Essences [WIP]

A brief note about essences and riders:
- They are completely indestructible.
- They cannot be lost, as they will come to the surface at some point.
- Essences can be encased or fused in other items, usually artifacts or relics. Upon the owner’s death, the two items are divided again.
- Only riders can own, and have full access to, their element’s essence.
- All essences slightly boost their owners in physical and magical power.
- A rider obtains the powers while holding or carrying the essence, even indirectly (e.g. in a weapon or accessory). While not carrying the essence, the rider will not lose its ‘rider power’ but cannot benefit from the essence-related powers. The rider has a strong grasp on the essence and can easily recover it if somehow stolen (e.g. ripped away in combat or during sleep).
- Some powers are unlimited and never expire, while others consume the energy of the essence or the user. In this case they will have to ‘recharge’, with time or other means, before they can be used again.
- All riders, thanks to their essence, have the ability to teleport to their sanctuary if it is endangered. This teleport cannot fail and will not require much focus, but may take time (no more than half a minute) depending on the rider’s grasp of space-time magic, no matter the rider’s elemental affiliation. Even a rider with no mastery in space-time magic can perform this teleport flawlessly.

+Space-time+

Manifestations:
- Hourglass made of glass and golden casing with ever flowing sand.
- Glass orb with stars, dust and/or magical effects in them.
Powers:
- Flawless Teleport: No matter where the rider teleports or opens a portal to, there will be no chance of ‘clipping’ or failure. This alone only slightly improves the focus and time needed for the spell.
- Unburdened: The rider cannot be affected by the Burden of Knowledge.
- Stop time: If the rider is near death, or in fatal peril, time will shortly stop to allow the rider to avoid this fate or address the mistake. This usually lasts long enough to just save the rider. This power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge.

+Death+

Manifestations:
- Black or silvery skull with a texture similar to obsidian or stone, may be symbolic or anatomically correct
- Ornate black or dark grey (small) scythe
- Magical/immaterial black orb
Powers:
- Underworld: The rider can sense places reeking of death – burial places, old battle sites, crypts et al. The rider can also directly manipulate these bodies if close enough (usually near/at the site) and if they are in a good enough condition.
- Keeper of souls: The essence can store an infinite amount of souls and can directly extract souls. This can only be done from a freshly dead body or from a lost soul. This also allows the rider to bestow a soul onto another body.
- Death calls: The rider can turn somebody into a pure being of Death magic. More powerful than a Death elemental, it however loses all of its material features and will explode once its magical reserves are exhausted. This can only be done is the subject willingly pledges him/herself to the rider. This power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge.

+Life+

Manifestations:
- Brown or green seed
- Small sapling
- Rich green/red leaf
- Symbolic or anatomically correct heart
Powers:
- Warden: All large sources of life, especially forests, are known to the rider. The rider, via the essence, is able to directly feed pure Life magic to, for example, plants that have been uprooted without a need for direct contact or control (short distances are still needed). In addition, the rider’s presence strengthens all life around it, granting all living beings a light regeneration factor and greatly toughening plant life.
- Language of life: The rider can perfectly communicate with all living beings. It can similarly interact with plant life. In addition, all non-evil animals and plants are friendly to the rider.
- Lifeguard: If mortally struck, the essence will give out a powerful burst of Life magic, strongly pushing anything in the surroundings and reviving the rider, no matter how strong the wound or attack. This has a moderate effect on nearby living beings too. This also works if somebody else is carrying/holding the essence. This power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge.

+Shadow+

Manifestations:
- Immaterial dark cloud or compressed mist
- Solid black (miniature) shrouds/cloak with soft cloth-like texture
- Glass orb with dark swirling trails
Powers:
- Eternal Darkness: The rider has full sight even in the darkest of environments. In dark places, the rider may access a weak-willed subject’s mind (this is particularly effective during sleep or coma) and infiltrate its thoughts, dreams or nightmares. In additions, all normal- or weak-willed beings near the rider will suffer a permanent feeling of dread and be slightly weakened.
- Not My Agony: All pain the rider feels is greatly reduced and actually reinforces his spells’ power. The rider may create a link between itself and other subjects, causing them to share the pain.
- Mist of Terrors: The rider will become immaterial, turning into a dark mist. A relatively large area darkens and envelops all targets into a very thick cloud of pure shadows. The worst nightmares of the affected targets will, to them, become true. While only normal- and weak-willed people will suffer true damage in the form of mental hallucinations and insanity (or worse), even stronger-willed people will be facing their nemesis. This illusion can be broken with a powerful enough spell or effect, and the rider will turn back to its material form if this happens. The mist does not differentiate friends from foes and will affect both equally, but shadow- and death-related beings will be resistant to this spell. This power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge.

+Light+

Manifestations:
- Ever-shining, golden/white lantern
- Immaterial sun-like sphere
- Shining, transparent/white gemstone.
Powers:
- Guidance: The essence becomes a powerful source of light, but it does not directly blind people. All darkness near the rider, natural or not, is cleared. The rider can sense people that are (mentally) troubled or controlled by Shadow/Death magic in a wide area, and can attempt to mentally help/purge them from said distance, though proximity or direct contact are more effective. In addition, all subjects in a smaller area around the rider are more focused and have a higher morale.
- And There Shall Be No Fear: The rider is quasi-immune to all mind-altering statuses. The rider may enhance the essence’s effect to cover an area around him, sharing his effect with nearby allies. It will also ‘burn’ or purge shadow-related beings and spells. If enhanced, this power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge. While recharging, the effect still applies on the rider.

+Fire+

Manifestations:
- Everlasting immaterial flame sphere
- Burning ember
- Torch
Powers:
- Fiery Spirit: The rider is immune to naturally cold environment and could easily sleep on ice shirtless (note: the ice would slowly melt). The rider can walk into fire and extremely hot environments without being harmed. He will not dehydrate himself faster than usual, but he will still need to drink to replenish his water supplies. This also affects people very close to the rider but to a lesser extent – don’t make them walk over smouldering coals for too long.
- Pyromaniac: The essence can ‘store’ all fires, natural or magical, the rider comes across. The storage is infinite, and the rider can release this energy, in the form of pure heat, instantly and without cost. In addition, this absorbs a part of all fire spells aimed at the rider.
- Flameborne: The rider detects major heat sources across the world. The rider’s powers are slightly enhanced when in the proximity of those sources. The rider can quickly and flawlessly teleport to these location as long as he is currently standing or very close to another major heat source (which could be fruit of his own spells). This power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge.

+Water+

Manifestations:
- Floating water droplet
- Icy sphere
- Ice shard
Powers:
- Rain man: The rider is always hydrated and does have a need to drink (he can always drink for leisure). The rider can control nearby weather passively, depending on his thoughts and his mood, at no cost. In addition, the rider stops all bleeding on itself and all friendly subjects nearby.
- Waterborne: The rider has infinite water breathing. The rider has greatly improved swimming speed, faster than any aquatic creature, and is extremely resistant to water pressure. While in water, the rider has absolute control over the surrounding water/ice mass.
- Encase: The rider can trap itself or a target in a tough block of ice unless the target actively opposed itself to this spell. This block is highly resistant to magical and physical attacks. He may shatter the block to release a myriad of ice shards (and, if needed, kill the subject inside) in any direction of choice, enhance its defences to become nearly invulnerable but impeding almost any action, or fuse the ice with the equipment and skin of the target to provide enhanced water/ice protection and abilities for a short while. In the latter case, the target will not be burdened by the ice and cold, no matter its willpower or mastery of water magic. This power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge.

+Wind+

Manifestations:
- Grey, immaterial whirlwind
- Winged boots
- Light white mantle with cloth-like texture.
Powers:
- Favourable Winds: All of the rider’s physical actions, especially movement speed and jump height, are enhanced. Winds and currents will never oppose the rider. In addition, any tall or violent fall will be softened therefore the rider will be saved from death or severe injuries.
- Hushed: Footsteps are incredibly silent and armour noise is reduced to near silence. The rider can completely silence all but the loudest noise nearby. The rider can also carry noises and smells from a place to another to disguise or deceive their origin.
- Whirlwind: The rider creates a whirlwind that is fully under its control. The whirlwind may carry the rider and nearby people, greatly increasing movement speed and allowing travel through hazards or environments such as water or fires unharmed. Alternatively it may propel the rider and nearby people like a catapult. It can also snare and trap targets and move them elsewhere. This power drains the essence’s energy and needs time or other means to recharge.

+Earth+

Manifestations:
- Shiny rock
- Gemstones, usually a diamond
- Miniature mountain
Powers:
- Earthen body: The rider’s skin and body is reinforced enough to block weaker attacks but without impairing mobility. Bones are greatly toughened and will naturally mend or relocate themselves if broken or dislodged. The rider is highly resistant to staggering, stunning and knocking effects and has a very good balance. The rider can also partially use bare earth, stone or metals as camouflage, similar to a chameleon. In addition, the rider has greatly increased physical strength and decreased pain sensitivity.
- Underground Master: The rider knows all natural caves and underground complexes. The rider has enhanced sight in these environments and can also detect all types of veins. The rider can, over time, restore metal and gem veins (this process has no cost but has to be directly controlled and takes time).
- Mole: The rider can become one with the earth and travel through it, unharmed. This works through almost every type of pure earth, stone, metal and wood. While only slightly faster than sprinting speed, he is extremely hard to detect in this state and can resurface with a quake or an explosion.

I love it ^_^

You make me want to steal everything.

Your always stealing everything. XD