Spiral

The spiral (also called the energy, the tide, the fractal, and the circle) is a stockpile of regenerating and sustainable energy that can be used to grow runes and store scripts.

## Properties

Scholars of magical and spiral theory generally apply five key properties to the spiral.

### 1. Unity

The unity principle states that there is only one spiral. Although initially debated by Seprum scholars, members of the Triple Kingdom have long accepted that all mages access the same spiral. The most conclusive proof occurred in 2012 PS, when two mages, one in Mauzji, one in Seprum (then Lykos), communicated their existence to one another by placing certain, specific runes in the spiral near the Forest and cobbling together a rudimentary language. When a trader caravan arrived in Lykos in the predicted date, all but the most stubborn scholars considered the debate concluded.

### 2. Immutable

Every script ever written in the spiral exists there to this day, visible to everyone with access. This includes scripts with violent and deadly purposes, and they cannot be changed, moved, or hidden once compiled. The immutable principle led to the creation of the spiral wall and Spiral Empire.

### 3. Geographic

A mage who enters the spiral in Antioch will see the same scripts and runes as another mage in Antioch, and vastly different scripts and runes from a mage in Qurash. With time and focus, it is possible to 'travel' in the spiral, finding scripts and runes in other places. While scripts can be referenced long-distance—indeed, they must be, for there cannot exist two identical scripts in the spiral at the same time—runes lose power when grown in a far off location and cast somewhere else. The geographic principle allowed Mauzji merchants and explorers to find other islands in the Forest.

### 4. Constant

Runes in the spiral grow at a constant rate, no matter how many other runes are growing at the same time. It is impossible to speed up the growth of a rune, though writing more efficient scripts can lead to runes that grow faster.

### 5. Incorporeal

The spiral exists everywhere a human exists, but it cannot be touched or seen. Spiros learn to access the spiral through their mind's eye, but no mage has been able to draw the spiral, or suggest what substance it is made out of. Indeed, the substance of the spiral has sparked numerous theoretical debates.

### 6. Spiritual

In recent times, a few spiral scholars have suggested that the spiral is either intricately connected the Forest, either as a power source or sink, or that the ghosts of the dead, which can sometimes be seen in the Forest, are actually inhabitants of the spiral itself. Because only living beings seem to have the ability to enter the spiral, most scholars agree it has some sort of subjective, mental aspect, but no one has shown how the mental and the spiral interact, or proven that ghosts must exist in the spiral as opposed to in some other manner.

## History

The Diao have the earliest claim to the spiral, with evidence of draft scripts written on turtle shells as old as 2500 PS. As early as 2100 PS, Diao spiros were using the spiral to draw maps of the world, assuming areas with denser runes contained populations and likely islands. The Mauzji likely used the same methods, though records have been lost of that time period. It is known, however, that Muazji traders arrived in Dhi in 2047 PS, Ju in 2036, and the Seprum island in 2030 PS. When scholars from the different islands could share best practices, the number of scripts in the spiral exploded, as did understanding of rune mereology.
In the almost three thousand years since Diao spiros started using the spiral, growth times have remained constant. Attempts to measure the spiral's power are difficult and faulty, but all study suggests it is as powerful today as it was then. While a few scholars push for spiral conservation in an attempt to ensure the spiral is available for use by the generations to come, there is little, if any, evidence that the spiral is losing strength.