Scarred Ash

Scarred Ash is very small and flaky, though it can quickly grow into massive sizes depending on the amount of it that accumulates over time. Although it may appear gray to one's perspective, in reality Scarred Ash has no actual color-- the brains of most living things throughout the realms have to fill in the blanks of what it actually is, so that they can easily understand what it looks like. Even those whom have the ability to "see" the extra dimension of reality struggle with seeing the true form of Scarred Ash, despite being able to see things such as the color Devoidia.

Staring at Scarred Ash for extended periods without breaks in visual processing will result in the mind further trying to figure out what it is, only to get it completely wrong-- oftentimes imagining vastly different colors or even shapes around it. Alongside that, areas around Scarred Ash will appear as though it's de-saturated, losing their color the closer it is to the Ash.

Photography and recordings of Scarred Ash have not proven any better in trying to view it. In either case, the effect would be the same as if you shone a laser into the lens of the camera: A heavy amount of distortion and noise, with the end result often displaying nothing but pure white in the place of where the Scarred Ash is.

Prolonged exposure to Scarred Ash is considered hazardous to the health of those around it. Due to it's nature as once being Mana, Scarred Ash effectively acts as a drain on energy around it, absorbing it in an attempt to gain back it's previous luster. Unfortunately, the amount of energy needed for it to become Mana again is very high. As a result, it often drains all of the energy from it's environment. This often results in:

Although it comes from the loss of all energy within Mana, Scarred Ash ordinarily was rare to see in a world before The Withering. This was due to the fact that the sheer amount of energy found within Mana is plentiful, enough that even if it had to regain some of it's power from nature and those who wield Mana, it could do so without too much loss. Of course, as with many things, that changed come The Withering.

All Mana across the realms has seen a significant loss in strength and power. This has simultaneously resulted in the need for more Mana to be used in magical artifacts and spell-casting, as well as the need to feed it more energy lest it runs out quick. When the spark is gone from one's stores of Mana, all that's left is Ash, feeding off of the life-force and environmental energy around it in an attempt to get it back.

In the aftermath of The Withering, when all was said and done, the skies above the realms were completely engulfed by massive amounts of Scarred Ash, with most of it raining down onto the surface and the rest of it blocking out communications between satellites, space stations, and the Lunar Station 1221-RUSH. On occasion, the Scarred Ash will drift down in huge quantities, creating Ashen Storms, which continue to be a threat to this day, requiring the use of specialized cleaning devices and protected personnel to remove the ash from a location.

In an attempt to restore Scarred Ash to it's prior spark of magical energy, it is often collected and distributed to the nearest Mana Restorative Complex, often delivered through the use of Road Trains that have been heavily reinforced to prevent the draining of energy from that around it. As of the present, all efforts are being made to try and take Scarred Ash out of Terra Eclipsis anytime it pops up, due to certain groups such as The Kingdom using it as a weapon, dropping it over regions that they wish to conquer.

Although rare, there has been the occasional report of people whom have obtained a strange kind of thrill to viewing Scarred Ash. On online forums such as the White Rabbit Society, these people will get together and discuss/document what the Scarred Ash looks like for them on any given day; sharing tips and ideas on how to obtain and contain Scarred Ash for themselves & figuring out different ways to train and trick their mind into perceiving Scarred Ash in different ways. For a scant few, it borderlines on an obsession, as if their minds were trying to solve a puzzle on what it truly looks like, even at the risk of permanent disability or worse.