Magic Unlike Any Other

The time spent by the Alerans in that other place instilled some sort of power to them, and that power is passed down through the blood, indicating a genetic component. In fact, all Alerans of sufficient talent and strength in furycrafting to be admitted to the Citizenry are obliged by law to marry someone with similar ability, in the interest of producing children with strong furycrafting talent. Because of this genetic component, the High Lords tend to marry among their own ranks as much as possible in order to keep the power inherent to their bloodlines.

Magi have long sought a way to bring the elements under their control, with a considerable amount of research going in to methodology. But, they have never been able to achieve this goal. Somehow, on another world, the Alerans have managed to do so. Unlike other forms of magic, Aleran Furycrafting is very flexible, and its limits seem to be tied only to the imagination of the crafter.

At present day, powerful crafters tend to manifest personal furies in their early childhood or adolescent years, and control them with their will. A furycrafter’s strength is born into them and does not change as they age. It is a matter of training, experience, and mental fortitude and flexibility that allows them to use their abilities to a greater degree and finesse. They are used to aid them in whatever task is undertaken from housework to combat. This fury-based magic is accomplished in one of two forms. First, an Aleran may draw from the strength of their fury to increase their own. For example, earth crafters often draw physical might from the ground, through their furies, to allow them to lift loads far too heavy for normal people, while wind crafters can increase their speed and metalcrafters their endurance and tolerance of pain.

The second form of fury-crafting is to "manifest" a fury. This involves the fury taking a corporeal form; often the shape of an animal, though taking the shape of a human is not unheard of. Manifested furies are necessary for the most powerful forms of furycrafting, including flight (windcrafting) and healing (watercrafting).

While most Alerans display some type of very rudimentary ability in all areas of fury-crafting, they are typically skilled in only one or occasionally two elements and generally cannot rise above the freeman social status. Those who have sufficient skill with one or two fury types may elect to become "Citizens" by displaying that skill in a trial. High Lords and their offspring generally show considerable talent in all areas of furycraft well beyond the capabilities of a typical person, indicating that heredity plays some role in furycrafting, including inheritance or transference of specific furies. Residents of large cities typically treat furies as generic entities, while those in rural areas forge close personal bonds with specific furies often tied closely to local natural landmarks.

The Power of the Elements

Part of the strength of Furycrafting is its flexibility. Each of the elements can be drawn on in order to accomplish a variety of different things, and each has offensive, defensive, and practical uses. The table below contains some ideas of the options available to Furycrafters. Each element is also countered by a different element, and a crafter surrounded by their opposite element cannot use their furies or their furycraft. As an example: An earthcrafter suspended in a metal cage above the earth cannot access their furycrafting that relies on earth. In addition Furycraft requires a certain amount of calm in order to craft anything external to the Crafter.

What is a Fury?

Furies are elemental spirit-like forces (earth, water, air, fire, metal, and wood) that inhabit all aspects of Earth. Furies can be found as exceedingly small motes anywhere attention is paid, but can aggregate into larger and more volatile beings (either at the behest of a Crafter manifesting their power or as wild, feral Furies).

Furies in the wilderness or lands distant from cities are often considered more powerful, and the land more likely to be inhabited by such 'feral' furies. The nature of furies as independent beings appears to be substantially dependent on both the Alerans' cultivation of the land and their furycraft power. In tamed lands, the furies dissolve into motes that do not act independently, but can be gathered by a crafter into a manifest fury for their uses. Untamed lands, however, are prone to dangerous manifested furies that will harm anyone on sight unless destroyed or claimed by a Crafter of skill. Those living in these regions generally give their furies names (usually after the geographical landmark they believe their fury is connected to) and treat them as independent entities with quirks and individual talents, which causes their furies to do exactly that, as Crafting is an application of willpower.

Crafters are often only limited by what they believe they can and cannot do with their furies. The furies connected to a person can be passed on to another chosen by the crafter after their death, allowing that person to manifest that fury. This implies that Furies' natures are neither as simple as motes gathered with personalities projected onto them by the ignorant, nor fully independent entities that do not change.

Claiming & Inheriting Furies

Powerful Crafters, typically with a Citizen level skill in one type of crafting, are able to claim and bind wild furies to their will. The more powerful the fury, the more powerful the crafter must be in order to claim a wild fury. More powerful citizens are also capable of binding multiple different furies to them.

Furies can also be passed down from generation to generation or transferred from one furycrafter to another, which helps explain the cumulative power of the High Lords and the House of Gaius. Inheriting or having furies transferred to a crafter increases the power of that crafter.