I don't have a whole chapter I want to post right now but here's a section which explains the use of magic in my novel.
There were three doors on the opposite side of the room. The doors to
the left and right were wooden and the center door was a massive door made of
iron.
The
large wooden door to the left was inscribed with more of the Tirinic runes.
These ones had been carved into the door and then filled with a metal of some
kind.
Fiorra
squinted at the runes for a moment. “Mage’s Entrance”
Cazard looked smug, “Guess you’ll all have to stay
behind.”
He pushed the door and it started to open. It groaned and the hinges made a popping sound. Cazard recoiled as the door snapped off the hinges and fell down, disappearing into darkness.
He pushed the door and it started to open. It groaned and the hinges made a popping sound. Cazard recoiled as the door snapped off the hinges and fell down, disappearing into darkness.
It was at this point they noticed that the hallway
beyond did not have a floor. Several seconds later they heard the door reach
the bottom of the hole. The hallway extended nearly thirty feet until it ended
abruptly in a wall with a carving of a gruesome face with its mouth open wide.
Padavae swept the torch out over the pit. “I
thought you said mages couldn’t fly.”
“We can’t. This is a test. You see that carving down the other end of the hallway? It has a web around it, a very strong web that’s been attuned to be weak to fireballs. If we could break the web, the floor will extend from the walls.” He pointed to a slab of stone that was a slightly different color than the walls that ran the length of the hall. “We’ll have to find another way around.”
“We can’t. This is a test. You see that carving down the other end of the hallway? It has a web around it, a very strong web that’s been attuned to be weak to fireballs. If we could break the web, the floor will extend from the walls.” He pointed to a slab of stone that was a slightly different color than the walls that ran the length of the hall. “We’ll have to find another way around.”
Padavae frowned. “What’s the issue? Just send a
fireball.”
“I can’t throw fireballs.” Cazard looked offended. “I’m an ice mage.”
“Just an ice mage?”
“Of course not. I’m quite handy with the air rune. But that doesn’t help
much in a fight and it isn’t useful now.”
Orvar frowned slightly. “Why can’t you use fire?”
“It’s not an easy feat to master all four elements. I’m no good with
Earth either. Besides, I don’t like fire. It’s messy. It gives no control and
leaves too much evidence; Charring, ashes, odors, and more. Ice is orderly,
quiet, deadly, and…”
“You sound like a serial killer.” Fiorra took a step back.
Cazard glanced at her. “…Leaves no trace.”
Orvar wasn’t convinced. “But you’ve made fire before, just make it
bigger.”
Cazard looked exasperated. “And I’m sure you can hammer a nail into a piece of wood. Doesn’t mean you can
build a house. Do I really need to instruct you all in basic rune mechanics?”
“Just
tell us why you can’t make a fireball.”
“Even
if I was learned in the fire rune I likely wouldn’t be able to make one of
sufficient magnitude to break the web on that statue. Without a focus object it
is very difficult to do much more than very simple rune manipulation.”
“A
focus?”
Cazard
slumped. “In the interest of not having to stop every few moments to answer
your questions why don’t I just start at the beginning.”
“I
studied at the mage academy in Amaranth, northeast of the border of the Empire
on the edge of the Endless Tundra.” Cazard waited for this to sink in. “Amaranth” They stared blankly at him.
“I’ve
heard of it.” Orvar offered meekly.
Cazard
sighed. “Amaranth is the seat of magical research in the Realms. It is the site
of the discovery of three of the nine Great Runes. It is where Jharbane
Tenbolt, Vothus the Arcane, and even Zhandhul studied and taught the art of
magic.”
Cazard drew a grid of nine squares in a sandy patch
of floor.
“There
are nine basic runes in the standard table. They are ordered in such a way as
to ensure balance.”
“Therefore, the center of the table is the rune for balance. It has no opposite.” Cazard looked up at the others. “Most mages can only access a small portion of the potential of this rune without a focus.” In the center of the grid he drew a skinny hexagon with a central dot.
“Therefore, the center of the table is the rune for balance. It has no opposite.” Cazard looked up at the others. “Most mages can only access a small portion of the potential of this rune without a focus.” In the center of the grid he drew a skinny hexagon with a central dot.
“The
four corners represent the four basic elements. Fire, Ice, Air, and Earth.” He
drew the accompanying symbols clockwise around the grid. “They are countered by
their opposing element. Fire with Ice and Earth with Air.”
“The
remaining runes are modifiers. They give direction to the raw forces of nature.
In the left square is the rune for spirit, known as Spiritus. It lets a mage manipulate the immaterial aspects of the
elements and cast lingering ‘webs’ of magic. Webs cast with spirit are more
easily broken by spells using Corpus,
the physical rune.” He drew a trident shape in the right square. This balances
the spirit with the physical world. It gives strength to spells that modify the
world, especially Earth and Fire spells.”
“The
final runes, in the top and bottom spots on the table are life.” He drew a
hexagon with two prongs shooting downwards. “and death.” He slowly poked three
dots in the sand. They formed an upside-down triangle.
Padavae
put her hands on her hips. “You said that webs made with the spirit rune can be
broken by spells with the Corpus rune.
So why can’t you just combine the ice rune with the corporal rune and shoot a
big icicle at the web or something?”
“Ah,
a good question. As I mentioned, the rune table is all about balance. The
various types of runes cancel out runes of a similar type. Elemental fire
cancels elemental ice. Life counters death. Spirit counters Corporal. You
cannot combine those runes effectively. However, it is also difficult to
combine elemental runes with modifiers directly adjacent to them on the table.
Fire does not mix well with life for example. The runes for ice and corporal
are adjacent to each other, there is no balance between them. Therefore it is very difficult to cast a physical ice
spell. So, a large icicle is out of the question. If I had a focus object I
could manage it. But rags and rocks won’t do. I need something that will give
balance to the runes.”
Orvar
shook his head. “I still don’t see why you can’t just use the fire rune. Magic
is far too complicated.”
“That’s why it’s known as arcane you oaf.”
“That’s why it’s known as arcane you oaf.”
Padavae
raised her brow. “I have to disagree. This isn’t too difficult. You’ve really
devoted your entire life to this? I’ve got nimble fingers. I’m sure I can
wiggle them in the shape of a few runes and make a flame.”
Cazard
stared at her for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed. The sound
echoed down into the hallway.
Something stirred.
“I’m sorry, did I give the impression that this was
easy? It takes years of practice to achieve the state of mind necessary to
actually connect the runes to the elements they represent. The runes are a conduit. It is fine for me to draw air
runes in the empty air because the conduit is in its natural element. Other
runes are not as effective when drawn in the air; that is another reason why a
fireball would be difficult. They are shapes that have proven over time to be
the most effective at channeling the power of their respective forces. To
actually have the rune do anything
one must be attuned to the force it represents.”
“And
how does one become ‘attuned’?” Padavae asked haughtily.
“By
not being so obnoxious.” Cazard shot back.
“So if you had a focus you could break the web?” Fiorra
interjected.
Cazard
looked away from Padavae. “I’d have a much better chance than without, but
there’s no guarantee. I suggest that we find another way around. Perhaps there
is an entrance for people with no brains.”
Padavae
glowered at him. Before she could reply Orvar made a strangled cry and fell to
the ground. A dark, snake-like tentacle had silently slipped out of the pit and
wrapped around his leg, it had then yanked him to the ground. It began to drag
him towards the pit.
Literal cliffhanger FTW.
Here's an image of what the rune table would look like.
Literal cliffhanger FTW.
Here's an image of what the rune table would look like.
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