Journal The Codex Mortalis

[Beatrix]

[Upon a pedestal within the sanctuary of a witch deep within the bayou sits a tome bound in black leather and strung with sinew, its pages delicately penned in potent mage blood with the quill of a raven. The Codex Mortalis is a collection of the written thoughts, interpretations, and instructions of the witch Beatrix. It contains information not only on the five laws of magic, but also rune magic and necromancy.]

The Codex Mortalis
Penned by Beatrix of the Bayou

An Introduction
I, Beatrix, do not pen this tome with the desire to instruct or teach the masses. This tome is a reminder and guide for myself and whoever I deem worthy to read its pages. If you've come across this tome by virtue of raiding my home or perhaps purchased from some lowly street merchant long after my time know that I abhor you. Burn this tome and then cast yourself upon the flames lest whatever curse I eventually enchant these pages with has you suffer a far greater demise.

That out of the way; the contents of this tome will first review my views, interpretations, and personal adherence to the five laws of magic. The golden rule of course is to never take these laws lightly, never presume to think that you are more clever or wiser than whatever natural order keeps them in place; you will quickly come to regret and curse your own unfathomable stupidity before some gruesome fate snuffs out your pitiful life. The adherence to these laws is not a 'weakness', it is self-preservation, remember that.

Along with the five laws of magic I will also write my own personal guide and reminder on the art of runic magic, a discipline of the arcane I am rather well-versed in thanks to my late mentor. Rune magic is old and I'm of the belief that it is far more flexible and useful than the modern magi give it credit for.

Naturally, or perhaps I ought to say unnaturally, these pages will also contain knowledge and information on necromancy. I am not as trained in the dark arts as I am with runic magic but I dare say I've got more respect and reverence for it than the average bald and brooding necromancer who views it as a simple tool of death and destruction.​

 

[Beatrix]

Chapter I
Of the First Law; the Price

Undoubtedly the first law is the most crucial and important to any aspiring mage, wizard, witch, warlock or what have you. It is the law, more or less, of an equivalent exchange. In order to perform our magic we must in turn offer something up. This something can in the most simplest of examples be the life around you in form of nature, a sacrificial offering of blood, flesh, or the soul, and of course other sources of magic like artifacts and the like.

There are more unsuspecting ways to fuel the fire of magic though, and I'll discuss them now. For me this comes as second nature but to those uninitiated in the arts of rune magic they may as of yet be unaware, but the complexity of a rune directly correlates to the power of the spell itself. I've often wondered why this is the case and my thoughts always stray to a payment I'd never really fathomed much; time.

It's the only way I can explain why a larger, more complex, runic circle provides more strength to the ritual or spell, it's because time was spent in its creation. I could form a rune of fire on the floor the size of my palm in a single minute and it'll produce fire as intended, but if I drew a circle around a house and spent days preparing it? That same circle would engulf the entire building.

This is my theory on why time is a relevant source of fuel for spells, for even rituals practiced in group share much the same result. The longer the ritual is performed; the greater the result. Now I would never presume that time is all I could use to cast any spell I desired, no, that'd be horribly reckless, but do consider time as having inherent value when it comes to magic.

Time is not the only resource I suspect aids in the casting of spells however, for another more overlooked one I would consider is broadly what I'd refer to as 'words of power'. What is a word of power? It's anything you say during the casting, it could be gibberish for all I care, but it's very important that it has meaning to you.

One could cast a spell of fire at a target, send a ball of flame along a trajectory, a very simple thing. But if you repeated the same action but yelled out a word of power that comes from the very core of your being while doing it? There may in fact be a difference in the result. Now don't mistake this as being a large difference, it won't be. Fueling your spells is all about combining a multitude of things like this though, you fill a bucket with each grain of sand.

Another similar method would be that of somatic gesture. Instead of standing rigid like a statue as you cast your spell from the palm of your hand, try being a little more... dramatic for lack of a better word. This falls into the same thinking as the words of power; your actions, your will, your dedication to the spell will give you greater result. But like with the words of power this won't make your ball of fire a meteor, no, but it will help just a little. Waving your arms around takes energy after all, and spent energy is considered a part of the price paid.

With time, words of power, and somatic gesture, I come across something I collectively understand and refer to as 'channeling'. Individually these actions may not give much grander results, but combined? This test is a very simple and practical one; take that ball of flame from earlier and cast it while rigid, silent, and as quickly as you can. Compare the result then to the same ball of flame cast while chanting words of power, making clear somatic gestures, and 'channeling' it for a full minute or more if you so desire. The result should speak for itself.

It is my belief then that channeling is a projection of one's will in a sense. Time and energy are spent to produce greater effect, but even with channeling you should never presume that it alone will be enough to pay the price of your magic; that's what reagents are for in the next chapter.​