Incantation

**Incantations** (呪文, *Jumon*), also called **Chanting**, are special words spoken in order to activate a magic spell.

## Summary

Incantations are an activity necessary for the activation of magic spells. Procedure-wise, incantations would be the "application" part in a system of application, acceptance, examination and issuance. They are employed by many types of magic practitioners, including some Psychics, but is most closely associated with wizards and magicians.

## Characteristics

When making use of a magic spell, one has to go through a pre-established process. For a large-scale system, incantations are just a part of said process. For a personal style of magic, however, they play the important role of self-hypnosis: To place the mind of the caster in a state in which it can effectively control their magic core into creating the desired magical effects.

Spells have predetermined capabilities; so the powers of a particular spell will always remain the same, no matter which caster uses it. The incantations, however, many differ. Regular incantations are something chanted not towards the outer world, but to one's inner world; they are actions that activate the magical process inside one's body and reflect one's nature.

As long as the incantation of a spell possesses a specific meaning and/or a set of keywords are included in it, the particulars of said incantation are left to the caster's personal tastes. Therefore, it is only natural that they differ from caster to caster. As such, it's unsurprising to hear that magic practitioners who boast a great ego usually have long incantations for their personalized spells.

The greater the meaning behind the contents of an incantation to the caster, the better the final result will be. The stronger the self-hypnosis, the more the caster can optimize the use of their magic core. Changing the words of an incantation does not mean much; what matters is the meaning behind them. Incantations chanted towards the outer world are called "Grand Incantations". Performance of one of those alone is said to be impossible, as when they are done, it is always in groups.

## Classifications

Spells are classified accordingly with the length of their incantations:

* **Single-Action**: Instantaneous spells also called **Wordless Magic** (無言魔法, *Mugon Mahō*). Its only requirement for activation is to pass energy through the caster's magic core, and most experienced magic practitioners are highly-proficient in Single-Action spells.
* **One-Line**: Spells that the incantation is made of a single phrase composed of one word at the very least. It's considered to be a magic process that is very well-stabilized and easily activated, and as such, is commonly taught to young magic practitioners or ones who have just been introduced to magic as a whole.
* **Five-Line**: Spells with incantations made of five phrases.
* **Ten-Count**: Instantaneous Contract. It consists of ten phrases or more. It's already considered a simple ritual as the minimum step necessary to activate greater magic or spells with power Ultimate-class or above. A skilled magic practitioner can perform them in about a minute.

More than the power of the spell, this particular classification seems to be related to how smoothly a mystery can be reenacted: The easier a miracle can be actualized the shorter its incantations will be.

## Techniques

### High-Speed Incantation

**High-Speed Incantation** (高速詠唱, *Kōsoku Eishō*) is a technique of modern magic practitioners that allows chanting of incantations at a faster race. Through this technique, activation of magic spells can be done in half the normal time. However, only extremely skilled casters can perform this technique as failing to correctly recite the incantations can be disastrous.

### High-Speed Divine Words

**High-Speed Divine Words** (高速神言, *Kōsoku Shingon*) is a technique that use **Divine Words** (神言, *Shingon*) to chant the incantations. They are languages from the Age of Gods, back when words played a heavy role in spellcasting, and that modern humans can no longer pronounce. The users can do High-Magic in one second because they give the World orders directly without connecting their magic core.

All mythologies have different Divine Words, some forms of Divine Words older than others. Most of them share similarities with the ancient languages of the mythology's corresponding culture. Regardless, all of them are still vastly newer than the Unified Language spoken when it was still the only one language in the world.

## Trivia

* An incantation would not work without conscious effort, intent or magical prowess of the caster.
* For spells with long incantations, an observable effect on the outer world will usually appear before the process is fully completed.