Closed A Treatise on Reimancy: Part I

[Clyde Sullins]

6 Winter 513 Clyde had been planning to do some writings on Reimancy for quite some time. Much of the topic was confusing, and did not have much information written on it. At least on the more theoretical and scholarly side of it. Practical applications of Reimancy seemed a bit pointless, as one could learn those simply by doing. But the subtleties of the craft, of the varying elements, of when to use it how... Now that was of more interest to him. First though, before he could do any writing, he needed to plan it out, figure out how he was going to write it up, and what he was going to write exactly. And most important of all, what he needed to do the actual writing. Clearly ink and a quill, something he had quite a few of in his pack. Also a blank book, something he also had, from quite some time ago. But books unlike food did not go bad, so it would serve his purpose. And... What was he to write on? Clearly he should go over the various elements, that was first and foremost... But he had yet to use the combination of fire and earth to make lava. All the other elements he had made at one time or another. So he would need to do that before beginning. He should also do a section to make a formal system of classifying spells, by power and such. He had thought up the system for that before, but had yet to iron its details out. Now was the time. And of course the merits of transmutation and attraction... Probably also making a note there to Glyphing, and which were more common for availability for attraction... And... And... Whatever else needed to be talked about. Maybe res decay, possibly something else... Perhaps during his work he could think of something else to include. But for now, this seemed like it would be good. Now he just needed to make some lava, and his planning phase would be done.

[Clyde Sullins]

Looking about the woods Clyde found himself in, he finally settled on a tree to use as his target. It would do as well as anything else. A branch jutting off to the side seemed good for a first shot. Holding out his hands, Clyde focused on the thought of his res, of a bit of him leaving himself, leaking out, forming into a cloud before him. As he did, his bright silvery res began to billow off of his hands as a gas. Clyde kept this up for several ticks, before making a slight sideways motion of his hand, making the gaseous res swirl in upon itself. With a small stirring motion with his index finger, the res swirled in more, until finally it was settled down to a ball the size of a fist. It was to be only a minor spell, at least for his abilities... At that Clyde broke off his train of work... A fist sized spell... Being minor... Ah! Thus Clyde had settled upon one bit of the spell classification system to come. A single spell the size of ones fist, was a minor class spell. Not the least of all spells, but on the lower end. But returning to his work, he focused on the res floating before him, and willed it to transmute. This time though he did not focus on fire, or earth, but both at the same time. He pictured melted stone, burning coals, flame and earth melding into one thing to create... Lava. Soon there was a small change within the res, and the outer layer was no longer silvery and bright, but red and glowing. It was also hot. The lava was not great in volume, neither was it to far away, but Clyde could feel the heat of the lava on his outstretched palms. In that respect it certainly seemed like fire, its heat... But how did earth come in? Transmuting the rest of the res, Clyde watched as the glob of lava floated above him. Clyde slowly lowered it to the ground, getting it to a few inches above it before his control over the transmuted res was severed. Then he watched. As it touched down, there was a sizzle and burn, as a patch of grass was burnt by the lava. But with the grass being so sparse in winter, the flame was unable to travel to far before running out of fuel. The lava slowly spread out, forming a layer over the ground wider than the original diameter of the ball. Not wanting to wait for whatever might happen, Clyde decided to speed things up, and took out his water skin. As he poured the water over the lava, there was more hissing and steam. Once it settled, the lava was no more glowing or red. Now it was a greyish color, and looked more or less like stone... So then, lava was simply heated up stone, earth plus fire... So when one cooled it down, it was once more simply stone...

[Clyde Sullins]

Next up, Clyde needed to see its offensive potential, by attacking something. Issuing forth another small ball of res, Clyde took a chime or so to ready himself before doing anything. He had thrown fireballs, waterballs, blasts of air, rocks, even lightning... But lava balls? How would it be?Hard to say. Once he was prepared, Clyde focused on the tree branch he had chosen earlier, and made a thrusting motion with his left hand. As he did, the ball of res began to shoot forward. With a thought directed at the res, the outer layer once more turned into lava, glowing and hot and red. However the weight proportions of this lava were odd, not the same as flame or rock... He would need to get used to that. Due to this, his first shot missed, forcing him to yank back on the res, and pull the lava ball around for another pass. Luckily for him range of control was no longer really an issue, though the further away it got the harder it was to control, with commands being delayed. Even at this distance, the lava ball arcing around for a second pass was noticeably slowed by a tick or so. The second pass struck on target, and once more there was the sizzle of wood burning, as a coating of lava settled over the branch. The rest of the lava and res passed on, unfazed. That was certainly nice. Unlike fire which tended to hit and be done, or rock which struck with weight and then bounced off or broke through, lava was liquid like water and so could roll past, but still "whetted" the branch with its substance that burned. After a few more ticks there was a cracking sound, and the branch broke at the point of the lava. It had burned and ate through the branch, until finally its own weight had brought it down. Tossing away the leftover transmuted remnants on top of the earlier dried lava, Clyde pulled back in the leftover res, reabsorbing it. Reabsorption of res! That was another topic to discuss in the 4th chapter.

[Clyde Sullins]

Done with his planning, Clyde began the task of actually writing. This of course was one of the hardest bits, actually taking the thoughts in his mind, and putting them to the page. On the front of the book, Clyde clearly wrote the title, and the author. A Treatise on Reimancy: by Clyde Sullins Opening the first page, he then began to fill out the index, listing each chapter as he had thought them up in his planning, and giving a basic description of what was held in the given chapter. -Preface- What is covered about Reimancy -Chapter 1- A summary of the elements, their combination's, and their inherent danger levels. -Chapter 2- A classification of spells by power (With a note to relative levels of power) -Chapter 3- Transmutation versus Attraction (With a note to the latter's common availability by element, and with a sub-note to Glyphing for the former) -Chapter 4- Other concerns of a Reimancer- Res decay over time, and reabsorption. Finally turning the page, Clyde began the preface, the last bit of writing before the actual meat of the text to be done. Preface- This treatise on Reimancy aims to be enlightening and informative. However from the start I would like to make it clear that I plan for this writing to be one of theoretical use, not practical. There will be no mention of hand waving or specific techniques. Instead, this writing aims to give you the information to make decisions for yourself, to better understand Reimancy as a whole, and to make considerations for the future. If you are still reading I assume it is because you accept the purpose of this book, and you see the value to be gained from reading it. If not, well then this book was not really meant for you.

[Clyde Sullins]

Taking a moment to think over the various elements, Clyde finally decided to do them in the order that he himself learned them. There was no real reason behind this, just a arbitrary decision, one as good as any other choice. After thinking for a bit, Clyde decided upon using a standard structure, listing the name of the element, its inherent danger level and usage, then going on with a body of information, ended with a final note. He would do this for each element, and then para-element, till all were discussed. -Chapter 1- A summary of the elements, their combination's, and their inherent danger levels. For this chapter I will go over each element, starting with the four main elements, and then going on to the three para-elements. For each one I will give a brief description of them, their merits, and their dangers. -Fire- Danger level- Mid-High, Main Usage- Offense Fire by its very nature is a destructive force. It burns and harms anything it touches. Which means more often than not the usage for this element will be to fight and attack. It can however be used for less offensive reasons. Lighting a campfire to cook over, torches for light, and so on. The danger however in using fire is of accidentally hitting or burning yourself, or of having the flames burn out of control. Fire, when there is available fuel, has a nasty habit of spreading and growing out of control, far beyond what the Reimancer intended. It is more or less unique in this regard, since most other elements will not by their nature spread or reproduce. For this reason fire is an element that requires control and respect. Control of your abilities, and respect for the element and its powers. A Reimacer lacking either can quickly find themselves in trouble by their own hand. >Final note- Always use with caution- -Air- Danger level- Generally Low, Main Usage- Defense Just as fire is intrinsically offensive and harmful, air is intrinsically neutral. On its own it will do nothing, only when prepared and built up in certain ways is it capable of being used, either offensively or defensively. For this reason it tends to be one of the safer elements, but also one of the less useful at lower levels, or for the unimaginative. However when used at higher potency and pressures, it can also be used to attack, or to incapacitate. > Final note- don’t underestimate- -Earth- Danger level- Mid, Main Usage- Offense/Defense Earth is an element that is equally useful to attack, or to defend. Its hardy and durable nature allows for one to use it to shield oneself from other attacks, or to directly assault a foe. However it is also denser and thus heavier than air or fire, so is usually a slower option. If you have the time, it can be a good method for either need. It is also further useful in that unlike fire which is used up and dies out, and air which disperses after usage, earth tends to stick around permanently. This means it can be used in more long term ways, and or it can be reused for multiple attacks. >Final note- very open ended in usage, but on the slower side- -Water- Danger level- Low, Main Usage- Defense Water like air tends to be used more defensively, to ward off attacks, or to slow a foe down. Usually it will not be used to attack, unless in large quantities of the element, or at a very high level. However like earth once it is collected and used, it tends to stay available for further usage. An inventive mage will find ways to use this normally defensive element in new and useful ways, including more offensive uses. It is another element that is often underestimated, which can serve to grant one the element of surprise. It is also good for combining with other elements, such as lightning .>Final note- Useful element, often surprises foes with its abilities- Having finished the main elements, Clyde paused to take a break before passing on to the various para-elements, and then after that the next chapter.

[Clyde Sullins]

Having taken a short break, Clyde passed on to the three para-elements. It was a bit odd really though, since he had only used one of them for the first time today, that of lava. But he felt at his current level he could quickly grasp the concept of the element, and depict to lesser users its relative merits and downsides. -Lightning- Danger level- High, Main Usage- Offense Of all the elements, lightning is one of the deadliest, and one not meant for playful usage or careless casting. Besides the obvious effects of a direct strike, lightning tends to have other effects which can be equally debilitating. Its sound can be deafening, its light can be blinding, along with the direct damage caused if you actually get hit by it. It is also more or less the fastest of all the elements, its effect taking place almost instantly after transmutation. Like fire, it needs to be respected by its user, or said user may soon find them permanently damaged by a careless spell. As mentioned earlier it can also be used in combination with water for added effect. >Final note- Very deadly, requires extreme caution in usage- -Lava- Danger level- Mid-High, Main Usage- Offense Lava is one of the elements I have used the least, but it is very interesting. It has the liquid nature of water, while having the damaging effects of fire. It is a liquid form of earth, and so when it cools it returns to that state, that of earth or stone. However while it is hot it tends to burn and cook anything in contact with it, even melting through some things. It also moves like water, making it easier for it to get around and over something, similar to water splashing over something. For this reason it is more or less as deadly as lightning, however with less speed. Like earth, it tends to be a bit slower, but well worth the decrease in speed. Like fire, caution should also be used, lest one accidentally burn off something. And unlike fire, the flame cannot simply be beat out, not when the liquid stone is actually eating away at and melting it. >Final note- Deadly and dangerous, but slower than lightning- -Ice- Danger level- Mid, Main Usage- Offense/Defense Ice is odd in the fact that it has taken on the more solid state of earth, allowing it to be more damaging than water, while being lighter and faster than earth. Cold is the domain of ice, and its effects in regards to this should not be ignored. Cold can be deadly, just as much as a blade to the gut. Ice however is not as sturdy as an attack made out of earth, losing in durability what it has gained in speed. Like the air and water elements that constitute it, ice is a weapon best used by an inventive and creative person, to be able to fully use it to its potential. >Final note- potentially deadly and useful, if used properly- Done with the elements, Clyde was now ready to pass on to chapter two, were he would discuss a classification system for spells, one of his own invention.

[Clyde Sullins]

Next up was a classification system, one of his own invention. Clyde had spent awhile mulling it over, till he finally had the guidelines to rate the spells, to group them, and to describe them. It was a bit vague, more of a range than a precise point or definition, but it would suitably serve his purposes. -Chapter 2- A classification of spells by power (With a note to relative levels of power) For this system, a five tier ranking system for spells has been chosen. I should note though that the spells of varying levels are ranges of power, not specific amounts, which means they cannot be added together to make a spell of a higher level. So if you have four spells of one level, it means you have four spells of that one level, they can’t be combined to equal X number of spells of a higher level, or other such combinations. Spells of varying levels are not compatible for the purposes of addition. I also note that this system is entirely of my own invention and use, and is not a widespread system. However for the purposes of your personal usage, you may find this break down of spell levels useful. It is a rough guideline, to help you classify your own spells for your own personal use. The five tiers of spells go as follows: Petty, Minor, Moderate, Major, and Grandiose. -Petty (Pe)- Spells of the petty level are the smallest type of spell possible. They range up to the size of a marble, and are negligible in terms of djed usage. This would be something simple, such as lighting a candle with fire Reimancy. -Minor (Mi)- At this level the spell actually has a noticeable amount of djed usage to most users. Its size can range up to that of the users fist, and is usually the upper level of the capabilities of someone newly initiated, or the staple spell of someone of a higher skill. -Moderate (Mo)- At this point the spells have grown large enough to have a good chance of being lethal if directly hitting its target, assuming the foe is roughly of the same size as the user. Depending upon the type of spell this can range from something the size of the users torso, or as long as the user is tall, if not somewhat larger. -Major (Ma)- Large and powerful, these spells can have a wide area of affect, and can still damage its target with a miss, depending upon spell type. This is very draining, and usually limited to high level users if purely res based. -Grandiose (Gr)- Ridiculous by size or scale when compared to other spell tiers, it can affect wide swathes of land, be huge in size, and is hugely draining both in terms of res and attention. It can only be done by Reimancers of the highest caliber, or many lesser mages working together. That in its entirety was chapter two. It was a simple bit of text, but Clyde felt it was a good way to systematically break up varying spells into groupings that could be examined and measured. It was not exact, but then it did not need to be.

[Clyde Sullins]

Next up was chapter three, a chapter going into a discussion of the merits of attraction versus transmutation. Clyde had decided to take this from several tacks. First was simply talking about the pro's and con's in general. -Chapter 3- Transmutation versus Attraction (With a note to the latter's common availability by element, and with a sub-note to Glyphing for the former) When doing Reimancy there is always a choice. One can either transmute your res directly into an element to use it as such, or one can attract it from the environment. Each has its own series of pluses and minuses. The most obvious ones are that attraction allows a mage to do more Reimancy with less djed usage. Conversely, using transmutation is easier. It is easier in that innately res is made to be transmuted, it is natural to do as such, which means it requires less conscious effort, less concentration. But when arranging and guiding the natural elements, it does require an increased concentration, a constant conscious effort to have it do your bidding. So when doing Reimancy, a question must be brought forth in your mind. Whether this is an actual question you pose for yourself, or just something you make unconsciously, is up to you. But either way, the choice must be made. What is more important to you, a greater effect, possibly with less djed usage, or a fast and somewhat easier effect, with almost assured increased djed usage. Of course, there is more to it than that. Time is also a factor, along with the conditions in which you find yourself using your magic. If time is of the essence, or if it is a life or death fight, you may not have the time to find and physically manipulate the elements. Instead, you may need to immediately transmute your res into the element, and use it right away. Of course, if you only plan to use the one spell, and have time to rest and recuperate after each spell, djed consumption might not be an issue for you. If only every time you used Reimancy it could be in a “lab setting”. Reasonably safe, no distractions, no worry of having your throat ripped open. But then, most mages don’t have the luxury of always choosing when they will use their magics. However if you do not plan to use it right away, if you have time to spare, or plan to be using Reimancy for a long period of time continuously, using attraction is likely the preferable option. In fact, if you plan to partake in sustained magical usage, attraction will be the only option that is feasible in many cases. Also for bigger works of Reimancy, it is simply more cost effective to attract it, than to directly transmute and use natural elements. Along with this, for using Reimancy over a longer period of time, it means needing to constantly guide and attract the element, whether it is natural or transmuted. Once an element is transmuted, the time in which you can control it is limited. Which means you either need to use it very quickly, or will then need to control it via attraction, the same as if it had been a naturally attracted element. Along with this, to aid you in your consideration, I will now list the various elements, and their common availability in natural environments.

[Clyde Sullins]

With that done, Clyde then made a summary of each elements availability for usage via attraction. Fire- Rare- While fire is the most commonly thought of element of a Reimancer, it is one of the least likely to be available to attract. Campfires tend to be small, and are not often around when you need to do Reimancy. The flames from a torch tend to be small and quickly consumed. If you plan to use this element, you are probably going to need to transmute it. Air- Common- Air is one of the constants, if you are alive; you are probably somewhere that has a ready supply. If you don’t have any air available for attraction, you likely have bigger problems, like not being able to breath. Earth- Low to Common- Depending upon where you are earth will either be readily available, or not available at all. But unless you are on a boat at sea, you will likely have a source of earth available to use, even if it is only the dirt beneath your feet. Water- Mid to Common- Usually either water or earth will be available for attraction. In fact, it’s usually the fact that one of them is available that makes the other one not. If you are deep inland, you might not have any available. But if you are lucky, you may be near the coast, a river, a lake, something. Usually life congregates around water, which means more likely than not there will be at least some water around, particularly near cities. This might come in the form of a barrel of water, a full water skin, or something else entirely. But it will be rare to not have at least some water available for usage. Lightning- Ultra rare- So far in my experience, I have never seen lightning available for usage via attraction. Perhaps if you are in the midst of a storm, you might find some, but otherwise you will need to transmute it from res. Lava- Usually Rare- Lava like lightning is not commonly found in the environment. Certain places might specifically have it, but otherwise it is considered a rare resource for attraction, and requires res transmutation to use it. Ice- Usually Rare- Similarly to lava, ice is usually either around, or not. However one differentiating factor here is seasonality. In colder seasons, ice is more likely to be around. Or in certain places, it might be around all the time, similar to lava. However in hot places, or hot seasons, you won’t likely find much around, and will need to use transmutation to create it. And after that, he made a note to Glyphing, laying out quite plainly which of the two worked with it, and which did not. Finally, I want to end this chapter with a note to Glyphing. Being a Glypher myself, I understand this better than someone who was purely a Reimancer. I have made many mentions of the merits of attraction versus transmutation. However one way in which transmutation has a definite advantage, is when being used in conjunction with Glyphing, namely storing your spells via Glyphing. Simply enough if a spell is transmuted from res it can be stored via Glyphing, and if it is not, if it has been attracted from the natural environment, then for all extents it is useless to be used for Glyphing storage. So if you are also a Glypher/Reimancer, then bear in mind that to store a spell, it must be totally transmuted from res.

[Clyde Sullins]

Now almost done, Clyde was entering into the home stretch, the last chapter. In this he just had a few quick things to mention. Res decay... -Chapter 4- Other concerns of a Reimancer- Res decay over time, and reabsorption. Before I conclude this writing, I feel there are a few more topics that must be discussed, which will influence both your decision making and planning in regards to Reimancy. They are interrelated to a point, but each important on their own. First of all is Res decay. Res is a part of you as a mage, it is part of your body, that is its natural state and where it belongs. Because of this fact, through this connection to your res via it being a part of you, you are able to do Reimancy, to do the magic effects such as attraction and transmutation. However from the moment it leaves your body, the res begins to decay and rot, to be lost to the environment. The exact nature of why this happens is unimportant, what is important is bearing this fact in mind when you are doing Reimancy. If you have exuded res outside of you, it is decaying. This means the longer the particular bit of res stays outside of you, the more that will be lost to this decay, and the more costly any long term spell becomes. Inside of you before you exude the res, it is stable; it does not decay and is not expended. However outside of your body it loses this stability, and will be lost over time. It should be noted that once an element is transmuted, it is stable, and becomes that element truly. Perhaps this is part of why you lose control of the element once transmutation has occurred. This means that it will not rot or decay if you have transmuted it, at the cost of losing control and giving up the element, or being forced to then use attraction to control it. However this also means that if a spell is stored via Glyphing, it is stable and does not decay, and will leave the Glyphs just as it entered. But since only transmuted spells can be stored via Glyphing, only finalized spells can be stored, not res. Clyde paused for a moment after writing this... Something he had just written had been an on the spot thought. "Perhaps this is part of why you lose control of the element once transmutation has occurred." Until he had written it, Clyde had never considered this before... But getting caught up in the flow of thought that was his writing, he found himself making a logical explanation for something, something that had never occurred to him until then. It was a small discovery, one birthed simply by the process that was writing, the process that was mulling about thoughts and ideas in ones head and copying it down in written form. Regardless, this process seemed to have caused Clyde to consider something he had not before. The reason why one lost control of res when you transmuted it. Perhaps his idea was right, and it was because the res was no longer a part of you, was now the actual natural element, and so lost the connection to you it had when it was still res... An interesting thought, one he would need to think more and and perhaps experiement with to ascertain. But before that he needed to finish his writing, by talking of res reabsorption. And the final topic is that of reabsorbing res after you are done using Reimancy. Sometimes you will simply not use all that you exuded, and there will be remnants of untransmuted res from your spells, or the leftovers of what was being used for attraction. Sometimes you may find out after exuding it that you no longer have a need to do the spell, perhaps even because seeing your res was enough to scare off a foe. Regardless of whether at the end of your magics you are left with a little or a lot of res, these res are not totally lost, and can be reabsorbed back into you. This is not a perfect process, and likely some of it will have decayed before you have a chance to regain it, but it still means gaining back a bit of res and djed to be used later. With that, Clyde was done with his writing. He packed up his things, gave his writing a once over, and smiled in satisfaction, knowing he was done... It had actually been a somewhat pleasant experience. Perhaps he would try it again at some point.