Manitium is a radioactive and unstable mineral originating from Nivira, with a unique ability: it converts surrounding minerals into copies of itself, like a geological viral agent.
The Manitides spread Manitium across several star systems, including Earth, during the Middle Ages. Their millennia-old goal: to terraform other planets remotely and harness the energy released by Manitium.
On Earth, this plan was inadvertently diverted. The ore became a sought-after substance: continuously traded by junkies, used by wizards, physicists, priests, spies, and shoshones to amplify their powers, and sometimes consumed as a healing potion by vampires. Earthly addiction to power and mana potions effectively destroyed the original purpose of the Manitides.