Introduction

Note: this file is intended for uses who are already familiar with the basics of the magick system of Armageddon. If you are a new player looking for information on roleplaying magick or reactions to magick, know that it is feared and loathed throughout the Known World, and few would admit to its terrible, shameful use.

The endless research into magick and spellcasting has revealed certain consistencies among the symbols. As is well known, truenames of things give power over them, and it is this principle which has been recently theorized to be the case with Magick. Each symbol may in fact be the Truename of an elemental or spiritual power.

Direct trial-and-error can yield significant results, though there are simply too many combinations of symbols. To shorten the work, the following may assist:

1. Suk-krath appears often with hekro and morz.
2. Vivadu appears with viod and wril.
3. Ruk appears with pret.
4. Whira appears with iluth and locror.

Spellbooks, tomes, and grimoires are extremely useful. There has no doubt been considerable research done in the past, and these books are often correct or possess symbolic combinations which are lost in these later days.

Most valuable of all, locating an older, experienced teacher can be the best way of finding symbols.

Casting

Casting magick spells requires linking a set of five words into a meaningful arcane expression. The first two are mere syllables which for some reason represent the magnitude of the spell and what can be called the "reality of effect." The last three are symbolic truenames of elemental and spiritual powers, which must always be in the form element, sphere, mood.

The "power" of a spell is the amount of magickal energy one wishes to invest in the spell's outcome, and can be viewed under Magick_power. The "reality of effect" or reach is discussed under Magick_reach.

To construct a magickal phrase, all five words must be spoken in the following order: power, reach, element, sphere, mood. If there is such a spell as you have called for, it will occur.

Note that the 'cast' command incurs a delay for casting time. This delay decreases in direct proportion to your skill in the spell.

Examples:

cast 'een un suk-krath divan hekro' soldier
cast 'mon un vivadu viqrol wril' me

Components

There are many powerful magicks which exist on Zalanthas which are impossible to create using elementalism or lifeforce alone. To use these powerful spells, one must employ what are called components. These are typically odd items that have somehow come to hold magickal properties--ordinary items of the same type will not suffice.

There are two kinds of possible component: psionic and physical.

Psionic components require that the caster of a spell maintain a psionic link (see also: Psi_contact) with the victim, recipient, or target of the spell.

Physical components come in many forms and vaguely correspond to a spells Sphere of influence (see also: Magick_sphere). Known forms of components are listed below.

Using components: In order to properly use a spell component, one must have it in his inventory. The component must be of the proper type for the spell and must contain at least as much power as the spell to be cast. Using a component powered at "wek" for a spell cast at "mon" will be exactly the same as not having the component at all.

Listing of possible component manifestations:

Pret	A feather, a globe, or a woman's scarf.
Mutur	Something burned, a skull, or a lock of hair.
Psiak	An unhilted, single-edged blade.
Iluth	Perfectly formed geometric objects.
Divan	Salts and vile-smelling liquids.
Threl	Complicated puzzles or knots.
Morz	Cocoons or rotted animal and vegetable matter.
Viqrol	Snakeskins, very sharp knives, or snake's venom.
Nathro	Impure water.
Locror	A pouch of dust or a partially finished creation.
Wilith	A prism or a double-edged blade.
Dreth	Similar to wilith.

Element

The elemental symbol of a spell is a reference to the true name of an elemental plane of existence, wherefrom the spell's force is drawn. The following is a list of elemental realms which can be tapped from Zalanthas.

Suk-krath	The element of fire, and of the Great Sun. Magicks drawn from Suk-krath are typically destructive.
Vivadu	The element of water. Water is the critical element for the existence of life, and these spells can often bring healing.
Ruk	The element of earth. These spells are usually protective or restorative in nature.
Krok	The sub-elemental plane of stone. Magicks which draw on this element are rare and highly protective.
Whira	The element of air, and of the wind. These sorts of magicks draw upon swift movement and illusion.
Drov	The element of shadow. Typically associated with all things ethereal or other-worldly.
Elkros	The quasi-element of energy, which causes storms and sudden bursts of force.
Nilaz	The quasi-element of discordant void, where the four primary elements are entirely absent.

Mood

The mood symbol of a spell is a reference to the truename of what has in ancient times been called an aspect. Aspects were, depending on the culture, described as demispirits of a certain temperment or as psychic constructs created at the beginning, from which all human and demihuman emotions evolved.

All of the known moods are listed below.

Hekro	The aggressive warrior.
Grol	The giant guardsman, protector.
Chran	The master, the will of the dominant.
Echri	The destroyer.
Wril	The giver of good.
Nikiz	The passive watcher.
Hurn	The mad, brutal one.
Inrof	The seeker of the hidden, the revealer.
Viod	The neutral maker.

Power

The names of the powers, old folklore has it, are the seven great horns of God, and their names call the spirits to service. The syllables which describe the seven powers are:

[least powerful]

Wek

Yuqa

Kral

Een

Pav

Sul

Mon

[most powerful]

Reach

The reach of magick, or its "reality of effect," is a topic which no scholar has yet attempted. There appears to be no true reason behind their sounds. What is known is that they will cause either a "real" effect from any magick, or they will subdue that effect and cause nothing to happen. All speculations aside, there are only two known reaches:

Un	Full and real effect.
Nil	No effect.

Sphere

The spheres of magick can be easily thought of as schools of certain magickal types. In the distant past, it is believed, wizards pursued only one sphere of magick. The truenames these symbol represent are likely to be of powerful demi-elemental beings who perform the task of tying the Aspects (moods) to elementally-composed forms (physical bodies) and thus enabling life to exist. The spheres are potentially the greatest piece of the puzzle of why Magick and Life are inseparably joined.

The spheres are listed below:

Pret	an abjuration, or act of protection.
Mutur	alterations and mutations to a physical form.
Dreth	the conjuration of a physical body.
Psiak	an enchantment upon a physical body.
Iluth	an illusion or deception.
Divan	an invokation of power, or direct channeling of element.
Threl	a divination or revelation.
Morz	the dead, the undead, and entropy.
Viqrol	healing and intuitive knowledge.
Nathro	the system of life, the binding force of nature.
Locror	the movement of a physical body.
Wilith	an act of creation.