15 – One Thousand Five Hundred And Sixty Spells
byThe spells in the codex were organized in terms of difficulty. A handy table at the very front explained the difference in tiers:
|
Tier |
* Complexity |
Typical Magnitude |
Essence/Isotopes Used |
Examples |
|
1 – Lower Initiate |
Simple, Single Stage |
1 |
2 (common isotopes) |
[Wind Gust], [Minor Illumination] |
|
2 – Upper Initiate |
Simple, Single Stage |
1-2 |
2-3 (may be less common isotopes) |
[Flashblind] [Minor Geokinesis] |
|
3 – Lower Apprentice |
Moderate, Single Stage |
2-3 |
3 (less common isotopes) – 4 (more common isotopes) |
*[Root Bind], [Minor Phytogenesis] |
|
4 – Upper Apprentice |
Moderate, Double stage |
3-4 |
2 (less common isotopes) – 3 (more common isotopes) |
[Minor Rapid Healing], [Rock Shield] |
|
5 – Lower Adept |
Multi-stage |
4-5 |
2 (any isotopes) – 5 (any isotopes) |
[Double Blind], [Flame Shield] |
|
6 – Upper Adept |
Multi-stage and parallel effects |
5 – 6 |
3 (any isotopes) – 6 (any isotopes) |
[Flame Shield Reverse Attack], [Creature Control] |
|
7 – Lower Master |
Multi-stage and parallel/ multi-effects |
6-8 |
3 (any isotopes) – 7 (any isotopes) |
[Summoner Minor] [Single Person Teleportation] |
|
8 – Upper Master |
Multi-stage and parallel/ multi-effects |
8-10 |
3-8 (any isotopes) |
[Seismic Pulse], *** [Multi-person Teleport] |
|
9 – Lower Archmage |
HIgh Magnitude, Feedback Spells |
10-15 |
Any isotopes |
Storm Call, Adaptive Regeneration |
|
10 – Upper Archmage |
High Magnitude, Feedback Spells, Perfected Signature Spells |
10-50 |
Any isotopes |
Signature spells, Wide-scale summoning . |
|
11 – Legendary |
Extremely High Magnitude, Perfected Signature Spells |
50 – 100 |
Any isotopes |
– |
|
12 Mythical |
World-Changing Magnitude, Perfected Signature Spells |
100 + |
Any isotopes |
– |
|
Notes: *Complexity doesn’t just depend on magnitude. Multi-effect and feedback mechanisms can make even moderate-magnitude spells risky. The reverse also applies. **Rootbind requires contact with the earth ***Multi-person teleportation requires runes. The farther away it is, the more runes required. Minor risk of escaped shadow wraiths. Don’t overuse. |
Ari figured the beginner spells were Tier 1 and 2, and to some extent Tier 3 and 4. They were listed on the very next page, further organized according to their most dominant essences. Ari would have preferred alphabetical order, but no one had consulted her when arranging things.
Underneath each spell, it listed the balanced equation, which told roughly how many essences were involved.
For [Wind Gust], for example, the balanced equation was 2(Calor𝞪+2) + 4(Massa𝞪-1).
So there were, at minimum, six essences used, increased by a factor of n for a stronger effect.
|
Name: Wind Gust Tier: 2-3 Primary Essence Theme: Calor + Massa Essence Equation (with stages): 2(Calor𝞪+2) + 4(Massa𝞪-1). (single stage. Visual/Physical Effect: Releases a mild gust of wind Common Risks (reaction imbalances) Low risk of backlash. Usage Notes / Variants Spell can be scaled up by a factor of n for a stronger gust of wind. Limit at magnitude of 4. |
Following that, Ari analyzed the spell script which was largely linked to the function of the spell. She also read a brief passage, describing what the spell script signified.
|
Function and structure are inherently interdependent within spellcraft. A clear understanding of a spell’s intended effect provides a foundational basis for determining the corresponding configuration and form of its script. Here are the most common shapes and what they indicate in the spell function: Calor straight chain – Directional force Calor zig-zag – Heat Luxa star – Illumination Luxa circle + small arrow – Identification Vitae Tree – Growth Vitae Helix – Healing Massa cube – Reconstruction Massa ring – Binding Vacu Wave – Destabilization Vacu Swirl: -Reduction Note: Student will learn more about spell script shapes when studying spell craft.
|
Ari immediately wanted to flip the pages to the crafting section. Spell crafting seemed a lot more interesting than spell casting right now, but she held herself back. She knew how she could get.
Even just reading about crafting, she would become engrossed and completely immersed in the information so much that she would lose track of time and forget about everything else. She could not afford to do that right now. She needed to study her spells, and then maybe, if she had time afterward, she would go into spell crafting.
She took out her wand and performed [Wind Gust] in two seconds, remembering the spell form by heart. Her system instantly alerted her.
NEW SPELL DETECTED.
Name: [WIND GUST].
Tier: Initiate
Experience Points: 1
Would you like to incorporate it into your Grimoire?
Ari contemplated it. Elric had told her not to bother saving any of the more common spells in her Grimoire.
However, he’d also told her that she needed to fake a normal leveling. What was normal?
She reached for her beginner manual, opening to a page which gave her this leveling chart:
|
Initiate: Level 1 – Level 20 Apprentice – Level 20 – Level 100 Adept – Level 100 – Level 200 Master – Level 200 – Level 500 Archmage – Level 500 – Level 1000 *Arch-Arch-Mage – Level 1000 – Level 2000 Legendary Archmage – Level 2000 – Level 6000 Mythical Archmage – Level 6000+ NOTE: *(Arch-Arch-Mage not in colloquial use). |
Ari was a Level 50, which was firmly in the apprentice tier, and she had about fifty more levels before she entered the adept tier. Each point was 1/1000th of a level, so she would need a thousand points to go up one level.
That was about five hundred beginner spells.
Hmmm.
Typically, mages remained apprentices for their first and second years. Skilled mages could become adepts in their second year, but it was rare.
However, Ari had already been marked as an exceptionally talented candidate, so it would be entirely plausible for her to reach the adept tier as a Cohort 2 student.
To do that, she needed to restrict herself to climbing only fifty levels in the next half a year or so. Eight to nine levels a month. That was eight thousand points, which was about four thousand Tier 1-4 spells.
And that was just for learning the spell.
So, in essence, she needed to be frugal with the number of spells she added to her grimoire today. She would only add about a quarter or less, and she would not incorporate the points she got from using the spells subsequently. That would help her keep to her limits and not cross into adept tier prematurely.
With that, Ari waved away the [Wind Gust] spell. She decided that she would only add interesting spells to her Grimoire.
She moved onto the next spell [Small Spark].
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