Conjuration

Philosophy

Conjuration is the art of making presence answer. A conjurer names what is wanted, opens a path for arrival, and imposes enough pattern that the called thing appears in usable form. Sometimes that means summoning a real object from elsewhere. Sometimes it means gathering nearby material into a temporary construct. Sometimes it means holding an energy-shape together long enough to serve a purpose.

Because the school sits close to questions of ownership, trespass, binding, and unstable manifestation, most serious conjurers are trained in law as much as in magic. Bad conjuration does not fail gracefully. It arrives malformed, arrives hungry, or arrives attached to something the caster did not intend.

Example Places of Study

Common Spells

Called Tool

Purpose/How It Works: Called Tool retrieves a named personal implement from a known storage place or recently used location by opening a short, lawful path of return.
Notable Exceptions: It fails against wards, distance beyond the link’s strength, or ownership confusion. It should not be treated as universal theft.
Example Use: A field engineer recalls her repair hammer from the wagon after an axle snaps under fire.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a prior ownership bond, the tool’s pattern familiarity, route-memory, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Spoken recall, 3 to 6 seconds. Sigil-linked retrieval, 20 to 40 seconds.
Range/Duration: Room to district scale depending on preparation. Instant arrival.

Gathered Shield

Purpose/How It Works: Gathered Shield pulls dust, splinters, loose stone, or nearby debris into a compact defensive plate held together by active patterning.
Notable Exceptions: It is weak in clean open air or polished halls with nothing to gather. Sustained impact quickly drains the caster.
Example Use: A caravan mage sweeps roadside gravel into a chest-high barrier against arrows.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by nearby material, kinetic intake, and continuous caster concentration.
Casting Methods: Sweeping hand cast, 2 to 4 seconds. Prepared anchor sigil, 10 to 20 seconds.
Range/Duration: Within a few meters. Seconds to minutes.

Lantern Frame

Purpose/How It Works: Lantern Frame manifests a simple floating light-vessel that holds glow, heat, or a carried message pattern in stable shape.
Notable Exceptions: Strong winds, anti-light wards, or attention-diverting glamour can destabilize it.
Example Use: Investigators float three lantern frames through a flooded cellar to search without entering.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by ambient light, a small flame, Lux support, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Finger-circle cast, 3 to 6 seconds. Lens focus, 10 to 20 seconds.
Range/Duration: Several meters from caster. Minutes to hours.

Water Bearer

Purpose/How It Works: Water Bearer gathers nearby water into a hovering carrying form that follows simple movement commands.
Notable Exceptions: It requires existing water. Polluted or mixed liquids can behave unpredictably if not clearly defined.
Example Use: Miners draw seep-water out of a collapsed shaft using three slow-moving bearers.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by existing water mass, flow memory, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Basin-to-air cast, 5 to 10 seconds. Conduit ring, 20 to 40 seconds.
Range/Duration: Local area. Minutes.

Stone Servitor

Purpose/How It Works: Stone Servitor assembles loose rock or masonry into a temporary laboring figure built for carrying, bracing, or pushing.
Notable Exceptions: Fine manipulation is poor, and lack of good joints makes stairs or ladders difficult.
Example Use: Builders raise a fallen lintel long enough to free trapped workers beneath it.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by nearby stone, Terra support, and steady caster output.
Casting Methods: Ground assembly cast, 10 to 20 seconds. Mason’s circle, 2 to 5 minutes.
Range/Duration: Local site. Minutes to one hour.

Ember Hands

Purpose/How It Works: Ember Hands gathers existing flame and heat into small manipulating shapes capable of carrying coals, lighting braziers, or starting prepared burns.
Notable Exceptions: It cannot sustain itself without nearby heat input, and rain or saturation weakens it sharply.
Example Use: A cook-mage lights twenty campfires along a refugee line without handing out torches.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by existing fire, banked coals, thermal gradients, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Flame-lift cast, 2 to 4 seconds. Brazier focus, 10 to 20 seconds.
Range/Duration: Several meters. Seconds to minutes.

Rope Of Arrival

Purpose/How It Works: Rope of Arrival manifests a temporary hanging line between two visible anchor points, usable for descent, hauling, or crossing.
Notable Exceptions: It is meant for load-bearing, not combat strain. Poor anchors remain dangerous.
Example Use: Scouts drop out of a broken watchtower by conjuring a rope from parapet to courtyard.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by route tension, anchor clarity, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Point-to-point cast, 5 to 10 seconds. Knot sigil, 20 to 40 seconds.
Range/Duration: Short to moderate line of sight. Minutes.

Pack Frame

Purpose/How It Works: Pack Frame creates a temporary carrying harness or floating load-frame around cargo so weight is redistributed and movement becomes easier.
Notable Exceptions: It reduces carrying strain rather than making weight vanish. Sudden shocks can collapse the frame.
Example Use: A salvage crew brings a cracked bronze idol down a mountain without breaking it.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by the cargo’s existing mass structure, straps or outlines, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Load-wrap cast, 10 to 20 seconds. Team hauling rite, 1 to 3 minutes.
Range/Duration: Touch to nearby object. Minutes to hours.

Messenger Shape

Purpose/How It Works: Messenger Shape gives a spoken message a simple visible body such as a bird, ribbon, lantern mote, or folded sigil for one delivery.
Notable Exceptions: It carries limited complexity and can be intercepted by schools skilled in name-binding or omen reading.
Example Use: A magistrate sends a sealed verdict across the court district without trusting a runner.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by breath, wording precision, a destination name, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Spoken dispatch, 5 to 10 seconds. Sealed-letter rite, 1 to 3 minutes.
Range/Duration: Local to regional depending on preparation. One trip.

Summoned Ladder

Purpose/How It Works: Summoned Ladder assembles nearby wood, bone, rope, or even hardened light into a climbable form matched to a wall or shaft.
Notable Exceptions: It is only as safe as the available material and support pattern. High winds or moving walls are a problem.
Example Use: Burglars and constables alike use the spell to reach second-story windows.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by nearby material or light support, geometric patterning, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Vertical assembly cast, 5 to 10 seconds. Marked foothold sigil, 20 to 40 seconds.
Range/Duration: Immediate site. Minutes to one hour.

Tent Of The Road

Purpose/How It Works: Tent of the Road manifests a weather-shedding shelter by pulling canvas, branches, dust, rope, or light-film into a stable field structure.
Notable Exceptions: It is a shelter, not a fortress. Severe storms require real anchors or supporting wards.
Example Use: Surveyors conjure a temporary field tent before freezing rain reaches the pass.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by available fabric, nearby material, and sustained caster input.
Casting Methods: Shelter cast, 20 to 40 seconds. Camp-circle rite, 3 to 8 minutes.
Range/Duration: Small camp area. Hours.

Hunter S Decoy

Purpose/How It Works: Hunter’s Decoy assembles a false animal, person-shape, or moving lure from shadow, dust, foliage, or light to draw attention and movement away from the caster.
Notable Exceptions: It fools attention better than deep inspection. Skilled trackers notice the missing scent and weight.
Example Use: Poachers send a fake stag through the eastern brush while they escape west.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by local matter, visual patterning, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Quick-shape cast, 3 to 6 seconds. Decoy stake rite, 20 to 40 seconds.
Range/Duration: Short to moderate range. Seconds to minutes.

Armory Recall

Purpose/How It Works: Armory Recall opens a prepared retrieval line from an arsenal, wagon chest, or wall rack to draw the right weapon into hand or formation.
Notable Exceptions: This requires prior keyed preparation. Warded armories can refuse the call.
Example Use: Palace guards summon shields from the ready-room the instant the bell rings.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by keyed storage sigils, ownership rights, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Named recall, 3 to 6 seconds. Rack-linked muster rite, 1 to 3 minutes.
Range/Duration: Building to district scale with preparation. Instant arrival.

Manifest Blade

Purpose/How It Works: Manifest Blade holds a short-lived weapon form together out of light, ash, dust, water-pressure, or other supported medium.
Notable Exceptions: It cuts only while actively maintained. It is more reliable as an emergency weapon than a dueling masterpiece.
Example Use: A disarmed envoy forms a pale knife long enough to sever a hostage’s bonds.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a chosen medium, clear weapon pattern, and active caster output.
Casting Methods: Hand-form cast, 2 to 4 seconds. Weapon diagram focus, 10 to 20 seconds.
Range/Duration: Self or thrown short range depending on form. Seconds to minutes.

Circle Of Return

Purpose/How It Works: Circle of Return creates a temporary arrival circle that brings back marked tools, prepared packets, or assigned personnel crossing a known route.
Notable Exceptions: It is not true teleportation. The route must exist, and interruptions along it still matter.
Example Use: Siege engineers cycle sandbags and repair kits between wall teams without exposing runners.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by route preparation, reciprocal marks, and a maintained circle.
Casting Methods: Return-ring activation, 1 to 3 minutes. Full logistics circle, 10 to 20 minutes.
Range/Duration: Site network scale. Minutes to hours while maintained.

Beast Tether

Purpose/How It Works: Beast Tether calls a trained animal, mount, or bonded familiar along the shortest safe route and holds it to the summoner’s command field once it arrives.
Notable Exceptions: It cannot override terror, injury, or a completely severed bond. Wild animals answer poorly.
Example Use: A rider trapped in a ravine summons her horse after the skirmish scatters the column.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by bond familiarity, scent or tack links, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Whistled bond call, 5 to 10 seconds. Tack-circle rite, 1 to 3 minutes.
Range/Duration: Local to district depending on terrain. Arrival plus minutes of tethering.

Bridge Of Borrowed Timber

Purpose/How It Works: Bridge of Borrowed Timber assembles loose wood, wreckage, roots, or hauled poles into a temporary crossing strong enough for foot traffic and light carts.
Notable Exceptions: It cannot invent structural support where none exists at all. Overloading it is a common killer.
Example Use: Retreating troops throw a bridge across an irrigation cut and burn it behind them five minutes later.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by nearby timber, structural patterning, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Span cast, 20 to 40 seconds. Engineer’s rite, 3 to 8 minutes.
Range/Duration: Small river or gap. Minutes to hours.

House Key Avatar

Purpose/How It Works: House Key Avatar manifests a simple domestic servitor keyed to one household’s layout for tasks such as fetching, lighting, carrying, and door-checking.
Notable Exceptions: It functions badly outside its keyed home and can be hijacked if the key-pattern is stolen.
Example Use: An elderly scholar uses a house-avatar to fetch books from the upper stacks after a fall.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a keyed residence pattern, domestic objects, and scheduled recharge rather than constant active casting.
Casting Methods: Key-turn cast, 10 to 20 seconds. Installation rite, 10 to 30 minutes.
Range/Duration: One building or estate. Hours to weeks with upkeep.

Writ Of Dismissal

Purpose/How It Works: Writ of Dismissal unravels unstable summons, false arrivals, and hostile manifested constructs by collapsing the path and denying pattern support.
Notable Exceptions: It is strongest against conjurations built by naming and route. Solid independently sustained matter is harder to dismiss.
Example Use: A court conjurer tears apart a smuggler’s contraband servant in the middle of testimony.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by counter-naming, legal authority, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Spoken dismissal, 3 to 6 seconds. Sealed writ rite, 20 to 40 seconds.
Range/Duration: Short to moderate range. Instant dispelling effect.

Mage Hand

Purpose/How It Works: Mage Hand manifests a small force-hand or shaped servant-pressure capable of carrying, lifting, pointing, or manipulating light objects at range.
Notable Exceptions: Fine locks and heavy loads remain difficult without stronger variants.
Example Use: A scholar lifts the trapped key off the shelf beyond the bars.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a named task, light manifest force, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Point-and-form cast, 1 to 2 seconds. Ring-focus activation, near-instant.
Range/Duration: Several meters to room scale. Seconds to minutes.

Unseen Servant

Purpose/How It Works: Unseen Servant manifests a simple invisible laboring construct that follows narrow verbal instructions.
Notable Exceptions: It is literal-minded, weak, and unsafe around complex hazards unless carefully directed.
Example Use: A noble’s study is cleaned by a servant no guest can see.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a named task, light manifest force, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Spoken task cast, 5 to 10 seconds. Service-token rite, 1 to 3 minutes.
Range/Duration: One room, household, or close work area. Minutes to hours.

Magic Missile

Purpose/How It Works: Magic Missile forms several compact guided darts of manifested force that seek the named target along the cleanest available line.
Notable Exceptions: Strong warding and force-dispersal defenses can blunt or scatter the darts.
Example Use: A duelist ends the chase by sending three pale bolts around the corner after the fleeing mage.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a named task, light manifest force, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Quick dart cast, 2 to 4 seconds. Wand-release, near-instant.
Range/Duration: 5 to 30 meters. Instant strike.

Floating Disk

Purpose/How It Works: Floating Disk creates a stable hovering platform for cargo, wounded bodies, or ritual tools.
Notable Exceptions: Stairs, narrow passages, and sudden drops can break the platform’s balance.
Example Use: A wizard rolls a stack of books through the rain without getting one page wet.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a named task, light manifest force, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Platform cast, 5 to 10 seconds. Inscribed disk token, 10 to 20 seconds.
Range/Duration: Near the caster or anchored route. Minutes to hours.

Telekinetic Grip

Purpose/How It Works: Telekinetic Grip projects a stronger force-hand capable of shoving, pinning, lifting, or tearing objects free at range.
Notable Exceptions: It is crude compared to real hands and can overcrush fragile targets.
Example Use: A fleeing rider is yanked clean out of the saddle without a rope in sight.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a named task, light manifest force, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Focused hand cast, 3 to 6 seconds. Staff focus, 1 to 2 seconds.
Range/Duration: Several meters to line of sight. Seconds to minutes.

Familiar Call

Purpose/How It Works: Familiar Call summons a bonded minor spirit-construct, creature pattern, or prepared magical companion into active attendance.
Notable Exceptions: The familiar must already exist as a bond. This is recall, not free creation of intelligence.
Example Use: A night courier brings her owl-familiar from hiding with one whisper before climbing the tower.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by an established familiar bond, symbolic housing, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Bond whisper, 3 to 6 seconds. Familiar circle rite, 1 to 3 minutes.
Range/Duration: Local to district range depending on the bond. Minutes to indefinite attendance.

Blink

Purpose/How It Works: Blink shifts the caster slightly off the current path of material presence, causing rapid reappearance a short distance away or avoiding an incoming strike by fractional displacement.
Notable Exceptions: It is erratic in heavy wards, tight walls, or unstable magical zones.
Example Use: A knife passes through the space where the conjurer was standing a heartbeat before.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by a named route, transient manifest force, and the caster’s reserves.
Casting Methods: Snap cast, 1 to 2 seconds. Prepared step-sigil, near-instant.
Range/Duration: Self. A few meters or one evasive displacement.

Dimension Door

Purpose/How It Works: Dimension Door opens a brief two-point path through folded local space, allowing the caster and a companion to cross an otherwise impossible gap.
Notable Exceptions: It is short range by portal standards and dangerous if the destination is poorly understood or obstructed.
Example Use: A mage steps with the wounded prince from the tower stair to the chapel balcony in one cut of air.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by route definition, spatial anchors, and substantial caster reserves.
Casting Methods: Door-cut cast, 5 to 10 seconds. Marked-threshold activation, 1 to 2 seconds.
Range/Duration: Self plus one companion. Several meters to building scale. Instant passage.

Teleport

Purpose/How It Works: Teleport relocates the caster and chosen companions along a fully defined destination pattern rather than ordinary traveled route.
Notable Exceptions: Poor knowledge of the endpoint, active anti-transit wards, and unstable ley conditions make misarrival a real hazard.
Example Use: Archmages leave the burning citadel and arrive breathless in the tower they prepared months ago.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by destination anchors, ley alignment, and very high caster reserves or stored transit charge.
Casting Methods: Full relocation cast, 20 to 40 seconds. Prepared transit circle, 5 to 15 minutes.
Range/Duration: Self and companions. Local to continental depending on anchor quality. Instant.

Teleportation Circle

Purpose/How It Works: Teleportation Circle establishes a stable repeatable arrival and departure node between prepared sites.
Notable Exceptions: It is infrastructure, not improvisation. Once mapped, it becomes a major military and political asset.
Example Use: An empire keeps three cities linked despite mountains and winter sea.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by fixed geometry, anchor marks, stored charge, and the caster’s reserves or institutional power sources.
Casting Methods: Circle activation, 1 to 3 minutes. Permanent installation rite, several hours.
Range/Duration: Between prepared circles. Seconds for transit, permanent as infrastructure.

Arcane Gate

Purpose/How It Works: Arcane Gate opens a visible paired portal that remains stable long enough for many creatures or cargo loads to pass.
Notable Exceptions: It is highly visible, difficult to conceal, and disastrous if the anchor points shift mid-use.
Example Use: Defenders evacuate an entire infirmary through a gate cut into the chapel wall.
Typical Cost/Power Source: Usually fed by fixed geometry, anchor marks, stored charge, and the caster’s reserves or institutional power sources.
Casting Methods: Gate-casting, 20 to 40 seconds. Circle-linked release, 1 to 3 minutes.
Range/Duration: Two prepared or sighted anchor points. Seconds to minutes.