2nd Cycle, 3rd Rotation Year 1367

Log 9,

They asked us what class we wanted to be. Of course, they don’t expect us to decide right now. I did ask them about Necromancy though. As I thought, they didn’t support it, but I think there is more to it than just disgust of the class. I’ll have to find out more.

Cecelia said she wants to be a battlemage; she wants to combine her air magic with sword-fighting. Interestingly enough, they let her although they said they wouldn’t be able to provide a trainer.

The Purpose of Classes, by Lich Archon Verill

Copied by Church of Illustria

Classes are a method of classifying (as seen by the name) the methods and styles of fighting. Take, for example a swordsman. A man with a sword. This class is an extremely general one and as such is usually a foundation class – a class that can lead into many others. However, a Kensai on the other hand, is much more complex. It is an advanced class rather than a foundation class and is part of the swordsman tree. The method and style of the Kensai is pursuing complete and total sword mastery and as such wear little armour. Should you duel one, you are likely to lose, however they are less useful in unbalanced circumstances such as war where anything can happen.

Learning the names of classes and what they represent is important for all, especially adventurers and Generals who need to be able to tell the makeup of an army or a party as efficiently as possible.

Mages also have classes; however, they are much more general as magic is so abstract. Each class represents the affinity of the mage rather than a specific style of fighting. An Aeromancer for example, uses air affinity magic to fight. This can be anything from wind blades and tempests, to greater haste and flight.

Finally, there are combination classes such as the Battlemage. One could think of the battlemage as a swordsman with magic. It is strong but takes much more time to be able to integrate magic into swordsmanship. When talking about specific battlemages, often their affinity is also mentioned – Battlemage: Aeromancer for example. Any class can become a combination class, however it depends on the person as to whether they can use it effectively.

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4th Cycle 4th Rotation Year 1367 GF

Log 18

We have started learning about spells now that everyone is able to absorb mana reliably. They only gave an introduction so far; we’re only going to start learning how to cast once we have gone through the theory.

Also, tensions have risen between us and Goream. I wonder if there will be conflict. It wouldn’t help me learn necromancy considering it is their main fighting force.

I went to watch Cecelia’s Swordfighting training. You would not believe how she can move. I wonder how she became so good, has she done it before?

The Use of Magic: Casting Spells, by Lich Archon Verill

Copied by Church of Illustria

Casting spells is the second most important part of using magic. Absorbing magic creates an overflow of mana within the mage’s soul. This is known as the mana pool and you take from this when casting spells. The older and stronger the mage, the greater the soul, and the more mana they can absorb. Once the mana pool runs out, it is highly inadvisable to continue casting as it could damage your soul. Using your soul like this does increase the strength of the spell and is known misleadingly as using “lifeforce”. It does not use your lifespan, but your identity. Often resulting in a coma and then death as a result. Due to such limitations, in duels between mages, the winner will often be the one with the larger mana pool.

Before knowing how to cast spells, it is important to know what a spell is. In essence, a spell is a mass of mana formed into a specific shape, often a ball or blade. However, each shape needs certain structure points through which mana must flow within the spell. This is what maintains the structure as it is released. Should a structure point be destroyed, the spell will dissipate into mana.

Thus, we come onto the creation of a spell. To be frank, creating a spell is a complicated game of blind connect the dots. Each spell has a sequence of structural points which you need to create, in order, to form a stable spell. The first step is to release a small stream of mana out of your soul and into your palms. Each palm will be the location of the first two structural points. Make sure your palms are in the correct location to form structural points. Releasing a steady stream of mana, move each hand simultaneously to the next structural point in the sequence, before finally connecting both streams to create a full loop.

The main problem is that it requires extreme focus as neither the mana nor the structural points are visible at any point. Thus, it takes practice to be able to use magic with any reliability. There are also other considerations. To be able to use mana efficiently, you need to regulate the amount of mana released into the spell; however, the slower you move, the less mana you are allowed to release in order to keep being efficient. The faster you move, the harder it is to hit each structural point. This is all compounded onto the inherent multi-tasking necessary to use both hands at the same time with split focus.

Moreover, while there is no backlash to failing a spell, the mana used cannot be recovered. This combined with the need to hit structural points, simply forcing a mage to flinch or twitch their hands mid spell can cause them to fail their casting. Thus, getting up close to a mage is the easiest way to deal with one as you can cause them to fail whatever spell they attempt to cast. However, should you go up against an old, experienced mage. I suggest you surrender unless you are able to win in one shot.