N/Arcanery/Magic
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[edit] Spells
Magic can be complicated indeed. Here's a guide to understanding its foundations and how it works.
By magic proper, we refer to a certain magic system that includes the various disparate types of magic available. First, we will discuss the four elementary spells so crucial to casting spells.
[edit] The Four Elementary Spells
Each of the Four Spells is associated with its own Element. There are likewise Four Elements:
- Air, symbolizing vision and divine communication
- Earth, symbolizing matter, space, and time
- Fire, symbolizing creation and change
- Water, symbolizing logic and rationalization
Magic in Lorica depends on these four Elementary Spells, which can be altered and combined in various and disparate ways. Each of the Four Elements are associated with its own Spell, as thus:
- Air - Sight
- Earth - Telmol
- Fire - Manos
- Water - Logos
We will discuss these spells and their abilities later on. Note that not all magic is based on these four spells; there are other spells that are not considered magic proper.
[edit] Beings
The Two Universes - the Asset and Tessa (meaning to have and not to have) - are populated with beings. Now by beings we will need a particular definition:
- "Beings are entities that contain matter, energy, or both."
For example, a wisp would be energy only and no matter, while an object would have both matter and energy, while adamantium would be matter only and no energy. Other examples of beings include the world as a whole, and Imagi (to be discussed later). There are many different kinds of beings, as such a cursory overview of their variety will quickly demonstrate.
Also note that the term Beings and the term Entities are not mutually interchangeable; an Entity is a complete something and hence is capable of performing actions, such as an individual, a deity, or a god. A Being, however, is any person, place, object, or piece thereof. Therefore, half a Being is still a Being, only it is of half the quantitative significance, and half of that is also still a Being, and so on, ad infinitum.
Why mention this point? Magic relates to the properties of these Beings, or else would have no relevance whatsover in the Two Universes.
[edit] Outside, Inside
There are, as we said, Two Universes: Asset and Tessa. The former is also known as Inside, because from our viewpoint we and everything else in this universe are Inside a particular bubble of cosmic proportions; the latter is known hence as the Outside, being diametrically opposed in its essences. The Inside can be influenced directly through physical means and indirectly by magical means, while the Outside can be influenced directly by magical means and indirectly by physical means. Magic, along with Physics, thus serves as a link between the two worlds.
Beings that are Outside are invisible to Beings that are Inside; likewise, Beings that are Inside are invisible to Beings that are Outside. You will soon see later on that this is not a major problem when we can transport between the two Universes. Additionally, Outside things are invisible and do not undergo reactions; that is, they do not experience time.
Now here is the point that has to be made perfectly clear:
- "Through the use of spells, Beings can be moved Inside and Outside instantaneously."
Objects can also be moved Outside for a duration. Such a movement across the Two Universes is known as an Action.
[edit] Stars
As mentioned earlier, we can continually divide Beings into halves, and do so endlessly. What do we get when this process reaches its end? Is there a limit? It turns out that yes, there is a limit (but the proof for this is so difficult that it will not be presented here). All matter and energy in both the Inside and Outside are composed of miniscule packets of Being called Quanta. These Quanta are locked into matter and heat/energy. Such stored energy is also called Aiúas - hence, an Aiúa is a type of Quanta. These Aiúas cannot be directly tapped by magic in the Asset Universe.
What sorcerers can tap into are another form of Quanta, one that is not locked into other Beings. These present themselves as the "Vital Force" that drives living beings, and these are called Stars. Why is this important? Stars are needed in order for Actions to occur. Without them, there would be no magic to speak of, none of this which follow. Hence, in the world of magic, living Beings present a particular and crucial resource for the spell caster.
In the last section we discussed how living Beings hold Vital Forces. We now expand this concept further: Stars show an affinity for Vital Force and thus reside inside living objects, an attraction that varies inversely with the distance from the living object. Hence, Stars closer to a living object will be more forcefully attracted to them, and so forth.
Stars can be shaken from their residence objects (Beings) through Vital Actions. In the classical sense, these would include rites, cants (chants), etcetera. This process will be explored later.
When attaching Action potential to a Being, some living object--that is, containing Vital Force--must also be attached. Thus, when a Vital Force is extinguished (such as through death), Stars flee from the object and may therefore immediately be tapped for powerful use. It should be obvious by now that magic and the potential to wield it does not come for free.
[edit] Sentropy
Beings transfer across the Two Universes involves both the Inside and Outside gaining as much Quanta as is lost so that the total Quanta in both Worlds remains the same. Remember that the two types of Quanta are Aiúas and Stars. We now introduce the First Law of Sentropy:
- "Actions result in a reduced amount of order in the sum of both Universes, thereby increasing a quality known as Sentropy."
Hence, there is a definite interchange of Quanta in every Action performed. Do you see how there are two kinds of "actions", one being physical and one being magical? These two are fundamentally different, yet similar. Both reduce the amount of order in the Universes. Likewise, both require something to get started. This concept leads us to the Second Law of Sentropy:
- "All Actions, no matter how much Sentropy involved, have an Activation Quanta before they can occur."
An Activation Quanta is the force necessary to drive an Action into commencing. This required Activation Quanta is fulfilled by Stars, and Stars only; it cannot be satisfied using Aiúas.
From this law, we can deduce that, in any action, Sentropy always increases. There is, however, a pattern to be seen. But this applies to the sum of both Universes. There is however another term for the energy and disorder of each individual world: Entropy. Actually, this term came first, but when we add the two values, we obtain the Sum-of-the-entropies, simplified into S-entropy and thus into Sentropy. This fits into what is known as the Corollary to the First Law of Sentropy:
- "Actions involving bringing a more ordered Being Inside result in reduced entropy Inside and greater entropy Outside. Actions involving bringing a less ordered Being Inside result in greater entropy Inside and reduced entropy Outside."
Note that this corollary does not state, in either circumstance, which predominates: the gain or the loss; and to which extent one predominates over the other. While the first law already answers the first question, the second has no specific answer, and depends primarily on the efficiency of the magic. This corollary actually has two parts. Note that the first type of Action expends more Stars and generates fewer Stars, and thus require a continuous input of Stars to work, while the second type of Action expends fewer Stars and generates more (in reference to the Asset Universe). The latter type also thus expends only the Stars needed to fulfill the Activation Quanta described in the Second Law. Also note that the Inside begets more Stars at a cost: by increasing its own entropy.
[edit] Telmol
This article is about magic in Lorica.
The great Keystone magic discipline to be tackled by Sorcerers is Telmol (also called Telemol and Intermol). Telmol means etymologically "distant" and "matter", or bringing matter across the two physically distant Universes, while Intermol means "across" and 'matter". Telmol causes the Action of Being (Quanta) transfer from Outside to Inside, or vice versa: from Inside to Outside. It thus is the key concept to understanding magic, as well as its various effects, many of which include distortion, creation, and deletion. As with the other three main Spells, Telmol can be used in an infinite variety of ways to create effects of profound complexity; only by your exploration into this astounding world can you comprehend the greatness of this Spell.
Telmol is easily the most simple Spell to cast; even so, the complexity that the spell allows means that such casts can still become extremely complicated. Hence, it is oftentimes better to refer to spells by their intended effects rather than their component variations of the Spells, in the same way that calling an object "apple" is superior to calling it "bright red (fruit) from tall (plant)...". The former method is also more understandable, although with the vast possibilities that the four Elementary Spells can provide, this can quickly become daunting. (You haven't been formally introduced to such complex spells yet; the time for that will soon come.)
[edit] Deltamancy
Deltamancy translates as the Magic of Change. As this is fundamental to practically all magic, many philosophers have debated whether or not this term should be discarded with altogether and simply replaced with the word magic. However, it is useful to introduce this term here to refer to just the spells involving Telmol.
There are four varieties of Deltamancy that have been introduced so far:
- Kinetomancy - The Magic of Kinetics
- Antimancy - The Magic of Negation
- Conjuramancy - The Magic of Conjuring
- Creomancy - The Magic of Believing
[edit] Kinetomancy
The first discipline that we will introduce in magic is Kinetomancy, meaning the "magic of energy and movement". This is because the most basic Telmol Spell works with only energy while ignoring matter. Kinetomancy, in its general sense, involves heating or cooling an object and thus involves Energy Telmol only. Other situations would include electricity, magnetism, forces, the electromagnetic spectrum, and waves. Advanced examples of Kinetomancy can sometimes be pretty sights. Note, however, that spells working with only energy are very limited in scope and variety.
Examples:
- [1] You could bring heat energy Inside toward a particular target object, making it hot...then hotter, and hotter....
- [2] ...Or you could do the reverse, and bring heat energy from a particular target object Outside, making it cold...then colder, and colder.
- [3] You could bring electromagnetic energy Inside toward a particular target object. If your ability to charge an object becomes powerful enough, you could cause a bolt of lightning to emanate from it.
- [4] You could provide magnetic attraction energy Inside toward a particular target object, so that it becomes attracted to and attracts a magnet; or you could do the opposite to certain metallic objects like iron for the reverse effect.
- [5] You could provide raw kinetic energy to a particular falling target so that upon impact it strikes with much more force than its speed would have made others think.
- [6] You could create an instance of a "bump" of water-making the water level temporarily rise and fall at a particular point-to disrupt standing water. Once you have learned Logos and Manos, you can set a Charm to cast this "wave" repeatedly to create actual waves. You could then also apply kinetomancy to create sound waves and thus noise (or if you are really skilled, music).
- [7] You could send a seismic shockwave into the ground.
- [8] You could heat an object so forcefully that it glows.
- [9] You could also make an object glow by constantly bringing light Inside at the site of a particular object to give the illusion that the object is glowing. Once you have learned Logos and Manos, you can set a Charm that will enable the light to be actually attached to the object so that it is actually the object that glows, not its vicinity.
[edit] Antimancy
The next discipline of magic that we will consider is Antimancy, literally "magic of negation". This is not to be confused with reversing the effects of another spell; instead, this has to do with deleting matter from the Inside and effectively banishing it into the Outside. Unlike Kinetomancy, which involves only energy, Antimancy also involves matter transitions (Actions). Spells of this variety as well as of some others are known as Matter and Energy Telmol (MET) and can be considered a grouping of various types of Earth magic, all of which involve casting the same spell (Telmol).
In effect, Antimancy involves reducing the degree of orderliness (increasing entropy) Inside and increasing the degree of orderliness (decreasing entropy) Outside.
- Whenever a solid or liquid is turned into a gas or vacuum, the gas will be heavily concentrated at the target location, and therefore will nearly explode to fill the vicinity, as all air strives to fill up all space equally. Within seconds, the excess air will have dissipated. These explosions could potentially cause a sonic boom, and also serve to mildly repel everything around the target.
- Whenever a gas or vacuum turns into a solid or liquid, the disappearance of the gas causes gases elsewhere to be sucked in, resulting in an attractive effect as well as a "whoosh" sound.
[edit] Conjuramancy
The art of conjuring, Conjuramancy or alternatively Conjurmancy, is the second subdivision of Deltamancy which we will cover, after Antimancy. It involves the change of matter and energy's properties or qualities. Its effects are generally superficial, and therefore these spells require far fewer Stars and cause less actual Being change.
Examples:
- You could create a fragrance/smell at a particular target object/location.
- You could create an infinitesimally thin panel of stone or any other opaque material, that uses up almost no Stars and which can shatter at a single light touch but which can give the illusion of a wall where there is actually a concealed door.
- You could, once you are rather skilled, conjure an image of a ghost or other object. Note that this is also possible with Kinetomancy's light variety, but this differs in that it is not based on producing light but on creating an object that reflects it.
Conjuramancy is generally a weaker version of Creomancy that uses far less energy and therefore is far more suited to teaching the beginning spellcaster.
it is generally considered that Conjuramancy leads almost directly to Creomancy, which we will discuss next...
[edit] Creomancy
Creomancy translates as the Magic of Believing, and harks back to the old concept that the truth is what you believe in. Alternatively, the erroneous translation of the word describes it as the Magic of Creating. In effect, Creomancy is the spell that allows spellcasters to create things, and generally applies to those kinds of Telmol that result in both energy and matter change. It is another subdivision of Deltamancy.
Creomancy involves increasing the degree of orderliness (reducing entropy) Inside and accomplishes this by consuming excess Stars. Therefore, in order to cast this spell repetitively, one must be ready to sacrifice much (now, whether the sacrifices are one's own are debatable, and very likely they are someone else's losses that are involved). Quite a portion of magic and improvisation is to reduce the energetic waste of such spells as much as possible, which can in some times be an open-ended search.
Creomancy is practically the opposite of Antimancy. When a spellcaster uses Creomancy, a significant amount of air is transported via Telmol to the Outside and a small volume of solid/liquid is introduced. Hence, we have the whooshing sound and the attractive force mentioned earlier for Antimancy.
Examples:
- You could create a hammer from thin air.
- You could use Creomancy to create a powerful attraction. This would be useful to drag a fleeing Being toward you without having to reach out, and thus acts as a suction.
- You could later "Teleport", that is, use Antimancy and Creomancy almost simultaneously to place the target into the Outside and then retrieve it immediately somewhere else.
- You could create a nail inside some object.
- You could create a burst of pressured air. If this is done correctly inside a lock, the pressured air could turn the tumblers and unlock the door.
- You could create a staff from still water.
- You could mutate a being into a different being.
- You could grow a sixth finger on your hand. Note that this requires significant knowledge of the human body.
- You could replicate yourself so that there are two of you. Note that this requires extensive knowledge of the human body.
- You could act as if you were stabbing someone, then as soon as any part of the blade goes into a person, you could Antimancy it out and then Creomancy it back in on the other side to give the illusion that you've penetrated your victim.
- You could use Creomancy to bring back what someone else banished Outside using Antimancy.
- You could also do the opposite, using Antimancy to bring out what someone created using Creomancy.
- You could use Creomancy to generate land from the open sea. Note that this requires you generate all the land that would be created underwater.
- This list goes on and on...
[edit] Manos and Logos
This article is about magic in Lorica.
[edit] Manos and Logos
Manos and Logos can be seen as two sides of the same coin. The former, meaning "manipulation", refers to the doing part of any charm spell, while the latter, meaning "logic", refers to the logical cycles that determine what to do. Both must be present to some degree and fulfill some purpose in any workable charm spell.
The Manos and Logos components of the spell must be arranged in a generally precise manner. As the glyphics-converting charm, Charmase, only works in one way, these must be posited so, but there are often different ways of "wording" the spells to achieve nearly the same results.
The two are basically differentiated by what function they serve in the glyphical system. Manos does things, such as obtaining certain data, locating a target, and casting a particular spell. Logos runs the logic behind the charm, such as if-then-else structures, loop-endloop structures, and mathematical operators.
It is generally believed that for a spellcaster to understand how charms work, they must first comprehend the runes' meanings, as each rune corresponds to a facet of Manos or Logos.
[edit] Runes
This article is about magic in Lorica.
These are the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark. The runes have three uses:
- As an antique phonetical system used by the Language tribe and its progeny (such as the Union of Five and the first few Empires).
- As part of the glyphic system of Manos and Logos, they play a major role in charm creation, such as via Charmase...
- ... Which is also the basis of their third use, as the main tool used to read Throwing Glyphs
Now, here is a basic guide to reading the runes:
- First Aett
- Fehu - "True", corresponds to something being what you want it to be.
- Uruz - "False", corresponds to something not being what you want it to be.
- Thurisaz - Tells Charmase to perform an action B if a condition A yields Fehu. Or, in the case of Glyph Throwing, that that action will be preformed.
- Ansuz - Tells Charmase to obtain a certain value or data from a particular bindrune. Or, in the case of Glyph Throwing, to interperet particular emphasis on fehu.
- Raido - Tells Charmase to skip other runes and go directly to a particular bindrune marked with the rune Kenaz. Or, in the case of Glyph Throwing, to interperet particular emphasis on Kenaz.
- Kenaz - Tells Charmase that the following bindrune is the correct place to continue reading after its Raido.
- Gebo - Tells Charmase to give the variable named by the following bindrune A a particular value B. Or, in the case of Glyph Throwing, emphasis value B.
- Wunjo - Tells Charmase that the runic/glyphic coding/message has come to an end.
- Second Aett
- Hagalaz - Tells Charmase to restore the emphasis/value of a particular variable named by the following bindrune A to null.
- Nauthiz - Tells Charmase to set a timer and pause operations until that time. Or, in the case of Glyph Throwing, that such an action will be preformed.
- Isa - Tells Charmase to end the most recent Thurisaz logical structure.
- Jera - Tells Charmase to combine the first variable bindrune A and third variable bindrune B in a particular mathematical operation signified by the second bindrune.
- Eihwaz - Tells Charmase to perform a particular action as specified by the following sequence of runic coding. Or, in the case of Glyph Throwing, that such an action will be preformed.
- Perthro - Tells Charmase to create a new variable named by the following bindrune and give it a null value.
- Algiz - Tells Charmase what to do if it encounters an error (this should be placed early on in the runic coding). This rune is not used in Glyph Throwing.
- Sowulo - Tells Charmase that what is to follow is commenting for the spellcaster and not to be interpreted as part of the runic coding.
- Third Aett
- Teiwaz - Tells Charmase to discard a particular portion of the runic coding.
- Berkana - Tells Charmase to create anew a particular portion of the runic coding.
- Ehwaz - Tells Charmase that a portion of the runic code/message has come to an end, and to return to where it left off before the last Raido.
- Mannaz - Tells Charmase that what is to follow is a block of runic coding/message that must be interpreted together rather than sequentially.
- Laguz - Tells Charmase to accept any of a set of values as an argument that results in "true".
- Inguz - Tells Charmase where to begin reading the runic coding.
- Dagaz - Tells Charmase to repeat reading a particular portion of the runic coding consisting of the following bindrune and concluding with the first Othalas it encounters.
- Othalas - Tells Charmase where the end of the repeat structure is, so that Charmase may proceed to reading the loops.
[edit] Runic Scriptase
This article is about magic in Lorica.
[edit] Chaperone eutris
Chaperone eutrises are massive eutrises that are used in programming/developing other eutrises. Loricans are able to use them to develop the countless amounts of eutrises that are used in daily life. While there are plenty of eutrises, there are not chaperone eutrises, primarily because their degree of flexibility -- they have a complex and taxing interface that only those who have learned how to program with them can actually work with -- allows them to construct and develop other eutrises and starscripts (which is how they got their name).
[edit] Charmase
Charmase I and II have been instrumental in allowing the advancement of magic. They do this by quickly converting something (via the interface they use) into spells, thereby casting them without requiring as complex and tedious a process.
- Charmase I takes ritualized movements (which involves handling specific objects) and converts them
- Charmase II (Runic Charmase) takes heavenly stars and converts them (circa)
...provided there are no errors in the encoding.
Over the ages, several forms of each of these Charmases have been developed, allowing most people to focus on more specific aspects of spell design and casting rather than having to reinvent the wheel--in this case, recreating a Charmase to take in such signals. Nowadays, the most standardized spells are cast directly through use of other Eutrises, while Charmase is good for developing and wielding more complex magic.
[edit] Runic Scriptase
The problem with Runic Charmase is that the heavenly stars still take quite a while, can't be moved, are easily destroyed/ruined, are non-intuitive, and take up a lot of space on the ground. Runic Scriptase, an improved version of the Charmase chaperone eutris, solved this problem, converting written (ie. on paper) glyphs directly into spells.
- Scriptase I takes runes written on paper and converts them
- Scriptase II takes words written on paper and converts them
The initiation of Scriptase II marked the first time spells could be made that most people could comprehend with minimal training, and was another milestone toward past spell developing and technological progress.
[edit] Runic Ligase
Further development in the programming field resulted in the production of Runic Ligase. This chaperone eutris allowed spellcasters to cast spells quickly and efficiently by placing small blocks -- runestones -- into a socketed tablet. These tablets would have many more compartments than is necessary for any one individual spell; the combination of sockets filled in with which stones would determine how the spell was cast. Later versions would sport different, oftentimes more complex tablets with additional sockets.
While the Runic Ligase system was very limited in the variety of spells that could be cast as a result of this formulaic approach, it was enough for casting the simpler spells, and users could easily memorize the formula for said spells. Indeed, this marked the first point a layman with no training in the arcane studies whatsoever would be able to wield the power of magic -- and to do so rapidly, efficiently, and flexibly. It was mainly because of the development of the Runic Ligase system, and the rapid, widespread casting it allowed, that sent Lorica spiralling into the depths of terror of the Diabla Magia; if anyone could quickly assemble a formula to cast a spell, and magic in the hands of any amateur was decidedly deadly, who wouldn't be afraid?
[edit] Runic Dictationase
Runic Dictationase is a type of Eutris that converts what the spellcaster says (the chants) into starscripts / spells. Actually, it is a category of related Eutris charms.
The advent of the Runic Dictationases meant that spellcasters could participate in battle through mere words--a significant improvement over the rituals and actions demanded by the original Runic Scriptase. It rapidly replaced Runic Scriptase as the set of charms used by spellcasters.
[edit] Heavenly Star
This article is about magic in Lorica.
[edit] Heavenly Star
A Heavenly Star or alternatively a Magic Circle is a round glyphic design that generally involves the use of Runes. Through different arrangements of such runes, different charms can be created.
A Heavenly Star looks like a circle at its barest. At one point in the Heavenly Star's main circle, the spellcaster draws the rune Inguz; this acts as the starting point for Charmase. The runic coding reader then goes counterclockwise along the circle, reading any runes and bindrunes placed on it. There are basically three types of runes/bindrunes:
- Manos runes, which tell Charmase exactly what to do;
- Logos runes, which tell Charmase what logic to follow in making those decisions;
- Bind-runes, which tell Charmase what targets to do actions with.
Thus, as Charmase proceeds along the circle, it acts according to the rules set by these runes.
Note that with structure runes, such as that for the repeat (loop) structures, the logic (if...then...) structures, and standard aggregation (grouping) structures, additional circles may be laid on an arc of the main circle, each of which would then represent that structure. These in turn could have circles on them as well, which may or may not be larger than the main circle, depending on the size of code that needs to be fitted in. When reaching such secondary circles, Charmase has two choices: "True" (Fehu) meaning that it take the outer course and "False" (Uruz) meaning that it take the inner course which extends within the primary circle. A repeat structure would send Charmase going around the secondary circles, well, in circles. As you can see, complicated Heavenly Stars don't look round at all.
The center of the circle is a place where the magic of that particular magic circle cannot take place, hence leading to the rise of the phrase "Eye of the Charm", a phrase which sounds close to but has very little to do with "Eye of the Storm".
Heavenly Stars for elementary (basic) spells were later replaced with Eutris charms.
[edit] Eutris
This article is about magic in Lorica.
[edit] Complexity Hierarchy
Arcane components, in increasing complexity:
[edit] 1. Stars
Stars are the basic units of magical power, and massive amounts of stars are necessary for this purpose (somewhat on the order of 10 to the 22th power of stars for a basic spell). Stars combine to form Starscripts. There is great , periodical variety in the types of stars (much like there is variety in the chemical elements). Stars are in turn composed of four Elements, referred to as Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. They are as following:
- Fire: The fire number determines the charge of the stars.
- Air: The air number determines the magical properties of the stars.
- Earth: The earth number determines the mass-ness of the star Outside.
- Water: The water number determines the maximum fire number, though the fire number often falls short in all but the inert stars.
These numbers together determine the characteristics of stars. Considering only the Fire number (and thus its maximum values, the Water numbers), we have 24 stars, and these are conveniently labelled with the runes (Fehu through Othala).
[edit] 2. Star Forms
Several stars combined become a form, a specific arrangement of stars with certain properties. By themselves they are incapable of doing anything; however, their various properties are what define the immense diversity of possible star forms.
Stars don't become "used up"; however, they can only do so much at a time before changing into another form. It is this process that after all allows telmol and tessa spells. Thereafter, they must then be changed back into a usable form, and as a result the longer the time allotted, the fewer stars are necessary; the greater the task, the more stars are necessary; and the fewer the stars, the slower and less powerful is the work done.
[edit] 3. Constellations
Even larger groups of star forms comprise constellations, which are still the smallest components to arcane starscript beings. Variety is massive here as well, with constellations ranging in size from a few hundred stars to a few million stars. Constellations are functional; however, as each entity is very minute, no effect is noticeable; it takes power several magnitudes greater -- functional groups -- to be able to achieve any significant result.
[edit] 4. Functional Groups
Functional groups are clusters of constellations that perform a particular function. These may range from identification to operation to conditions, and are very varied. They are often found in groups, which are then called starscripts. Oftentimes, when a starscript is broken up, the functional groups remain intact but split into their individual pieces.
Selected functional groups:
[edit] Apop
Apoptase is used in the destruction of Scripts. Apop is a subscript, or component, that is the functional group of stars in Apoptase. It is necessary in destroying (or the politically correct term "the decomposition of") Starscripts. The functional group always carries a modifier Q (Q stands for query and acts as a variable) which in turn is linked to the passed-along argument from Foci which in turn is connected to the original Q1 functional group. Thus, the information stored in the variable Q1 is passed along until it reaches Apop, which in turn uses it to specify which starscript(s) to destroy.
[edit] F
F stands for Fehu, the first rune in the Elder Futhark. In the world of Lorica, it is a functional group that signifies the beginning of a starscript. Often, the next one or more functional groups that follow it refer to any conditions that need to be met. In the representation below of Apoptase, the Query1 functional group is necessary for the script to proceed; basically, it will only process when the caster presents what Query1 is asking for. If F is missing, however, then even if the caster presents what Query1 is asking for, the script will not be able to activate.
[edit] Foci
Foci is a functional group that searches for and locks on to a target, whether it be a starscript or a Being. It is also an important functional group for the charm, Magic Sentry, which identifies and uncovers spells that hide beings. It carries a modifier which is passed along from the initial query Q1, so that it will know what to search for: whatever the spellcaster specifies for Q1. It was the evolution of Foci that led to the widespread destruction of starscripts and brought in the relative script calm that has persevered to the present.
[edit] 5. Starscript
Starscripts are associations of stars to form a "program" that causes a certain magical effect. Stars, and hence starscripts, exist in the Outside. Starscripts are very varied, and come in nearly infinitely many sizes, shapes, and uses, and are necessary to spellcasters.
[edit] 6. Spells
See main article: Lorica/Arcanery/Spell
Spells are individual forms of various disciplines.
[edit] 7. Eutris
EUTRIS stands for Elementary Universal Translational Runic Instancing Scriptase. It's useful for when you want to get fast results. As the saying goes, you can't get quick results quickly. You have to get ready for them, and in the case of magic that involves creating your own Eutris for every slightly different version of something. Thus, Eutris is good for particular, standardized results, but not for specific results.
There are literally thousands of even the elementary Eutrises. And even so, very often the charm you want isn't one of them. There are also a handful of massive Eutrises that are used in programming/developing others; these are known as chaperone eutrises.
Lorican name: Scripta instanta runa translata universa elementum (SIRTUE) / Sirtuea
[edit] 8. Imagi
Imagi refers to eutrises that are very complicated, with components involved in obtaining information, processing data, and bringing about results of various forms. Many are used in Lorican medicine. Eutrises are very complex Imagi as well.
[edit] 9. Minions
See main article: Magical Beings
Minions are, at heart, Imagi. In addition, they also have a more useful interface that allows people to interact with them physically rather than just arcanely.
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