Wortcunning

Outsiders would have everyone believe that they are the only source of arcane power in this world, and although they are unimaginably old and offer great potentiality, there are things older and more powerful still— though many of these ancient forces are sleeping or dead. The common folk call those who practice these mostly lost and forgotten rites wise people, and their practice wortcunning. Theurges, meanwhile, call this art “hedge magic” and look down upon its practitioners with scorn. It is true that these magics are more difficult to perform, are less ostentatious than most Vitiations, and are sometimes unreliable. Nevertheless, they can be effective. Outsiders (especially the Court of Ignorance) denigrate most vociferously anyone practicing these magics and actively seek to have this knowledge destroyed or erased.

Wortcunning magics are more in line with what most people consider when they use the term “spell.” They involve speaking and repeating chants and mantras that are petitions to the old gods or to powers of the natural world that are truly ancient. In addition, they often have difficult-to-obtain material components and a lengthy, yet necessary, time of preparation.

Learning Spells

To learn a Wortcunning Spell, a Blackbird must spend a significant amount of time practicing the proper pronunciations and foci of concentration to bring about its effects. Such Wortcunning Spells are typically taught by someone else who knows the Wortcunning Spell. It is exceedingly rare to find any of these magics in a written form outside of certain institutes of higher learning. Assume that one teacher can instruct one student at a time, and that this instruction takes at least a month, or the amount of time that passes between Weavings, depending upon Fateweaver ruling. An (Arduous –30%) Wortcunning test must be made for them. If it succeeds, the character may learn the Wortcunning Spell; if it fails, they may try again by repeating the process.

Casting Spells

Unless otherwise outlined in the descriptions below, once enacted, a Wortcunning test is made for the caster to successfully perform the Wortcunning Spell. If the caster is interrupted during the casting of a Wortcunning Spell, the process must be started again from the beginning. The Degree of Success is based on [IB].

The Wortcunning test is modified based on the amount of Tithe the caster has acquired (if they are someone who can accumulate Tithe). For each 10 Tithe accumulated, the roll is modified by –10. So a caster with a Tithe of 9 would have no modification, but one with 10 Tithe would gain –10.

Remember, as per the Multiple Effects at Once rule, no individual may be under the influence of more than one Wortcunning Spell at the same time that has a duration longer than instantaneous. In addition, an individual may not be the recipient of a Wortcunning Spell if they are already under the influence of a Vitiation or Outsider Technique that requires them to be a willing recipient, unless that Wortcunning Spell has an instantaneous duration.

Spell List

• Circle of Cast: The caster creates a circle with iron filings while praying to Hyperion; undead may not cross the boundaries of this ring.
• Dusking: The caster shares bread and passes into slumber near their companions while thinking of the deeds they have done together. During the night, all share a dream that gives them advantages in the trials ahead.
• Harmonies of the Od: The caster invokes Yggdrasil with a litany of supplication and then strikes a silver tuning fork to discover if anything in their vicinity is connected to the Od.
• Hyperion's Curse: The caster spends the night awake, chanting over a weapon and petitioning the ancient hero Hyperion while marking it with their blood. The next day, until the sun sets, the weapon is able to harm creatures that are hurt only by magic.
• Invocation of Corvus: The caster marks the subject’s naked skin with the ancient symbols of the god of death and offers themself to him, becoming invisible to magic, magical beasts, and effects.
• Pelt-Bind: The caster binds a comrade’s wounds with medicinal plants and the blood of a fresh kill while chanting prayers to Mother Wolf either to stop the bleeding or to offer healing.
• Praenomen Mort Deus: The caster speaks the ancient names of the dead gods and invokes their protection and power. Many old and crumbling ruins have hidden places or unopenable portals that may be traversed only by speaking these names. Supernatural creatures are more inclined toward one who knows these lost denotations and sounds them properly.
• Sere Roses: The caster plants a rose bush and enchants it so that its fragrance draws the risen dead like a moth to flame.
• Sight of the Norns: The caster tries to divine what the future holds by seeking the knowledge and wisdom of the Norns.
• The Sealing of Ouroboros: The caster cuts the secret Symbol of Ouroboros into the back of the recipient’s neck and speaks its ancient name. Thereafter, the bearer is protected from possession by magic or Outsiders until the sun sets and rises again.
• Psalms of the Old Gods: The caster chants together with others to calm and heal the target’s mind and center them.