Trait

The Arcane is an overwhelmingly important force within the Valhallan Age - And Trait's are one form of them. They are one of the two Arcane abilities which exist, the other being Taekni. Traits are something of an off-shoot of Taekni, evolving in various Kinde due to their constant exposure to the Broadwave.

A Trait is a unique ability that manifests within an individual - What precisely this ability is can vary enormously between two individuals; from teleportation, to being able to produce fire from their palms, to unnatural strength, and a huge variety of other possible outcomes.

Like Taekni itself, Traits have had a huge impact upon the Voidsea and the Realmlands. Some worlds, particularly those within Null Zones, were heavily influenced by the existence of Traits - Religion, culture, and society as a whole was radically changed due to their manifestations.

Description

Traits are unique abilities that every sentient Kinde, and in some rarer cases, faunakinde, manifest within themselves.

Traits take on immense variety - While some may be similar in function, no two are exactly alike. Some may have different activation requirements, or the exact nature of what they are doing may change. There is huge variety not only in the abilities themselves, but in how those abilities are performed.

An individual is not capable of choosing their Trait - It is something that they will manifest at some point in their lives. Their Trait does not impact their ability to perform Taekni, however.

While the ability is inherent to the individual, they must train their use of it in order to actually be able to use it. It is often compared to a muscle - While one may have it, it is not useful without toning or practice.

Relationship to Taekni

Traits have a strange relationship with Taekni - While the two are both Arcane, linked in a huge variety of ways, they are usually regarded as being distinctly different things.

Perspectives on the distinctions between Traits and Taekni vary wildly from culture to culture - Some viewing them with utilitarian coldness, some rejecting one but embracing the other, to some making no real distinction between the two. Understanding the relationship between the two of them has been the subject of much focus across the Cosmic Tide.

One way of understanding Traits is to consider them to be akin to Taekni Spells that one has an inherent ability to perform - While most spellcasting requires runes, chants, or other such requirements, Traits can bypass these requirements entirely, and be utilized at will.

For example, someone may have a Trait that allows them to teleport between two locations within eyeshot - Taekni Spells which do a similar thing are known to exist, but require runes, chants, and time to perform. Someone who possesses a teleportation Trait is capable of performing the action instantaneously.

This can make them incredibly useful in a variety of situations, like combat, or rescue operations where timing is heavily required.

Another way of understanding them is to completely remove them from one another - That Traits are another Arcane Phenomenon all to themselves, and that people must simply learn to use both their Traits and Taekni in tandem with one another. This is usually the perspective on worlds such as Failstate, where Taekni did not manifest, but Traits did.

Null Zones

Unlike Taekni, Traits are unaffected by Null Zones - Worlds such as Seruska, or Xeo-Quartz evolved Traits, even though Taekni does not manifest there. This has immpacted how the people of these worlds came to understand Traits and Taekni.