and not to be messed with lightly, as they can have devastating effects. – lost nanotechnology (difficult to justify how that would be forgotten)
Paint can carry genetic qualities as well. Have fun with it! Using the Harry Potter example, the rules of what magic can and cannot do are defined throughout the books – new things are added throughout the series, but there is some structure in the form of spells, potions, etc., and a few laws that are hard limits (such as the no true resurrection one), yet the author of this post states it is not rational (although hard). When an earthbender is blocked by a mountain, we know that with enough effort, they could create a tunnel through it. You might want to read them. – Though some have tried since the beginning, it has been deemed impossible for a human to harness and redistribute sunlight. Because there is no sunlight and no heat, the water is frozen and white, and blankets the ground. The power to project energy from magic itself, in any way or form the user wishes. Bit of background on the names, also random worldbuilding you can skip: Conduits were though to be channeling the energy of the gods, as when they are “full” they glow slightly – but Conduits can’t do anything with their energy by themselves. The power to manipulate plants and vines. Magic doesn't need to be plausible, but it has to work well. Good luck with your universe. Or you go back to the idea that words shape the world, which is why we have the word ‘enchantment’ which comes from chanting. We have a knowledge of these beings, many of them exist in our mythology as gods, angels, demons, etc. A few generations later, some of them did discover the truth, but kept it secret for fear of being blamed by association for the fall, and of people fearing a magical plague happening again. External energy could work; however, instantaneously moving energy from one place to another causes problems. It might require a zen-like approach: a complete clearing of the mind, as in Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, where young Lyra must carefully put her mind at rest before she asks a question of the magical device. As far as using body energy outside of the body is concerned, this is something you will have to wing.
Sanderson’s First Law this is all super helpful! The spellbook kind of magic is more of a preference, like if they don’t want to be apart if any of the fighting and just rather hang back.
Taking this further would logical lead to even more powerful techniques, using vacuums to burst eardrums, rupture lungs, and using air pressure to launch objects in ways similar to the people that build vacuum cannons that launch ping pong balls at supersonic speeds. The best frameworks have limitations inherent to the way they operate.
Advantages: you can summon a physical form of your paint to help fight with you, you can make deals with your contractor sacrificing parts of your power to gain special moves or stronger attacks, becoming closer to your contractor makes your flow stronger “Life” is responsible for, well, life and health. If you use magic (or psychic powers) like a Deus Ex Machina, enabling your magic users (or psychics) to do whatever the story needs, without any understandable reason why they can do all this, you have something else. The twist? Because people tend to be put off when your story changes rules in the middle. You could also INCREASE existing energy in an object (Eg- Can make a Moving ball move faster) Or you could DECREASE existing energy in an object (Eg- Can make a Moving ball slow down and even stop & become completely static). That means Rowling doesn’t have any guidelines to keep her from contradicting something she’s already invented or from creating a spell that makes the plot pointless. Another elite bending technique is Astral Projection since their are the most spiritual of benders. If you use this source, decide why reality is so malleable – is everyone in a dream or a virtual reality game? First of all, you need to figure out what both types of magic can do. That will tell you what the Empire could have that the mages can’t just conjure for themselves. And there are laws to the magic, they may not be as strict as some novels and series, but they are there. Casting also generates colors based on how much power you drew upon to cast it. Okay, now that that’s our of the way… But creating a consistent system that allowed for both these laws and my magical exceptions without, say, having the laws of physics change so much that there are no stable structures, or allowing for time travel, was difficult. Dark, but if it works for the story… however, I would say that rather than the Interferes having been oppressed and retaliating, it seems a lot more likely that they were the oppressors and committed genocide. Lich could do for those who contain the energy, as liches go on living long after they should be gone, so essentially containing life energy past their due date.