Chapter 08 · Mana
Divine Mana
Divine mana is human red mana harvested, stabilized, and redistributed by the Partage. It is not a third biological color. Its golden appearance marks Archon's transformation of the power, not another inheritance carried by human bodies.
Harvest and Transformation
The Partage takes blood, spell slots, and caster level from a human source. Consecrated water carries the harvest to Archon or a center of the network, where blood and impurities are removed and the remaining power is transformed. The Partage creates no mana: every gift it grants was taken elsewhere.
First Partage performs this exchange through a local circuit. Partage turns the Ark's waters into a network that harvests and redistributes power across a civilization. Their spell entries define the ordeal of the source and the limits of each operation.
Red Mana and the Divine Gift
A priest gives their own red mana to the Partage during the daily rite. While they carry divine mana, they cannot cast with red mana. Special permission can allow both, as it does for certain Censors.
To return to red mana, the priest must first cut off their supply from the Partage, or be cut off from it. They then spend every remaining divine spell slot. While connected, the Partage keeps supplying fresh mana.
Once the divine reserve is empty, their red mana begins regenerating at its normal rate. For a priest making this transition, the return of red mana follows these steps rather than the harvest's usual 24-hour delay.
A Distributed Source
A Cleric's divine caster level is granted by the Partage rather than produced by an attribute. Damaged waterways or isolation can interrupt delivery; abjuration or the destruction of consecrated water can disperse the gift. Rank and proximity to the network govern how much power is offered; the recipient's Charisma governs how much can be borne.
The Partage continually supplies divine mana through consecrated water. Near a temple, a priest may have abundant mana and still be too mentally tired to cast. Spell slots measure this remaining capacity. Divine mana is easier to shape than ordinary red mana, so a Cleric can cast more before tiring. The Cleric of Archon defines their reserve and progression; Rest and Recovery gives the recovery rates, including the benefit of immersion in a Bassin.
Liturgies
Divine formulas are precise liturgies rather than the complex visualizations of Cerberan sorcery. The priest casts by speech alone. This makes them easier to reproduce, but their catalog is narrower. It began with Archon's conjurations, healing, and the operations required by the Partage; Archon and the Censors later converted other spells.
Divine magic heals directly and holds effects more easily than low-level red sorcery. It also depends on an institution. A Cleric can lose access because a distant aqueduct was destroyed, a Censor withdrew the gift, or the Partage itself ceased to function. The history and social cost of that network belong to The Ark.