Primewood

Primewood (also known as Metalwood or Darkprime in its corrupted form) is the essential physical material required to perform all magic within The Metalwood Saga. Originating from the massive, ghostly Prime Trees, this wood acts as both a battery and a conduit, bridging the gap between a Talented mage's soul and the raw, universe-spanning power of the celestial device known as Xyclami (or Guruthos).

Without primewood, standard magic is impossible to cast; the only exceptions are Prime Mages, who can occasionally bypass the need for wood, and the passive Misting illusion granted by proximity to a living Prime Tree.

Origins and Creation

Primewood cannot be grown through natural agricultural means. Instead, the wood is the byproduct of profound sacrifice.

A true, uncorrupted Prime Tree is generated only when a Talented mage willingly sacrifices their own life—often to save someone they love or for a greater good. The mage's soul travels to the ethereal dimension of Ambarhal and manifests in the physical world as a towering, majestic tree that is invisible and incorporeal to ordinary humans. As long as the tree survives, its branches can be harvested for primewood, which rapidly and infinitely regenerates.

Because true sacrifice is incredibly rare, the Cothellon (the Planners) engineered a horrific shortcut to generate the wood required to keep their floating sky cities aloft. Through the Department of Civil Service, they conduct the Darkprime Ceremony, an act of ritualistic murder where innocent human blood is mixed with the roots of ordinary saplings. This twisted process creates Darkprime Trees (or metalwood), which yield a corrupted, metallic-looking version of primewood. Unlike true Prime Trees, Darkprime Trees do not regenerate their wood when cut, forcing the Cothellon into an endless cycle of murder to sustain their supply.

Mechanics of Use

To cast magic, a mage typically holds a small chip or shard of primewood in their hand. When the mage possesses the correct Alignment for that specific type of wood, the shard feels noticeably warm to the touch and seems to pulse with a latent, inner life.

The activation of the wood depends on its nature:

• Lightprime (Caladmain): Using uncorrupted primewood requires Investment—a highly skilled physical action related to the mage's specific Discipline (e.g., sculpting, performing CPR, or executing a gymnastics maneuver). Only by combining Alignment, Material (the wood), Investment, and mental Will can the magic be drawn forth.
• Darkprime (Dúathmain): Corrupted metalwood requires no physical Investment; a mage simply uses their Will to force the magic into existence. However, this raw conduit comes with a sinister cost: darkprime magic is highly addictive, delivering a euphoric rush that can turn over-users into desperate "junkies" who will die or riot without their supply.

Once the magic is channeled and the energy within the wood is depleted, the primewood loses its structural integrity and instantly crumbles into useless dust or ash.

The Woodpairs (The Fourteen Woods)

There are fourteen specific types of primewood, divided into seven "woodpairs" (one deciduous and one coniferous tree per pair). Each pair corresponds to one of the Seven Aspects of the soul, granting access to one lightprime and one darkprime power.

• Way of the Builder (Maple / Pine): Fuels the illusionary magic of Mistweaving (light) and the vertical gravity manipulation of Fallfoiling (dark).
• Way of the Protector (Birch / Spruce): Fuels the rapid healing of Soulsoothing (light) and the matter-altering power of Transmuting (dark).
• Way of the Destroyer (Poplar / Yew): Fuels the lethal projectile-guidance of Bladedancing (light) and the purple-clouded mind control of Mindmaster magic (dark).
• Way of the Scholar (Ash / Hemlock): Fuels the weather-controlling magic of Stormwarding (light) and the energy-shielding magic of Forcefinding (dark).
• Way of the Creator (Elm / Fir): Fuels the acrobatic leaping of Leafrunning (light) and the destructive electricity of Shockstriking (dark).
• Way of the Governor (Oak / Cedar): Fuels the physical enhancement of Strengthshaping (light) and the solid-matter phasing of Mergemelding (dark).
• The Primal Way (Willow / Cypress): The seventh and rarest woodpair, theoretically accessible by anyone but rarely mastered. It fuels the apocalyptic soul-severing ritual of Soulsundering (light) and the dimensional teleportation of Gatesending (dark).

Storage and Artifacts

Because primewood is the lifeblood of both elven and Cothellon civilizations, it is fiercely guarded.

In elven villages like Sylrantheas, uncorrupted wood is stored in massive warehouses known as Primestores. The wood is pre-cut into thin wafers, roughly two feet on a side, and perforated so mages can easily snap off the small chips required for casting. In the Cothellon's floating cities, darkprime wood is stored in massive underground facilities or hidden in heavily guarded rooms, packed into metal crates and strictly rationed to feed the enslaved transmuter populations in The Below.

While standard mages rely on bags of consumable wood chips, ancient Artisans once possessed the skill to forge artifacts that provided an inexhaustible supply of primewood. The most famous of these is the Tree Ring Staff, which consists of six wide bands of the deciduous woods (maple, birch, poplar, ash, elm, oak) joined together by thin strips of the seventh wood (willow). A similar artifact, the Bow of Ancient Kings, was preserved by the Aiqua people in the Desolation and contains all seven types of primewood embedded near its grip.