment of their birth. An infant must be touched by the Vaelith before they begin forming their own opinions — before they are sentient, and begin to have will. The Vaelith is subtly imprinted by the infant, a tiny give in its flow where the baby exerts pressure on the Vaelith.
Detecting this imprint, whether during infancy or after, is impossible. Multiple Vaeneths have attempted to see the Vaelith during this birth of a likely candidate, but have never reliably predicted it's Potential, or lack thereof.
The other factor that gives a human Potential is the alignment of their will. Some humans are naturally inclined to think one-dimensionally — a process that acts as an asset when requiring pure will. A subtle coherence in their thinking which may never prove useful in their lives is the final step to having Potential — but has one crucial difference from an imprint at birth.
While immensely difficult and time-consuming, having an aligned will is not, contrary to popular belief, something that is decided only by bloodline. While some naturally find their intents clear, it is possible through years of training and strict mental practices to develop a habit of thinking laterally.
What most do not realise, however, is that having Potential is the easier step to being a Vaeneth.
The Awakening
In the moment when all thought collapses to one truth, the world bends — not to you, but with you.
The Awakening of one with Potential is the push over the ledge that sends someone tumbling into the Vaelith. It's the event that makes the Vaelith aware of one's power, and finally lets them manipulate it to their heart's desire — quite literally.
This is the singular, usually most important, shaping event of a Vaeneth's life — it's their moment of most power, and shapes them forever, giving them memories, the ability to touch the Vaelith, and their Affinity.
An Awakening is not bound to any one kind of situation — it is as varied as the fish in the sea, and is unique to every one person. There are only three criteria for an occasion to unexpectedly turn into an Awakening.
It must be a life-threatening event, or close. It must be emotionally intense and break down most mental walls of the Vaeneth in question. And it must cause a total realignment of their will — only one singular thought should fill their mind, aimed at one singular goal. The moment, perhaps, when their will is Purest.
It is at this point that most humans, try as may may for their whole lives to keep will divided, get submerged in the overwhelming need to stay alive. The Vaelith notices, of course it does — an individual with Potential, at their most defenseless moment, in desperate need of an alteration of events.
And so it reacts — the Vaeneth touches the Vaelith for the first time, but this time, the Vaelith does not wait to be manipulated. It responds of its own will, harnessing the elements on its own to answer the impressive will of this human on the brink of death.
An Awakening is usually the most important shaping event of a Vaeneth's life — it reveals their Affinity, gives them the push so they can finally manipulate the Vaelith, and is predominantly the largest manipulation of forces of nature they'd ever cause.
In fact, it is commonly believed that the level of pure will achieved during an Awakening can never again be reached — even during a Vaeneth's true death — and some say that an Awakening is so powerful that the Vaeneth manipulates the Vaelith across layers — across Affinities.
Cultural Reception
The world recoils from certainty. It fears those who know their own hearts, and in that fear, it turns its back.
Vaeneths were treated as if they were lepers, not spoken to, not heard, not even looked at. It started with looks. With judgemental glances at those who suddenly made a light shine brighter. With whispered conversations about the 'house down yonder.' The one everyone knew never paid the electricity bills. It grew worse with time, like entropy of stigmas.
Over time, Vaeneths retreated from the rest of the world. They were shunned and despised for manipulating the Vaelith in a way other humans could not. It was said that people were terrified of the lack of contradiction in one's will that manipulating the Vaelith required. These warnings came from the same people who attempted for years on end to attain that purity of intent themselves. Once they discovered the true nature of such will, they condemned it.
Years passed, and slowly, no Vaeneths roamed the streets of Thalra. Society, meanwhile, turned, as one, to the possibility of suppressing their own will. They didn't truly dislike the idea of holding such power — some may even have wished for it on hard days. Their true terror of manipulating the Vaelith grew from the idea that if they did... they'd instantly be one of them.
Cultural Myths
✧ In Theory? ✧
-neth those shaped by / tempered through: Old-English suffix
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