magical glyph Spells & Glamours

Spells are the language of magic. A language that shapes the flow and substance of aether to produce a variety of mystical effects. Spell concepts, once understood, come together to form a grammar that can be used to manipulate aether and speak a desire into reality. While casting a spell is not exactly making something out of nothing, it can appear so to the untrained.

This is a topic that can fill volumes, but here we will simply introduce the foundational concepts.

The term "spell" and "glamour" are functionally interchangeable. Both words refer to the process of shaping aether. There are subtle connotative differences between the two terms, but the main difference is cultural. Mortals refer to the shaping of aether as "spells" while the wyrd call their magic "glamours."

Because aether is produced by the thoughts of sentient living creatures, it is also responsive to the thoughts of these creatures. A spell consists of a series of symbolic instructions chained together in such a way that aether reacts in a predictable, consistent, and reproducible way. The symbols used in the invocation of a spell can be thoughts, spoken words, markings, or even physical objects that have a particular meaning to the spell caster. The critical concept is that these symbols must have a meaning to the caster of the spell. And for this reason, many magical texts are useless to anyone but the individual who wrote them.

Mortal magicians often keep a grimoire, typically known as a "Book of Shadows" where they document their personal collection of spells and and the research that led them to each spell's discovery. Less practiced mages often cast their spells by reading them from the book, while more experienced magicians can often cast spells from memory and even create new spells in the moment by improvising on their existing knowledge.

The conceptual symbols that make up the spell chain are simple ideas that can be expressed in any language. These symbols include such things as 'wind', 'heat' or 'contain' that can be chained together to coax aether to behave in a particular way. The more symbols chained together to form a spell, the more complex it is to cast.

To use an example with the previously listed symbols, a basic fireball spell could include wind and heat to produce the fire itself and include a containment symbol to seal the flame in a sphere and prevent the fire from burning the spell caster intent on hurling it at a target. Even this is simplifying things quite a bit and there are dozens of ways to chain symbols together to produce similar effects. So even two spells that appear to produce the same result can consist of an entirely different symbolic structure.

Spells do not have to take effect in the moment that they are cast. Among some schools of magicians it is a common practice to cast a spell on an object that takes effect when the object has been consumed or destroyed. This practice is often mistaken for enchantment, but it is simply the act of casting a spell with a symbol for 'trigger' on an item. Once the item is used for its purpose, the spell activates as if it had just been cast. This process is used in the creation of potions, scrolls, or single-use wands.

As creatures of magic, the wyrd approach their glamours differently. Many of them approach magic as a spoken tongue and are more capable when it comes to manipulating aether. There are some wyrd languages that are composed entirely of symbols where simply speaking weaves magic into being. But since glamours come so naturally to them, most wyrd creatures don't bother to write their glamours down and usually stick to simpler effects than what mortal spell casters go for. But these differences are more cultural than functional. Some wyrd who identify as wizards have been known to amass large libraries and compose long tomes outlining their study of magic.