Vades, Triggers, & Tetherstones
Vade Mecums
This tome holds your unique spells...
Commonly known as vades, in Anacapia no two spell books are alike. While every family passes down heirloom spells, its expected for you to develop and write your own unique magic to add to your own book. That is, until recently. Anacapian schools no longer teach spell development or writing, and there are rumblings that soon only the government will be permitted to craft new magic… In the name of public safety of course.
But historically, everyone knew how to craft spells from scratch, which requires both the written word and a sort of magical chemistry. Conjuring up a brand-new spell takes a precise combination of a lengthy essay and a specialized ink carefully concocted from a unique blend of magical materials. That new magic can only be cast after it’s been written into your vade by a skilled wordsmith. Unfortunately, wordsmiths are a rarity now in Anacapia. And one that’s not controlled by the government is almost impossible to find...
Tetherstones & Anchorstones
This gem connects with your vade...
Tetherstones and anchorstones are two halves of the exact same stone. That’s an absolute necessity on order for your magic to work. Your anchorstone half is embedded into the cover of your vade, which bonds it to every spell written within the tome.
Your tetherstone must be worn in jewelry form, with at least one part of the stone itself or its metal setting in direct contact with your person in order to function properly. (Yes, you can technically still cast if there’s a barrier in between your skin and your tetherstone, but it won’t work nearly as well.)
Most people just wear their tetherstone in one main setting, but soldiers learned the hard way that a single tetherstone became an obvious vulnerability in battle. Now all soldiers are required to divide their tetherstones into multiple pieces to be worn in multiple places, so that it’s no longer easy to become disarmed. Luckily, even the tiniest tetherstone works well if properly worn.
Trigger Words
This word activates your magic...
“What’s the magic word?” There’s no easy answer to that question in Anacapia – because almost any word can become a magic word if it’s been assigned to be the trigger for a magic spell.
Easy words are fine for everyday spells, which is why many Anacapians just so happen to use the same words for common magical tasks, like cleaning, baking, or moving things. However, even if multiple people have assigned the word “scour” as the trigger for their scrubbing spell, the spell itself is absolutely unique to that person or family.
However Anacapians are much more proprietary about their most unusual spells, which is why they sometimes select trigger words that have nothing to do with the actual magic it performs. And when it comes to defensive or offensive spells, people search about for the most obscure words they can find (even concocting their own if existing ones aren’t quite right) – that way your opponent cannot guess what magic your trigger word might conjure.