Pyromancy

Pyromancy: Theory and Applications by Vintrinia Carnen (vol. 1) Foreword by Lilliana Be'letane

The following is a paper originally published in Arcane Quarterly by the esteemed Pyromancer Vintrinia Carnen. While it discusses the art of Pyromancy, this text forms the core understanding of Elementalism as a whole. The research behind it was and continues to be adapted by other Evokers for use in the fields of Aeromancy and Cryomancy as well as Pyromancers seeking to further their knowledge of the art.

Vintrinia's research was vital to our understanding of Elementalism, and I hold this paper in the very highest esteem. This first volume covers the core mechanics of Elemental theory, and the fundamentals of restructuring spells. The second volume concerns the more advanced techniques of overdrawing and innate elemental transmutations.

Pyromancy: Theory and Applications by Vintrinia Carnen (volume 1)

The Purpose of Pyromancy

While it may seem odd to start with something so fundamental, there are many misconceptions in the general magic wielding public regarding pyromancers and their goals. It is easiest, certainly, to consider only the outcome of their techniques: the complete dedication to fire to the exclusion of all other elements, and the increased sophistication of their evocations and conjurations that springs from this. The more fundamental reason is actually quite general, and provides an understanding of magic across all fields. Pyromancers seek to understand the very essence of a spell and to bend it to their wills, so as to change its defining characteristic.

Certainly every mageling that has struggled with their first cantrip understands the strict requirements of somatic and verbal components. The slightest gesture, the wrong tonality, a mispronounced word, a forgotten ending-- all of these will let spells fizzle and fall apart uselessly. The structure of a spell is exact and unchangeable: it exists so uniquely that another mage can identify it from the first words spoken, from the first gesture made. Against this iron backdrop of unchangeable forms, pyromancers allow for a more fluid, personal interpretation of the Art. This is what I would consider the true purpose and beauty of pyromancy: it is not just a matter of creating the fire, but the entire process and philosophy which allows you to create the fire in the first place.

Methods

The purpose, then, is to change the fundamental nature of an evocation or conjuration by altering its defining verbal component: the element that energy from the Vortex manifests itself as. With the background of the previous section, this can first seem to be an impossible task; indeed, it is nigh impossible to change the structure of a spell at will. What is more possible, though, is to discipline the mind so as to be able to say the Magya word for "fire" with the proper intonation so as to blend into any other spell. This is a subtle point, so let me make it again: a pyromancer teaches themselves to say "fire" so fluidly that it can fit into any spell.

But the manner in which this is accomplished reveals yet more about the fundamentally unchangeable structure of a spell. An anecdote to the introduce the point will be revealing. Unlike most pyromancers today, whose skills have been developed through years of dedicated study and vocalization, I was given the gift by what I can only assume to be Andrinor himself-- one moment I was not a pyromancer, and the next I was. The change was sudden, and I did not understand what had happened-- I continued to cast spells as I had before, but the pyromantic effects were obvious: Chain Fire and Fire Storm were the result when I attempted Chain Lightning and Ice Storm. Note, then, that I did not ever consciously change the words I was saying-- at first I had thought my magic was being filtered, as though with a substitution rod, but subsequent work with Magus Hartley revealed that in fact the Magya I was using was altered. I was unconscious of the change in the spell: part of me had been changed so as to change the spell, but another part of me respected the original structure.

All pyromancers cast spells as though they were unchanged. However, there is a part of their mind that is so used to the Magya for fire that it silently substitutes this word for any other element. This can be seen in the reception that others have for the spells: when a pyromancer casts a Fire Storm, everyone identifies it as an Ice Storm: the rest of the components of the spell still define it fundamentally as an Ice Storm, even if the most important characteristic has changed. Moreover, other mages still hear the word for ice, just as the casting mage will think they have said the word for ice-- only the most careful observation reveals the truth.

It is easy to find precedent for such selective hearing in mundane affairs: consider that most people can read a word misspelled in Common quite easily, or that a grammatically incorrect sentence can still be parsed without too much challenge. Mages work with Magya in a similar fashion, but because of the complexity of the language, are more prone to memorize and listen for groups of words instead of single words and letters. Given these sorts of limitations, then, it is clear why almost all other mages will never be able to see the differences between a pyromancer's and a normal mage's spells.