Taekni

"What exactly is Taekni? The Arcane ability to rewrite reality itself, constructed by our own hands - Well, that sounds a lot better than saying, 'We have absolutely no idea what it even is - Anymore.'"

Taekni is one of the two 'Arcane' abilities present within the Voidsea and the Realmlands, and found commonly within the Sky River, and it's satellite and neighbouring Gyres, though the full extent of it's reach is not yet known. It is, put simply, the ability to warp reality itself, and create whatever result one desires - Though in practicality, it's power is far more limited. The full extent of it's abilities is transmitted via the Broadwave.

Not a naturally occurring phenomenon initially, Taekni was created during the Void Age, though it's creators, original Sphere, and even which Kinde is responsible for it's creation is completely lost to history - Though many forces claim to be it's origin, for political, economic, religious, or other such reasons, none have been certified, or been able to offer anything that could even be considered convincing evidence. It's emergence is said to have brought about the Technopocalypse that brought an end to the Void Age, leading to the end of many empires and civilizations of the time, and the beginning of the Lost Age.

Despite commonly being referred to as a single phenomenon, Taekni is in reality, an overlapping series of technological, biological, environmental, astronomical, and geographical phenomena. The presence of Taekni and the Broadwave has impacted nearly every world it has touched, sometimes creating unpredictable results. Some forms of evolution have occurred due to the existence of Taekni, most noticeably within the Fae Rest. It has even impacted previously existing life as well, such as the emergence of Traits within many different Kinde within it's reach. The exact conditions it created that lead to this, how those impacted the evolutionary processes of all these wildly different Kinde, why some were impacted and some weren't, and what precisely it is doing, is not known.

In fact, Taekni is not well understood in general - Much of the understanding that originated with it was lost during the Technopocolypse. One of the only things that is known for certain is that the very first references to it originate from the Abyssreach, at the centre of the Sky River. It has become a field of study onto itself, with those who study runes, their effects, and the creation of new spells being known as Rune Sages.

Taekni is not an intrinsic ability one is born understanding - Users must study Runes and Input commands, and learn to control, mnipulate, and create it, much like any other skill. Many choose to get tattoos, or engrain Runes onto armour, weapons, or buildings to speed up the process, though it still requires one to intentionally activate it - Which is an ability most do have, but without training, is useless to them. Some go as far as to cybernetically enhance themselves to make casting Taekni easier. These individuals are known as Taeknomancers.

Present in every society within the Voidsea, and showing no preference for any Faction of Kinde, any individual with sentience is theoretically capable of learning Taekni. Those that do are known as Sages. Practice of Taekni comes in many forms, from more instant manifestations, to more drawn out ritualistic practices. This is in contrast to Traits, which can be in-born abilities.

Perceptions of Taekni vary from Kinde to Kinde, Void Island to Void Island, and Sphere to Sphere - Kin tend to have a more open, but apathetic attitude towards it, seeing it merely as something that is. Elvendritch view Taekni as a great power, used to wage eternal war against their Gods and enemies, and a gift from their Honoured Fallen. The Quirri initially viewed Taekni with suspicion or outright contempt, seeing it as the reason their ambitions to traverse the Voidsea became hindered. It is also important to note that some Realms, despite containing the same Kinde, may view Taekni very differently to one another - Witch Hunting was not uncommon on some worlds, whereas others became Kratocratic oligarchies based on ones ability to manifest Taekni. Some worlds, such as Xeo-Quartz, even came to view those that practiced Taekni and utilized Traits as superheroes.

How exactly it came into being, and what precisely caused it to come into being are questions which are constantly pondered and researched into by just about every known faction in both the Voidsea and the Realmlands, though no side has any truly concrete answer.

Understanding Taekni

'Taekni is an inconsistent Arcane ability - This is perhaps the most consistent, and most important thing to understand about it. If any one Sphere understood it, they would become the most powerful force that we know of. But there are thousands of moving parts, hundreds of small quirks, and things that it does that we know aren't logical or don't follow - But that is simply what it does. If you want to understand Taekni - You need to understand that you will never completely understand it.' - Understanding the Arcane, Page 4 - Written by Quirri Arch-Sage Qrayshi Kemmko

Taekni is, in theory, capable of performing any action that the user desires - Should one possess enough willpower, belief, and skill within the Arcane, then reality itself would be theirs to control. In reality, this is not how Taekni works, for a variety of reasons, and is far weaker in it's applications, both in day to day life, and in combat scenarios.

The primary difference between Taekni and a Trait is that Taekni is a more ritualistic affair - It requires what are called 'Inputs' - Certain actions, performed in particular ways, in order to create the desired result. Though Taekni itself is not intrinsic, the ability to perform 'Inputs' is.

Inputs

'Inputs' are actions a caster takes in order to use Taekni. These can be anything - Drawing a rune in the air, channelling Taekni into depictions of runes, uttering certain words in certain tones or cadences, and other various actions a person can take.

Inputs can be 'In the moment' acts, or planned out, such as creating various drawings, or carving the runes into stone. So long as Taekni is channelled in the correct way, it will activate the respective spell.

Runes

Runes are the symbols which represent spells. They can be of any shape - However, a Rune requires what is called "Consensus" to function - Put simply, there must be enough Registered uses of a Rune having the intended effect, that the Broadwave recognizes the Input, and creates the same effect.

In addition, some Runes will appear of their own accord - Where from is not fully understood, but it is believed that the Broadwave combines, breaks down, and recreates certain Runes regularly. This results in Runes being ever changing, and requiring constant investigation to maintain.