Immanent Domain

For centuries, the use of magic followed a familiar pattern. A mage concentrated aether from their surroundings into a focus object, then used practiced meditative techniques to visualize a pattern for the aether to assume when released into the world, constituting a “spell”. The miraculous capabilities of spellcasting kept mages in constant demand, but the need for years of study, consecrated implements, and hours of quietude cemented it as skilled work necessarily supported by entire communities. It took a village to maintain a mage: they had no time to sow or reap, so their neighbours kept them fed, clothed, and sheltered in exchange for blessing the crops, healing the sick, and giving timely warnings of future catastrophe. Then a clever mage invented the condenser. A vacuum-filled cylinder of glass and metal into which aether naturally collected over time, charging it with a cold blue glow. The device replicated the previously laborious, delicate task of accumulating energy with a…