Quintessence

Literally the fifth essence, Quintessence is the material of the pattern of reality. The primal force, quintessence can not really be divided, measured or contained. The patterns of all supernaturals, mortals, inanimate objects, and the whole of the Tellurian is woven from Quintessence. Raw Quintessence sometimes crystallizes into Tass, taking a coincidental form for the type of Node where it fountains up.

A mage's Avatar allows the mage to store and use Quintessence. The Sphere of Prime is dedicated to detecting, collecting, manipulating and condensing Quintessence and Tass. Quintessence can be expended to ease magical effects, filling in the gaps between a mage's will and the consensus. Quintessence can be drawn from Nodes easily, processed out of Tass by adepts of prime, or ripped from the patterns of creatures and objects. Stealing Quintessence from the pattern of reality is always vulgar effect, and can cause rooms to suddenly grow colder, lights to flickering and falter, and sudden weakness in affected creatures as their very fabric is unwoven.