#I was tempted to use art of viktor from arcane but I couldn't find any good screenshots

[sevenish-spheres]

Astromancy in the Seven Spheres

Image Source- Wawtman on Tumblr

Overview

The most common form of magic cast by humans and other mortals. Astromancy is broadly split into two groups, although both use the same sources for their arcane might. They draw their raw power and the structure of their spells from the stars, with different constellations providing different spells. However, on its own this is not enough to cast, as the spell requires a spark to start the process. For this, most astromancers use miniscule fragments of their soul (which will naturally repair itself over time due to the celestial energy it is bombarded with). These soul fragments, sometimes known as ‘mana’ or ‘essence’ by casters, are carried through the blood, and for this reason all astromancers sport several unusual traits related to this. Astromantic spells tend to be more complex than the spells of other forms of caster, often even including variables and loops among their rune networks. Astromantic spells tend to focus on light-based magics such as lasers or shields, although it frequently also incorporates elemental disciplines. Alongside this, Astromancy tends to have a larger focus on utility in its spells, and as such also often includes telekinesis and spells used for animating magical circuitry.

Features of Astromancy

All astromancers possess ‘mages marks’, tattoos or more commonly scars that take the form of an elaborate series of rings and constellations engraved directly onto the skin above the heart, and in lines that lead to the fingers, mouth, feet and commonly eyes. The heart runes serve to draw celestial magic into the body, and the ley-line runes help guide it through the blood to the hands or mouth, where the spell is cast. Many spellcasters also sport copper or gold needles which have been hammered into and around these runes to enhance their conductive power, and some especially powerful mages of the past were said to have possessed powerful golden runes branded into their skin, affording them great power. 

Limitations

Because a mage’s heart rune references certain constellations, moving from one planet to another causes such constellation spells to become unreliable or completely unusable. For this reason most mages possess knowledge of so-called ‘calibration runes’, temporary runes generally painted onto a mage's chest rather than scarred in, and which effectively offset the mage’s position so that the magic is drawn in correctly. Furthermore, due to mages requiring their own blood to fuel their magic, most mages are limited by how much blood they can use for casting without dropping dead, and by how much pain they can stomach, as continuous casting produces effects ranging from pins and needles to heart-attack-like symptoms. Finally, mage’s marks provide an immediate way of identifying mages at close range, making them far easier to target both by prejudiced mobs and experienced hunters. For this reason, it is not uncommon for mages in regular social settings to conceal their facial and hand mage marks with cosmetics, although when casting these runes will still glow faintly.

There are two broad kinds of astromancers, which are detailed below.

Tome Mages

Also known as smoothskin mages or artefact mages, Tome mages channel their spells through a book or other artefact such as a staff that has been engraved with such spells. In these cases, the artefacts are anointed with leyline runes made from the casters own blood, which are designed to interface with the ones on their hand. For this reason, a Tome mage’s spellbook is only usable by them, although most mages are capable of fairly easily ‘re-programming’ a book should it be necessary. Other Tome mages may not use a tome, preferring a staff, wand or astrolabe. In these cases, the spell runes are carved into the surface rather than written in blood. Whilst tome mages are powerful, and are able to keep many more spells than their skin mage counterparts, if their spellbook or staff is stolen they’re effectively powerless, and they’re also limited by how many spells they can remember without having to flick through their book, meaning they’re often slower to cast than other mage types. However, Tome mages are far more versatile than most, as they can easily combine and modify spells within their book, allowing them to produce truly deadly multi-stage spells.

Skin Mages

Known as tatterskin mages or blood mages, Skin mages avoid the problem of a potentially stealable spellbook or artefact by directly engraving their spells into their flesh. This means that most Skin mages possess many more Mage’s Marks than their Tome counterparts, as each mark is a direct spell for a skin mage. Because of their method of casting, skin mages are limited in the complexity of their spells, as their skin only has so much room, but they can cast near instantly. This causes skin mages to be far more commonly found as lower-level soldiers, but due to their far higher rate of blood loss, they often cannot keep up with the casting stamina of a tome mage. Skin mages spells, known as cantrips, generally produce simpler effects than tome mages, but as the Skin Mage’s control on the spell is instinctual, they have much greater levels of control over the power and manifestation of their spells.

Most astromancers are some combination of the two above types, with many possessing both artefacts and a few cantrips.

Common Items

Aside from their casting artefacts, many astromancer possess numerous bizarre items to assist in casting. A few are listed below.

Blood Vials- These are small vials of the caster’s own blood which they can either inject back into themselves or use to form more complicated runic circles if necessary.

Crimson Ink- a form of ink used by mages in their spellbooks for writing spells. Made from the caster’s blood mixed with ink. Has a dark red colour, and is generally regarded as a better method of writing than pure blood.

Candles- Many mages often surround themselves with candles, which they use both to measure time, to slowly dispense certain plant fragrances known to repel fiends and the like, and most infamously, crimson candles. These large candles are often found throughout wherever mages cast spells regularly, with many even wearing smaller candles on hats or shoulder pads. Crimson candles are candles mixed with the casters blood which, as they burn, provide slow release of mana back into the caster, allowing them to slowly regenerate their mana reserves.

Magus Robes- Often coloured red, Magus robes are cloaks or robes that have gold or copper thread sewn into them to form runes. These runes are, as is typical, anointed with the owner’s blood, and often produce certain contingency spells if a given condition is met, such as teleporting the caster to a safe location if they fall unconscious, or shielding the cast from certain kinds of magic. Stereotypes of casters wearing robes with constellation designs likely originated from this.

Sanguine Homunculi- Used only by powerful mages, sanguine homunculi are small, artificial beings created through various arcane rituals, with the main consistent step being the injection of the user’s blood into the growing homunculus. This causes the homunculus to produce the same blood, allowing the caster an infinite supply of their own blood. However, sanguine homunculi are tiny, sickly creatures, barely able to speak or move, and are permanently confined to floating bottles attached to their caster by a thin hollow tube which pumps blood into the caster as it is expended. However, homunculi can be risky, as the direct link between the homunculus and caster can cause deadly magical backlash if the homunculus is slain, and for this reason Astromancers keep their homunculi heavily warded when going into battle.