Void

Novice

Manipulate Shadow

They can't hurt you, don't be afraid!

Learning: Shadow manipulation is probably one of the easiest abilities for a void to learn, simply because they are born with the same energy as the darkness they wish to alter. To begin a kitter should touch the surface the shadow is on, it is recommended to use a sentient beings shadow as it is easier to manipulate than something that does not move as freely. They must imagine that the shadow is something physical, that the energy from their body where it touches the shadow will pull it like clay. Dragging their limb across the surface they are touching should yield results of a small portion of the shadow being dragged out in a sort of lumpy fashion. After this act becomes natural and easy the kitter should imagine that they are pulling on a limb and not something malleable, imagine that as that pull the shadow does not bend and shift like clay but moves as an arm would. Soon they should be able to make the shadow move how a shadow would without alterations. Here they may play with altering the shadow in larger ways, combining both means of shadow manipulation into a cognitive force. Eventually it is recommended to try and move shadows without touching them, feel the power of the void within the whiskers rather than a limb, and focus the energy on leaving you and moving to the shadow, and altering it like have with your limb.

Usage: Uses mostly for pranks or entertainment, shadow manipulation is popular for puppeteers and jokesters alike. Practically they have been used for hunting, to push prey towards clearings or separate it from their kind.

Limitations: Difficult to alter shadows from objects that do not move organically, such as buildings. As well shadow manipulation can be tasking if too many alterations are attempted on a single shadow, repercussions of over using this skill is the feeling of very heavy limbs, and can become so bad that movement is impossible and kitters remain stuck on their back or stomach until their magic replenishes.

Blind

A terrifying and unexpected experience for the victim.

Learning: This ability requires a partner to practice and learn. First, a Kitter must touch the other Kitter or animal who they are using as their partner. Second, they simply have to focus on the elemental energy within themselves and “push” it into the person they are touching. Third, the Kitter must direct all of the energy into their victim’s eyes, resulting in the target becoming completely blind for a short period of time. While most novices find the first two steps easy, the third step is often what frustrates them, as it can be quite difficult to direct energy into one, concentrated.

Usage: This ability is usually used by law enforcement for non-lethally incapacitating criminals. The fact that it causes no actual harm to the outlaw while still preventing them from trying to flee is invaluable. Recently, new uses for this ability have been discovered, such as for helping doctors and therapists to understand how blind patients feel. Another use is to train fighters and explorers to be able to survive in environments that have little or no light.

Limitations: This ability causes no actual harm to the victim and can only last up to two hours.

Addendum by Hazel the Magic Shopkeeper: This ability has a huge negative stigma attached to it. Many void affinity Kitters choose not to learn this ability for fear of being marked as “dangerous”. There are even some small villages that have established local laws forbidding the usage and teaching of this ability.

Lie Detector

Light's Counterpart

Learning: This skill can be trained in many of the same ways that Truth Sense is. A kitter must first attribute their senses towards lies, which can be achieved through constant practice. It’s convenient to have a friend state both lies and truths alongside each other in order for the training kitter to get a grasp of how lies feel as compared to the truth. It’s fairly easy to grasp so long as the kitter helping out is stating pure lies; if there’s even an inkling of truth in their words, it can throw off a void kitter’s senses.

Usage: The ability to determine lies can be an invaluable skill in everyday life. It can be used for personal endeavors, and would be especially useful to judges who would need to pick up on any lies stated in court.

Limitations: Like truth sense, this skill doesn’t work very well against pseudo-lies or half-truths. It’s the most effective against statements that don’t have much, if any, truthful pieces in them.

Conjure Shadow

Summon the void and banish the light.

Learning: To conjure a shadow is less creating something and more removing something else, that something being light. Interacting with a light affinity meep is often times helpful, sensing and understanding how their magic works before trying to temporarily drain it from a portion of the world, however this is not absolutely needed. To begin conjuring a shadow the void kitter must be in an area where there is light. Negative dark thoughts need to fill the mind, their genuinity unnecessary in the art of darkness, they must only be present even if they are fake. These thoughts must be imagined vividly, formed into a vortex, something that sucks the light out of the place a shadow is wanted to be created. This may sting at first as it is absorbing the very essence of what is opposite to the void into the body, the light magic is taken into the body and in its place inky darkness is released, and at this point shadow manipulation is to be used for further usage of the shadow. When done with this ability the shadow will disappear and the light will usually leave the body of the void kitter, if it does not it is not recommended to partake in shadow conjuring for a few days.

Usage: Intimidation, showmanship or bragging rights against light kitters conjuring shadows in its earliest stages don’t have as many practical uses as it does have entertainment value. However it has been used to create huge shapes to scare off threats against meeps or livestock.

Limitations: If used too much either over the course of a few days without leaving the body of the kitter or too large of a shadow is attempted to be created at once agonizing pain may occur. Due to the heavy differences between light and void the presence of too much light in the body of a void is known to have them bedridden for even weeks on end, in a constant period of feeling as though liquid fire was running through their body. Death has never been recorded from this but heavy precautions are always held when practicing this magic, especially for meeps.

Student

Invisibility

Requirements: Manipulate Shadow

Learning: A void kitter sends out a magical aura that affects the minds off all who gaze upon them. It affects the mind, causing it to purposely ignore the void kitter. No matter how much a kitter focuses or tries, even if they know the void kitter is standing in front of them, they remain blank to the kitter's mind, making them unseeable. A kitter needs to focus a lot of magic while thinking about being ignored.

Usage: There are near limitless advantages to not being seen, most aren't so nice. Whenever you need to sneak in or sneak out, or just don't want to be seen by someone. this is the ability for you.

Limitations: It takes a lot of practice to get this to work, and constant focus on maintaining your magic. The amount of magic needed depends on how much and fast your moving, staying still requires next to no magic and can be maintained for hours, but running around will only last a few minutes for even the best magic users. When caught on camera the kitter is visible however their appearance is distorted and they appear like a shadow, a silhouette that's slightly see through. Which has caused many a ghost story from time to time.

Shadow Strike

Requirements: Blind

Learning: Gathering their shadow into their body then out again as a pitch black shadow projectile, it travels at speeds the eye is barely able to track and strikes kitters shadow before returning to the void and becoming their shadow again. Once a kitters shadow is struck they feel pain in their body, which has been described as feeling like anything from being punched or stabbed depending on the Void's skill with their magic. To learn this ability a Void must learn to pull in their shadow then throw it with magic. A skilled kitter can split their shadow into multiple bolts however unless the kitter is very powerful this isn't worth doing most of the time due to the strike being weakened.

Usage: There isn't much use for this apart from hunting or fighting, as it only affects living things.

Limitations: The damage caused by this isn't true damage, as in it doesn't actually hurt the body . It merely makes them feel pain. It also takes a while before they can use this again. This is also very tricky to get used to aiming and even harder to avoid if its sent at you as it is and only hits shadows. However this also gives it a distinct advantage if a kitter can get past the learning curve it can aslo be stopped if there are thick shadows in the way of the target and losses power the more it travels through them.

Detect Greatest Fear

Requirements: Lie Detector

Learning: The ability to see what lurks in the shadows of one’s mind to find its center and grasp it is one Void's boast. Voids can enter another kitter's mind but can only see one thing: the thing the kitter fears most, and any memories associated with it. They do this by focusing on fear and pushing their magic outwards, then pulling it in while they're near their target. Some believe it helps to physically touch them but this isn't proven. It helps if the Void kitter can just sit and focus but more skilled kitters can do it on the go. If successful, the kitter will have a clear image of the target kitter's fear playing in their mind.

Usage: Punish your foes with what they fear most, or to help friends get over theirs. Or even just understand them more. Scholars like to use this ability to try and learn the origin of fear and its nature.

Limitations: This ability isn't to hard to learn, and it isn't terribly energy-draining. However, it comes with great danger. It isn't that uncommon for the void kitter to become traumatized or worse from seeing other kitters nightmares play out in their mind. This ability isn't for the timed and if a kitter finds themself scared easily its recomned they adovid it.

Night Vision

Requirements: Conjure Shadow

Learning: A Void kitter floods their eyes with darkness, causing light and dark to reverse in their perception of the world. Light becomes dark and dark becomes light to the kitter, allowing them to see where no one else can - at the cost of losing visibility in light areas. A kitter needs to focus their magic into their eyes to activate night vision, then pull it away to turn it off.

Usage: walk around in the dead of the night as if it was the middle of the day. Treat any dark place as if it was light up like a stadium, or even use it to sleep in bright places by making it dark.

Limitations: Although this does not take a lot of magic to use as once its activated it stays that way till turned off, prolonged use rapid switching off and on can make a kitter very ill.

Kitter Keep