On the Assembly of Advanced Arcana
The following is an excerpt from our recent book: Advanced Arcana (on sale now).
Appendix 1: On the Assembly of this Tome
As I explained in my foreword, the spells found in this book were hard-won, and I went to great lengths in order to acquire them. I feel the need to repeat that I stress the difficulty of their acquisition not out of any sense of self-aggrandizement, but only because I want to ensure that you, the reader, truly understand the value and cost of the knowledge you hold in your hands. This is not some simple book of cantrips and training spells. Indeed, many of the spells found in this tome cannot be found anywhere else.
Even that, however, is not the reason why I am writing this in-depth discussion of how I acquired the spells included herein. As a scholar, a scribe, and a compiler of lore, I have a great understanding of the importance of knowing the source for a particular piece of knowledge. A fact, theory, or statement can only truly be understood if the circumstances which created it are properly known and considered. To this end, I believe that it may be of some use to future arcane scholars who hope to expand on the work presented herein if they are made aware of the places that some of these spells came from. Though I will not be detailing the source of each and every spell found within this tome, I will be providing you with the stories of my dealings with the three mages who contributed the most to this book in the terms of raw spellcraft knowledge and actual, whole spells donated.
By far the least perilous of my various adventures in the creation of this tome involved the first of these mages, a man by the name of Xelar, known in his early days as Xelar the Red, and nearer to his death as Xelar the Mad. It is only by chance that I came to know of the man, for he lived quite some time ago, and is long dead. I was first introduced to the man during my days as Head Librarian at Sirribellion, when a young academy student came to me asking for help with a research assignment he had been given, which involved creating a thorough history of an artifact known as Xelar’s Rod of Wrath. It is my belief to this day that this student had somehow angered his professor, for the artifact is exceptionally obscure, and until the publishing of this tome, was probably the only real legacy that Xelar left after his death.
Whatever the reason, it proved exceptionally fortuitous, because after some extensive research, I was able to find some historical reports from that period which mentioned Xelar. When he was mentioned, it was often in passing, so there was very little information to work with, but assuming these sources are to be believed, I managed to piece together a very simplistic biography of the man: a sorcerer who drew his power from one of the elements (most likely fire), he had a troubled childhood before rising from poverty and obscurity to join the ranks of the Ivory Order, apparently sponsored by a wandering member who happened to be in the boy’s village when he nearly burned it to the ground with his poorly-controlled magical ability.
He studied at Voldaniarus, the academy in Tolmirra, where he apparently had some disciplinary issues, reportedly at one point setting fire to the royal gardens of Queen Rhiannon Tolmiar II. He seems to have “cooled off” at some point prior to his graduation to a full mage, at which point he seems to have proven quite valuable in a war that broke out between Tolmir and the djinni.
He never seems to have mentally recovered from the war, for some reason or another, and afterwards became exceptionally reclusive. Reports from apprentices and journeymen who were tasked with delivering messages to him or attempting to rouse him out of his broodings, indicate that he became exceptionally erratic, and was most likely not entirely sane. He eventually seems to have decided to continue the war on his own, departing to the elemental plane of air, after which he was never heard from again.
One particular passage, from The Year of Fire, struck me as particularly intriguing, and was what caused me to remember Xelar years later, when I began the creation of this tome:
“The djinni had two clear targets that day: the queen’s castle and Voldaniarus, no doubt attempting to destroy the two centers of leadership in Tolmirra. At the castle they were turned back by the queen’s armies, but we were left practically to defend ourselves. We should have fallen if not for the efforts of a few mages, such as Selanar, who filled the air with fierce storms, to prevent the djinni from overwhelming us in the air, and Xelar the Red, whose mastery of prismatic attacks allowed him hold off the djinni long after many other mages had run out of spells, for he could cast seven for every one of theirs…”
At the time, I assumed that the attestation was merely the aggrandizement which such tomes often hold. But, as I said, years later, when I began to truly question the nature of spells and began the research which would eventually lead to the compilation of this tome, I began to wonder if perhaps there was more to the matter than I had originally believed. I travelled to the location of his tower on the edges of Helmoth, only to find that it was long gone, such that no one in the area was aware that there had ever even been a tower there at all. Disheartened, but still hopeful, I headed to Voldaniarus, where I began to dig through the archives for any mention of Xelar or the means by which he had practiced his spellcraft.
At first I had great difficulty finding anything of note. As I said, Xelar seems to have been a sorcerer, and, further, he seemed to have no great interest in the theories or philosophy of spellcraft, interested instead on its day-to-day use, especially in battle. As such, he didn’t keep much in the way of records, and certainly didn’t have any old spellbooks lying around. Still, I persevered, hoping that somewhere in the Grand Library I would find what I needed to learn more of this Xelar and his apparently miraculous ability to cast so many spells.
I owe my eventual success to the works of a man named Uriel Hortisem, a wizard, scholar, and contemporary of Xelar’s. Though the two were not especially close, he conducted a series of interviews with Xelar about his exceptional “prismatic cascade,” a spell which, for all intents and purposes, is actually seven different spells compressed into one. Uriel, like myself, was fascinated with this spell, and spent a great deal of time attempting to deconstruct how Xelar had managed it, for Xelar himself didn’t seem to have much of an idea—or, rather, he wasn’t accomplished enough in formal spellcraft to be able to put the matter into words. Unfortunately, Uriel was never able to properly finish his work, as he lost his life in the war with the djinni, and so his notes and journal were left, largely forgotten, until I finally stumbled upon them centuries later, entirely by accident.
The book, which did not have any kind of title or other clue to its origins on the outside, was left in a pile of books I was intending to go through by a careless student, and so eventually made its way to me. I initially assumed it was entirely unrelated, and would have likely never discovered its importance if not for my advancing years. No longer the student I once was, I found myself having difficulty digging through books for twelve or thirteen hours at a time, and so occasionally granted myself a break to explore more simple and leisurely reading. During one such break I decided to take a closer look at this nameless book, only to discover to my joy that it was precisely what I had been looking for this entire time.
From there it was simply a matter of completing Uriel’s research, a matter which required some minor experimentation. Luckily, Archmagister Wrester was willing to grant me the use of some top-grade laboratories, as well as the aid of a pair of bright young students, which allowed me, over the course of two years, to complete the research and replicate the spell, as well as a couple of variations which Uriel had been trying to work out. Included in these notes was also information on another spell of Xelar’s, wherein he apparently drew on the magical energies of two allied spellcasters in order to create an exceptionally potent fire spell. When I eventually learned the secret of segmented spells, I was able to make a variant of this spell, included in this tome as Xelar’s inferno.
The most important mage I borrowed from in the creation of this book is a sage by the name of Ardesalf. His contribution is not merely that he directly contributed the largest number of completed spells to this tome, but also because it was through him that I was introduced to the fountain spells, which I believe are by far the most important part of this work. He was also very helpful in helping me track down a number of the segmented spells included in this book, and helped me to include a wider variety of spells for non-arcane casters.
I first heard of Ardesalf in a minor village in the shadow of the Ontipputa mountain range, which was too small to have a proper name. I was traveling through the region looking for any mages who might be willing to share their lore, insights, or spells with the world through this very tome. The owner of the local tavern was kind enough to treat me to a local legend, which told of a small shrine at the top of Mt. Garagus, the tallest mountain in the region, which was devoted to a minor deity of knowledge and spellcraft, and that pilgrims who visited the shrine, and who this god favored, would be granted an audience and taught great and powerful secrets, including the creation of the philosopher’s stone or the secret of eternal life.
I was skeptical, but could hardly ignore such a potentially helpful source for this book, so I decided to take a detour up Mt. Garagus to see the shrine for myself. Thankfully, Garagus isn’t nearly as dangerous a mountain as its name implies: it is home to a large number of goblins, as well as a few unruly grizzlies, but is relatively stable, and isn’t prone to eruptions or earthquakes. The trip wasn’t entirely without troubles, however, and the indigenous goblin population gave me more than a small amount of trouble, further proof for my belief that one should not underestimate the so-called “little people.”
On my way up the mountain I was met by a patrol of goblins who stopped me and demanded to know my business. Not wanting to offend the creatures while passing through their homeland, I explained that I was on a quest for knowledge, and that I sought the shrine at the top of their mountain. One enterprising young goblin, who, despite the usual prejudices about their race, clearly appreciated the value of knowledge, declared that since I was “smart one,” I would be taken to the goblins’ chief as a gift. I attempted to explain that I was on a schedule, but they were quite insistent, and I was hesitant to simply put them to sleep and leave, as I was afraid that while they were helpless some wandering creature might do them ill, so I reluctantly agreed to follow them, hoping that their chieftain would prove more reasonable.
I was taken into the goblins’ stronghold, which was quite expansive and complex, with extensive tunnels which interconnected and seemed to go on for some ways, and which even contained a large, underground lake. In what I assume was the central chamber, I was brought before the goblins’ leader, named Garg the Great, who, once he had been informed of who I was and why I was on the mountain, informed me quite matter-of-factly that I would be giving him “magic powers.” No amount of explanation seemed able to convince the Garg that I could not simply grant him such power, whether through magic or by revealing some simple secret, but that instead it took years of study and research. Unfortunately, I am much better at reading and writing goblin than I am at speaking it, and so I fear he didn’t really grasp what I was trying to communicate. After extensive discussion, Garg agreed to release me if I provided him and his clan with enough magically-created food to last them a year.
Out of gratitude for the food, the goblins also provided me with location of a secret tunnel which led to the top of the mountain, and would allow me to bypass any of the mountain’s other dangers, including angry grizzlies and the occasional ogre, on my trip to the mysterious shrine. Unfortunately, the goblins were apparently not aware that this section of the tunnel had come to be inhabited by an ancient silver dragon, who did not take kindly to my passing through its lair. At first it mistook me for one of the goblins, and from the appearance of its eyes I believe it may have been blind. Once I introduced myself and explained that I was not after its treasure, but simply sought knowledge, he opened up, introducing himself as Sorinalthrixarius, and invited me to stay awhile to talk with him.
As a dragon, Sorin was naturally gifted in spellcraft, and was curious to hear more about my theories involving the nature of spell energy and the potential for mortals to push the boundaries of what a spell truly costs. When he found out that I intended to publish my findings to the world at large, he shared with me some of his own accumulated spell knowledge, which would later prove quite useful in the perfection of the segmented spell. He also donated the spell fate spin, a spell of extreme versatility and no little power. Eventually, however, the dragon and I parted ways, for I had to complete my research, and his age and blindness prevented him from being able to travel with me.
When I eventually reached the summit, I was surprised to discover that, indeed, a shrine did exist. Shrine, in fact, may have been an understatement, as the structure was truly more of a small temple than a shrine. I entered, expecting to find a handful of learned monks, who no doubt through time evolved in local legend into a minor deity. Instead, I found the temple deserted. Discouraged, I searched the building in case there was any clue that would help solve the riddle of this temple. In doing so, I stumbled across a single door which appeared as though it would lead outside, but instead entered into what appeared to be a small shop, selling magical sundries.
Within the shop, I was surprised to find Ardesalf, a very eccentric scholar who, it turns out, was the “deity” mentioned in the myth. A man of advanced years, he had the most unnerving habit of floating several inches above the ground. I was quite pleasantly surprised to learn that, like myself, he was of a scholarly bent, and had spent a great deal of time on the study of magic himself, though he had not spent much time on the specific topic which I was endeavoring to study. He is apparently extraplanar in origin, claiming to come from the elemental plane of air, and his discovery of the secret of eternal life had given him much time to delve into the secrets of magical lore.
When he learned of the nature of my research and endeavors, he was all too happy to aid me in the matter, and together we poured over his massive collection of tomes, searching for the answer to the problem. It was, in fact, Ardesalf who first managed to overcome the Astocthan barrier, inspired by one of the numerous spirit creatures he regularly consults when he finds himself unable to find the knowledge he sought. It was, in fact, contacting the creatures in this manner which allowed Ardesalf to create the spell Ardesalf’s safer contact.
A great sage and compiler of lore, he also proved invaluable in helping me compile a good deal of the knowledge and spells contained in this tome. As I said, he possessed a very impressive library, and from that we were able to draw on a great number of spells and rituals, many of which we modified or improved upon before putting them in this book. This was also the source of many of the darker spells in this book (which, I must remind you, are intended to be used only academically, never to cause harm), as those who typically learn and practice such spells are rarely willing to freely share their knowledge with the world.
The third and final mage who contributed significantly to the creation of this book is a sorcerer named Malanis. Though the only spells in this book which bear his name are the advanced versions of the elementary magic missile spell, he did demonstrate to me the technique which I would eventually use in the creation of the various “quick” spells, allowing them to be cast at two different speeds. Not the most trusting of mages, he shared little personal information with me, but I gather that his experience with magic is primarily that of the battlemage, as his interest in magic did not seem to extend far beyond its practical use, which is no doubt why he created the “quick” technique.
I first heard of Malanis from the journals of a planeswalking wizard named Richard the Resilient, who recorded that Malanis was a powerful, if somewhat amoral, and highly chaotic, sorcerer. Other than mentioning that Malanis was exceptional with the use of force magic, he provided little information, except for an odd notation that the sorcerer apparently had a quite varied bloodline, and some speculation as to the possibility that this mixed heritage might have somehow increased his spellcasting ability. It wasn’t until much, much later, during the latter part of this book’s creation, that I came across more information about Malanis, this time from a hedge-witch who, for some religious or superstitious reason I didn’t quite understand, only performed her services for barter. She told me that she was familiar with the mage in question, but would only agree to tell me his location if I agreed to visit him. I, of course, agreed, since it was my goal to speak with him, and she informed me that the young man in question was dead, and could be found in the 482nd layer of the Abyss.
I wasn’t happy at being tricked, and certainly had little desire to traverse the Abyss or interview any creature whose final resting place was on that plane, but I do strive to keep my word, and it is certainly true that I wanted to consult with him, so, once I had ensured that secondary copies of my work were in place to be sent to some of my contemporaries who I felt likely to finish my work in the case of my demise, I did indeed set out for the Abyss.
My trip through that unpleasant place is best left unexamined as much as possible. I did not relish my time there, as often the only thing fouler than the landscape was the company. I was forced into combat on numerous occasions, and am not proud to say that several demons lost their lives as a result. That said, I did eventually arrive on the 482nd layer, where I was, after a good deal of work, able to track the sorcerer down. For those unfamiliar with the 482nd layer (known to the locals, I would later learn, as Orflaxxis), it isn ocean of what appears to be blood, dotted by occasional islands of bone, many of which bear morbid shapes, such as skulls or claws.
It took a good deal of energy to track the sorcerer down, as I had little in the way of directions besides the fact that he was somewhere on the layer. I was forced to bribe a number of the layer’s inhabitants in exchange for rumors and information, and after many false leads and dead ends, I was eventually able to find Malanis, who had apparently claimed a small island of his own, driving all the demons and other ilk away. He was initially not very happy to receive a visitor, but when I explained my purpose he calmed down enough to talk, which is more than I could say for most of the plane’s inhabitants.
I was able to convince him to grant me an interview, though in exchange I had to offer him travel off the plane. In an extensive discussion, he showed me some force-related spells, which I have included in this tome, and explained the method by which I later produced most of the various “quick” spells found in this tome. After this, he declared that his end of the bargain had been fulfilled, and though I certainly wanted to press him for more, he was quite insistent and he certainly had a point. Besides, I’m not entirely certain he had any more information to give. I brought him with me back to the material plane, and then we parted ways.
These, of course, are only the most memorable and important mages to aid me in the creation of this book. There were also innumerable other spellcasters who aided me in finding the spells for this tome. Some of them are members of the Ivory Order, while others belong to no organization, practicing their magic quietly in the rural towns and villages of the land. Some of them are upstanding bastions of virtue, using their magic to bring light to the world and aid those around them, and others are less so. Some of them are exceptionally powerful, able to travel the planes and summon powerful outsiders, and others aren’t even able to cast spells, but instead are simply masters of arcane theory.
This book is a collection of lore from a great number of sources, all in an attempt to answer the fundamental question, “What is the cost of a spell?” Though the question may have been mine, the answer comes from all these varied sources, for it is only with all of their knowledge and resources pooled together that I believe I was finally able to find an answer. Though I may have compiled the book, and I may have written the foreword, as well as this section detailing my efforts in creating it, I am not this book’s author. This book has a great number of authors, and comes from the great number of mages who were generous enough to contribute their work, and from those who came before us, building up magical theory and understanding like a tower, upon whose ramparts we now stand.
Let us continue their work, gentle reader, and build the tower further still. The advances made by this book are staggering, but the implications it presents are more staggering still. Now is not the time to rest, but instead the time to investigate further! Let us advance magic to new realms, the likes of which our forebears could only dream. It is my challenge to you to expand even further upon this work: to challenge our assumptions about the nature of magic, to test them, and to find their true limits. Not for me, but for those who came before us. Together, let us finish their work.