Vectors are abilities unique to Vespers, and subsequently Vexers.
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Vectors vary in origin, depending on the type. Root Vectors are ingrained within the Vesper’s cells upon birth and are unique to that individual, while Branch Vectors are acquired later in life.
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The easiest way one can interpret Vectors is as programs or sets of instructions which alter the behaviour and capabilities of a Vesper’s cells. They fall into two categories: Root and Branch Vectors.
Root Vectors are Vectors only available to the user, being part of their identity. All Vespers possess one Root Vector, available to them since birth. They serve as the main ability of the Vesper. and cannot be meaningfully altered to change their nature, but can learn to modulate the present capabilities to their liking. Repeated usage allows for better understanding of the background code, which allows for a boosted deploy efficiency.
Branch Vectors are modular Vectors, available to multiple individuals at a time. Their purposes are more versatile, working alongside or assisting the Vesper’s Root Vector, and one individual can hold multiple at a time. Skilled enough Vespers can code their own Branch Vectors, which they can transfer to other Vespers, and some can even do it on the spot to alter the behaviour of their Root Vector. They can be patched and updated, which means that two identical Branch Vectors can diverge into completely different paths, based on the Vesper’s preferred usage. Alternatively, two independent Branch Vectors can converge, due to their purpose being similar, although not all Vespers are equal coders, so some Branch Vectors might be coded better and be more efficient than a similar alternative. Multiple Branch Vectors can be merged into one, although it increases the risk of bugs and might make them less versatile.
A Sandbox is a win-condition Vector technique. It involves the Vesper deploying a physical boundary, a wall of solid light projected outward, inside which their Root Vector is embedded into a runtime environment within the enclosed space, enforcing a personal set of rules based on the Root Vector. The only ways to counter a Sandbox are to physically destroy the boundary, from the inside or outside, forcefully halting the Sandbox; by deploying your own Sandbox, the two overlapping boundaries causing both to shatter; or to deploy your own Sandbox, but use the already deployed boundary as your own, attempting to overpower the other’s Sandbox. A less used counter is deploying your own Sandbox, but applying its ruleset exclusively to your own body, essentially bypassing the surrounding Sandbox’s imposed environment. Vespers can use the pre-existing physical infrastructure as boundary instead of deploying their own, which is significantly easier. A deployed boundary isn’t static, with bigger dynamic sizes requiring more skill than a static or existent boundary.
A Boundless Sandbox is a Sandbox with no boundary, instead the runtime environment expanding outward with no boundary to use as scaffolding. The only way to properly counter a Boundless Sandbox is to deploy your own Sandbox: since they do not have a boundary, a Boundless Sandbox is not really limited by size, which means that deploying your own Sandbox on top assigns and enforces it a size, that your own Sandbox, which causes a size error and causes extreme backlash, crashing both. The window for this counter is extremely narrow, as the Boundless Sandbox must be bound before it properly activates, but not before it begins deployment, as to avoid your own Sandbox boundary from being used against you, as Boundless Sandboxes can in fact use a boundary, although they do not need one. The size error is also only triggered if the Boundless Sandbox is bigger than the counter Sandbox, as the lack of boundary also means their actual area can be scaled to how its needed, so deploying a counter Sandbox on top of a Boundless Sandbox that is smaller than it will not do anything.
.limitations
Vectors use a form of processed Anima as fuel, syphoned from their environment and stored within the Vesper’s cells, without which the Vectors simply stop functioning. Their cells have an capacity, determining how much Anima can be stored at a time, and a bandwidth, which determines how fast Anima can be absorbed from their surroundings.
Each Vector has its own Anima cost, which draws upon from the internal capacity to function, with some being more efficient cost-wise than others. Overuse will quickly burn through Anima reserves, with the bandwidth limiting how fast they can replenish. The syphon’s efficiency is influenced by the local Anima density, with higher or lower densities passively affecting its speed, and by the Vesper’s own mentality, directly increasing with their hostility towards the target.
Sandboxes are extremely hard to deploy, only used by a handful of skilled Vespers, and most of which using a pre-existing boundary instead of creating their own. You need not only skill and focus, but also enough Anima reserves, although practice and understanding of the background code can allow for more efficient Anima usage. Vessels cannot use any type of Sandbox, due to their automated subroutines being too basic to properly deploy and maintain one, and Kirlian Mimics cannot copy Sandboxes. The only ones capable of deploying a Boundless Sandbox are Violence Against Art and the Serpent.