Arcane Array

An Arcane Array is a somewhat-common magical device found throughout Rutania, typically in the hands of experienced mages. It is able to split itself into many geometric pieces, which can be re-assembled into formations that can manipulate mana, via redirection, amplification, and miscellaneous other forms of modification. Broadly, Arcane Arrays are used for moving mana around, particularly in complex single-use or otherwise temporary spells, though they're also commonly used to direct the effects of spells as well. Notably, when not in use, an Arcane Array's default state is typically a relatively-innocuous, though often decorated, rectangle roughly the size and shape of a playing card, anywhere from 3mm to 10mm thick. This compactness, along side the device's general versatility, has made the Arcane Array a favorite among extremely proficient mages, to the point of sometimes being nicknamed a Magician's Multitool.

Arcane Arrays are not particularly known for being very helpful in active combat, as moving them and using them simultaneously can be quite challenging, but they are seen on occasion in supporting roles, typically being used as part of long-range spells. They have, however, earned a bit of an odd reputation, given a certain goddess has taken to weaponizing them much more directly.

Functionality

An Arcane Array can split itself into a large quantity of geometric fragments, through a combination of self-disassembly and self-duplication, with these fragments not typically doing much by themselves. The fragments can then be assembled into a number of different formations, often using telekinesis and levitation spells, which can then act upon mana and magical effects that pass through them. Typically those effects fall into one of four categories:

• Redirection, either towards whatever part's next, or wherever the effects of the spell being cast need to manifest; this can also come in the form of confinement, to keep mana and magic contained.
• Splitting/Merging, typically by splitting streams of mana for a multitude of purposes, some of which may later involve merging them back together, particularly when trying to combine the effects of different spells.
• Amplification, which is largely self-explanatory, amplifying the effects of whatever passes through.
• Augmentation, wherein more specialized Arrays can convey specific properties to the mana passing through them.

Combining the different things Arcane Arrays are capable of in a complex sequence can produce a variety of effects, and pairing them with other magical devices designed to apply specific effects to mana that an Arcane Array can't typically do itself can make for a startlingly versatile, if extremely complex, magical apparatus.

This complexity does wind up being a key disadvantage of the Arcane Array- though it is astoundingly versatile, even for most highly-skilled mages it can be quite slow to use simply due to the sheer number of parts that have to be moved around. Arcane Arrays don't have their own motive power, and thus have to be moved around manually, either with telekinesis or directly by hand. Most people also don't have the telekinetic skill to manipulate hundreds or even thousands of parts at once, so often levitation spells or even physical objects are used to anchor formations of the Arcane Array in place once set up. That said, in the absence of other equipment, the tradeoff on time is usually worth it, especially when it comes to one particular subject.

Science

By far the arena the Arcane Array is most useful in, is science and experimentation. In this kind of context, the versatility of the device becomes one of its greatest assets, as it can be adapted to any situation, and can be quickly modified on the fly without needing to carry extra parts. This makes it exceptionally helpful for rapid iteration in testing, as well as prototyping other types of magical devices, particularly weapons, as while the setup time is long, once the Array is set up, adjustments are incredibly easy and quick to make.

Weaponizing

One thing that is decidedly a much less common use case for an Arcane Array is as a weapon, especially in direct combat. Sometimes a mage may carry one into battle to help cast spells in a supporting role, but it's incredibly rare to hear of someone use the Arcane Array itself as a weapon.

Unless of course that someone's name is Naka.

Among the many things Rutania's Goddess of Destruction is known for, one of the most notable of them is her weaponization of the Arcane Array, which is typically incredibly impractical to use in direct combat. Most prominently, she uses it in a variety of directed energy attacks, broadly considered to be its most practical direct combat application, ranging from fairly basic barrages of mana bolts to what can only be described as 'fuckoff massive laser beams'. However, this isn't the only thing she uses it for; with the correct configuration, an Arcane Array can generate blades made of mana, which Naka also uses rather frequently.

The primary reason Naka is able to do this is because of her unbelievably refined skills with telekinesis, being able to manipulate an entire Arcane Array and its many, many parts like it's nothing, to the point where it also sees a variety of mundane uses by her, including assembling platforms and manipulating objects like extra hands. It's to a point where one could argue 'telekinesis' should be one of her domains. Naka's effectively unlimited supply of mana also plays a large part in how she's able to weaponize the Arcane Array as effectively as she does; she has no concerns about efficiency, and thus flinging around raw mana is a non-issue to her.

Trivia

• The Arcane Array used to be called the 'spell focus'. This was a bit of an artifact name, having since been retired due to its generic-ness and similarity to more generalized terms in spellcasting making it a potential source of confusion.