1262896
I'm super excited.

1262899
Didn't quite catch all of that.

1262878
Most magical circles and seals utilize crystals and runes. The difference between runes and crystals is a simple one. Runes are used to provide focus for a spellcaster, so they can focus on providing power without holding the spell in their mind. The harness the primal forces of Creation to do this. Crystals have the opposite effect. They store energy for later use, like an extra reservoir of energy that the user can then shape with their will and provide a focus for without draining themselves.

1262899

1262929
HOW DID YOU BECOME THE OLD ELEMENT OF GENEROSITY?!?!?!!?

1262929
Of course. Always happens.
*slinks further into seat*

Now, just as there are twenty runes in the Eqquish alphabet, so too are there twenty magical runes. These runes are fixed points, meaning that they are represented here in their purest forms. Over time, you will learn how to properly modify these runes to gain different results. For example, mages will learn how to use the rune "Muretirek", which governs cold and entropy, and turn it into a rune that generates water. But that is higher level runology.

1262934
An old recording of a play about the Elements, before the war.

1262942
I'm just waiting to try on the sorting hat to see which class of magic user it thinks I would be.

1262956
You fool. Do you have any idea what this means?

1262955
Magical holograms. Cool.

1262964
Everyone goes into house Slytherin.

Now, let us begin with the first rune, which governs Power and invocation. Each rune has a major and minor facet, meaning that it can govern two different but related things. The minor power is written in gray.

1262978
No, there's gonna be a test now. Aughghhghghghgh

1262964
That the bane of all students is to come upon us.

1262980
How do you specify the major or minor facet?

1262999
One of our historians gave a lecture on the subject a while back. The transcript can be found here.

*peeks in door and realises class has started*

*sneaks in*

1263029
So which one is being used is determined by a previous rune?

1262990

What's this about a test?

1263067
I just had to think about it.

1263065

The third rune on the first line is being augmented by the fourth. That little rune in the middle is your modifier, and it can go both ways, depending on the original intentions of the caster.

1263084
So, it's largely based on the intent of the caster. How do spells ever get taught then?

1263100
A combination of practice and imagination. Besides, there is only so much you can do with a rune. If you took the third rune and set it against Xemalora, they would cancel each other out spectacularly, because Xemalora is the rune of preservation.

1263067
1263077
Attention in the back! I'm sure whatever you're whispering about is important, but I want to make sure that you are learning what I am taking the time to teach you.

1263100
Maybe the teacher doesn't intend for the spell to go off, so it doesn't?

1263115
*is in the middle row*
Yes, sir.

1263108

Spectacularly?

1263115

Eek

Sorry!

1263123
Spectacularly. Last week, Professor Vellum's apprentice blew a hole in the side of his office because the idiot tried to combine the runes for Truth and Concealment. We that the poor lad dead and vaporized until we realized that he had just blown himself invisible.

1263147
A spell that can blow things invisible seems rather... Useful.

1263154
Well, it also shattered bones in his arms, cracked his ribs, and fractured his collarbone. And knocked him unconscious, which goes without saying. We only found him because he woke up and started groaning.

1263160
Oh. Um... I suppose I shouldn't try that then.

1263160

If one shielded oneself before hand...

This gives me several amazing ideas

1263147
So why didn't the two runes just fully cancel each other out? Why did the concealment rune work?

1263160
*Trying not to laugh*

1263172
Wouldn't that block out the spell too?

1263164
Probably not, but it does bring me to my next homework assignment, and the second part of my lecture. Originally, I was going to teach you about circles, but I think this is more important by far. Have you ever heard the phrase "Mages do as they do and watch as they watch?"

1263187
Nope!

1263176
We think that was the one he was originally going to establish as the dominant rune. It was difficult to tell, as the parchment was completely lost, and the apprentice has a concussion. Doesn't remember what he had for breakfast that morning.

1263180

But consider the other things around it that would be affected...

1263187
Never heard of the saying but it sounds like mages just do whatever they want, don't count on them.

1263198
I never remember what I have for breakfast.

1263200
Invisibility bombs!

1263206

Exactly!

The things affected by it would turn invisible.

An excellent weapon/tool/party trick.

1263201
It's the complete opposite, actually. The potential for abuse of magic is very high, and we who use it can do great harm to others if we're careless or unscrupulous enough. This is why both the Celestial Monarchy and the Evening Kingdom have created their own Magekillers. These individuals consist of experienced magic users who scry for the possible abuse of magic in the realm, and when it is found, a team is dispatched. You receive exactly one warning.

And then, should you continue to violate the Law of The Craft, you will be tracked down, tried by a jury of Magekillers, and executed on the spot. So today, we are also going to cover the Rules of The Craft.

We police our own, and a violation by one of our number is considered an affront to all who practice the Art.

1263228
One warning? Execution? Meep.

1263228
So how severe is small scale invisibility bombs?

1263228

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Comes to mind...