Miasma

Miasma is a magical radiation that is mostly found in The Fade. It can effect magic and spellcasting in unpredictable ways, in some ways like a Wellspring Magic Zone. Areas with high Miasma concentrations are marked by subtle shifts in temperature, bioluminescent features and creatures, mirages, and hallucinations. Although knowledge of Miasma is limited in Sharum Mal'Kari, it is known to mainly effect divination and conjuration spells, making teleporting by magic into (or out of) The Fade a risky effort.

While it is not typically visible to the common eye (except in high concentrations), Miasma has the ability to amplify Void Aether so it is strongly associated with darkness and aberrations. Even so, Miasma is not exclusively the magic of mindless monsters; it has also been recorded that demons, devils, and other void-aligned beings often have a natural affinity for Miasma, and may even be able to use it regularly with little (or no) harmful side effects. Many hundreds of years ago, it was understood as the magic of great archmagi, though evidence of their mastery of the art disappeared with them long ago. It is believed to have the capacity to mutate normal wildlife into fiends-- but the nature of this process, or why it occurs, is poorly understood.

Sometimes, in areas where Miasma is present, creatures seem to appear from "thin air", dropping down from the sky or rising from a pool of black smoke on the floor-- likely manifesting from the Miasma latent within the air and ground itself. Many of these defeated aberrations will disperse into smoke or melt into the ground, leaving behind little evidence of their existence.

Archeologists have discovered references in ruins and ancient texts to a lost civilization whose people have once devised a wide variety of methods by which they could harness the power of Miasma... but in every case, these accounts are infuriatingly incomplete, leaving significant portions up to the reader’s own interpretation and imagination. When it has been successfully stabilized, Miasma could theoretically be used for a variety of applications, such as a highly efficient fuel source, a potent magical catalyst, or even as a component to be used in the forging of highly resilient metals.