Magla

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Magla (マグラ, Magura)^? is an important plot element in the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Overview[]

Magla serves as the basic fuel for all magic in the United Kingdom of Euchronia, similar to "mana." It naturally occurs as free-floating physical particles that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Only certain beings such as the mustari and fairies can see magla in nature and around people, plants and animals. dragons (and according to Gruidae, certain tribes) are ancient weapons created from magla, and the protagonist's body is made completely of magla.

In places with high concentration of magla, the particles may cluster together to form large crystals that can be mined and used for magical purposes such as creating igniters. However, going near these places make people feel uneasy and they tend to draw out humans to attack them, the latter which caused the demise of a mining town in the Principality of Oceana. Magla accumulators are also used in major cities to gather free-floating magla to be refined into artificial crystals. The Royal Scepter also transforms magla into royal magic, allowing individuals such as Hythlodaeus V to wield powerful magic that can alter entire continents and allow the host's soul to remain as an independent being for an extended amount of time. Miniscule physical fragments of magla can even form on the bodies of animals and magical beings, which can be used as a form of currency called MAG.

It was later revealed by Gruidae in the Ancient Eldan Sanctum that magla is actually the manifestation of anxiety and fear released into the atmosphere from within people's hearts.

In ancient times (roughly the equivalent to the modern-day world in real life), a series of world wars that were caused by the discovery of magla destroyed civilization and regressed it back to the medieval era, effectively indicating that humanity literally and metaphorically erased themselves with their own fears and anxieties. Most of the survivors of these wars received various mutations because of exposure to magla, which would separate them into "tribes" identified by the type of mutation they possess. Some of the survivors hid in sanctuaries and did not receive any physical mutations; those called themselves the "elda" and were feared and despised by many due to their possible connections to the old world.

Melancholization and loss of control[]

On rare occasions, concentrated magla particles may fester and become melancholia crystals, a dangerous form of the magla crystals. They are distinguished by their peculiar appearance and rampant pulsing effect from the magla within. These crystals attract nearby creatures and cause them to undergo a volatile change called "melancholisation"; driving them insane and even transforming their bodies to varying degrees.

Those who became overwhelmed by their anxieties and apprehensions would trigger an unintentional outburst of magla, which may cause them to undergo melancholisation. Those suffering from the effects of melancholisation will progressively go more and more violent and insane until. It will eventually reach a point where the victim will struggle to speak coherent sentences and lose all reasoning while being surrounded by a sinister, purple glow of magla, at which there is usually no cure other than death. At the final phase of melancholisation, the affected mutate into humans.

In addition to coming into contact with melancholia crystals, as seen in Hyperic and Vinca in respectively Eupha and Basilio's follower subplots, melancholization can be caused by excessive personal fears, burdening the fears of others to an obsessive degree or untreated wounds from faulty igniters. In a similar vein to a faulty igniter, it is also possible that untreated wounds from being attacked by humans might result in melancholization. Louis is capable of a spell that hastens up the process, which allows him to instantly transform a person into a human, which he uses to terrorize the public in various ways.

The magla accumulators set around urban areas and the Royal Scepter draw power directly from the people's anxieties and fears, which also prevents the general populace from going insane and mutating into humans for the most part. However, there is a limit on how much magla these devices can draw power from, and if it exceeds that limit, they will no longer be able to draw magla off from the populace. This will cause most people to go insane, painting the sky red and drawing humans towards large cities. As shown with the Tradia Desert, entire locations can also be desolated by melancholia and transformed into monster-infested badlands. Louis' goal is to spread fear and anxiety by carrying out a series of attacks and assassinations to overload the Royal Sceptre with stagnant magla and release all of it into the atmosphere, which would create a world devoid of anxiety as most people had evolved into rampaging humans and are thus equal and unable to fear. Furthermore, the presence of the Royal Sceptre itself prevents people from conquering their own anxieties as they were all redirected towards it, meaning that the public would inevitably go insane over time without any chance to temper their own anxieties even without Louis hastening the process. With the protagonist destroying the Royal Scepter and putting a stop to Louis' plans at the end of the game, people are free to regulate their own anxieties to prevent themselves from melancholizing once again.

Usage[]

MAG can be obtained through defeating enemies through battle, forging bonds with followers and completing daily activities such as bathing. After which, MAG can be used to power up the party's Archetype abilities via the Akademeia or be exchanged for reeve through the MAG exchange in major cities.

Gallery[]