The Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo

The Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo are a series of excerpts from Fantasmo's lectures during his tenure at the Last University used for the descriptions of a number of episodes of Spring in Hieron, from Episode 06 to Episode 32. Similar excerpts are used for Episode 33 and Episode 34, but under the title of the Crystalized Voice of the Wizard Fantasmo.

The Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo

IDENTITY is the first component, this is beyond debate. Before we may refer to this reagent or that somatic expression, we must first conceptualize a “this” or a “that,” things made whole by their boundaries. This staff is distinct from this floor, which is distinct from me, though I touch both. What is, is itself. Where there is argument, though, is whether such a quality is the PRIMARY component in matters arcane. The so-called semioticians argue that SYNTHESIS is more important than identity. Though they dress it up in words like “god” and “faith,” priests rely on PROXIMITY to some original source of magic as the key component. They are all wrong, of course: If identity is first, then RELATION is principal in the magical arts. What is, is itself. And nothing else.
“‘HOME’ is a myth, an invention told by the idle and mediocre, who paper over their lethargy with a facade of comfort.” My mentor… He taught me these words when I was… It doesn’t matter when, but, when I was much younger, I suppose. The TRUE MAGE, he told me, should have no home because KNOWLEDGE knows no geographical center. It is all around us. And yet, in my studies, I have come to know a different truth: That in my armchair, with my tea cup, and the soft, familiar sound of the cypress branches brushing my window in the wind, I learn things I could not discover in some distant library or in the muck of a field laboratory.
I hold little respect for the charlatans from the Archives, whose parlor tricks are simply wax dripping from the torch of TRUE MAGIC. Yet they understand this much: COINCIDENCES do not exist, yet FATE is a myth. No action is unmoored from causality--there is always a reason for RECURRANCE. But that reason need not be PREDETERMINATION. Indeed, repetition is often caused by the most mundane of causes, and a good scholar DEDUCES their origin. So, young student, know this: If it always rains on your day of birth, dismiss the fear that you are cursed, open your notebook, and begin to record an almanac.
Among the many important practical device a neophyte mage must learn, the CYNOSURE is most necessary. Whether in school ALCHEMICAL or CONJUROUS, WILD or INCORPORATED, EFFERVESCENT or NECROTIC, the first step of any spell is finding its elusive center, the aspect around which every other component must RELATE. Perhaps it is in the material ingredients—the mushroom shavings or recovered kestrel claw—or in the vocal and somatic terms—the right syllable to press, the uncomfortable shape of your hand. But as is true in SOCIETY is true in magic: the center of your spells must ATTRACT and DEFINE all that is around them. The periphery may falter, the margins may surprise you, but if the center holds, magic will follow.
PARTNERSHIP is a difficult prospect for all mages, as the IMAGE-IDEAL of any spell differs between all who cast. Even a trifling CANTRIP like the summoning of a sphere of light is soiled by the projection of a mage's SELF. The color, the shape, the intensity: All shift due to bias and experience. And so to perform even such a simple glamour as this with a partner is to court disaster. This is why in all but the most troubling of endeavors, the wise mage works alone.
PROPHECY is, perhaps, the most fraudulent school of magic, all the more for its broad popularity in the minds of the masses. It is not those who peddle PALMISTRY or auction AUGURY are incorrect in their predictions: No, oracular pursuits are as often accurate as the aim of any magic missile. But they are sold on a fabulous foundation. The soothsayer? The leaf reader? The blood drinker? The visionary? They all claim they can see what comes next. But they are not in touch with the FUTURE at all. They are only especially aware of the PRESENT. And it is keen evidence that the world is filled with fools that so many cannot tell the difference.
No. The history the DEL and BRI, twin MOONS of Hieron are not covered in this course, nor ought they be covered in any. Such CELESTIAL beings only inspire the most distracting flights of foolish imagination. To be a mage is to walk the line between unleashed creativity and utter mundanity. And to dream of above is to lose anchor to the ground that gives SHAPE and MOMENTUM to all arcane works.
LIFE is no more an immutable characteristic than SCALE or TEMPERATURE. Whether leaping from branch to canopy, or constrained to coughs and carriages, each is life. But do not let those words secure your pride. Because just as some structures are too large to stand AND some heats are beyond the notion of relief, true DEATH is a finality that even the most powerful magic cannot undo.
PROTECTIVE spells take many forms. Defensive WARDS shift the nature of possibility, prohibiting actions of a forbidden category to create sanctuary spaces, while MIRROR spells reflect back anything--material or otherwise--that attempts to pass it. LATTICES are complex, magical apparati, checking conditional statements against numerous variables and facts apparent before apply some effect. But none of these are effective as a simple BARRIER: Trust me, students, a sturdy wall will keep anything, and anyone, out.
”GODS” are not what you imagine. Despite the fables, these are not beings of infinite POWER or unshakable WILL, nor are they models of noble VIRTUE. Those preaching sermons in churches and scribbling songs in hymnals would have you believe that the world is a laboratory and the “gods” are its alchemists. Yet in fact, on the chemist’s table of Hieron, they, like us are simply glass beakers filled with the physical STUFF of life. Perhaps their content shimmers more when stirred--and to that end, we ought understand their sheen and thus duplicate it--but remember, in the end, all glass shatters.
If there is one fact that neophytes fail to grasp, it is this: Every SPELL has two COSTS, not one. The first, pupils always remember: The component parts of whatever is being cast: REAGENTS, SOMATIC EXPRESSIONS, RITUAL PREPARATIONS. These are, of course, easily counted: Strands of wolf’s hair, the motions of a hand, the dust of rough chalk. But the second cost is missed: The cost on the self. And this cost is vital to consider. As many young magic workers learn through repercussion alone: You may have the material needed for a spell, but if you begin to work it without the will or the vigor necessary, it will cost you greatly. Which is why I say, with great care and seriousness: It is of utmost importance that you learn to REST.
In common speech, CONDUITS of power are said to extend a mage’s REACH and PERCEPTION to such a degree that they may work their craft at great distances. But this is a grand understatement. It is not simply that the spellcaster’s senses are duplicated at the point of the conduit. The sheer presence of such an artifact of power extends the very NATURE of reach and perception. With a conduit in place, a mage’s vision spreads over an entire area, their ability to weave magic expands beyond what they might even do in person. For this reason, understand, there is no such thing as building a conduit for peaceful ends.
True TELEPORTATION is, without measure, the most dangerous and trying spell not explicitly created for violent ends and is thus the small purview of only the most advanced mages of the University… and reportedly some who study the so-called SEMIOTIC practices of the New Archives. Thankfully, there are other, safer, and more efficient means of completing tasks over long distances: ALCHEMIC DELIVERY, SYNCHRONOUS TRANSMISSION, and STRATUMINAL LINKAGE, depending on the distance traveled and, of course, the degree to which co-presence is required...
It is common pastime across this University to debate DRACONIC classification. Fourth years lecture firsts about the distinction between DRAGONS and DRAKES, while research assistants struggle to place WYVERNS is clear category? “What of WYRMS,” asked a colleague, recently, as if any answer to this or any other similar question mattered. No. LIVING or UNDEAD, aloft by WING or by AIR-SPIRIT, wielding FLAME or FOULNESS, the only relevant question is: How quickly will it kill you? -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo
I have taught you the value of a HOME for the neophyte MAGE, but in the instance that an EXCURSION is unavoidable, take heed my words: Never travel ALONE. Whether friend or hired hand, secure your safety behind the bodies of others. And remember: A mage is never truly alone. -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo
The greatest ARCANE MASTERS of course have… contingencies in place for DEATH. It must be understood, though, that these are not REVERSALS of the act, but SAFEGUARDS designed to intercede against or re-route naturally occurring events. But even these have their limits: Once the ESSENCE of life is consigned to the NOTHING, there is simply no return.
Eventually, your studies will bring you into CONFLICT with forces MUNDANE and ARCANE both. In these circumstances, the foremost lesson a young MAGE must remember is this: You are neither mystical FIGHTER nor scholarly PALADIN. Though you study natural philosophy as a RANGER does, you are much more than they. Yet in the center of a melee, much less. As such, you must first and foremost ensure your own safety. And in the case of unavoidable conflict, seek simply this: To end the fight as quickly as possible.
Across the course of your STUDIES, you will learn of KNOWLEDGE locked beyond gates built not of metal but of SOCIAL MORE. And as the THIEF in the night would slip through their bars, as the BARON would order them open, you must find your way past. Disregard taboo, scorn prohibition, and boycott boycott. You are a SCHOLAR. First, learn which knowledge is too dangerous to know, and second, learn EVERYTHING else.
VAMPIRES! These monstrous beings are not UNDEAD in the traditional sense. They are a distant echo of the ancient magical school of RECONFIGURATION, each vampiric body rebuilt, unique strengths augmented, not by ENCHANTMENT, but by a real shift in the nature of their being. Such strength carries a cost: The “semioticians” are frauds, of course, but the unpredictable fragility of the vampire, just as soon harmed by the lapping of a cat’s tongue as a serrated golden dagger, is the closest thing to their so-called “pattern magic”...
ALCHEMY is, of all disciplines, the most underappreciated. Young MAGES, perhaps even yourselves, see it as a vulgar display of MAGIC, something that anyone with a RECIPE, the tools, and patience may pursue. And it is true, alchemy does not draw on the developed talents of a mage, or on the intrinsic strength of a SORCERER; its formulas pale in beauty next to the complex designs of a warlock or witch’s ARCANA. And yet, in their simplicity is a different sort of appeal: SPELLS may be countered, HEXES misfire, CURSES be wasted on wind. But set aloft a potion of flame, and know: There will always be fire.
NEOPHYTES often ask why the UNIVERSITY demands that young mages develop not only arcane ACUMEN but also moral CONSTITUTION. The answer is simple. To do otherwise would be a grand, fatal ERROR.
There will come a MOMENT when you will be required to rely on the MEMORY of others, and you will find yourself disappointed. Details you consider TRIVIAL will have been raised to prominence in RECOLLECTION. Valuable assets will have been FORGOTTEN. Do not, however, allow your frustration to hide from you the GIFT that you have been given. Pay close attention. Everything has been forgotten for a REASON.
However devoted to the THEORETICAL you intend your studies to be, you will eventually be pressed upon in PRACTICAL matters, and none will be more dangerous than those of STRATEGY and WARFARE. This is not because the dangers of combat are any more perilous than those of INDUSTRY, TRAVERSAL, or even EMBELLISHMENT. It is simply because the reckless pride of puffed up generals, who reduce your careful labors into simple SOLUTION. Remember: When someone is eager to turn your stave into sword, show them instead that you can make it into a river.
It is common aphorism that no EFFECT comes without matching COST. This is, of course, absolute tripe. What would the point of our SCIENCE be if it were not to offset the two in our own favor? To turn bay leaf into bartergold, fowl feather into the wind itself. Yes. There is always a PRICE. This is true. The best of us simply learn how to address reality directly and NEGOTIATE.
Both in your studies and in the field, SUCCESS is not an finality. It is only an opportunity for you to find new COURSES to travel and CONUNDRUMS to consider. The world is endless, and you will never bore for a lack of things to do. But the wise mage knows to tackle these many things with FOCUS and DELIBERATION. However powerful your magic, however full your book of SPELLS, it is a fool who thinks they can do everything all at once. When you find reality bending to your WILL, you may want to take the whole of the world on your shoulders. I promise you, students. It will crush you.
What is the difference between an INSTINCT and an IMPULSE? Everything. The former guides you in thought, shaping your REFLECTION with biases hard earned. The latter triggers ACTION without consideration. Embrace your instinct, even--especially--when others tell you that it confounds their sense of possibility. You know better than them. But resist impulsiveness with all your being. However quick a dead mage was in their final moments, they are still a dead mage.
I have told you already never to TRAVEL alone. Yet this does not mean you ought turn a ROAD into a PARLOR ROOM. Trust in yourselves, and keep surreptitious your thoughts and motives. If you must speak, speak only to yourself. Your allies are there only to protect you, and however shining a SHIELD may be, it is not a MIRROR.

The Crystalized Voice of the Wizard Fantasmo

He has not faced anything quite like what you describe, no. But from what you have told me, your father seems an obstinate and foolhardy man. And those are the qualities of every so-called hero I have ever met.
I simply do not understand. Why would you ever build a wall from a material both capricious and ineffable? This would be like keeping a journal in a code you cannot read: Yes, the work has been done, technically. But whatever value you sought is warped from utility to perilous, and obvious, folly.