Enhancement Magic

Enhancement, purveyor of the Superhuman
Enhancement magic sheds the normal flair and external effects of magic processes and exchanges it for the internal. At its simplest form, it is capable of making the body able to perform incredible feats that go beyond what a normal member of their race is capable of. At its extremes it is capable of specialized enhancement for specific parts of the body that go beyond just the physical. It's most useful capabilities lie in team based scenarios in which other magic is at play, however.

The Process
To put it bluntly, when an enhancement user generates mana they apply it internally instead of using it for various external effects. Where a typical Mage may conjure a fireball, for example, an enhancement user will take that power inward to increase their own capabilities. This is an incredibly dangerous thing to do to ones own body without proper knowledge of how ones anatomy works, however. Throughout history the greatest users of Enhancement magic tend to be scientists, surgeons and other well educated types.

For example, say one was to enhance their arm to deliver a more powerful punch. If one applies just a general enhancement, then their pain receptors will also be enhanced, causing the punch itself to be agonizing for the user. This is common in those new to the discipline and showcases the extreme amount of control needed to make this work.

Even when you enhance the specific muscles needed, you have to reinforce the bone to withstand the blow without breaking your own hand. Then you need to enhance the shoulder and upper chest muscles to absorb the impact of the blow. For this reason alone enhancement requires a good base level knowledge before practical application of the magic is possible.

The Applications
The most well known form of Enhancement is an overall upgrade to the bodies physical capabilities. When the mana is filtered through the body this way it can create a general increase to strength, speed and stamina. However, this is generally considered inefficient to adept users of the magic due to the benefits being reduced when applied in a broader sense.

Master users of this find greater power when they focus on the parts of the body that need enhancement specifically. Someone about to take a death blow can increase their defenses for that specific body part. Someone about to infiltrate a base can focus on their eyesight. Another may opt for speed instead to escape a dangerous situation. Above anything else when a single Magi uses enhancement they are known for creating a force of physicality that allows them to compete with more traditional magic branches.

However, this is not the only application of magic. It can increase the bodies ability to fight off disease, for example. It can speed up healing time, providing a minor regeneration effect. The regeneration is based on an enhancement of the bodies natural healing capabilities however, and thus is not as immediately effective as the healing magic of Light or Nature based magic. That said, for long term healing it is a great boon.

What is not as well documented as its ability to enhance the mental capabilities of the users. Since it is so reliant on ones knowledge of how their body works, those who try to make themselves smarter often fail and cause damage to their own brains, making enhancement one of the most difficult magic schools to master. Even if they do manage to create positive effects in their brain power it can often cause unwanted side effects such as hallucinations, dementia, Alzheimer's and other unwanted afflictions. That said, many create regulated 'think tanks' with people able to do this in the hopes of breakthroughs or other inventions. The most useful during wartime is the magics ability to actually enhance other magic. With great effort the user is able to create a magic circle known as a 'seal'. It does not have to be on an object or surface - it often is made of concentrated mana and lingers in the air where the user summoned it. Magic cast through the seal will find its power enhanced greatly as well, giving Enhancement users amazing adaptability when paired with other magic users. Many enhancers can combine their abilities to create larger seals, which is a common tactic during wartime to create pseudo siege weaponry from magic. This can allow, with great numbers of the users, amazing magic potential akin to meteors falling from the sky, large hurricanes and tornado's or great tidal waves.

The final ability of an enhancer is the ability to gift these benefits onto another. Generally, if one is familiar with their own races anatomy they can confer these abilities at a lesser rate due to the fact that one generally knows their own body better than others. For particularly gifted learners they may be able to apply these to other races as well if they are familiar enough with their anatomy. It is considered very dangerous to try to apply this on a race whose anatomy you do not understand.

It is said a gifted enhancer is capable of user their mana to 'mute' the ability of someone else through touch. This include things like making an enemy slower, weaker or more fragile. Due to the fact that it is less effective, however, this is generally not explored as much as traditionally enhancing ones own ability.

Availability
Due to the high intelligence requirements, enhancers are a rarer breed of magi in the world compared to more traditional schools of magic. Many governments will recruit those with a high pedigree when seeking participants to learn this magic for the military benefits, although special training is available for those willing to focus on matters of anatomy for the purposes of this magic.

Generally, most do not want to be enhancers since it is not viewed as 'glorious' as magic with deadly outer benefits. It is not as impressive to the untrained eye to see someone do an act of amazing strength compared to a bolt of lightning. That said, some hospitals and clinics carry an enhancer to help their patients fight off disease by boosting the natural resistance and healing rates of patients.

As a side note, not every user of this magic has to be especially intelligent. It is possible to 'feel it out' so to speak, it is just likely that those users had a much slower rate of mastery initially and most likely caused some long term damage to their bodies. This does not mean history has not had such people capable of monstrous deeds.