Spells are quick but powerful applications of magic, where a mage uses a specific set of incantations and spell foci while expelling Mana in order to produce a magical effect.
All mages automatically learn the General Spells when they take the Arcanist or Mystic abilities.
When you first take the Arcanist or Mystic abilities, you learn your choice of two spells. The Adept ability lets you learn two additional spells, and can be taken repeatedly until you have learned all of the spells available to you or run out of CP. Whenever you learn new spells, you can choose them from the list available to you based on the ability you took to become a mage, as follows:
You must know a Spell in order to cast it, whether you gain this knowledge through an Ability or via an item or ritual that grants it to you.
To cast a spell, you must spend either 3 or 30 seconds performing an incantation, at which point you make whichever of the Calls the spell requires or simply say the spell’s name loudly so that people nearby can tell what you’re doing. The incantation can be anything that fills up the time required to cast the spell — a song, a prayer, a recitation of a poem, repeating the names of specific Runes, etc. We recommend choosing one of the Magical Traditions and using that to shape how you cast your spells. Using physical props such as runestones (or whatever is appropriate to your Magical Tradition) to help you cast your spells is encouraged, but not required.
Once you have finished your incantation, you have 10 seconds to make the Call associated with your spell; if you can’t land the necessary hit or touch your intended target in that time, the spell dissipates and you must begin your incantation to cast it again. You do not expend any resources (Mana or otherwise) on a spell when it dissipates in this way, only when you make the Call associated with the spell.