appendix: Spellcasting | Glowfic Constellation

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Dec 22, 2024 7:52 AM

a document on the mechanics of casting spells

An Explanation of Mana

Your soul is your mana pool. By default it is filled with 'life-force' Mana which serves as personalized anima for your own body and mind. The majority of this Mana remains adjacent to reality within your soul, while a significant minority flows through your physical veins, saturating your blood, your sexual fluids, and in some circumstances other fluids, with magical energy. Your body depends on this magical energy to continue functioning, and completely draining your soul of Mana is very dangerous and in most circumstances often fatal.

Mana can have no elemental alignment, or it can have one elemental alignment.

While 'life-force' Mana can have magical effects beyond merely sustaining your body, performing magic and casting spells requires an entirely different form of Mana called 'free' Mana. Mana that is 'free' to act, to channel intent into effects in the world. By itself, non-elemental 'free' Mana doesn't do anything useful because its conceptual domain is too broad, though large concentrations of it can sometimes spontaneously generate tentacles.

This duality is orthogonal to elemental alignment.

The Nature of Runes

'Free' Mana serves as a conduit for psychic energy. By shaping specific conduits in specific ways, one can direct and transform psychic charge much like circuits direct and transform electric charge or redstone components direct and transform redstone charge.

Enchantments are rune-machines temporarily Bound or permanently Etched into physical objects.

Runenodes are specially shaped and low-level-optimal rune-machines permanently installed into metaphysical objects; specifically, the bottom of your mana pool.

On Being A Spellcaster

Though nearly useless by itself, to qualify as a "Spellcaster" one only needs a source of 'free' Mana. Some specific beings, such as Fairies, have esoteric souls that allow them to possess 'free' Mana as their natural anima, lacking 'life-force' Mana entirely and able to cast directly from the Mana within them. However, for most, the only way to be a Spellcaster is to have a "Runenode Core" installed at the bottom of your mana pool.

Name	Meaning	Function
Chirr	ConvertMana	The 'core' runenode that transforms 'life-force' Mana into 'free' Mana.

Runenode Installation and Operation

If the mana pool is a literal pool of liquid, then Runenodes are machines physically mounted to the 'floor' of the pool, directly upon the drain.

The installation process requires that the soul in which it is being installed be completely empty of Mana. Safe procedures for Runenode installation are known, but it is a delicate and expensive process akin to major surgery. However, the installation of the [ConvertMana] Core has been refined to the point that in cosmopolitan places one who is wealthy can purchase a "Scroll of Chirr" which is a single-use enchanted item that automates most of the safe procedure for Runenode installation.

Once installed, a Runenode may be activated via one of two methods:
* Spoken Incantation - Speaking the Name of a Runenode aloud will cause that Runenode to activate itself.
* Direct Mana Control - You can manually activate a Runenode using control over your own mana.

Controlling Your Mana and the Ranks of Spellcaster

Control over your Mana is a motor skill of dexterous nature. It requires practice and yields to that practice like any other motor skill. Control over your Mana is experientially similar to controlling tentacle-like limbs, but limbs which lack a consistent size, length, or location, spontaneously generated anew each time. For this reason, some schools of thought use "tentacles" as a unit for measuring mana control.

"One Tentacle" (1T) of control allows you to manually activate one Runenode OR manually alter one variable property of an active spell.

The "Advanced" Rank - Requires that you have at least 6T of reliable control.

The "Master" Rank - Requires that you have at least 20T of reliable control.

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Tentacle Realm

Ephemeral

Elemental Filters

Some specific beings, such as Entites or Alraunes, have esoteric souls that contain elementally-aligned Mana as their natural anima. However, for everyone else, casting elemental magic requires the installation of an Elemental Filter. Elemental Filters are similar to Runenodes in that they are rune-machines installed within the soul that can be activated by incantation or by direct mana control.

Unlike Runenodes, Elemental Filters must be constructed out of elementally-aligned Mana and require an outside source of that Mana during installation. Also unlike Runenodes, Elemental Filters are less dangerous to install since they do not require your mana pool to be empty first.

An Elemental Filter is installed 'on top' of your Runenodes and therefore to cast elemental magic, your Elemental Filter must be activated prior to the activation of your [ConvertMana] Core.

Unlike unaligned 'free' Mana, 'free' Mana that is elementally-aligned can have useful effects as that element expresses itself.

Name	Meaning	Function / Expression
rax	Fire	Heat, ignite, burn, and manipulate flame.
fii	Air	Manipulate wind, air pressure, and buoyancy.
kaz	Lightning	Generate electric energy and be physically enhanced by electric energy.
lur	Water	Cooling, purifying, and conjuration of water.
ban	Earth	Simulate the toughness and heaviness of rock. Conjure rock.
tik	Metal	Simulate the toughness and heaviness of metal. Conjure metal.
thel	Holy	Healing, illumination, and sensing souls.
sor	Dark	Decay, obscuring shadows, and emotion sensing.
vol	Blood	Manipulation of magically-saturated bodily fluids, use of same to power spells, and healing by consuming same.

Tentacle Realm

Ephemeral

"Base" Runenodes

In the process of casting a spell, after activating one's Core or otherwise providing 'free' Mana, the next step is to activate a Base Runenode.

Base Runenodes narrow the conceptual domain of the Mana that passes through them, focusing in on a specific domain tightly enough to bring useful effects within the realm of possibility for mana control in the two-to-three-digit ranges.

Name	Meaning	Function / Domain
vin	Utility	Understanding and interpretation of magical information.
tal	Attack	Force, damage, and destruction.
gam	Protect	Barriers, separation, and preservation.
pret	Construct	Simulation of solid matter.
sush	Sex	Arousal and genitals.
vet	Project Rune	The first half of "Rune Magic". Write runes physically on environment.
fal	Parse Rune	The second half of "Rune Magic". Channel any active spell through runes previously written by Project.
holth	Necromancy	Things that got they way they are by dying.
flun	Portal	Spacetime topology.
lem	Flesh	Biological systems. Requires Blood-aligned Mana to function.
ru	Illusion	Sensory content.
dar	Mind	A crude, brute-force imitation of Telepathy.
nuth	Scrying	Visualization and communication.
lis	Fixate Rune	The "Floating Runes" companion to Rune Magic. Allows runes to be Projected on empty space.

Tentacle Realm

Ephemeral

"Mode" Runenodes and the Spellchain

Once an active spell has been manifested using a Base Runenode, a caster may additionally activate any of their Mode Runenodes in any order. Each activated Mode Runenode then modifies, constrains, and focuses the active spell. This is called the "spellchain". Spellchains allow Spellcasters to achieve useful effects even with mana control in the single-digits.

Mode Runenodes are smaller and simpler than Base Runenodes, and do not need to be installed separately. Mode Runenodes are standardly incorporated into Base Runenodes during installation.

Name	Meaning	Includer(s)	Function
ront	Anchor	Protect	Ties an active spell firmly to its position within the environment.
gord	Bore	Portal	Inflates and holds open a topology violation / wormhole.
lo	Channel	Attack, Protect, Construct	Creates a mana-link to preceding spellchain that endures after spell is no longer being actively cast.
va	Charge	Attack, Protect	Increases the power of an active spell over time.
tem	Entangle	Scrying, Mind	Forms a reflective connection between two compatible things.
mel	Glow / Emit	Utility	Causes an active spell to radiate, usually light, sometimes other energy, sometimes particulates.
hin	Grow	Sex, Flesh	Increases, amplifies, or makes more of something.
bos	Hide	Utility	Dampens or insulates.
trith	Mend	Utility	Basic physical reassembly.
ken	Seek	Utility, Construct, Scrying, Mind	Read information about the environment from the environment.
soth	Skim	Portal, Scrying	Creates and allows the free-movement of a point of mana control conforming to solid surfaces over arbitrary distances.
parn	Warp	Portal	Generates a topology violation, IE a wormhole, at a point.
pes	Wither	Sex, Flesh	Decreases, impedes, or makes less of something.

"Terminus" Runenodes

This is a sub-classification for Mode Runenodes which have an effect that disallows further Mode Runenodes to be added to the spellchain.

Name	Meaning	Includers	Function
zud	Discharge	Attack, Sex	Explodes immediately the full effect of the active spell in all directions.
kot	Projectile	Attack	Launches immediately the spell to travel rapidly along a vector.
plip	Render	Scrying, Mind	Crystalizes magical information into a non-magical format.

Note: The above tables are not complete.

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