Spending Elemental Energy
Elemental Energy is a type of temporary currency that can be spent on numerous mechanical effects from activating abilities to changing the narrative of the story. Every character has a cap on the amount of Elemental Energy they can hold at any given time. This default limit is specified as 1.25x times the amount of energy your elemental burst costs without any SFX (rounded down to nearest whole number). For narrative purposes, characters' visions will being to shine/glow at 1.0x, and will intensify until they hit their cap. Having more than this safe limit can be toxic to humans, even vision holders...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
The most common use for elemental energy is of course used to activate elemental bursts or to use rarer elemental passive abilities from character visions. This is because their powerful effects would be too strong to be used every turn, so they have elemental energy as a way to manage cooldowns in addition to each Vision ability set's specific cooldown and energy costs.
Elemental energy can also be used to intervene in contests between characters, protect other characters (or yourself) from devastating boss attacks, create situational environmental assets (GM will let you know when this option is available), and also as a last resort to keep your character in the fight.
If your character is about to get knocked out of a contest and you want to stay in it, you can pay an elemental energy price to survive with a complication that is greater than your max HP with respect to how many steps above that complication is above your max HP. For example, if you take a D10 complication but your Max HP was a D6, you would have to pay 2 steps worth of elemental energy in order to survive in the contest with this complication. It does not cure the complication, you still have a D10 complication for the rest of the scene, but it does allow you to stay in the fight. You may only do this Once per contest by default, so use this wisely.
Similarly, if your character is on the Verge of Death and accumulates a Trauma above their own Max HP, they will be forced to make a death-saving throw. Expunging all of your stored elemental energy will increase your odds of survival by 1-5% per elemental energy point (At GM's discretion of the stakes). Contrary to the last point this can be done multiple times per scene, but your odds of survival decrease each time so beware what risks you take.
Gaining Elemental Energy
By default, every character starts with 1 elemental energy point at the beginning of each session. Certain characters with elemental recharge abilities may have SFX that allow them to surpass this limit.
Elemental energy is designed to be something you spend often, so don't save it unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. don't save them like potions or ethers in pokemon; think of how much time you wasted by never using those)!
The main way you acquire elemental energy is through using your elemental skills and effects. Successfully connecting your elemental skill with your enemies will award a certain number of elemental energy points for yourself and in some cases for your party. Sometimes, enemy attacks will also leave behind elemental particles that you can pick up to gain additional elemental energy.
Elemental energy can also be found in the world by interacting with objects, engaging in good roleplay between party members or NPCs, and activating gadgets or items with energy effects.
Losing Elemental Energy
Elemental energy is meant to be spent! If you have any remaining elemental energy at the end of a session, it returns to the lay lines from whence it came and you will start with the default amount next time like everyone else.
Some enemies or areas will continuously draw elemental energy out of your body in order to disable your attacks each round to gain an advantage as well as to incentivize players to use their elemental energy often. However, this is not always the best strategy because certain deadly areas will eat away at your life force if you lack sufficient elemental energy to burn instead. Knowing how to manage your elemental energy is key!
If you are defeated in a "Serious" or "Deadly" Types of Dice Conflicts (Rolling), then you forfeit all elemental energy points you have at that point in the session if you do not gain a trauma die from it.