Mana is energy in pure form and accommodates all lesser forms of energy, allowing them to exist. This being said, unlike the lesser energy forms, Mana as an energy is also the base building block of all elemental substances.
[From here on when talking about Mana in dormant state, I will refer to it as Mana-strings. This is because when in this dormant state it acts a lot like a short piece of string that is sticky at both ends.]
When in natural dormant state, pure Mana has a micro-magnetic bond that draws other Mana-strings towards it, this is a sub-atomic bond that in larger scales allows for particles to bond and thus substance is formed.
The 'raw' Mana is in a sense 'Dead' Mana or 'untapped' Mana because although the Mana-strings vibrate in their structures and elements, these are essentially unusable in spell-craft. (though this is not the case for Daemons which see and sense the structures of Mana in a way that differs to us humans and thus have the ability to manipulate it while in the untapped state). The category of untapped Mana includes all known substance be it solid, liquid or gas.
Mana in string-form can be imagined as a woven blanket. Where each stitch has free movement but is held together by the adjacent stitches, the tightness of each bond
Mana-strings vibrate either in patterns or fluctuate wildly depending on the matrix in which is a part. Untapped Mana is usually more 'flowing' in a stable structure but fluctuates in a more volatile one.
This is how Mana exists in different forms:
Untapped = Substances
(Solids, Liquids, Gasses)
Untapped, dormant Mana makes up the substances and elements that we see, touch, smell and use in our mundane every lives.
Tapped = Forces / Energies
(Forces: Gravity, Magnetism, Friction / Energies: Thermal, Light, Electrical etc etc)
Tapped mana has special properties that allow it to transcend and even command or effect untapped Mana with the way in which it acts.
Transial = Focused 'Stand By' Mana
Transial Mana is highly unstable but tends to be short lived in this state. It can only be awakened with 'Forced Awakening' and will only exist as long as some form of control is asserted to it. Left unaltered, Transial Mana gravitates to itself before dissipating in heat.
The Universal Balance of Mana
Mana as an energy cannot be created or destroyed. It is said that there is a static volume of Mana within the Illitus and when a spell is cast, the awakened form of Mana will become the force, energy or substance intended before returning to a dormant state once again.
Mana-folds
Mana-Folds are either naturally occurring or created folds in reality that hold Mana from passing through it. On a large scale these Mana-folds separate the different Sphere dimensions, stopping them flowing into each other, though it is said that theoretically Mana can in some quantities flow between when the variables are exactly correct.
Transial (awakened Mana used specifically in spellcraft) can be used to force open and closed holes within the Mana-folds but this is known to damage the basic fabric of these folds.
There a literally countless folds, some huge and others so minute that they cannot be felt and have near no effect on Mana around it. If imagined visibly they would look like a million concertina fans layered in a huge pile across each other.
Forced Awakening
This is the term for when someone either causing Untapped Mana to break away from its home substance and to hang in the air or to bring tapped mana under control and again cause it to hang in the air.
Thwe practiced of Forced Awakening is a difficult one to master, many die with the mistake of misjudging the amount of mana to awaken. This mistake comes from the inibility for a new Mage to judge the amount of Mana that he or she can control at any one time as once a source has be chosen and Mana is being syphoned, it is difficult to close the floodgates. A mage overwhelmed with Mana will soon realise they feel hot, then they feel the air around them shaking. Usually if the Magi is very unlucky and there is no more experience Magi to assist, the Awakened mana will combust, incinerating the unfortunate Mage before disipating and returning to its natural state.
The Forced Awakening is usually part of a Mental-Assertion controlling the Mana around the magi. The magi uses focus and visualisation in order to change the state of Mana for use. It is quite common though for different types of magi to move arms and their bodies in order to help with concentration and mental focus. Many would go so far as to believe that their body movements give extra strength in the Awakening, shaping or casting process though this is unproven.
