Extract from Elements of Magic: A Guide to Spellcrafting Essentials, by Elgath Zolicar
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Introduction:
Whilst oft-mocked by mages first learning of the element’s existence, Friendship is a core part of the Karmic elements, serving as a counterpart to Hatred in the way it interacts with positive relationships between two or more individuals. It serves as the core part of many communal and beneficial spells, and serves as an excellent substitute and assistant to Mind magics in diplomacy. A Friendship mage may be capable of powering truly incredible works of magic through simply their bonds with one another, or granting a blessing to an entire culture with a single spell.
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Contact:
Friendship is the existence of positive relationships and emotions between individuals or existing within a group. At the small scale, this is the relationship between a parent and their child, lovers, or two friends. At the larger scale, this is the pervasive ethos of a culture, a guild, or even an entire plane. Elemental Friendship is why some spells function differently (or perhaps only) upon those who are willing or otherwise acquainted with the caster, how self-sacrificial spells based upon Love possess such potency, and is the most direct way in which appropriate spells may receive a direct empowerment.
Friendship, when utilized in a spell, is not consumed, though it can be stressed and overuse has been reported to have actual damaging effects upon the relationship the magic is utilizing. This often manifests in concerns that the friendship is solely a tool utilized for magical potency and not a genuine relationship on its own merits, akin to a friend constantly asking for money. Intellectual disbursement of the notion always fails, as no matter how genuine the friendship may be, the magic is utilizing the strength of that relationship as fuel and weakens it inherently, just as utilizing fire as fuel may extinguish it.
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Behavior:
The most common default Behavior for Friendship has its mana acting within a self-perpetuating feedback loop. Similarly to Elemental Life, Friendship mana strengthens itself over time, but it requires a constant cycling and maintenance of Friendship- the magic, left entirely on its own, will not flourish. However, as the mana increases in strength it likewise improves in resilience and pervasiveness, making it harder and harder to destroy via an outside force. The strongest workings of Friendship can even become more powerful with external pressure, leaving the only way in which they could end is via exceptionally long-term neglect, allowing the mana to slowly fade or become corrupted.
When utilized in a more offensive manner, Friendship may also possess a Behavior more reminiscent of Poison, slowly accumulating outside the notice of any watchers. In other instances, Behaviors similar to Light or Sound are harnessed in spells utilized for mass appeal or instantaneous improvement of opinion with less care for their long-term efficacy (such as with Charm spells).
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Aspects:
Elemental Friendship, naturally, possesses Aspects pertaining to different forms of friendships and relationships.
* Death: Death-aspected Friendship is usually understood to represent toxic relationships, those wherein one individual intentionally or unintentionally places their own importance as paramount, manipulating the other to support them at the cost of their own well-being. Succubi often possess this Element/Aspect pair, and utilize the self-strengthening Behavior of Friendship to completely crush the life of their target. The more intimate the action, of course, the more they are capable of taking. This is why, contrary to the common misconception, succubi are not limited to mere carnal acts to kill their prey, but rather any form of relationship.
* Love: Love-aspected Friendship is perhaps the most understandable of all Love-aspected elements. This is the kind of relationship that goes beyond mere friendship, but into true adoration. This is almost unilaterally positive when utilized as a component in spells, and is sometimes considered the ‘purest’ form of Friendship magic. It is also quite useful in love charms and potions, as a suitably pure Aspect to induce a specific response in the target.
* Eternal: Eternal-aspected Friendship’s primary feature is its lack of required upkeep, which obviates the primary weakness associated with the element’s normal Behavior. When utilized, it is very prone to creating truly everlasting spells and bonds. It is often utilized in family blessings upon children, but also lends itself quite well to family magics in general. It is prone to create generational impacts, tying families together forever. Thus, it is a core component of many marriage rituals. As a more niche application, Eternal-aspect Friendship may bind souls together past life and death, re-establishing the bond beyond a single lifetime, in whatever form that may take.
* Life: Life-aspected Friendship largely represents the bond between parent and child. This is an exceptionally potent brand of Friendship as it is fundamentally creative and empowering. It is otherwise a fairly generic form of Friendship, albeit one which is exceptionally potent in its specificity in only acting along direct family lines.
* Knowledge: Knowledge-aspected Friendship represents relationships with no shadows of falsehood or lies standing in the way. It acts as a very pure form of Friendship to power defenses or mutually beneficial workings, but is also utilized in many truthtelling compulsions and spells, to clear away any lies between mage and target.
* Light: Light-aspected Friendship is an amusingly direct form of Friendship, in that it grants direct magical evocations and manifestations. It is loosely related to a very obvious, very open form of relationship wherein there exists no doubt or hidden facets of a Friendship. It demands that everyone know about the relationship, and none can deny its presence, unlike most of the more subtle forms of Friendship magic.
* Memory: Memory-aspected Friendship is about legacies, friendships which have passed by for one reason or another but whose presence within the past remain strong and influential in through the present day. Many magics which honor the dead utilize this Aspect, and it is quite common on a more societal level when calling upon a shared heritage, some binding element between countless other individuals.
* Sacrifice: Sacrifice-aspected Friendship unsurprisingly pertains to the kind of self-sacrifice common among deep relationships. This can be as minor as lending one’s magic to another’s working, or as complex as willingly laying down one’s life to forge a new future for the recipient. In all cases, it must be done purely altruistically with no thought for repayment. When utilized in the effect of a spell, it is liable to impart strong feelings of protectiveness and ‘mothering’ in the target.
* Destruction: Destruction-aspected Friendships tend to refer to those friendships which are closely-knit within themselves yet cause untold amounts of chaos and destruction outside of their group. They are nigh-unstoppable forces of change, inveterate pranksters and cultists alike. Accordingly, magics utilizing it tend to function as personal protections, serving as a shield for the members of the group principally from the aftershocks of their own actions.
* Creation: Creation-aspected Friendship is about innovation and industry. It is the good which a group of individuals, working together in harmony, can enact and utilize to permanently transform the society around them. It is the shared discovery of new facts, the triumph of a functioning creation, and countless nights spent in community, all in tandem to solve a singular goal. When utilized in spells, it often aids in animation and inspiration-type spells, though it can also be utilized in telepathy and other communication-oriented magics.
* Malignant: Malignant-aspected Friendship is in many ways similar to Death-aspected Friendship, in that it represents parasitic ‘friendships’ wherein only a single party benefits. However, whereas Death-aspected simply represents the incredible life-draining power of such toxic relationships, Malignance is the sorts of ill effects which such relationships can have in the entire life. It is insidious and corruptive, slowly changing the affected into a worse version of themselves in a direction connected to the caster. This is often intentional, yet is not always.
* Benevolent: Benevolent-aspected Friendship is, unsurprisingly, the opposite of Malignant Friendship, and pertains to the positive influences which one may find themselves affected by when interacting with their surroundings. It is encouragement and strength of character, about personal refinement and maximizing potential for the good of all. It is thus incredibly useful in group rituals pertaining to maximizing the diversity and individual strengths of its members. Spells utilizing it, principally boons, rarely have a perfectly known outcome, but instead customize themselves for each person affected by them to bring out their greatest potential.
* Void: Void-aspected Friendship is often said to be representative of solitude, yet that isn’t fully accurate. It specifically represents loss, or absence, even loneliness. It is the sharp pang of missing a friend or the deep ache of the friendless. It is, in essence, the potential for friendship not being actualized. Fascinatingly, it is especially potent when its presence is ended. Some compare the Aspect to a massive lake being held back by a dam, and once the Void is replaced with another form of elemental Friendship, all of the water is released at once in one massively overpowering surge.
* Weight: Weight-aspected Friendship represents the pressure which friendships and communities place upon people, as peer pressure or cultural inertia. It’s unstoppable and overwhelming, ready to catch the unwary and cause them to crumble under the pressure or go along with the crowd. Often utilized in mob-type spells, where incredible numbers are at play.
* Myriad: Myriad-aspected Friendship represents the sum total of entire civilizations united in purpose. It is impossibly large and utterly unassailable, and can be utilized to do very nearly anything. Whether as a source or an effect, it requires and affects uncountably large groups united in a common purpose.
* Heat: Heat-aspected Friendship represents passionate friendships and other relationships. Despite the stereotype, this is not exclusively romantic or sexual relationships (though those are the most common), but specifically deals with the intense emotions of the type which override all others, truly deep emotions which make all others seem insignificant by other. Utilized magically, it serves as a strong channel between individuals, enabling for many potent spells to be cast which the other might normally reject, or to strengthen an existing bond either offensively or as part of other rituals. When utilized to strengthen a bond, it nearly always functions quite well initially, but runs a substantial risk of dispelling the Friendship in the aftermath once it has been completed, irrevocably changing and/or damaging the existing connection.
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Association:
Friendship carries a few very core Associations, with many other drifting into and out of its suite with quite some regularity. Mind is foremost among these, yet Fate, Significance, and Contract are all nearly as closely tied. More loosely surrounding the Element are Fire, Blood, Life, Death, and Nature. However, nearly every mage which utilizes Friendship has a slightly different set of Associations, and Friendship Archmages have been documented as being capable of casting some simple and even some moderately complex spells while substituting all or nearly all components with Friendship equivalents.
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Locality:
Friendship is a fairly universal Element, though its prevalence varies wildly from place to place. It is in particular found anywhere civilization may be. In some locales, it is instead known by Elemental Love, Heart, Family, or Community, but despite minor alterations in the manner in which some effects manifest, it fundamentally remains the same element.