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Examples of Magic Use
The following vignettes are examples of something people in Highmagick can do with spells of each type. They’re intended to be illustrative and by no means exhaustive.

Conjuration

Esh liked to impress the street urchins that worked the crowds in the market. This time, they had a couple of older boys, and their usual stories just weren’t doing the trick.
They focused their mind--they were too smart to close their eyes in front of these two--whispered the incantation, and sketched glyphs in the air with their other hand. It took a minute to clear their head with all the distractions of the street around them.
Esh licked their lips, reached behind their back, and came out with a bag brimming with gold suns to show off to the two thieves. Zath and Kijo’s eyes lit up. They listened to the conjurer’s next story with rapt attention.

Dispelling

Rue was trying to open a chest in a rival wizard’s home, but the box was trapped with a flame spell. She had to dispel it. She drew the necessary sigils in the air and uttered an invocation in her most commanding voice, then threw a pinch of salt. The spell went off better than perfect.
Under Rue’s magical assault, the trap frayed and un-wove and vanished in a puff of ether. The wizard grinned as she reached out to open the box.
“Your magic is weak, old man,” she crowed under her breath.

Divining

The key to her storage cabinet was not where Chanta Denwe left it--she was sure. She’d hung it on the hook, but it wasn’t there now. She recited the words of the Divination she picked up from the spellmonger down the street and made the signs he taught her while she built a glass box in her mind and then set the key inside.
It didn’t work the first time, but Chanta was determined. After a few tries and a bit of a headache, she felt the slightest tug on her mind from the direction of the back wall--that was strange? The dauntless homemaker searched her baseboard and found a small hole where a mouse had gotten in. Her key, along with several other shinies, was inside.
Chanta sighed. Time to get a wardsmith out to the house.

Bewitching

Ao Cerulean had a way with women. Usually. The Countess of Carnations, though, was proving unusually resistant to his charms. Luckily and quite by chance, he found out the little garden she liked to visit for her midweek prayers. Unfortunately, she also made a habit of posting manservants at the entrance to keep her oblations private.
Not to be dissuaded, Ao marched up to the two guards and started a friendly conversation. The mustached brute on the right immediately went into informing Ao exactly where he could stuff his you-know-what. The sneaky rogue availed himself of the distraction to mutter an incantation and perform gestures down at his side. With a simple power graft, he had enough mojo to affect both the guards. Their eyes clouded over as they started to daydream.
Ao grinned and passed into the garden to meet with his lady.

Illusion

Teppu ducked behind a statue. The razor-sharp cleaver in the Kor's meaty fist exploded the angel’s head in a burst of plaster and dust! The Kieling wizard spat out a quick incantation and arched his fingers into the required forms, then sent an illusionary double of himself darting off toward the hallway.
His stupid adversary swallowed the bait, running full tilt to butcher the phantom. After a few seconds, Teppu allowed himself a condescending laugh and headed in the opposite direction.

Scrying

Her father glowered at her from the other side of the busted cart while Eksee Gold fished through the broken wardrobe to locate a piece of glass large enough to work.
“Can you do it or not?” he grumbled.
“Hold on, Papa,” she admonished him peevishly. “I know how to do it. Just give me two seconds!”
He harrumphed unhappily and crossed both arms over his chest in a consummate display of grumpiness.
But she found a shard as big as her palm then, and Eksee couldn’t help but smile.
“Come here, you,” she ordered, beckoning to the big man. “We’re going to talk to Ma.”

Warding

Kenam Jeerakar was holding a pack of snarling wolves off his client Sureh as they tried to make their way back to town. It was hard when they outnumbered him four to one, especially when the ragged black one kept trying to flank his right side.
He swatted the wolf yet again with his buckler, and it jumped back with a yip. It took only a second to speak the words of the ritual and to form the finger signs he'd learned. Then he pointed right at that jammy bugger and shouted the command word!
The next time it tried to charge him, the ward kicked in, and the dumb beast had to pull up short, two feet back from his left side, snarling and snapping. Kenam tittered with giddy mirth.
“Serves ya right, you sneaky bastard!” he crowed over his shoulder as his blade cut deep into the alpha’s nose.

Abjuration

Hayusik tucked Aykki’s shirt into his belt and dusted a speck off his shoulder.
“Okay, I’m ready,” the young man announced. His voice didn’t crack. Much.
“Not just yet.”
Aykki fidgeted nervously as his grandfather called on magic. “It’s just the Vair, grandfather. I’m not going into a frost boar’s den.”
Even to his own ears, his protest sounded shaky as a child about his first hunt. They both knew Vair Tenwinters was twice as sneaky as a panther and every bit as dangerous.
The familiar weight of the protective spell shrouded over Aykki’s soul like a warm blanket made of Centrite steel.
Hayusik patted his shoulder and gave the lad a knowing smile.
“You are ready,” he agreed firmly. “I just worry, is all. I hope you’ll forgive an old man for his nerves.”

Apportation

The masked bandit leveled his sword at Hayusik Spearfrost with a sneer.
“Your money or your life, stranger.”
Behind him, the other four dirty-looking scoundrels chortled.
“Yeah, grandpa. Hand over your coin, and we don't hurt ya.”
They thought his hands were shaking in fear. They thought it was a prayer on his lips as he mumbled to himself.
Then he pulled the mountain down on them.

Discernment

The child queen sat before Rue, trembling. Her eyes were steady upon the wizard’s, though, as Rue gathered her robes and knelt before the royal.
“Will it hurt?” Despite the fear, Queen Lupe’s voice was steady.
“No, your majesty,” the wizard assured her in a soothing voice. “The spell won’t hurt, although the memories may.”
“Do it, then.”
Rue held the girl’s sapphire eyes as she intoned the syllables of truth to call upon magic. Queen Lupe blinked rapidly when the spell started to work. The caster felt the girl’s tenuous confidence engulf her as she fell into her subject’s mind...

Dynamism

Teppu sighed as Esh led them down the blind alley... and right into a dead end.
“I thought you knew this town?”
They stammered something he didn’t catch.
Behind the two, the pack of robbers chasing them fanned out to cut off any chance of escape.
Teppu stepped forward while Esh was still finding their tongue.
“Hang tight, babe. I’ve got this.”
With a flourish and a gross utterance, he pulled light from the sky into both his hands until they shon with golden radiance. Then he crooked one finger at the leader of the bandits. Her hood burst into flame. She ripped it off her head, threw it to the ground, and stamped on it and cursed until the flames died.
“So. Which of you boys comes first?” Teppu drawled lazily.
Suddenly, every single one of the robbers remembered somewhere else they had to be.

Necromancy

Ikka the rat was dead. It was a good death, as rat deaths go. Deathstalker, the neighbor’s cat, had snuck into Barro’s room while he was away at the temple school for the day. It seemed like Ikka fought bravely before she died. Mama had gotten into the room before the wicked cat had eaten Ikka, but too late to save her.
These things happen, she told Barro. Pets die, even good ones like Ikka.
But the older kids talked about Old Man Tsaidal, the strange old coot that lived up on the hill. They said he raised dead bodies. They dared each other to go up to his door and knock.
When he’d asked Pa about it, he’d told him to stay away. That old banger was nothing but trouble. Mama had said the man was a devil in mortal flesh.
But Garven the Kieling had whispered the old man could bring people back to life, and her family knew about those sorts of things. Her pa had been a wizard’s assistant back in the Eastern Invasions.
Barro held the dead rat to his chest as he swallowed his fear and found the courage to knock on the plain-looking red door. A woman with pretty purple hair answered it, but her eyes were milky and Barro could feel the magic on her. When she stared at him, unblinking, with those cold eyes, he could hardly speak.
“C-c-c-could I... um...” He had to stop for a breath. And to stop his lips from shaking. “S-s-s-s-s-s-see Mister Ts-ts- ts-aidal, please?” he whispered in a very small voice.
For a minute, he was worried the dead lady hadn’t heard him, but then she cocked her head and looked down at the poor, dead rat and gave him a little wink and opened the door to let him in.
She spoke. Her voice was as wispy as his had been, but a bit louder and much more grown-up.
“If you’ll have a seat in the study, there, and wait for a few minutes, I’ll bake a batch of cookies. Mister Tsaidal is currently engaged in important business. He’ll be with you as soon as he can.”
She closed the front door gently and started to walk away, but turned back at the last minute.
“You may read one of the books, but please don’t touch anything else. It isn’t safe.”
Barro was having trouble looking up at the pretty dead lady, but he made sure to nod.
“Th-th-th-thanks,” he mumbled, and he ventured into the unsafe library-study to wait for the strange, engaged old man to bring his dead pet back to life.

Summoning

A dash of lilac. A drop of honey. Two sprigs of heartgrass for softness.
Bina scoffed. “You mix these up like you’re a skeezy old witch brewing her favorite love potion.”
Her sister Vana cackled heartily at that, but Riet just grimaced.
“So I have a preferred recipe. That is perfectly ordinary.”
“I’m gonna tell Master Kiothanal Riet’s using her summoning spells to conjure himself up a--”
“--bedwarmer,” Riet finished her statement primly, but he knew his cheeks were a furious shade of scarlet. “I told you, I get cold at night.”
The sisters looked at each other and giggled.
“If you are not interested, you are welcome to leave.”
That shut them up, and they were tripping over each other to apologize. Despite the sisters' snide comments, they knew he was the best summoner in the entire North Shore Academy. And they were dying to get any secrets they could out of him.
The spell went off perfectly, of course. Issa’s fur came out velvety and soft as down this time--he’d been right to add the second sprig of heartgrass. And, as always, she smelled good enough to eat.
Vana’s ears had gone pink, and she was hiding behind Bina, but Bina was gawking openly at the strange, naked girl lying on the bed watching them back.
“Her whole body has fur. Moon and stars! How did you do that?” Bina breathed reverently.
Finally, Vana couldn’t contain herself any longer. “But Riet! She’s... she’s a Kieling... I didn’t know you were into that!”
It took him a second to register her observation. It took less than a second more to get them out of the room.
Stupid, pointless real girls! Riet fumed. He lay down beside Issa, who eagerly took him into her warm, soft, fuzzy embrace. Her tail curled possessively around his ankle, which made him grin. They just do not understand...
Then he was fast asleep.

Teleportation

Too close! The southern knight’s falchion tore through Shoomi’s sash with the blazing vendetta of a mud crab in the rainy season.
Shoomi reversed the grip on her right dagger. She spoke the incantation for her teleportation spell. The sigil she had to sketch with the tip of her left-handed blade, but it worked fine.
Poof! Her enemy looked around in surprised suspicion when she vanished, but he didn’t think to look above him. Her fall drove the dagger past his gorget and through the base of his neck, smooth as silk.

Transformation

“Teppu!” Otella called sternly. “You’re not gonna turn me into anything unnatural, are you?”
“Oh, most certainly,” he quipped, but he shook his head when he caught her withering stare. “No, love! Don’t worry! I’ve done this... at least twice before.”
“Wait! You’ve only--”
But he was ignoring her, and his spell was done before she could say another word.
The rest of her sentence came out something like “dronn thish too trimes befff...” and then she gave up. She was rubbing her jaw and exploring her new teeth with her thumb when she noticed the wicked claws glinting against her bony fingers.
“Fuut! Ju din’t shay--”
“Take it easy, dear, don’t hurt yourself,” Teppu advised her with a barely concealed smirk.
Esh gushed, “No, it’s... it’s cool, Otella! I mean, like, wow!”
Otella took a minute to scrutinize the claws before she looked down at the Kieling with a grudging half-smile.
“Okay,” she allowed. “It ishh cool.”
Teppu winked. “Told you, darling, you’ll cut through steel plate with those without batting an eye. And your teeth are even sharper.”