Vitae is the metaphysical particulate present in all things throughout the Nether Regions. Despite its omnipresence, few species are able to manipulate the vitae within them, let alone with the degree of precision that bones are capable of. For them, It is an instinctual exercise of autonomy akin to wielding a limb—a field of manipulable space-time through which they can impose their will on their surroundings.
Though normally imperceptible, small portions of the population are born with the ability to see vitae as if through a lens—one attuned to an overlapping higher plane. Among this exclusive demographic exists an even rarer mutation that allows one to impose their will on vitae outside of their own. They are referred to as ‘Mysdiks’ in Consociation Standard, though this moniker is only the latest in a procession of titles that span back across the ages and long dead tongues. As knowledge of the natural sciences advanced with time across societies, so too did the field of vitae arcana within erudite communities of savants and seers. That which blends the metaphysical vitae with the natural sciences is referred to as vitaeotech.
Knowledge of vitae is by no means the exclusive insight of a few, but its properties and functions remain an esoteric subject of study that is poorly understood by the masses. While the Nostrix led the race for most of known history, vitaeotech became commonplace in all the Nether Regions by the time of the Great War. Among the most ubiquitous of advancements are the use of vitaeic scanners—instruments that map the position and density of vitae within the devices’ field of view. When vitae is gathered and compressed in great quantities, it is capable of etiological apotheosis—the spontaneous genesis of matter. Thus far, it has been categorized into three discernible strains—each possessing remarkably unique properties
Within every living thing on the planet churns the motive force known as vix vitae. It is a bone’s own store of vix which they mold about themselves. While all beings are essentially wellsprings of it, bones can, through intense and acroamatic training, exponentially increase their ability to produce vix.
Bones with lensia vitaeica—the ability to see vitae with the naked eye, have been among the most competent warriors and scholars in history, possessing an edge over fellow bones that few can match. Fighting bones can see the shifting vitaeic body of their opponents—the ruya, informing their potential actions and betraying intent for those competent enough to exploit it. Bones with an inclination towards the arcane are able to directly view their subject of study; in fact, most early advancements in the fields of vitae arcana were made through direct observation by perceptive bones possessed of this ability.
While Mysdiks are exceedingly rare—with many furthermore choosing to remain aloof from their respective societies, those with the ability to manipulate vix are capable of frightfully awesome displays of power. From rendering bones inert, agitating their fields to the point of combustion, or miraculous acts of healing, Vix Mysdiks are feared and revered in equal measure—whichever reputation they deem fit to reify, if any.
Where vix acts as the motive force of a living vessel, the siol vitae within is the anchoring force through which interaction between the physical and the metaphysical is possible. It is inextricably woven into the fabric of a being’s vitaeic body—it encompasses the vix within in mimicry of the physical form, stretched over it like a membrane. While vix naturally regenerates, one’s supply of siol remains static upon sexual maturation.
Bones intuitively coalesce the siol within their ruya in asymmetric density—concentrating portions of it into single points so they can traverse, climb, grasp and launch objects in conjunction with vix. Despite the inability to increase it, with similarly hermetic training as the expansion of the motive force, one can dexterously redistribute and alter the properties of the anchoring force in orders of magnitude far beyond the average bone.
Adepts can manipulate the metaphysical density of their ruya, stopping the momentum of objects that come in contact with it—provided they can match or exceed the opposing force. This can be used offensively or defensively as both a mailed fist and the armor that enshrouds it. Siol Mysdiks have been observed to pass through objects as if they were not present, dissolve or rearrange them at a molecular level, and affect the density of the anchoring force within others—crushing them under the weight of their own ruya.
To see one’s ruya is to see them truly laid bare before you. There are schools of thought which teach that the ruya is the true self; the empyrean within seeking communion with the lower plane for reasons one can only muse on. While those bestowed with lensia vitaeica see the ruya of all things as luminous swirls of variegated particulate, few shine as brightly as the Utarii. The bones of Ultar stand apart for their prodigious strength and stamina, more so than any others; one look at their ruya aptly illustrates why. There has never been an instance of a mysdik born among their number in all of known history—such an occurrence would be a frightening prospect, indeed.
The current working axiom is that Vix and Siol function as extraplanar forces that overlap with and affect the physical plane, while viraa vitae presents much like an invader violently encroaching upon an isolated system—an entropic force that wreaks havoc upon natural order. This running theory is further substantiated by the fact that viraa is not ever-present within the Nether Regions, but exists instead in large, isolated swathes and concentrated pockets across the planet. Viraa is most heavily present on the islands of Nostrix, Vangor and sizable chunks of the Alean.
Ever predatory, viraa appears driven by a nigh-sentient compulsion to transubstantiate all it comes in contact with into a grotesque parody of its previous form—be it organic or inorganic. Viraa remains an inscrutable vector even among the cognoscenti, with the closest approximation to a body of knowledge surrounding its properties and potential applications resting almost exclusively within the ranks of the Boffin Manipulex of Nostrix—working principles they jealously immure from prying eyes. The dominance they display in this field is speculated to be the result of the successful integration of viraa into vitaeotech. Despite its volatile interactions with opposing vitaeic forces, it has the potential to greatly boost the performance and output of these systems in comparison to their extra-national counterparts.
Viraa is not a force to be harnessed so much as it is the harness—parasitically enmeshing itself to a host and drastically altering it from its baseline in often execrable ways. It terraforms its surroundings when present in great quantities, capable of causing violent tectonic upheaval or the spawning of bizarre organic growths that defy explanation from seemingly nothing. Overwhelming saturation of viraa within an area is just as likely to destabilize cellular bonds as it is to induce monstrous levels of cell growth to appalling effect. Coupled with this is an observable phenomenon known as viraathropy—a type of psychosis that afflicts creatures imperiled by steady exposure to viraa that leads to aberrant behavior, hysteria and a strong propensity towards territorial aggression, even amongst bones. For these very reasons, it remains anathema to almost everything it comes in contact with.
While Mysdiks that employ viraa are all but the stuff of myth to most, grim rumors abound that the exalted nobility of the Nostridian Empire are powerful and amoral wielders of viraa. Few are granted an audience with them—fewer still emerge from it unscathed.
