Mis-incantation. Can be caused by improperly supplied aether, chanting the wrong words or phrases, or biting one’s tongue.
“What is the byproduct of spellcasting?”
Hex.
“What is the effect of said byproduct, and how can the risk be eliminated?”
The remnants of hex may be linked to the emergence of dark spirits. To eliminate the risk, a spell may be used to disperse the hex, or an area may be suitably prepared in advance to avoid its buildup. The complete removal of hex is thought to be impossible.
“Describe the dangers that may be posed by a hex fiend.”
...Additionally, a hex fiend may draw further hex toward itself, risking a spirit storm...
“Name the Demon Kings.”
Om, Kutastha, Ganjaldie, Samadiya.
“What is the famous saying attributed to the magician Radeon?”
“By words do all things begin and end.”
With those questions under his belt, Arcus at last came to what was said to be the most difficult set of questions.
These are from the Chronicles...
The task was to fill in the gaps in excerpts from the Chronicles. A candidate’s success would depend entirely on how much of the Chronicles they had read and understood. While memory played an important role, anyone who had studied from shaky sources would also struggle. However, it was probably easier than the imperial examinations of ancient China, for which huge swathes of text had to be memorized.
Arcus, however, didn’t find it too arduous, blessed as he was with an eidetic memory. The rest of the exam, too, didn’t pose any particular problems. Meanwhile, there were troubled grunts and mutterings from the candidates around him—although they might not have been expressly caused by the exam’s difficulty.
“I hate gap-fillers... I hate reading the Chronicles... It’s such a pain...”
“It’s twitching... My left eye... It’s twitching!”
“If only they’d let me use my beef-up spells, these dumb questions wouldn’t be a problem!”
Arcus was starting to wonder just what kinds of people were taking this exam. The one with the eye probably needed to see a physician. The one with the “beef-up” magic seemed to think ripping his paper to shreds would help him pass.
As for Arcus himself, the exam hadn’t included any nasty surprises. Next, he had the practical exam to contend with. And so he followed the guide to the training grounds, where it was set to take place.
“This way to the practical exam,” a student in the Institute’s white uniform called out to the candidates. It seemed the pupils were on guidance duty for just a little longer. Including the ones at the main gate, there had been more than ten of them by Arcus’s count.
It may have seemed like a lot, but there had to be so many guides for good reason. The Institute had a fairly complicated layout, with pathways that seemed to tangle together. Without these guides, the new faces could become very lost, very fast. It was likely a deliberate design choice to defend against intruders and keep the students safe in case of attack. There were several doors that served no purpose, a turning every few paces, and a number of paths that led to intentional dead ends. Particularly notorious were the stairs. The number of steps made no sense when compared to the stairways’ heights, and one could lose their mind trying to work out how much progress had been made up or down.
Arcus couldn’t help feeling as though he’d wandered the labyrinth in a theme park. As a new student, it likely elicited tremendous excitement, but an intruder would find themselves at a complete loss. Losing one’s way was more or less guaranteed.
The hallways contained stands displaying replicas of Seal Tools, and they occasionally passed rope stanchions barring entrance to certain places. There was also a cloister, much like those in western castles, made up of arches and pillars.
It wasn’t long until they reached the training grounds. They were located at one end of the site and a fair walk away from the classrooms where the written exams had taken place. The boys and girls standing here were marked by their finely tailored clothes. Every single one seemed to come from nobility. Cazzy was right: this part of the exam was a way to mark them apart from the lower classes.
Arcus couldn’t see Lecia anywhere. Either she had already done her exam, or she was set to do it on another day.
Before long, the lecturer standing like a post in the center of the grounds looked over and addressed the candidates.
“I trust we have everyone who wishes to take the practical exam? Please wait a moment while I fetch the proctor.” With that, he walked briskly away.
When he returned, he was joined by a young bespectacled man in a black robe. His deep purple curls were cut uniformly short, reminding Arcus of his own hair in a way that felt oddly comforting.
He recognized this man. He had been proctoring the National Diploma of Sorcery exam with Mercuria String and Frederick Benjamin when Arcus had visited the Guild. That meant he was likely a state magician himself. While he didn’t exude an air of intense intimidation, he certainly possessed dignity.
The newcomer took a step toward the candidates. “My name is Cassim Lowry. I will be proctoring today’s practical exam. While I do not have the pleasure of teaching at the Institute, I look forward to seeing your talents on display today.”
His introduction elicited a number of gasps from the crowd. Indeed, he was a state magician: Blinding Flare. His specialism lay in hallucinogenic magic, and it was said that his spells had proved their worth on the battlefield in times of retreat. He was one of the magicians who had been absent from Arcus’s recent meeting at the Guild. While he may have appeared meek and timid, the aura he gave off was anything but. Arcus recalled hearing on a few occasions that he had been Cazzy’s junior.
Cazzy’s got way too many impressive connections...
State magician Mercuria String had been one of his seniors and, putting aside Cassim, his juniors had included Lisa Lauzei, sitting Chief Officer of the Surveillance Office. His generation had produced a number of world-class magicians, and Arcus wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or terrified.
“We will now begin the exam. I won’t be tougher on you just because I’m a state magician, so please don’t be overly concerned.” Cassim smiled at them amicably, but it wasn’t enough to relax anyone. A candidate’s prestige as a student was directly linked to their success in this exam. That naturally made them want to push to their limits, and Arcus could hear many of them begin to quicken in their breathing. The state magician’s gaze remained amicable as he continued. “In this exam, I will ask each of you to cast a designated spell. You only have one chance, so please bear that in mind.”
The candidates were handed the incantation on a sheet of paper. The designated spell was Ignited Soul. It was an offensive spell that created a flurry of pale-blue fireballs to attack a target. The incantation itself wasn’t overly long, making it an easy spell to cast compared to other offensive magic. As far as Arcus was concerned, the output fell short of the aether it took to cast. In a real-life situation, he would pick a stronger spell, or improvise to come up with something more aether-efficient. However, it was his magic skills that were being put to the test, not his originality or ingenuity. He would be judged on whether he could cast the spell correctly. Naturally, this included whether he could imbue the words with the correct amount of aether and enunciate properly.
There were occasions when the same spell could produce different results. If the caster was slow in activating his aether, so too would the effect be delayed. Additionally, too vague a mental image could produce a spell that lacked form or power. Mix those mistakes together and they would result in the worst-case scenario: mis-incantation. Although there were exceptions (usually dependent on the caster rather than anything else), mis-incantation would never lead to an overpowering of the spell. In the majority of cases, it was easier to produce a weaker casting than a stronger one.
This phenomenon could be seen in the differences between Arcus’s and Lecia’s magic. When she tried to cast an original spell he had made, it often came out weaker. Meanwhile, she often had much more success with fire-based spells than he did. Of course, the only real way to increase a spell’s strength was to modify it.
Cassim began by casting the spell himself as an example, firing it into one of the targets. The fireballs descended on the hay bale and burned it to a crisp. The candidates gasped in amazement, after which they began to cast the spell themselves in turn.
“F-Flaming quintessence. Float by the ancestral tomb. Sway, sway...shake and shine bright... Call on Gown’s lamp. Stray and rush. An ensemble of embers...”
Despite the blond candidate’s incantation, nothing happened. His aether dispersed into the air, and the artglyphs splintered.
“Oh...”
“Your spell failed. I would suggest committing the spell to memory, and ensuring you are applying the correct amount of aether,” Cassim advised.
The candidate stepped back again, shoulders slumping. He’d had the very first turn and he’d blown it. His frustration was clear.
Cassim called for the next candidate. The girl stepped forward, performing the spell after introducing herself.
“Flaming quintessence! Float by the ancestral tomb! Sway, sway! Shake and glimmer! Call on Gown’s lamp! Stray and rush! A glittering ensemble of embers!”
Artglyphs spawned into the air and rushed around vigorously before coalescing into the typical blue fireballs, but those too ran riot. They only made it halfway to the hay bales before they struck the ground and set it alight.
“How was that?” The girl grinned and puffed out her chest.
“Not as impressive as you seem to think,” Cassim said.
“Aw...”
“You added some extra words to the incantation, didn’t you?”
“I tried not to. I just got a bit overexcited...”
“It’s a bad habit to alter a perfected incantation on the spur of the moment. The true strength of Ignited Soul is a subtle one; its incantation is to be enunciated without excess tension.”
“I thought I could make it a little more flashy...”
“You did, however, demonstrate perfect control over your aether. You just need to work on your restraint.”