Basic Spells of Druidism
Penned in 1253 by Flax Egojur
Foreword: Guide to Reading
In the following chapters, the basic spells of druidism will be named and given a brief explanation along with what element or plane it aligns with. Following the list of spells will be an explanation on things such as the octostar and details on each element and what it represents in spellcasting. At the end of the book will be a list of further readings that may be provided to you once you complete your secondary training and become a full member of one of the Clonmeath circles.
Chapter 1: Cantrips
Druidcraft
This is a catch all term for many of the most basic spells you may cast as a druid. Spell effects range from minor plant growth to weather forecasts to creating flurries of leaves to snuffing candles. Because the effects of this cantrip is so widespread, its source can be any number of elements as well as fey.
Guidance
This cantrip gives a person preternatural skill for a very short period of time. It uses all four secondary elements to create the effect.
Mending
With this cantrip you may repair reasonably sized imperfections or breaks in an object. It uses the formative elements of Earth, Mud, or Ice to aid in the process.
Poison Spray
You create a deadly puff of poisonous gas when you cast this cantrip. Depending on the druid's interpretation of poison, it can use a mixture of Air and Mud or use the Fey to create the effect.
Produce Flame
You form a small ball of fire in your hand which emits light for a short distance. It can also be thrown at an enemy. Obviously, this is created by interacting with the element of Fire.
Resistance
Much like guidance, you give a person supernatural ability for a short period of time, this time it affects their aptitude for dodging, deflecting, or resisting harmful effects. Like its sister spell, it also uses the four secondary elements.
Shillelagh
You bless a stick or piece of wood with a spirit of nature to strengthen its potential as a weapon. This cantrip requires a strong connection to the Fey to use and is possibly the most difficult cantrip for a beginner to master because of it.
Chapter 2: 1st Level Spells
Though the idea of spells having "levels" is an archaic idea of skill, it is nevertheless still useful as a tool for classification.
Animal Friendship
You attempt to endear a beast to you using magic. The beast must be of simple mind and it is not guaranteed that the beast will succumb to the spells charm effect. It relies on the power of an animalistic Fey to use.
Charm Person
Much like the previous spell but with people. However it does not matter if they are smart or simple. Strangely, the determining factor for if the spell works on them or not is if they can be regarded as having the ability to create art and communal areas. The mental elements of Ice, Air, and Lightning are used to cast this spell.
Create or Destroy Water
You create a small amount of water or a light rain with this spell. This spell requires you to beseech a Water elemental to complete the spell or no water will appear.
Cure Wounds
A healing spell that requires compassion for others and the help of an elemental to cast. The element used to heal the wounds depends on the druid, but most often it is one of the primary elements.
Detect Magic
A spell that shows you magic lingering on objects. It uses the elements of Air and Earth to cast. If you spend the time to contact and compliment the strength of an elemental, they will often use their own energy to create the effect in thanks for your praise.
Detect Poison and Disease
A spell that tells you what it does in its name, but also tells you what ails them, if it has a name. You can sense the source of the maladies through stone, wood, or other barriers, though the penetrating strength of this spell differs based on material. It uses Lightning and Ice to produce this effect. If one meditates on the nature of poison and disease while mentally connected to a being of these elements they will use their power to cover the energy cost of the spell.
Entangle
This spell will cause weeds or vines to reach up from the ground and stop someone from moving. If plants are naturally in the area then you just need to access the power of Earth and Fey, but if not, a Fey creature must also be asked to assist you.
Faerie Fire
When cast this spell will surround a person with harmless flames, making them easier to see even if they are invisible. It uses the Fire element to create its effect though some druids use a mixture of Air and Lightning.
Fog Cloud
A spell that creates a thick cloud of fog in an area. It requires the assistance of a Water elemental to cast unless the area is extremely humid or there is a body of water directly below the spot where the fog is created.
Goodberry
You summon a number of berries from the Fey that provide nourishment for a day. Summoning the berries requires contacting a Fey, who will trade them for a sprig of mistletoe, holly, or ghost thistle.
Healing Word
You say a word of power, whispered to you from an elemental that you contact to cast the spell. The contact is very brief and requires little concentration to perform. Like cure wounds, any element can be used to perform the spell, though the primary elements offer the words most readily and are often easiest to pronounce.
Jump
You jump much higher and longer than usual. The element of Air is accessed when you cast this spell.
Purify Food and Drink
You cleanse food and liquid into potable forms if they are able to become edible. Poison is nullified and impurities destroyed. Water is the element most frequently used to perform this spell though some have used Fire instead. Spending a longer time concentrating on purity will reduce the amount of energy required to cast the spell drastically.
Speak with Animals
You may speak with animals for a short time after casting this spell. Contact with a bestial Fey creature as well as using the element of Air is required to use this spell. If you try and start a dialogue with the Fey you have contacted, it may cast the spell for you so it understand you better while you communicate.
Thunderwave
You create a blast of sound that blasts things away from you. It uses the elements of Lightning and Air to form the spell correctly.
Chapter 3: 2nd Level Spells
These spells have been given a higher skill requirement thanks to the larger amount of energy required to cast them. For some spells, the difficulty relies less on how much energy is required to cast them and more on how much focus or charisma is needed to contact the elemental or Fey in question.
Animal Messenger
You send a message to someone via a small creature. Technically, you tell a Fey the message and they tell the creature, but the effect is the same. Similarly to Speak with Animals from chapter 2, you must contact a Fey creature while holding the element of Air firmly in your mind to cast this spell. You may pour energy connecting to the element of Air to make your message understood quickly, or you may spend time repeating your message to the Fey until they can reliably convey it to the animal in order to preserve your casting potential.
Barkskin
You harden your skin, trading its beauty for protection for a time. It uses the elements of Ice and Earth to create this effect.
Darkvision
You enhance your senses magically so that you can see in the dark for a while. Druids can choose to use Ice, Lightning or the Fey to get this power.
Enhance Ability
A stronger form of the Guidance and Resistance spells from chapter 1. One must contact an elemental from one of the secondary elemental planes and trade the leather or feather of an animal for their assistance. The type of elemental you need to contact depends on what effect you wish to create.
Find Traps
You sense any harmful, unthinking thing that was created with the intent to injure or alarm. You use the opposing elements of Ice and Magma to cast this spell.
Flame Blade
A spell that summons a sword of fire into your hand. It uses the element of Fire, sometimes supported with Air, to create it. Those with good relations with a Fire elemental generally have an easier time casting this spell though no elemental interaction is technically required to cast it.
Flaming Sphere
This spell summons a minor Fire elemental to the material plane that emits dangerous levels of heat. The Fire elemental can be coerced into the material plane with a few minor reagents, or with a previous relationship.
Gust of Wind
A gust of wind is generated in the space around you in a long line, pushing those in its path away and blowing any mist or smoke from the area. It uses the element of Air to produce the effect.
Heat Metal
You make a metal item nearby turn red with heat, burning anything touching it. Contact with a Magma elemental is required and you must hold onto the element of Aarth for the duration of the spell.
Hold Person
You cause an Air or Electric elemental to trick a person into thinking they can not move. Air elementals are usually more amicable to doing this, but many druids find that taking the time to find an Electric elemental willing to assist them makes the spell more reliable.
Lesser Restoration
You heal an affliction or disease by touching someone stricken with a malady. You must use the Mud, Earth, and Magma elements, the triad of the body, to perform this spell.
Locate Animals or Plants
You are able to track a type of animal or plant within a certain area. Air is used in this spell when done quickly, but if one has the time they may also concentrate on Ice and Lightning to reduce the amount of energy expended.
Locate Object
By concentrating on the mental image or description of an object you are able to sense its location within a small area. You must have seen the object before for the spell to function correctly, as you must communicate its features to an Ice or Air elemental so that the may search for it. Masters of this spell have befriended several elementals for the very purpose of quickly finding objects as a group.
Moonbeam
A spectral beam of moonlight appears in a focused area near to you and damages all inside and reverts all shape changers into their natural form. You must request the aid of an Ice elemental to perform this spell, and to keep the effect from fading you must paradoxically focus on the element of Fire.
Pass Without Trace
Shadowy forms emanate from you and assist you in staying hidden from others. Strength from a Fey is used to create this effect, though they may ask for some small material component in exchange.
Protection from Poison
You protect yourself or others from the effects of poison. Elements of Water, Fire, and sometimes Mud are used to cast the spell.
Spike Growth
Create a camouflaged field of spikes that harm those who cross it. You must request the help from a Fey creature to grow the spikes, but once created you can use your own energy to keep the spell going without much effort.
Chapter 4: Basics of the Octostar and the Elements
The octostar (shown on the front cover of this book) is a representation of the locations of the elemental planes and the Fey in relation to one another. The Fey is at the center of the star, and is the plane closest to our home, the material plane. Then there are the four elements in the Primary Star: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water, starting from the northern point and going clockwise. These elements are easier to contact and are generally more powerful. The Secondary Star holds the four minor elements of Ice, Lightning, Magma, and Mud, starting from the north western point and again moving clockwise. These elements are made up of combinations of the primary elements and are harder to contact because of their increased distance. The octostar is used by the elementals themselves when referring to their locations in the planes, and they often recognize high ranking druids by their octostar pendants. With that explained, let us move on to defining what each element is and what it is used for. We will start with Air and move clockwise until we reach Ice, then we will move on the Fey (which is not an element, but must still be covered).
Air
Air represents Freedom, Movement, Speech, and Travel. The plane of air has been named Aurius by its denizens, and is made up of clouds, blue skies, and whirlwinds. According to its inhabitants they do not have ground or a dedicated lightsource, it simply is an open space where they roam free. Air elementals are easy to contact, agreeable, and carefree but when angered they become just as much of a force to be reckoned with as any other elemental.
Lightning
Lightning represents Speed, Decisiveness, Light, Sight, and Sound. It is the element with the most nuance and symbolizes more things than all but the element of Ice. The plane of Lightning is formed at the borders Aurius and Ignus and is called Galvarus. Galvarus has intense ash storms made by the high winds from Aurius and the intense heat of Ignus which create huge electric charges that arc throughout the groundless skies there. Elementals from this plane are hard to communicate with but when they decide to talk with you they will almost always agree to work with you unless you do something surprising.
Fire
Fire represents Consumption, Purity, Light, and Heat. Its plane is named Incinerus and holds the most powerful elementals of the eight planes. Constantly burning, its air is choked with smoke and ash which billow endlessly into the dark red skies. Fire elementals tend to be fairly playful and have one track minds. Most interactions with them require some type of sacrifice for them to burn, but it is usually simply some type of leaf or common metal.
Magma
Magma represents Sloth, Unflappability, Courage, and Sureness. The plane intersects the fire plane of Ignus and the earth plane of Terrus and is named Scorus. The plane is home to constant upheaval in the form of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Traversal is near impossible as above land is covered impassable terrain and underground is full of magma pockets and massive chasms and drop-offs. Elementals of this plane are slow to act but once they do they do so in force. Scorans take no half measures and in the few events when they had to fight for territory they arrived with overwhelming force. Only Ignus has the numbers to defend against them in a one on one fight, though thankfully the elementals rarely leave their home plane anymore.
Earth
Earth represents Unmovability, Strength, Gravity, and Finality. Their plane is named Elieus and is regarded by many other elementals as the most peaceful and picturesque element. There is little movement in comparison to Scorus, and it is much prettier than the Mud plane of Thressus. It has rolling fields, stoic mountain ranges, and caves filled with rare gem deposits and metals. Its inhabitants grow to be enormous but are low in number. Earth elementals are gentle but strong, and an almost unstoppable combatant when angered. In a fight they will try to win with attrition over outright violence, outlasting their enemy instead of outfighting them.
Mud
Mud represents Sloth, Lack of Thought, and Impurity. The plane of Mud is called Thressus and it borders Terrus and Aquus. The plane itself is razor thin, as its two neighbors dislike the elementals there and have attempted to limit their power over millennia, though it is impossible to snuff them out completely. This element has the most negative connotations of the elements and with good reason. Its inhabitants are unruly, have a hatred for cleanliness, and never want to do anything for others. Getting a mud elemental to do something for you is nearly impossible, which has led to most spells relying on the element lacking an elemental assistant or patron.
Water
Water represents Purity, Renewal, Mercuriality, and Grace. Its plane is known as Aquus and is made up of oceans and rivers. The locations of these rivers and oceans shift all the time, as do the landmasses that help shape them. Elementals from Aquus are usually helpful if aloof, and enjoy aiding sick mortals. Like air, they are easiest to contact so newer druids often train with them.
Ice
Ice represents Sensibility, Formation, Time, Sight, and Cold. The plane of Ice is the intersection of Aurius and Aquus, and has been named Glacius by its inhabitants. Glacius is cold and full of snowstorms. The ice shelves and glaciers give the plane a sense of bleakness, but the elementals find the beauty in it and dislike leaving. The elementals themselves usually appear to be ice formations similar to snowflakes and glisten in the light. They are not as simple to talk to as their neighbors are but with training they can be reliable allies. They often help with matters of divination though they refuse to tell how they acquire the knowledge they have.
Fey
The Fey has no simple categorization for what it represents, but one could say it Represents Life and Chaos. It is also a divine domain and not just an elemental plane, so contacting it feels different to the others. Fey spirits and creatures take on many more forms and have a large variety of personalities. They also use the eight surrounding elemental planes to help their own thrive. The intersections of these planes allow them to draw power from them, and so the plane can support a large amount of life even when the gods are not supplying it to the plane themselves.
Conclusion and Recommendations
There is much more to learn about how druids function and how we interact with elementals and Fey, but they are out of the scope of this book. Hopefully this short guide has given you insight on how elementals drive most of our spells and that our idea of nature is oftentimes a smudged reflection in a mirror of different dimensions. If one wishes to learn more, I would recommend seeking out The Octostar's Influence on Druid Culture, How to Contact Elemental Forces, A Study of the Fey and its Effects on Material Magic, and lastly Advanced Spells and Techniques for Druidkind.
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