Soulburners
Soulburning is an application of magic using spiritual energy that is utilized by individuals in the outer fringes of society. There is no formal school of soulburning, as it is an entirely self-learned style of magic, practiced almost entirely by individuals considered to be outcasts and miscreants, and who are, often times desperate, if not insane. They use their own soul energy for the sake of performing magic and supernatural feats, which include increasing their own strength, agility, or stamina and to shrug off massive damage, heal themselves, or weave intricate “spells” that go off like wildfire and consume everything in their path.
Soulburners are masses of chaotic energy, which lulls and rises in no specific periods of their lives. Certain lunar peeks give them more power than others, while yet others reduce it to a point when even the simplest of tasks are out of reach. This doesn’t mean that they are without danger; soulburners can burn away all of their soul in one shot if they’re not careful, leaving nothing—no soul to pass on and reincarnate.
Spell casting is achieved through similar means as other forms of magic, but soulburners care more about achieving their desired effect than worrying about collateral damage and the damage to themselves (so long as they’re still alive at the end, at least... most of the time). Soulburners generally go through a process of Focus > Speaking > Visualization > Release. First, the soulburner must focus their energies (which usually just means setting up how “big” the spell is going to be). The second step requires a spoken incantation, which is generally in their native language and typically shorter and more straightforward that incantations in other magic systems, such as shouting “Fireball!”. The third step is the visualization of the effect, i.e.; a fireball. The fourth step is release. Some soulburners seem to disregard focus, speaking, and visualization steps, but they just work faster than others. Others neglect to speak the spell, and instead only focus, visualize and release. This magic is not a defined form, as it is generally self-taught, so soulburners tend to find the way to cast that is easiest for them.
The majority of soulburners are human, but they can be of any race. They are typically rare, as it takes a certain mindset to become a soulburner rather than seeking to learn other forms of magic, and they are often a risk to themselves and those around them.
Soulburners and Religion
The gods are not fond of soulburners because they abuse the power of their soul that the gods have given them, and put themselves at risk of destroying that soul. As a result, clerics have some mixed feelings about soulburners. Some priests may find it to be their sacred duty to either destroy or try to “fix” any soulburners they come across, while others are content to leave them to their own devices rather than get caught in the maelstrom. In more compassionate religions, clerics may desire to help younger soulburners find a better way to live, or stay out of the path of older, less trainable soulburners. To most religions, however, soulburners are considered heretics for abusing their god-given gift.
However, some churches may employ soulburners as harbingers of great destruction to increase the faith of their followers. Other churches may use soulburners as heretic hunters, employing them to seek out and destroy others of their ilk, with the thought that at least they would destroy one heretic, if not both in the process. A soulburner could also be convinced to destroy the opposition as well; a temple of a light god could send a heretic into a temple of darkness to devastate their enemies. Though the collateral damage would be massive, good would still triumph and take out two birds with one stone.
