Long ago, eleven godlike beings called the Hues reigned over the world, each representing a color and a role in the universe.
But a few thousand years ago, the gods disappeared, leaving behind the eleven Pillars—mysterious sculptures of magic and mystery, each planted in a different location around the globe.
Magic nowadays appears in Iris-born—mortals born with eyes in an unnaturally bright color.
Iris-born can cast magic through spells, by writing runes, or by brewing potions. A unique power will manifest no later than their sixteenth birthday.
Each individual power can be used in three different ways—body, nature, and mind. Body is how your power affects you personally; nature is how it affects the world around you; and mind relates to any application where you use your mind.
For example, if your power was fire, it would work something like this:
Body: you’re granted immunity to fire and fevers
Nature: you have the ability to create and control fire, as well as manipulate other types of heat
Mind: you can gain power from your passion (i.e., your emotional heat)
It is also possible to achieve a state called balance—where you can’t use any powers, but other people’s powers can’t affect you either.
The way to understand it is to understand magic is a separate layer atop reality; where the absence of it is just as powerful as its presence.
Balance users glow blue, which can be dimmed/controlled with practice.
