Everything living thing in our world is borne of vital essences, nurtured by worldly energies, and influenced by cosmic forces. The Destreana Arcana, depicted below, highlights the connections between the major elements of life on this plane, as well as what each has come to be associated with.
Domina, Umbra, and Luma combine in varying proportions to compose all that exists, in Mâter (our world) and The Beyond (the heavens).
Luma (White)
Luma is pure light energy, which springs forth from the heavens and grows all vital things. It passes through and repels Umbra, though cannot destroy it.
Domina (Grey)
Domina is the invisible force which binds Materia together at a fundamental level, in space and time. It can influence Luma's direction, but cannot control it.
Umbra (Black)
Umbra composes all things unknowable; it is found in the shadows between things, and places no mortal eyes can see.
Therma, Forma, and Sensora are borne of the Godly Forces, and are each responsible in their own way for nourishing and influencing vital creatures while shaping the material world.
Sensora (Blue)
Intellect, Dreams, Abstraction, Depression, The Eyes, Sleep, Drowkin
Forma (Yellow)
Endurance, Gravity, Pressure, Stress, The Feet, Exercise, Dwarfkind
Therma (Red)
Dexterity, Heat, Magnetism, Pain, The Mouth, Sunshine, Dragonkin
Anima, Krea, and Chrona are found in all vital creatures, though some only possess one or two of the essences (plants possess some Anima and a trivial amount of Chrona, for instance). Together, the vital essences are necessary in order to interact with and inhabit the material world.
Chrona (Green)
Perception, Logic, Dogmatism, The Heart, Reading, Elfkin
Krea (Purple)
Cunning, Creativity, Conceptualization, Novelty, Insanity, The Hands, Freedom, Mankind
Anima (Orange)
Strength, Vitality, Motion, Rage, The Gut, Nourishment, Orckind
Any given mortal is fundamentally attuned to one force/energy/essence. This attunement, while not necessarily indicative of their spellcasting ability or even preference of arcanic school, grants them unique traits to those attuned to another of the nine.
Formally, spellcasters who specialize in a specific school of arcana take on an honorific to denote this (depicted in the section below)—please note that some forms have within them several schools/specializations available.
Luma (Lightcaller)
Domina (Soulcaller)
Umbra (Voidcaller)
Sensora (Mindcaller)
Forma (Forcecaller | Shapecaller | Tidecaller)
Therma (Blazecaller | Boltcaller | Frostcaller)
Krea (Soulbender)
Anima (Gorelock)
Chrona (Chronomancer)
Each of the Mortal essences recharges through sleep, natural light exposure, and/or consumption of food/water. As long as someone has at least some of a given essence remaining, it can replenish itself in this way.
Low Anima? Atrophic. None? Paralyzed. Too much? Berserk.
Low Krea? Incoherent. None? Catatonic. Too much? Megalomania.
Low Chrona? Disoriented. None? Feared. Too much? Psychosis.
If one or more of a person's essences are depleted, an arcanist has limited time to restore them. A single mortal essence being depleted will cause another to follow, leading to one of three outcomes:
No Anima or Chrona? Victim becomes a Phantasm
No Krea or Anima? Victim becomes Petrified
No Chrona or Krea? Victim becomes a Zombie
At the stage of dual depletion, if an essence infusion is performed, the afflicted person shall return as an undead. They shall exhibit characteristics of their former self, they may even be capable of all they were in mortal life, but make no mistake— there is no telling what else may now reside in the body of your former compatriot.