Dragàlim

Perhaps the most lasting contribution by the Council of Ildûn was the codifying of magic. To master anything, it must first be understood. Magic is no different. The Dekàli Draga Orkid was completed at the Council of Ildûn in 313 HK and ratified in the Eshádect of 440 HK. The Draga Orkid outlined twenty-five arts divided into Ways and Forms. The combination of Ways and Forms (dragàlim) could be used as formula for producing magic. This solved many problems, not the least of which was the ability to abandon hundreds of different proprietary methods that had been developed separately over the centuries. The Council of Lanàdus later adopted an identical taxonomy for channeled spells named the Eðràlim.

At first, the dragàlim did nothing to constrain magics, but acted instead as an awkward template imposed on an existing order. The Council of Ildûn later determined what the constructors of the Draga Orkid meant and was able to expand the meaning of Nyd points (rf. Vīsìktrū). By 483 HK the current Draga Orkid is believed to have been established at a grand meeting of the Council of Ildûn.

Determining the dragàlim of a spell or enchantment requires a separation of action and target. The action of a spell is defined by its primary “Way”. The target of a spell is defined by its “Forms”. There are nine Ways and sixteen Forms within the Draga Orkid:

If two Ways exist and one is Sorádra, the other is usually determined to be primary. The target of a spell is defined as its primary Form. This is either the Form in which the spell manifests itself, or that which the spell affects if the manifestation is unimportant or unknown. Example: A spell that spouts fire from the magician’s fingertips has two “Ways”. First, the fire (Phlogòstrū) is created (Krēádra) and then directed (Ildra) at an opponent. The direction (control) of the fire, although very significant to the poor victim, is a secondary effect to the creation of the blaze. Therefore the spell would be Krēádra (to create) Phlōgòstrū (fire). If the spell required a nearby fire source the spell would be ildra Phlogòstrū, as the form for the spell would already be present, obviating the need to create it.

In the example above the confusion stemmed from the fact that two Ways existed. It is also possible that two Forms may exist within a spell. When two Forms are present within a spell, the purpose of the spell becomes its target. Example: The spell Madkurð’s Eye enchants (Sorádra) an extracted eyeball (Vīsìktrū) with the power to find (Orádra) an object (Teréðrū). Two Ways exist, but because one is Sorádra, the other is used. Two Forms also exist based on the eyeball and the target object to be found. The eyeball, although important to the spell is only a component, so the target object is used for the spell’s Form. The type of object is unimportant so long as it is physical. This spell would therefore be defined as orádra Teréðrū.

Proper grammatical usage of Dragàlim requires the capitalization of Form, but not Way. Sub-types are appended with a hyphen and not capitalized (e.g., Krēádra-sūðûn, Orádra-vazàllor). When combined with Form, a spell (such as Borrowed Vision) might be defined as orádra-ka shurt Vīsìktrū-etèçra.

Note: When determining the prerequisites for a published spell, refer to MAGpp223-237. Once you’ve found the spell, look at the final column on the table, i.e., Prerequisite Count (PreC). The number in the column must be divided between Way and Form. The Form of a spell will be the larger of the two numbers (minimum 2). The Way of a spell must account for at least 50% of the Form. These values equal the amount of points a character must have spent in either Way or Form before she can learn the spell in question. Example: If the PreC is 5, the result would be Way 2, Form 3. If the PreC is 6, the result would be Way 2, Form 4. If the PreC is 7, the result would be Way 3, Form 4.