Those who are dedicated practitioners of kheji manipulation with the aim of interacting in combat with others are known as sorcerers. Though some who only use kheji to enhance their own physical traits sometimes refuse the title of sorcerer as they believe the term to be reserved for those who perform visible, flashy casting, it's very rare to find combatants who truly do not practise sorcery in one manner or another.
In battle sorcery, there are two main traits that broadly define any sorcerer: their affinity state and their proficiency state. Affinity defines the optimal distance of connection in which you can best manipulate kheji while proficiency defines how dense you can consistently force the kheji in your control to become. Essentially, affinity can be viewed as one's natural range of casting and proficiency as one's average output potential.
Usually, there are nine general categories that all sorcerers fall into.
The aforementioned fighters who use kheji to enhance their own physical traits usually fall into the low affinity, low proficiency category. The stereotypical, ideal sorcerer is usually regarded as high affinity, high proficiency. But sorcery comes in many forms.
To go into detail, a low affinity sorcerer can be a deadly force when the sorcerer is able to close the distance in their favour. Low affinity sorcerers cannot control kheji more than a set distance away from their own selves. But neither of the two other affinities can hope to match the density of kheji a low affinity can produce in melee range. Low affinity sorcerers essentially have the tightest grip on kheji, they are just not always in position to utilise that grip.
High affinity sorcerers use distance to their advantage. As long as they can stay well away from their opponents, they are free to continuously deal damage without fear of retaliation, as neither of the two other affinities could hope to reach them. Battles between two high affinity sorcerers can be destructive on a massive scale without them ever being close enough to trade weapon blows. However, their ability to condense kheji is on average, weaker than any other similar proficiency sorcerer of a different affinity. When pitted against an equally powerful middling or low affinity sorcerer in close quarters, they are unable to match the raw damage output of the other two.
Middling affinity sorcerers are opportunists in battle, a jack of all trades, master of none. When against a low affinity sorcerer, they are able to fight from far enough away that the enemy cannot utilise their strengths. When against a high affinity sorcerer, they can work to close the gap and overpower them. However, just as they are able to use this to their advantage, the middling affinity works against them. Their range will never measure up to that of a high affinity sorcerer and they will struggle to overpower equally powerful low affinity sorcerers. Fluidity and adaptability in fighting styles are of utmost importance.
The magic that sorcerers cast during battle are known as sorceries. However, most stick only to three sorceries, also known as masteries. These are the sorcerer's most comfortable, compatible casts that they intuitively uncover throughout their growth. It is unheard of for a fenvaerja to have more than three masteries at any given time, as that is the body's natural limit for attuning with sorceries. Typically, masteries are divided into two general use casts and one intensely powerful cast that heavily depletes the user's kheji.
Masteries generally cannot be active in an overlapping way. For example, a common form of masteries that send the sorcerer into an alternate state, known as Imbuements, must be ceased before other masteries are usable. If you have one mastery that flings orbs and another mastery that imbues you with the ability to vanish from sight, you cannot fling the orbs while you are vanished from sight.
However, the most common exception to this rule are Placements. Certain masteries result in a feature being placed onto the self or battlefield. New Placements cannot be created when you are casting another mastery, but previous Placements that were cast will remain when you switch away from the Placement mastery.
To see a list of current characters' masteries, click here.
General sorceries that are compatible with any sorcerer are called Innates. In fact, Innates are not always used in combat by nature. They see much day to day usage as well. However, they do take ample time to learn and then even more to grasp properly, as they are not necessarily intuitive for those with no training. That being said, not every sorcerer has reached competency or even learned every Innate, as some will choose to pass or focus on certain ones depending on their prerogative.
Innates fall into three general categories:
Halflings possess weaponry that allow them to more readily condense and manipulate kheji. A weapon of this nature is known as a raniom, and is in a way, their signature weapon. Raniomr typically take the form of a trinket when it is inactive. When activating, the trinket form fades away and it manifests in their hand as the weapon itself. These weapons are strongly tied to the halfling they belong to and do not respond well to being wielded by others, as it is attuned to the specific combination of divine and mortal kheji that forms a halfling. Raniomr are created only after poluntolode during a special ritual overseen by Hiegd.
The strong bond between wielder and weapon allows halflings to recall their raniom by expending kheji. The further the distance, the more kheji is required to recall it. After a certain distance is reached, the raniom will typically reform itself on the wielder in trinket form over the course of a few days. It is highly uncommon to lose access to a raniom for long durations of time.
Finally, when it comes to divine sorcerers, they easily transcend the limits that most fenvaerja experience. For the divine, most of their casting ability is limited not by their bodies or kheji, but by ancient binding treaties and oaths. They typically have countless masteries and unfathomably deep stores of kheji but are forbidden by divine oath, particularly the Lanidseriwad, from utilising these abilities in most circumstances. Deities also have raniomr, but unlike halflings, their raniomr can shift forms as well. If a deity's raniom is naturally a sword, it can easily become any number of other weapons at their command.