Editing Nasuverse (section)

=== Important Names and Places ===
*'''The Root''' - As it sounds, the wellspring of creation, beyond gods, and even the planet. The intent of Magecraft users to return here is indicative of the regressive nature of Magecraft, with mages who abandon this goal shunned and called spellcasters instead. Each form of True Magic presents a different road to the Root of All Things. With that said, nobody knows what the Root actually ''is'', and the people who have reached it aren't telling (in no small part because they disappear without a trace upon doing so). At least one wielder of True Magic came close to reaching the Root and nope'd out, suggesting that it may not be as desirable as mages think.
*'''Records of Akasha''' - A mass of data saved by the world, which exists outside of spacetime. May or may not be the Root itself, or at least part of it. When a human dies, their soul is returned here and stripped of all information other than the origin, later reincarnating anew. Hence, reincarnation is borderline impossible in Nasuverse if you actually die (as opposed to body-hopping), since the person that returns will only retain the barest skeleton of a soul. Within these data is also the Throne of Heroes, wherein humanity's greatest heroes and villains (and fictitious tales, and what have you) are recorded as Servants after being removed from the cycle others are subjected to.
*'''Counterforce''' - A power that protects the world. This typically refers to the human variant, but Gaia and Alaya both have a Counterforce of their own. It is the main reason why neither magic nor technology have yet ripped the planet in two: Wherever someone would come close to such an event, the Counterforce will manifest, either by strengthening whoever is trying to solve the problem, or as something as simple as a natural disaster, or it will use the data from the Throne of Heroes to summon a Counter Guardian: An immensely powerful spirit, that can balance things in person, with more finesse. Most of the time, that still means murdering everybody.
*'''Origin''' - A term that comes up a lot, so it should probably be noted here. As everything and everyone originates from Akasha, their nature is predetermined, giving them a particular 'Origin', which can typically be expressed in a few words. It will inform their actions in a subtle manner, acting as a sort of instinct that intensifies in crisis situations. For an extreme example, a guy with a "Consumption" origin chose to eat the body of the person he murdered whole after seeing no other way to dispose of it. For a more mundane situation, Emiya Kiritsugu can't repair things properly due to his "Severing and Binding" origin (think cutting a thread and making a knot to reconnect it; the result is not as good as a new thread) and uses bullets that contain his bones and fuck with the target's mana flow. Humanity can work against their origin, but is strengthened by acting in line with it. A being with an awakened Origin is an immense force, but basically ceases to have free will.[[File:clock tower faculties.png|200px|thumb|Faculties of Clock Tower]]
*'''The Mage Association''' - A gathering of Magecraft users of various strength and lineage, going back thousands of years. The main goal of every Magus is to reach the 'Records of Akasha', or rather the 'Root', all of which are basically the same thing as explained above. Many ways of attempting this are demonstrated across the franchise, and they generally fail. This goal basically includes every Magus in the Association to some extent. The Association's purpose is just to ensure that while everyone comes up with their own way, that way does not involve too much collateral damage.
**Clock Tower - The first of the three branches, situated in London. Nepotistic, making a big deal of lineage and one's inborn qualities as a Magus. If you discover something cool or gain a unique ability, the old fogeys will designate you as an assassination target, preserve the part of your body that they find interesting, and fight over who gets to have it rather than do anything productive. Pretty much the face of magecraft, though very focused on Europe and unable to exert much influence in countries such as Japan. Very obviously inspired by Harry Potter, though it's more of an university setting. They also have a smaller branch in Prague.
**Atlas Institute - A vaguely Egyptian-themed underground bunker, staffed by alchemists, with less of a focus on lineage. Rather than practice through their own Magic Circuits, they specialize in the creation of tools and weapons. It is a general belief that they have too much dakka.
**Sea of Astray - Only described as a wandering mountain range, the magi in here basically isolate themselves from the modern world, to preserve as much of the mystery as possible.
*'''The Church''' - Try to be for the magical world what the Catholic Church was for Medieval Europe. Use their magic circuits to produce supernatural phenomena that they swear are totally not just magic. The exact nature of Christian faith, especially in relation to something like paganism, is shuffled around carefully. The Church does not want it to be put into question, which is why they have:
**'''Burial Agency''' - A subdivision of the Catholic Church, which deals with extermination of everything which does not belong into god's plan. They train Executors, who are badass dudes going around the world murdering vampires, natural spirits, and especially magecraft users who go out at night. Besides their base of operations in Vatican, they also employ the help of various chivalric orders around the world, in case they need to crack down on an infestation, or something. While they limit the use of Magecraft to the minimum, they also have a sub-division which is explicitly tasked with researching such techniques, even ones based on protestant faiths.
*'''Demon Hunter's Association''' - An entity dating back to the older times, breeding recessive traits through eugenics, in order to protect common humanity. Though this is a Japanese thing, it can be assumed more such groups exist elsewhere. They were various families of ordinary, if trained, humans in the past (four of them in Japan), who primarily hunted those of demonic heritage. However, over time, they gained different kinds of special powers themselves and set out to refine them. These powers are quite unique and rarely, if ever, seen elsewhere, and it's stated that the hunters pretty much just did a lot of self-selection for useful demon-hunting traits to obtain them rather than seek external sources of power. In the times past, they may have been ninjas and more traditional hunters, today they lean more towards assassination. Their children, knowing nothing but training from the day they can stand, wind up quite autistic, which is a perfect trait for a protagonist. With that said, the most capable hunter in history [[Grimdark|died and got his entire bloodline killed because he showed a moment of humanity at a single point in his life]], sparing a chained-up half-oni child and ''only'' gouging out one of his eyes, so the autism is fairly justified.