Spells in Poneren are a method by which the magician is capable of creating their own belief in what they want to happen. Spells may have multiple methods of achieving similar effects, depending on the aptitude of the magician and the beliefs they have toward the spell.
Casting Requirements
Core Requirements
Source
At its core, spells are the manifestation of a magician's belief, the imposition of their desires on the world.Cost
There is no mana or specific spell component requirements. There is generally a cost of some sort, and if it's not built into the core belief of the spell, it will come out as an unexpected side-effects.Aptitudes
While anyone can do anything, the core attributes and associated aptitudes define which ability are easier. For magical spells, aptitudes define which beliefs are easier to hold and thus which methods of spells are easiest to cast.Early (-107 - 95) Requirements
Between the Discovery of Magic and the writing of A Treatise on the Limitations of Magic, there were no bounds on magic as it was widely believed that anyone was capable of casting anything.I knew I needed to survive.. so I did.
Pre-Lexology (95 - 459) Requirements
The Treatise on the Limitations of Magic and propaganda spread by Emswort (and later Darter and Tiveley) because of the ideas in this document added additional restrictions to magical spells. During this time, the wide belief that there is a general supression of magic both increased the difficulty of magical spells without the appropriate governmental licenses or approval and made the practice of unlicensed magical spells significantly more rare. The outcome of this was that magic was still common, but significantly less than would have been without these ideas being spread.Lexology (459 - ) Requirements
The creation of Lexology tied magic to runes, first by law and later by belief. This added further restrictions on magic leading to only formally trained magician as the only people regularly capable of casting spells.Without structure, magic can be performed by anyone. If anyone can cast a spell, the worst magician will tear the system down. By adding structure, we can save magic and the world.Occasionally people's beliefs would be strong enough to get past the general belief of magic-by-runes, but this occurrance was rare.
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