Script Magic

Script magic is a magic of language and emotion. It requires at least a rudimentary understanding of Low Ilfeiyan, the root language from which all modern languages diverged. This is an inherently powerful form of magic as it relies on communicating with the spirits in a way that reduces the burden they place on the mage during the act of drawing in their energies. The method was created by Halima, and expanded upon by Jesha, the God King of Kore.

## Rules

Spirits are called into action by mimicking an emotion representative of their nature. Spirits whom are ruled by a particular emotion are more likely to work with the amge on the principle that they believe the mage is a like-minded individual.

For this kind of spirit calling to work, the act must be convincing, requiring the emotion to be heartfelt and conveyed nonverbally. A mage cannot simply speak about teh emotion. He or she must feel it and display it. Due to this requirement, the mage has little control over which spirits come intot he rite.

S symbol is drawn in the air, against the ground or in the presence of some element like water or fire, in sa energy to denote where and under what condition the rite is to be performed. The sa frequency is altered somewhat in order to convey this information. The symbol itself epxresses the intended effect of the rite and is written in Low Ilfeiyan for the spirits to read.

A spirit who identifies with the mage and whose affinity aligns with the intended effect will then come forward to work with the mage. This eliminates the need of the mage to understand fundamental concepts like the nature of the spirit, its element or its name.

Most scripts are temporary, lasting until the script is triggered and reners its effect, or until the mage runs out of energy. A finite number of scrips may be used simultaneously, and this limit is dependent on two factors. First, how much energy is imbued into each script; and second, the amount of total magic power the mage can manifest.

Dormant scripts draw less energy from teh mage than active scripts, but still require some energy to remain in place.

## Seals

Seals are scripts that have been bonded to the flesh of the mage as a tattoo. These scrips often resemble animals, but may also be representative of the kind of terrain the spirit is most closely associated with, or the nature of that spirit. In order to use these seals, the nature of the spirit must be understood to a greater extent than in the use of unbonded scripts.

The seal replaces the display of emotion and the image replaces the symbol, meaning the mage need only channel sa energy into the script ot activate its effect.

Seals need a constant supply of energy in their dormant state, as they are a physical manifestation of a magical form. The seal will not disappear if it does no thave sufficient energy, but will draw taht energy from teh mage passively whether the mage has the energy to spare or not. Because of this, a mage using seals is at a heightened risk of complications when severely ill or wounded.

There are twenty-eight seals in total, all of which were discovered and codified by God King Jesha of Kore. Most users possess only one, though mages with more skill and experience have been known to bear as many as three. The vast majority of mages do not wish to take the risk of possessing more than three seals on the body. The only known person to possess all of them is their creator, God King Jesha.

### Known Seals

1. Snakes: Depicted as three snakes coiled together. Ink-black snakes pour out of the brand and away from the mage's body. They strike the target mage. Once bitten, the target loses autonomous control of his or her body. While he remains coherent, his body and his magical abilities are at the disposal of the wielder of the brand.
2. Lion or Lioness: Depicted as the head of a lion or lioness. Induces irrational, intense fear in targets within hearing range of the wielder.
3. Hyena: Depicted as a prowling hyena. Gives the wielder the ability to induce hallucinations whose content is dictated by the wielder in targest within his line of sight.
4. Thunder Cloud: Depicted as a cumulonimbus cloud. Facilitates the calling of lightning, regardless of where the wielder is located or whether he or she is in the presence of clouds.
5. Monkey: Depicted as a climbing monkey. Heightens the wielder's agility and dexterity to superhuman levels.
6. Boar: Depicted as a charging boar. Heightens the users strength and durability while in motion.
7. Crocodile: Depicted as a crocodile's eye. Depletes a target's immune system. Strengthens the immune system of the wielder and grants him or her invulnerability to poisons.
8. Rain: Depicted as a shrine in the rain. Provides protection to the bearer against unhealing magically healed wounds. A wielder of this seal is immune to this practice by healers.
9. Box turtle: Depicted as a turtle's shell. Provides for extreme durability, hardening the skin so that blades and other weapons have immense difficulty piercing it.
10. Creek: Depicted as a creek full of stones with a mirror-like surface. Grants the wielder the ability to deflect enemy attacks, sending them back with more destructive power than they initially had.
11. Flower: Depicted as a cherry blossom. Draws mages with Gifts of the Blood to the wielder, setting them at greater ease than their counterparts.
12. Elephant: Depicted as an elephant's head. Induces intense rage in targets  within a certain effect radius, causing them to riot uncontrollably.
13. Bear: Depicted as a sleeping bear. Induces a deep desire to end ones own life. Used in battle, this seal can be extremely deadly, causing enemies caught unawares to do themselves in where they have come into close proximity with the wielder.
14. Tree: Depicted as a poplar tree in autumn. Allows the wielder to see as some gardeners do, by tapping into the network fo tree roots in order to sense things that are far off.
15. Spirit: Depicted as a ghost. Forces a portion of the wielder's spirit to vacate his body, becoming like a jinn and berserking without rational thought while the body does the same. At the end of a brief period, the body and soul are restored to wrking order and the capacity for rational thought is returned to him or her. This seal has a built in cool down period.
16. Sun: Depicted as a many-rayed sun. Removes one of the five physical senses from each person within the effect range at random. The use of the seal requires the wielder to be able to recognize which sense has been removed in each target to be used effectively.
17. Caiman: Depicted as a reptillian claw. Imparts the ability onto the wielder to drain spiritual energy from targets and absorb it. The number of targets who can be so affected at one time increases with the wielder's skill in using it.
18. Carp: Depicted as a large fish. Induces passive healing.
19. Swords: Depicted as two, crossed swords. Imparts the ability on the wielder to raise elemental golems. Requires the wielder to make physical contact with the substance he wishes to summon the golem from. The size of the golem is directly related to the abundance of that material in the area.
20. Chicken: Depicted as a chicken's foot. Generates intense suspicion in targets within its area of effect, making them distrustful of each other.
21. Ram: Depicted as a charging ram. The angrier the wielder gets, the stronger he becomes. The base for this added strength is the wiielder's normal, physical strength. If he is weak to begin with, he will be weaker than if he was strong before activating the seal.
22. Spider: Depicted as a banana spider. Gives the wielder the ability to induce excruciating pain in the target or over a range of targets within its area of effect.
23. Falling star: Depicted as a meteor. The wielder's aura becomes weaponized, such that he or she may cause large scale explosions by focusing on it.
24. Moon: Depicted as a crescent moon. Heightenes the wielder's senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell and tasste, making it possible for a mage to hear things he would not otherwise be able to, as well as to see at night as if it were day.
25. Falcon: Depicted as a falcon in flight. Imparts the ability to fly onto the individual.
26. Rabbit: Depicted as a foraging rabbit. Alters probabilities for the wielder, generating different odds for given events which are assigned at random. Perhaps the hardest of the seals to use effectively, it is seldom branded onto users of seals, and never as a first seal.
27. Arrow: Depicted as a flying arrow. Allows mages to aim attacks by sight, giving them near certainty of hitting their targets.
28. Infant: Depicted as a sleeping infant in swaddling. Imparts the ability to raise corpses for combat.