Core Associative Thaumaturgy.

 

AUTHOR CLASSIFIED
(See Number One for details)

 

Please note this article is unreviewed as yet and so cannot be regarded as accurate in any way. If you have any comments, please contact Number One directly

 

A thesis on which elemental combination is woven to create a specific spell effect.

 

 

"Most living things are made up mainly of the four physical elements. The mind is made up off Air and Fire, the body from Water and Earth. When a spell is cast you attempt to manipulate different elements. For instance in a sleep spell you attempt to affect the stands of Air (which is normally passive) within the mind. This then over comes the fire part of the mind and sends you to sleep. In a fear spell you affect the fire element. With strike down you affect the water part of the body." – Mage Jinks 1102

 

1) Introduction

In a lecture by the late Jinks (above) it was stated that "The mind is made of Air and Fire, the body is Earth and Water" and described that manipulating an element has a direct effect on an aspect of the body. This however only made reference to the creation/cardinal weave as the other three were relatively undiscovered at the time and it has been stated that, certainly since the recent Cataclysm, the other weaves also have an influence over the pattern, albeit in subtler ways. Here we aim to see if we can establish those ways.

Looking at the properties of spells themselves, it also becomes apparent that spells gain potency at different tiers which can be divided into four ‘levels’. First level, the basic spells and the detection and countering magics that all require a single thaum of power and have little potency, right up to the highest (fourth) level, an umbrella term for the power wielded by ritualists whilst cocooned in the greater void and the ‘true’ magic of legends long since passed. (This fourth tier has only been included as illustration as it has no measured or ‘castable’ spells.)

Each of these increasing levels requires not only a greater expenditure of power but also a more complicated combination of elements so it is possible that, inadvertently, there is greater correlation between the tier of the spell and the number of elements that must be woven to create it than first thought. This hypothesis would mean that a second tier spell would theoretically require two elements to be combined to produce its effect, a third would require three elements, and the highest tier requires four.
This would appear to make sense on face value, the 'Enthral' spell is an advanced version of 'Distract' spell, so it follows that, if a single element (ILLUSION) was required to create a 'Distract', the addition of a second element (SPIRIT, to draw the distracted mind towards the caster) would modify the spell and allow for its added 'Enthral' properties.

What complicates this matter further is the four 'weaves' themselves, and rationalising how elements within the weaves could be used. It is unlikely that multiple threads could be taken from the same weave, as these have an innate property to counter each though a cyclical hierarchy (e.g. Magic > Spirit > Time > Knowledge > Magic > etc.) therefore no two elements from the same weave would be usable in the same spell without a stabilisation property (see: Ancestral Magic, below) which leaves us with this conundrum; does a spell pull its elemental thread from a specific weave, or does it tap into the most relevant element to generate the spell effect from the most convenient weave to hand?

To answer this we look back to Jinks’ statement above. He makes direct reference to the Fear and Strikedown spells as having specific elements tied to them, which would appear to answer this question and indicate that a spell, at least at the lowest level, is arguably tied to a specific elemental weave. I have expanded on this below with a study that, I believe, details the most likely element that governs the individual aspect of each spell of the three tiers of ‘spell’ magic.
(Important Note: Fear has since become unavailable to Mages, it is believed that the Fire element changed in composition during the last cataclysm, and that Air was left to fill the gap becoming a more physical ‘Repel’ spell instead.)

1.1) Magic Spells and their Estimated Component Elements by spell level:

Level 1

Spell Name	Weave	Properties	Element
Countermagic	Void	(Rng,Mag,Ctr,Ins)	KNOWLEDGE (KNOWLEDGE is the opposite of magic)
Detect Magic	Void	(Mss,Mag,Det,Ins)	MAGIC (MAGIC will detect the presence of itself)
Distract	Existence	(Rng,Mnd,Cmd,10s)	ILLUSION (ILLUSION creates the distraction)
Fumble	Neutrality	(Rng,Phy,For,Ins	CHAOS (CHAOS strikes the weapon preventing it from being held)
Mend	Existence	(Tch,Phy,Cur,Ins)	FORTUNE (FORTUNE brings value back to a ruin)
Repel	Creation	(Rng,Phy,For,10s)	AIR (AIR to physically force back the water in the body)
Strikedown	Creation	(Rng,Phy,For,Ins)	WATER (WATER dislodges the FIRE element within the body)
Trace Transport	Existence	(Rit,Mag,Det,1m)	FATE (FATE tells where the circle was last targeted)

Level 2

Spell Name	Weave	Properties	Element
Blast	Creation/Neutrality	(Rng,Mag,Dam,Ins)	AIR, EVIL (AIR to channel a blast of EVIL, causing a wound)
Chant of Melee Immunity	Creation/Void	(Tch,Phy,Enc,Cht)	EARTH, TIME (EARTH to strengthen the body and TIME to stop blows from taking effect)
Chant of Missile Immunity	Creation/Void	(Tch,Phy,Enc,Cht)	Chant of Missile Immunity - WATER, TIME (WATER to reinforce the evasion ability of the body, TIME to allow the chanter to avoid the flying objects with ease)
Enthral	Void/Existence	(Rng,Mnd,Cmd,Cht)	SPIRIT, ILLUSION (SPIRIT to entrap the consciousness, ILLUSION to entrance the victim towards the caster)
Iron Will	Void/Existence	(Tch,Mag,Enc,Dwn)	MAGIC, REALITY (MAGIC to 'create' the counter spell, REALITY to bend and allow those without magic to use it)
Mute	Existence/Neutrality	(Rng,Phy,For,1m)	ILLUSION, LAW (ILLUSION to remove any sound, LAW to enforce the sounds removal on existence)
Sleep	Creation/Void	(Rng,Mnd,Cmd,10s)	AIR, SPIRIT (AIR to overwhelm the mind, SPIRIT to cloud the consciousness whilst the spell is in effect)
Shatter	Void/Existence	(Rng,Phy,For,Ins)	SPIRIT, FORTUNE (SPIRIT grants the brittleness of iron, FORTUNE to remove all value, rendering it ruined)

Level 3

Spell Name	Weave	Properties	Element
Aura of Immunity	Void/Creation/Neutrality	Slf,Mag,Enc,Cht)	KNOWLEDGE, EARTH, GOOD (KNOWLEDGE to defend against magic, EARTH to reinforce the body, GOOD to grant protection from harm)
Forbidding	Neutrality/Creation/Void	(Mss,Phy,For,Cht)	CHAOS, AIR, KNOWLEDGE (CHAOS to prevent entry, AIR to 'repel' the enemy, KNOWLEDGE to allow the chosen few inside the protection)
Freeze	Creation/Void/Existence	(Rng,Mag,Imb,1m)	WATER, TIME, REALITY (WATER to create ice, TIME to pause the target, REALITY for the ice prison to take a real form)
High Countermagic	Void/Creation/Existence	(Rng,Mag,Ctr,Ins)	KNOWLEDGE, REALITY, EARTH (KNOWLEDGE opposes magic, REALITY enforces that nothing can happen, EARTH to absorb and dissipate the magical energy)
Mage Armour	Existence/Neutrality/Creation	(Tch,Mag,Enc,Dwn)	REALITY, LAW, EARTH (REALITY to shape and form a new defence, LAW to keep it uniform, EARTH to reinforce the body)
Mage Bolt	Creation/Neutrality/Void	(Rng,Mag,Dam,Ins)	FIRE, EVIL, MAGIC (FIRE to strike the mind, EVIL to cause a vicious wound, MAGIC to fuel the attack)
Teleport	Creation/Existence/Void	(Rit,Mag,Spc,10s)	AIR, FATE, TIME (AIR to fly like the wind, FATE to dictate the circle you will appear in, TIME to allow for the movement of the body through the void to the circle)
Weapon of Flame	Creation/Existence/Void	(Slf,Mag,Enc,10m)	FIRE, FORTUNE, SPIRIT (FIRE to damage the opponent, FORTUNE to add value to the weapon, SPIRIT to grant the willpower to create flame from steel)

 

2) Specialist Spell Lists

Enchanting:

This form of magic is more attuned to the physical elements and therefore contains more components from the Creation and Existence weave.
Level 1

Mend Armour	Creation	(Tch,Phy,Cur,Ins)	FIRE (FIRE to re-forge the armours mettle)
Purge Poison	Neutrality	(Tch,Phy,Cur,Ins)	GOOD (GOOD protects the pattern from harm)

Level 2

Infuse Shield	Void/Neutrality	(Slf,Mag,Enc,10s)	MAGIC, LAW (MAGIC to infuse the shield with power, LAW to prevent it coming to any harm)
Weapon of Cold	Creation/Existence	(Slf,Mag,Enc,1m)	WATER, FORTUNE (WATER to ice, FORTUNE to add value to the weapon)

Level 3

Endurance	Creation/Existence/Neutrality	(Tch,Phy,Enc,Dwn)	EARTH, REALITY, LAW (EARTH to reinforce the body, REALITY to dull the existing blades, LAW to unify the advantages)
Fortify Body	Neutrality/Existence/Void	(Tch,Phy,Enc,10m)	CHAOS, ILLUSION, MAGIC (CHAOS to alter what we thought we knew, ILLUSION to change what we see, MAGIC to conjure these changes into existence)

 

Shadow Magic:

This form of magic is more attuned towards the control and domination of creatures created by the existence of evil and so relies heavily on the Neutrality weave.
Level 1

Control Unliving	Neutrality	(Rng,Pat,Cmd,Var)	GOOD (GOOD influences over the Plane of Evils creations)
Detect Unliving	Neutrality	(Mss,Pat,Det,Ins)	EVIL (EVIL will detect the presence of its own corruption)

Level 2

Chant of Wasting	Neutrality/Void	(Tch,Pat,Enc,Cht)	EVIL, TIME (EVIL attacks the flesh, TIME accelerates the dying)
Halt Unliving	Neutrality/Creation	(Rng,Pat,Imb,10s)	GOOD, FATE (GOOD has influence over evils corruption, FATE decrees the target must remain where it stands)

Level 3

High Control Unliving	Neutrality/Existence/Creation	(Rng,Pat,Cmd,Var)	GOOD, ILLUSION, FIRE (GOOD influences over corruption, ILLUSION to issue the command, FIRE to dominate the targets mind)
Mass Fear	Void/Neutrality/Creation	(Mss,Mnd,Cmd,10s)	SPIRIT, CHAOS, FIRE (SPIRIT to affect the mind, CHAOS to sow uncertainty, FIRE for its primal fear-giving effect)

 

Appendices

Appendix 1: True Magic casting and Ritual magic

The True Magic grade is beyond anything that can bound by terminology such as 'thaums' and 'spells'. This highest form of magic is fluid and driven purely by the imagination of the capable of ancient magic users. Unlike the lesser effects usable by us mortals this magic allowed the intertwining of elements from all four weaves simultaneously granting the ability to create devastating or miraculous results. The closest a modern-era Ritualist mage can come to this level of power is within a sealed ritual circle where, surrounded by their contributors, they can access the void itself and have the freedom to work with four or more elemental threads at once, although advances ritual theorists are beginning to understand what elements are best used for particular desired results. This will be examined further in an upcoming paper.

 

Appendix 2: The Balance

Due to the nature of balance and Erdreja being an elementally neutral plane, it follows that the distribution of magic should be spread evenly between the tiers and spells, and that has been taken into account where possible on the above list. I have kept count of the recurrence of an element across the spellcasting list, as well as its associated weave, to see how finely matched the balance is, and have discovered that, apart from slightly favouring the Void weave (unsurprising - spellcasting is referred to as 'Void Magic'), there appears to be a remarkable balance between them.

 

Each mark below is a spell that calls upon that specific element, either alone or in combination with another.
Creation - Cardinal Weave
FIRE - IIII
WATER - IIII
AIR - IIIII
EARTH - IIIII

Neutrality - Inner Weave
GOOD - IIIII
EVIL - IIII
LAW - IIII
CHAOS - IIII

Existence - Outer Weave
FATE - IIII
FORTUNE - IIII
ILLUSION - IIIII
REALITY - IIII

Void - Mind Weave
SPIRIT - IIIII
KNOWLEDGE - IIIII
TIME - IIIII
MAGIC - IIIII

 

Appendix 3: Power Costs and opposing weaves.

Thaum costs for the first two levels relate directly to the level of spell, and this is most likely due to the elements being manipulated requiring a single thaum each to control, which is relatively straightforward with most spells that do not require elements from opposing weaves, but there are a few notable exceptions to this, namely 'Mute', 'Halt Unliving' and the 'Immunity' chants, Melee and Missile. These spells vary from the others in nature as they are designed to disrupt the flow of the pattern, whether it is to protect the body from harm, to prevent magic from being cast, or movement by an animated form of Evil. It could be surmised that the negative nature of these conflicting spells, relies on the presence of opposing weaves, but it should be noted that these still do not appear to have mixed elements within a single weave, so the opposing weaves may only be a minor power drain with such simple effects.

Third tier, however, initially appears to be an anomaly in costing four thaums of power, but when considered that this tier will always contain a conflicting pair of weaves in a cast, it is suggested that the 4th portion of power is used as a 'bridging' thaum to ensure that any opposing weaves cannot counter (or overly empower) their opposite, a controlling 'precaution if you will.

 

Appendix 4: Elemental Creatures

Elemental creatures appear to be able to mimic other elements via in-depth knowledge of their own element on their own plane, however on an elementally neutral plane such as Erdreja, generally appear to be capable of casting all spell types and just possess a natural affinity and ability with their attuned element.
This will be explored in depth in a later thesis.

 

Appendix 5: Summoning Magic

Summoners come in two separate types, Planar and Necromantic. Planar is the summoning of creatures that already exist on another planes and forcing them to manifest here on the neutral, whereas Necromancy deals exclusively in using the element of Evil to draw the deceased pattern from the cycle of life, and reanimate it.
Each of these magic types contain the same two summoning spells, Control and Heal.
As opposed to the existing spell list, the ability to cast these magics and the elements required are very straightforward.

Daemons are bound by the Element of CHAOS
Elementals are bound by the Element of GOOD
Ancestrals are bound by the Element of LAW (Although will be discussed in more depth via Appendix 6 )
And, as discussed above, Unliving are bound by EVIL

 

Spells:
Control - Controlling each race requires the summoner to exert sufficient control over the races bound element. For example: To control a Daemon, the summoner must bend the element of Chaos to his will, and the Daemon will be bound to follow the casters will.
Full Cure - Again, relying on the core element of the creature type, the addition of MAGIC grants the summoner the ability to feed the controlling element directly into the creatures pattern to mend any damage that may have been done.
This will be explored in greater detail in a later thesis.

 

Appendix 6: Ancestral €˜Magic€™

Contrary to the theory mentioned above that no two elements from the same weave can be cast, Ancestors appear to be able to hold usually-conflicting magics together allowing counter-intuitive combinations of spells beyond those possible by mortals. In a later article we will be examining the potential combinations possible to allow Ancestral magic to weave elements in a way that set it apart from the art of spellcasting, and how limited this power is.
This will be explored in greater detail in a later thesis.