About Mana and How It Changes Across Planes
Introduction
Mana is, in simple words, the energy that keeps existence alive. It doesn't matter if someone believes in it or not, it's still there, like something invisible but always present. Sometimes people call it "magic", but in reality magic is simply a way of using mana, not what mana is in itself.
The strange thing is that mana doesn't stay the same everywhere. It depends a lot on the plane where you are. In some it's very noticeable, in others you barely notice it, and in the highest ones it doesn't even seem like energy, but becomes something different, like laws or ideas. That's why it's important to see how it changes from plane to plane, because what in one level is a difficult spell, in another can be everyone's daily normal.
I'll explain it from bottom to top
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1st Plane
How mana is: here it exists but combined with physical things, like heat, energy or blood.
Magic: yes there is, but it's weak. Rituals, objects, preparation are needed. It costs a lot and normally wears down the body.
Example: lighting fire or healing a cut
Problem: if you force mana too much you end up sick or exhausted.
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2nd Plane
How mana is: responds directly to imagination. Here mana lets itself be controlled by what you think or dream.
Magic: creating things is easy, but nothing is stable. If you lose concentration, everything falls apart.
Example: raising a castle in seconds, making invented creatures appear.
Problem: you can end up confusing what you invent with what's real.
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3rd Plane
How mana is: contaminated by fear, broken memories or pain. It's not bad in itself, but it's almost always dark.
Magic: very strong but dangerous. Used for curses, necromancy since it's the only thing possible.
Example: raising the dead, casting plagues.
Problem: it can drive you crazy or corrupt you little by little.
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4th-8th Planes
How mana is: has its own will. You don't control it, you make a contract with it.
Magic: works with vows, oaths, curses. Mana itself decides whether to follow or not.
Example: promises that give power, blood pacts.
Problem: if you break what you promised, mana itself punishes you.
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9th Plane
How mana is: no longer energy, it's concept. Used to weave laws of existence.
Magic: here gods don't cast spells, they define how reality works.
Example: a time god changes the universe's clocks, a life god creates new species.
Problem: when concepts cross, paradoxes and cracks in reality appear.
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10th Plane - The Nexus
How mana is: the absolute foundation. Here mana doesn't flow or move, it simply is everything.
Magic: no longer exists as such, because entities here don't use mana, they are mana.
Example: Flaeria. Her mere existence changes reality.
Problem: if something from this plane touches the lower planes, it causes errors and corruption.
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