The Ignescence

Overview

The Ignescence is the unique Alteration style of the Lyra. Practitioners draw Mana directly from within themselves or harvest energy generated when performing in front of an audience. The style revolves around creativity — whether artistic, architectural, or artisanal expression — and is instinctive and intuitive, allowing the Lyra to alter the world with a scope unmatched by any other faction.

Mechanics

Ignescence practitioners welcome volatile ideas from The Aether and combine them with previously gathered ideas. When these ideas collide, the result can produce new, original inspiration which fuels the practitioner’s Alteration. During performances, Mana surges from the audience back to the performer, reinvigorating them. This reciprocal exchange between performer and audience is central to the Ignescence.

Proximity to the Tumult

The Lyra are arguably the Alterers considered closest to The Tumult. Their way of altering the world through singing, music, or daring constructions closely resembles the way Tumult winds transform reality. Alterers from other factions feel this similarity viscerally, which often unsettles them.

This proximity extends to their beliefs: many Lyra believe that the Tumult is not a phenomenon to be entirely banished, but to be mastered. For them, it is the expression of nature in its most fierce and unrestrained form, the very embodiment of the concept of change.

Dangers

The Ignescence is an inner fire that grows throughout a Lyra practitioner’s life. Expressing it is not only natural but necessary for survival. If practitioners cannot release their fire through Alteration, their flesh begins to char and their skin flakes into pale ashes. Conversely, pouring out too much can leave them empty and drained, prone to lethargy and depression. Auraq’s mother died after years of declining health caused by the drain of repeated performances.

The Legend of Paramours

There is a persistent legend of Paramours: soulmates capable, by their mere presence, of neutralizing the harmful effects of Ignescence by absorbing a portion of this inner fire, or feeding it in return.

Relationships

• Alteration: Broader technique of which the Ignescence is the Lyra style
• Mana: Energy drawn from within or harvested from audiences
• The Aether: Source of ideas that fuel Ignescence
• The Tumult: Force that the Ignescence closely resembles
• Paramours: Legendary soulmates who can stabilize Ignescence practitioners
• Lyra: Faction that practices the Ignescence