Magical Terminology

Casting

• backlash: The painful and often violent result of a spell gone wrong. This can vary in level of severity depending on the size of the spell, the level it was cast at and the mona's mood. Can impact more than just the caster.
• brailing: To withdraw a spell mid-recitation. This can be deadly for both the speaker and any bystanders or those speaking in chorus, and is avoided except by the most accomplished galdori. Often, a spell is brailed if a situation changes drastically, or if the spell would have a deadly outcome. Since brailing is jarring to the mona, often a successful brail means that no spell can be cast in that area for several minutes, up to a house, afterwards.
  • Brailing can result in severe backlash.
• homing: refers to the direction of a spell. Spells which have not been properly homed (also called "misfires") might affect the wrong target. Homing is specific to state class magic involving projectiles and any spells which must be aimed at a target.
  • "You need to adjust your homing, Raddicus, if you really intend to make that cat catch fire."
• stream: For spells that include an energy discharge, the reaction caused in the air between the caster and the target is called the "stream" for its typically thin, wavelike appearance. A "stream" can also refer to any distortion in the surrounding space in the time it takes for a spell's effect to reach its target.
• speaking in chorus (v): using two or more casters speaking a spell at the same time, to augment its power.
• tempering - refers to the process of adjusting a spell to deal with changing conditions.
  • "The subject is experiencing a bout of hysteria; class, please temper your analogy spells accordingly."
• upkeep (v): to continue a spell mentally, holding onto the monic connection formed by the initial casting; applicable to certain types of magic where a spell must be maintained.
  • "Be sure to upkeep that spell for three minutes after you finish speaking!"

Clairvoyance

• divinipotent (adj): having strong clairvoyant capabilities
• invocation (n): the start to any clairvoyant spell, also called the "greeting"
• espial (n): the act of opening a clairvoyant ley channel from one point to another by connecting with the witnessed individual's mind
• amandation (n): the act of closing a clairvoyant ley channel from one point to another by canceling a mental connection.
• witness (n): the target of a scrying spell that is witnessing an event or location that the scryer wishes to have knowledge of
• recipient (n): the target of a two-way communicative scrying spell
• latibule (n): part of the mind that the scrying target deliberately closes off from the scryer
• vestibule (n): the available part of the mind, usually limited to the area of consent, such as the channel of communication
• obfuscation (n): intentionally blocking scrying attempts by another person

Types of Scrying

• aquamancy (n): scrying with water
• cognomancy (n): a medium-less scrying method that operates entirely within the scryer's mind and is only perceived by the scryer and the individual or individuals they are attempting to contact. A very difficult method.
• crystomancy (n): scrying with light and crystals
• fumimancy (n): scrying with a smoke medium
• incaustomancy (n): scrying with ink
• liquomancy (n): scrying with any liquid
• radiomancy (n): a modern form of scrying that translates thoughts into radio waves which are then picked up by a machine
• sanguimancy (n): scrying with blood as the medium. The blood of magical races (galdori and wick) is preferred but for obvious reasons highly illegal, and so any intelligent creature's blood will also do for the task. A galdor who uses galdori blood for scrying is most definitely practicing dark magic.

Fields

• aura (n): obsolete word for field.
• bastly (adj): a field brimming with confidence, happiness or victory; gives off a warm feeling
• belike (adj): having fields that are compatible or similar; unlikely to have conflict due to magical similarities
• caprision cə-PRI-ʒun (n): , caprise cə-PRIZE (v): the ability to sense the presence of another field and aspects about that field. The sense of caprision is present in every sentient being, but especially strong in galdori.
• [color]-shift (adj) - a field that the mind "sees" as a certain color, a symptom of synesthesia. As this is entirely subjective depending on the individual perceiving the field, it is not a scientific value, but fields often appear to shift along the color spectrum depending on their state of being. There are certain colors more often associated with certain emotions; an angry field might be described as a "red-shift field", for example. (Compare to visible "auras" that wicks often claim to see.)
• dampen (v): to "suck in" one's field to make it smaller or conceal it
• dasher (n): an indecisive field, usually indicating a student or someone who has not settled into a category of magical study
• doetoed (adj): a field that is "inching" around another field, trying to remain inoffensive
• eddle (n): a young child's field, one just developing
• etheric (adj): the state of a field when a spell is being cast
• flex (v): to push one's field outwards in order to draw attention to it
• glamour (n): a wick field; usually used in a derogatory manor to refer to a weak field
• indectal (adj): a very clinical, businesslike field that gives the impression of competence
• merge (v): to allow one's field to merge with another is an act of intimacy or affection
• porven (adj): a field that feels like it is full of holes, damaged, not functioning properly, volatile or dangerous
• pulse (v): something galdori do with their fields when they are feeling frustrated or restless
• ramscott (n): a powerful field, one that shows the strength of the caster; can also be used as an (adj) to describe a strong field flexed and ready
• sigiled (SIH-julled)(adj): a field that is tense with concentration; can sometimes give off a hot feeling or make the air feel thinner
• slant (adj): a field that feels wrong somehow, usually indicative of an unfriendly or untrustworthy galdor

Magical Ability

• arcane (adj.): used to describe the possession of magical ability in a living being.
  • "The old man was clearly arcane; I could feel his field when I got close."
• magus (n): an archaic term for a "free-range" sorcerer who teaches magic outside of the University structure. Magi are often hermits or other individuals on the fringe of society.
• passive (n): a galdor-born individual who is incapable of magic. Wick passives are called "parse."
• secular (adj.): used to describe non-magical subjects of study, or non-magical people. In recent years this has grown to encompass wicks, many of whom do not use magic even though they are capable of doing so. It is not a derogatory or judgmental word unless intentionally used as such.
  • "My school offered a number of secular pursuits in addition to magic classes."
• sorcerer (n): a term distinct from "galdori", which refers to a biological race, "sorcerer" refers to the actual ability and practice of casting magic. One can be galdori without being a sorcerer, but one cannot be a sorcerer without being galdori (wicks are not considered sorcerers).

Magical Implements

• aetherium (n): a rare crystal with significant monic properties; often immune from spell effects, seemingly avoided by active mona.
• construct (n): a physically constructed setup used to augment spells using marks (wooden symbols runed with Monite), totems, shrines and other such objects. Constructs are set up before the casting of the spell.
• ferrous-monic oxide (n): a complex mineral lodestone that resonates monic frequencies; used in the production of seer stones.
• grimoire (n): a spell-book.
• hyperoscillator (n): small crystalline balls of aetherium that keep active mona within a certain area; used in plots.
• nicum (n): a rare, sky-blue crystalline substance that can be boiled into an aqueous solution. Used in advanced scrying due to its sympathetic properties (it can sense changes in temperature to a millionth of a degree up to a thousand miles away!). Nicum is highly sought-after and very precious; its use was discovered just two years ago by the geologist Kerrigan Miles.
• plot (n): a combination of constructs and spell circles.
• prodigium (n): a type of plot used to link caster's minds and/or bodies together within a spell circle.
• seer stone (n): a stone used for clairvoyant communication.
• spell circle (n): a demarcated circle in which a complex spell is performed. Spell circles are designed to augment the spell or confine its effects to a physical area, and are achieved with clarifying Monite runes and symbols surrounding the caster.

Spells and Spellwriting

Additional information on the process of writing spells can be found here.

• change clause (n): the part of a spell that describes and enforces a desired change.
• curl (n): a self-negating spell clause that causes the spell to end after a certain period of time. "Curling" is the act of closing up the spell with a curl.
• invocation (n): the opening to a spell. Particularly important to clairvoyant magic.
• leybridge (n): a syntactical bridge between two parts of a spell that involve two different classes of magic.

Slang Terms

This is slang used by the students of the Six Kingdoms, teachers, and galdori in general. It has little to no application outside of these social areas and is most likely meaningless to the lower races who have no frame of reference for these words.

• crimp (n): a passive servant of Brunnhold. Indicates a gated status. Free passives are not crimps.
• gated (adj): unable to leave the school grounds (the main University and the Stacks), with the specific state of being a forced laborer. Refers to passive servants. Students sometimes refer to being "gated" when they are grounded from leaving the University, but this is highly insensitive.
• grim (n): slang for grimoire, or spell-book. A student may at any one time be seen carrying up to ten of these from class to class; they are the most cited cause of back pain among the galdori.
• mancer (n): a student of magic. The term stems from the different sub-disciplines of magic. It implies that they have not yet chosen their profession or desired field of expertise.
• red tie (n, adj): refers to formal wear for galdori ceremonies.
• runoff: the side effect of a spell cast by another.
  • "I got hit with Bab's runoff after she cast that sleep spell on Harriet, and I've been yawning all day."
• slide (v): to change one's focus in school before graduation. "Sliders" typically end up in a job they don't like. The decision to switch majors means that one's education in both fields will remain incomplete unless post-graduate education is pursued.
• the whirlies (n): an unpleasant sensation in the stomach felt after casting a spell.
  • "That soundwave spell really gave me the whirlies."
• vibe (n): a field.