Spells

The spell book of available spells can be found linked on the Academy forums. They are split by **combat spells** (which require spell points to use in combat), and **utility spells** (which can be known and used freely, once you learn one).

For any given substrate, the basic skills are:

* Knowledge: to comprehend and know about the item (such as an element or an animal)
* Alteration: to change what exists (aka Transmutation and Transfiguration)
* Creation: to create it from nothing (aka Conjuration and Evocation)
* Destruction: to remove or unravel what exists (including Cures and Dispels)
* Summoning: to change the location of what already exists (aka teleport/banish)

## Branches

All spells are split into various branches, or general categories, in which spells are grouped by type. It is a form of magical theory that is used to split academic classes.

The main branches are:

* **Abjuration**, the study of defensive magics, counter-spells, and wards
* **Aether****/Spirit Arts**: the study of radiant Solar/Lunar energy, as well as the raw magic within ourselves
* **Alchemy**, the study of magical potion making and magical chemistry
* **Artifice**, the study of item creation, magical engineering, and enchantment with magical effects
* **Conjuration**, the study of creating objects and creatures from raw magic
* **Divination**, the study of scrying spells, communication magics, and fortune-telling
* **Emoturgy**, the study of emotional magics and mental magics
* **Elemental Evocation**, the study of raw elemental magics such as fire, earth, air, and water
* **Illusion**, the study of glamours and magics that control visual light and visual shadow
* **Kinetics**, the study of telekinetics, gravity distortions, and spatial manipulations
* **Planar Summoning**: the study of teleportation, summoning creatures, and banishing
* **Transmutation**: changing one thing to something else.
	+ **Biocraft** is a common subset branch used for healing, shapeshifting, and polymorph spells

Some other branches exist which build off of these main branches or are closely related, but may be treated as a separate category. These can include but are not limited to:

* **Maleficium**: the study of illegal evocation magics and curses
* **Necromancy**: the study of undead and necrotic effects
* **Onierology**: the study of dream magics, including lucid dreaming and nightmares
* **Riftcraft**: the study of opening portals or rifts to other planes and realms
* **Shadowers**: the study of Niflheim and of summoning Shadow Creatures
* **Telepology**: the study of mental effects, including telepathy and memory manipulations
* **Veneficum**: the study of poisons and venom

## Elements

The elements refer to different substances that can often be manipulated with magic. Some common strengths and weaknesses include:

### Element "Bending"

This is a specific type of spell casting most commonly associated with the Evocation branch which does not rely so much on wands or other focus objects. Instead, it relies on martial arts and movement to channel one's magic to create or manipulate an element. Different martial arts styles tend to lend themselves to one element or another.

## Rune-casters

This is a specific type of spell-casting wherein the mage heavily relies on drawn symbols (often runes or sigils) in all of their spell-casts, and not just for artifice or large wards. This sometimes manifests in drawn circles or shapes on the ground or wall, as a piece of paper or a set of carved stones or sticks, or as simple as drawing the symbol in the air with a staff or wand to serve as a wand movement.

***There are no specific runes or symbols that must be used for this***. Each mage can use what symbols mean the most to them.

Some rune-casters have been known to use origami fortune tellers (aka chatterboxes) to put a symbol together and use it as their magical focus object, rather than a wand. Others use pre-carved runestones often made of stone, bone, or wood, drawing them from a bag or belt pouch to cast with, or have them embedded in a glove or bracer like a keypad.

Rune-casting has no specific benefit or weakness over typical wand-magic, but does rely on knowing the symbols you use with extreme familiarity as well as the flexible intuition of being able to ascribe the most efficient and effective rune combinations to each spell.