Spellsong

Memories never fade/great deeds that came to pass/ though heroes have decayed/their words will surely last - Charlotte bint Malik, troubadour

When an act of magic is done, it leaves an echo.

The greater the story, the more epic the event, the deeper an impression it leaves in the Empyrean Realm. When a performer composes a spellsong, or choreographs a dance to one, they retell in artistic form the tale of that event. And in reenacting it, they draw its power back into the present day.
Spellsongs evoke historical or mythic events when cast. Many common folk; woodsmen, rangers, and travelers learn verses or ballads, and minstrels and bards collect spellsongs as the crown jewels of the performing repertoire. Where a wizard might cast a spell of seeming or a spell of speed, a bard's spellsong will recount the famed Deception of the Fox Courtesan, or the Night Ride of Njal Swiftfoot. The spells of that famous enchantress or that heroic spellsword return with each performance, letting the musician tap into that powerful magic.

Some spellsongs are powerful epics that tell the full story of their origin. Others are mere doggerel, a whistled tune from a peasant who scarcely knows the history of their magic. Naturally, a more complicated song with more difficult instrumentation can harness a spell echo more efficiently, like a classic bard with song and mandolin. Though, simply whistling a spellsong with intent still holds power. Like most magics, a sorcerer can bind them into objects, creating magic bells carved with images of the spell story they echo or weaving the echo into lute strings made from siren guts or the hair of la llorona. Spellsong instruments are popular sorcerous implements, being more user friendly than wands or talismans.

Because a spellsong is a repetition of an event, it can form around a stronger spell, or a particularly potent mundane feat. Many spellsongs are based on the actions of great wizards or animists, and so draw their magical power in a similar way to the original spell. A spellsong based on the Siege of Thasos by Antaeus the Great is no less powerful than one based on Emperor Yandi's Firestorm, even if the latter is more wizardly. In practice, this means some spellsongs are easier for spellcasters already schooled in other traditions, but a mage who is a bard first and foremost will not differentiate.

Spellsongs require an aetheric force behind them to make them work. A singer or musician who rehearses the song or hums it to themselves idly will feel the occult weight of the song but little else. If the performer is filled with aether, it will shape itself as the melody or dance resolves itself. Spellsongs lend themselves the best to collective castings. Wizards and witches might set spells to verse to better facilitate casting as a circle or coven. Commoners without enough experience to cast a spell on their own might form choirs, led by an experienced bard, to cast spellsongs as an ensemble.