Mana Tribe

The Mana Tribe is a group of people living in the Mana Holyland and serve under the Goddess of Mana as direct guardians and protectors of the Mana Tree and the Sword of Mana. They dwell in a small village near the base of the Tree and are a reclusive organization that keep to themselves and tend to their own outside of threats made against the Holyland or the Tree; they have the ability to come and go between the Holyland and the Middle Realm at will, but rarely do so outside of necessary circumstances. Everything is provided for them within the confines of the Holyland itself, either from the land or the Goddess, such that they have no need to go outside their village for any economical reasons.

Those from the Mana Tribe do not differ greatly from any mortal races from the Middle Realm, and are seen as typically-human with occasional other racial aspects. They have the same physical standards, the same capacity for mortality, and so on. Their attunement to Mana itself is where their differences shine brightest, which grants them a number of benefits outside of those that dwell in the realms below them.

Unique Traits

Mana-Touched: All members of the Mana Tribe have the ability to see, hear, and speak with the mana spirits, for either social or practical purposes. Some members of the tribe will form a bond with a particular spirit, often giving it a name by which to reference it.

Mana Signature Detection: An individual's internal mana-based composition is visible to those of the Mana Tribe through what is essentially a 'second sight.' Members of the tribe are able to pick up on a person's nature, mood, intent, health, and other physical or emotional factors simply by studying the changes in mana that makes up a person at any given moment. Anything living or organic has a Mana Signature, and it is not limited to those with sentience.

Heightened Magical Aptitude: Being as close to the Goddess and the Tree as they are, members of the Tribe have an increased aptitude for mana-based magic and are typically fluent in all elements and channels of magic by the time they reach adulthood.

Bloodline Responsibilities:The males and females of the Mana Tribe have different roles that, depending on the nature of the world and its inherent dangers at any given time, they may have to take up. The Mana Tree is not an ageless being, and despite being descended from the Goddess herself, a woman from the tribe is required to be the 'host' for any new incarnation of the Mana Tree when the previous one withers or is destroyed. This line of succession is usually decided ahead of time so that foreward knowledge is given to those who may have to step up when the time comes, but in times of emergency, any female in the tribe is capable of taking up this mantle. Alternately, the men of the tribe have the ability to wield the Sword of Mana without prior requirements; in times of need, the Goddess may designate a non-tribesman as one who can wield the Sword, but males from the tribe may circumvent this requirement at will, should the need arise or if a chosen person is not established when calamity strikes. Men of the tribe are, understandably, well-trained in swordsmanship from a young age so that if they become required to do so, they may wield the Sword without lacking the skill to utilize it effectively.