Sculpting 101:
Arc.
The first of the sources we’re going to be covering is arc! We were just planning to go in alphabetical order, but it helps that arc is one of the easier sources.
Arc is all about electricity. By drawing on sources of electrical current, arc sculptors are able to juice themselves up and unlock powers unique to them. The obvious and immediate use of this power?
Speed.
Arc sculptors are the fastest people in the world of Vale by a large margin. Even the newest arc can probably keep pace with a horse if they have something to draw from. The best of the best are veritable speedsters, able to blitz across a field in the blink of an eye, or even dodge out of the way of gunfire.
As if being lightning fast wasn’t enough, arcs are also able to channel their energy into their own body to accelerate their ability to heal. Nicks and cuts and bruises fade in hours instead of days. Though, having this in their back pocket does tend to make arcs a little more reckless than most.
A trickier but still very potent ability they can use is simply shooting electricity. This isn’t easy, so it’s not exactly a common thing to see an arc do, but the ones that can are highly respected. They can stride across the battlefield hurling bolts of lightning down upon their enemies.
Vale is a setting that is rapidly approaching a technological revolution, and modern conveniences like electric lights are becoming more and more commonplace. This means that arcs have their easiest time drawing on in their source in the middle of a big city.
That doesn’t mean that arcs are powerless when caught out in nature, however. Electricity runs through the bodies of every living things, and statically charged air fills the world around us. It’s rare to find an arc that can use their powers if simply surrounded by trees, but you certainly shouldn’t count them out.
And heaven forbid you have to fight one during a storm…
Every source also has its own unique incarnum, a material that sculptors can draw forth as if from thin air. Arc incarnum is called voltaic thread. It’s basically metal wire that conducts electricity, but arcs can even manipulate it by channeling a current through it.
There’s two tricky elements to voltaic thread, though. First off, most people can’t see it. It’s totally invisible unless you’re an arc sculptor yourself.
Second, and more important, very, very few arcs are actually able to make voltaic thread at all. It’s not a matter of it being difficult. For the majority of arc sculptors, making the incarnum is simply impossible.
We meet quite a few arc sculptors throughout the Ashling Saga but a few of the most notable are, of course, Louis Fontaine and Liora herself. In book two, we introduce Jacob Cartwright and Vice Grayson, as well a heap of minor characters.
Overall, arc is a fun source. Go fast, heal fast.
Could it be your choice?