(I originally posted this on the old forums and didn’t realize until recently that I never placed it here. So here it is with preliminary flair)
Among many of the academic works found in Dalaran is the Lightriver Collection; various works published on behalf of the Lightriver Synod, a relatively young and small faction of proportionately small renown.
Despite not being as well known as groups like the Sunreavers or Sorcerer’s League, the Lightriver Synod has managed to produce some arguably significant contributions to the magic community; one of which being found in the book ‘Theories and Commentaries on the Fluency of the Arcane, by Astrea Evermoon’, entailing a specialized configuration of markings designed to provide greater control over gathered mana and increased safety from mana related ailments; most notably mana addiction:
The Mana Map
Of my most significant discoveries is that of the potential optimization of mana expression through the body. It is a common practice among spellcasters to draw the energy needed for spells into themselves in preparation. Many professed Sorcerers may have their own personal ways of managing their intake without running too high a risk of hurting themselves.
A similar technique is fairly common among the Sin’dorei as well. It is their plight, their struggle with magic addiction, which originally led me to this very study. It is clear that overindulgence in magic, from a variety of means, can lead to similar states in individuals. I have met some such individuals in my time in Dalaran; though their symptoms were comparably minor and their backgrounds, in some cases, particularly demanding.
Some arcanists will be quick to express the dangers of drawing energy into you to be stored, especially in excessive amounts. It is an act that yields as many benefits as dangers in this author’s opinion. For years I have studied the means by which mana flows in this and similar processes. The result, the titular Mana Map, is the subject of the bulk of this chapter.
There are two significant means of channeling arcane energy through one’s body. These differ based on how the energy is directed, or rather if the energy is directed. Simply basking in the mana drawn is perhaps the more dangerous of the aforementioned methods. Such raw energy can have catastrophic effects on one’s health, both long and short term. With this in mind one might question how the latter method, directing the energy through your body, is much better. In general this method allows for quicker transfer of mana to the vital physical components of one’s spellwork; in brief less time spent channeling and so less risk of adverse effects.
Upon studying the means by which mana flows when directed through the body one might find several interesting effects. Based on elementary evocation techniques mana tends to collect in particular parts of one’s anatomy before flushing out upon expression. These places vary from species to species, even individual to individual; however there are spots that have been proven to be universal, primarily around the core and the center of the limbs. Collection soon leads to small amounts of residual impersonal mana in the body; possibly a leading biological cause of magic addiction. As this collection is hardly felt and difficult for the average arcanist to personally locate it may prove difficult to treat, especially without aid of preventative methods.
Many obscure, as well as some popular, runes deal in the flow or direct manipulation of mana; for the safety of the capable reader I shall refrain from sharing their names. Application of these upon the body can result in various boons to one’s ability to collect and distribute energy. By combining fragments of these runes and parts of or entire families together in a peculiar lattice has been proven to produce a network of power transportation and distribution akin to one’s own bloodstream. This is the Mana Map, a system able to maximize the efficiency and efficacy of evocation.
Through careful individualized enchantment of the lattice the Mana Map will activate upon detection of foreign mana in the body. From here it helps regulate the flow of this and any magical energy in the body. Specfic enchantments are placed and assign personal and foreign stores to individual routes. When an excess amount is detected the Mana Map will express the energy needed to return the body to a regular storage state. Excess mana is then recycled, by a variety of methods, until expended or expelled.
(Addendum: I have a few other magic related texts that I might post here.)