Magic

Supernatural abilities permitted by mana are categorized and referred to as magic. There are many types of magic, and each type comes with its own set of unique abilities which magical beings can hone and use

Origin
Magic is permitted by an energy known as mana, which is said to be a supernatural fluid that originated from the gods. In the beginning, each of the gods took a bit of their mana, and bounded it to the souls of their corresponding race. As such, the race inherited abilities similar to the power/domain of their god. For example, angels inherited abilities such as manipulating light and creating matter from nothing - all of which correlate with the nature of their goddess Solis.

These abilities are categorized and named appropriately. For example, the manipulation of light is better known as Photokenisis.

Mana Link
As already mentioned, mana is bounded to one’s soul. Through the soul, mana can be evenly distributed throughout someone’s body via a system of vessels collectively referred to as the mana link. The mana link operates a lot like the circulatory system, with the soul acting as its heart. This is why when the soul is damaged or destroyed, using magic becomes practically impossible.

Diseases, bacteria, parasites and medicine can all enter the body by being administered to the mana link. As such, alchemists have learned that you can temporarily stop a magical being from using their mana by administering an anti-magic substance into their mana link. However, once the substance enters the link, the magical being's soul also shuts down temporarily - meaning that the magical being would also lose consciousness for some time. As expected, if you administer a substance that outright destroys mana, you would also destroy the magical being's soul and render them permanently unconscious (or in other words, dead).

Using too much mana can also drain the mana link, which results in a magical being either fainting or in extreme cases, dying.

Uses
Once there’s nothing affecting the mana link, mana can be distributed throughout a magical being’s body. When this happens, a magical being can use their mana in the following ways:
 * External Uses: Expelling mana in the form of blasts or shields. This can be both defensive and offensive.
 * Internal Uses: Redirecting the mana to other parts of the body, including the brain or heart. This can improve a magical being’s physiology and/or phycology. This is usually defensive.
 * Neutral Uses: Expelling the mana so that it can consume the magical, physiological or psychological traits of others and redirect it to the user. This is usually offensive.

Users

 * Magical Beings/Mages: Mages, commonly referred to as magical beings, are sentient beings with the ability to utilize magic. They ought not to be confused with magical creatures or plants (flora and fauna with magical properties). Mages make up a whopping 90% of Annessfare’s population, since every race except for humanity can use magic. Alternatively, people who can’t use magic are known as non-magical beings.
 * Alchemists: Alchemists are a special subset of humanity who specialize in utilizing physical forms of magic to change the properties of existing items. They believe that magic and science can coexist.

Requirments

 * Soul: To practice magic, a mage must have a healthy soul. Without one, they may find utilizing mana to be difficult, or might not be able to use it at all.

Rules

 * Anti-External Zones: Because the external use of mana proves to be destructive nearly all the time, in certain nations, there are areas where using mana in such a manner is forbidden. These areas are known as Anti-External Zones.