The Exam: A Legend of the Artificer Side Story

Chapter 4

Tibalt wasn't sure if he should be offended or not. A lot of these questions were criminally easy, and he wasn't sure if this was an actual test or them just throwing a random bundle of papers at him and hoping it was enough to run him off, because the ones that weren't criminally easy were virtually incomprehensible. This wasn't an open book test, either, so he couldn't bring in Teacher. He was of the opinion that tests that weren't open book were stupid, personally. People couldn't memorize everything, so it was better to ingrain the habit of finding the needed information and how to do so. It was more of a practical application of skills in his opinion.

But some of these questions... the description of how to do processes, now that was a lot.

Describe the proper method of building a single spell.

Tibalt stared at this question for a long time. He was actually unaware of the proper method. Was there supposed to be one? Well, the only thing to do was describe his own process.

First, I determine the intent of my spell to build the outward holding circle. From there, I figure out my primary building blocks for the mechanical side, and then the connective runes and what point they meet the outward circle. After I've figured out which runes I'll need for the spell, I figure out the geometry and what shape would be optimal for my connective runes to function properly.

That seemed about right to him. He couldn't actually recall the proper way of doing it. There was a method, he was sure, but he had sort of glazed over that portion and just gotten right into the nitty gritty of making charms and figured out through trial and error which method worked best for him. A bit like solving a sudoku puzzle, honestly.

Describe what is necessary for any spell.

Okay, that one was easy. There was absolutely no way he could fuck this question up.

The first thing a spell needs is intent, which is what you want the effect to be. Such as, if you are casting fireball, you need the runes for fire and circle. In this case, the intent would be the shape and the content. However, if you cast just fire and circle, you will have fire that is a circle, but it will not move. That is where mechanics come in. Mechanics are how the spell works and operates. So, to cast fireball, you need fire, circle, and then speed and direction. If casting straight forward, you would do forward. If casting at a curve, you would do forward and right. If casting behind, you would do back.

Concerning charms and enchantments, you need one additional piece: connection. In order to properly create a charm, you need the intent, mechanics, and connection. A normal spell is typically just one line of runes that appears in the air for a single use. Charms and enchantments are put onto physical items and are designed to last, and the most important thing to keep the magic from dissipating is strong connective runes, or runes that overlap between intent and mechanics. If there was a real world equivalent, they would be nails or adhesive.

Connective runes determine the geometry of a charm. The less symmetrical a charm is, the less effective it is, so it's important to correctly balance the connective runes in terms of spacing. The more there are, the more difficult it is to properly balance the spell.

There. That question was answered. His eyes scanned down the page to the next one and he paused, his nose crinkling up in confusion.

Explain why time is not possible to complete with artificing.

... What?

Time magic is possible with artificing. You just need to use moving parts, like the cogs of a pocket watch. This question is nonsensical.