The Principles of Summoning, or simply the Principles, are a series of precepts practiced by Arcane Ethereants and, to a lesser extent, Spiritual (or Corsair) Ethereants, to summon magic.
If you’ve already read Components of a Spell and the short story Recipes, you are aware of the difference between a spell and a summoning. In brief, spells are essentially summonings with predetermined preparation and effects.
The Principles, on the other hand, can be applied to create a summoning independently. That is, there is no formula or “recipe,” citing the aforementioned article, but by applying the Principles, a new summoning can be created, on demand, with the effects desired by the summoner.
It’s worth noting that these Principles can be applied to all types of magic, summoning, spells, etc., as they break down the behavior of spells into, well, various principles.
The Principles are divided into two major groups: Manipulation Principles and Channelling Principles.
The first pertains to the ability to control the corresponding element for the Ethereant, or the capacity to control spiritual magic for Corsairs. In other words, manipulation of the type of magic, as we also mentioned in Components of a Spell.
On the other hand, Channeling has to do with mastery over the essence of that type of magic. In the previously cited article, we also defined Mastery, which is how one dominates a type of magic.
It is worth noting that in the case of Corsairs, they are less inclined to use magic for combat.
There is one principle classified under both Manipulation and Channelling, and that is the Principle of Manifestation. It is the most basic principle of all, as it involves manifesting the summoning or magic in the material plane. It answers the question: “Where” does the spell manifest?
Manipulation Principles
Principle of Direction: This is the ability to “throw” a summoning, i.e., to give it a specific direction. It is one of the most basic Principles and is one of the first to be learned after mastering Manifestation.
Principle of Retention: This involves the ability to hold or retain a summoning at a specific point or area.
Principle of Control: This principle allows Ethereants and Corsairs to “move” their summoning. If an Ethereant casts a fireball, for example, they can use Control to divert it and change its course.
Principle of Mastery: Mastery allows the summoner to manipulate elements or types of magic in their natural state. An Earth Ethereant can summon the element, but they also have dominion over the terrain, enabling them to cause seismic movements. A Water Ethereant can use a river to control its waters. This also applies to other types of magic; for example, Druids have mastery over nature.
Principles of Expansion and Contraction: Expansion and Contraction are principles that, depending on the school of thought, can be studied together or separately. These are also known as the Principle of Plasticity and other less popular names. Some even theorize that these aren’t principles in themselves, suggesting that expanding a spell simply manifests more magic (Manifestation Principle), and contracting a spell abjures part of it (Abjuration Principle, which we’ll see later).
Channeling Principles
Principle of Element (Ethereants), Principle of Spirit (Corsairs), or simply Principle of Magic Type: Following the logic of Components of a Spell, this principle determines what the summoning is made of.
Principle of Imbuing: Imbuing is to endow an object with the abilities or effects of the summoner’s type of magic. It’s closely related to Enchantment, and some argue that they are essentially the same. The case of spiritual imbuing done by Corsairs is interesting: they link objects (usually weapons) with the Corsair’s spirit. This makes these summoners excellent martial warriors, as they can perceive the weapons as extensions of their being.
Principle of Abjuration: This is the counterpart to Manifestation. When an Ethereant masters their element, they can return a summoning to the Plane of Enären. It’s mainly used as a defensive technique or to cancel or end one’s summoning. When a Corsair masters spiritual magic, they can send a summoning to the Plane of Eshïra.
Principle of Transmutation: This principle allows Ethereants to convert a summoning into the element they control. An experienced Ethereant can transmute an enemy’s summoning and then abjure it or even dominate it. It’s a defensive principle and one of the most difficult to use, as it would involve a battle of wills between two summoners to control the spell. It shouldn’t be confused with alchemical transmutation, despite sharing the name, as this Principle doesn’t allow for the transmutation of material things from the physical plane.
Forging Spells
By mastering all the Principles, summoners can literally do whatever they want with their powers.
I want to dedicate this final paragraph to analyzing the Ethereants’ ability to control their elements in all states of matter. I’ll share a specific entry about this topic soon, but for now, let’s use the element of water as an example, as it was the one that inspired me to include phase changes or state changes of elements in Harbinger of the Ancestors.
A Water Ethereant can control this element in all its states: liquid, solid (ice), and gaseous (steam). However, this also comes with a fundamental detail: temperature. While ice is cold, steam is at elevated temperatures, meaning that the Ethereant has, within their magical capabilities, the ability to regulate the temperature of their summonings.
This is directly related to Chaos and Order magic, which allows a summoner to manipulate physicochemical reactions and other types of energy.
Thus, it means that Ethereants can also utilize this type of magic in addition to their elemental and arcane abilities. This is widely theorized within our fictional universe.
Some consider that the phase change of elements is an additional Principle of Magic, one not previously considered; after all, the Principles are a way of interpreting the magical capabilities of summoners, and that interpretation is arbitrary, capable of changing over time.
Others believe that the power to change the state of matter of elements is simply a facet of the Principle of Element, or even the Principle of Manifestation.
Or perhaps they can indeed manipulate Chaos and Order magic, at least to some extent.
Regardless of the reason, what’s important is that this allows Ethereants to forge their spells at will, as few other orders and brotherhoods can.