On The Intricacies of Magic

        The first thing you should know about magic in Descent is that its power is not ours. Instead, it is lent to us by the Deep, the formless sea of godhood that slumbers at the center of Vall. The Deep is one of the Elder Kin, one of two major forces that seek dominion over the universe of which Descent is a tiny, infinitesimal part. I'll do a full write-up on them later, but you've already the seen the work of the Spire among the ranks of the Swarm. The Deep speaks in its sleep, in tongues that would crush the mind of even the most willful, if they heard them directly. Instead, the words, capable of bending and warping reality to the will of the caster, echo through dreams. This is not to say that everyone hears the words of the Deep in their sleep. Those who do, often known as Deep-touched, are just like any other Descentian, aside from a few differences in psychology. The Deep-touched are often sleep-deprived, for the dread murmurings of the Deep tend to wear away at one's sanity, the same way a river wears away at loose soil. Deep-touched individuals often report a feeling of being watched, as if something is just over their shoulder and reaching out a hand, but of course there is nothing there. It is almost completely random who becomes Deep-touched (Indeed, there is a parable among the Cult of the Rising Deep of a man who trains his entire life seeking to hear the Elder Speech, but gets nowhere. His best friend, however, becomes Deep-touched, and in a fit of jealous rage the man murders his closest companion. He barely has time to regret his decision before the Deep unmakes him.) However, those who have endured trauma of some kind are ever so slightly more likely to become Deep-touched.

    The words of the Deep are often too complex to speak aloud. This is, after all, the language of the closest thing there is to a god. These words, when spoken, warp and change reality as well as the mind of those who speak them, often with disastrous consequences. Whatever you say in the Elder Speech becomes true. You are not merely making sounds, but instead commanding reality itself. As such, you must be very specific. If you were creating a spell to make a sword light on fire, you would have to explain not only what a sword is (a sharpened length of steel) but what sharpness is, what steel is, and the exact dimensions of the sword, as well as the very concept of fire. It's like negotiating with a particularly dickish genie who works nights as a defense attorney. This process would take a very long time. It would take you hours of very careful and nonstop negotiation with the fundamental forces of the universe to light a candle. Luckily, spells can be written and still be effective. You could write down the minutiae of a spell and bind it to a single command word (ideally one you don't normally say, to prevent misfires) so that it could be cast in seconds, not days. However, since only Deep-touched can understand the language, this has created a market for spells imbued on objects by spellsmiths. Each spellsmith's work is different, a different medium. Some prefer wood or bone, some stone and metal, and some even give their clients magical tattoos. Regardless of the method, every spell only does one extremely specific thing. 

    Using a spell is a simple enough task, once you know what it does. If a spell renders you invisible, you simply speak the command phrase and poof, you're invisible. Sure, you get a bit of a migraine as the Elder Speech grinds away at your mind like a great mill upon so much wheat, but it's worth it for free invisibility, right? Well, not exactly. It's nowhere near free. The Elder Speech needs power to function, which is all well and good for the Deep and others of its kind, boundless wellsprings that they are. However, for the average person, the power needs to come from elsewhere. Typically, it siphons power from electricity, heat, light, and other forms of energy. If none of those are available, the caster will begin to feel unaccountably cold, then tired, then truly fatigued. If they do not stop casting the spell, or find another source of energy, they will be found dead, desperately clutching the talisman that betrayed them.