The Shining Wyrm

6.ii

All workings of mortal sorcery have in their foundations the fundamental aspect of the word.

My colleagues and peers will pontificate that the calling of Wizardry is a deeper and more primal form of communion with the matters of sorcerous workings than mere words but I refute all who claim such as the bluster of braggarts.

It is an act of oafish snobbery to believe that mere vocal utterance in the tongues of man or beast is the same thing as a word.

Though it may not be spoken or even thought in terms of speech, even among the most far gone and distant of Weird the nature of a working is still as such a communication.

And in this it is a universal foundation of all sorcery as practiced by mortals (the workings of the starborn is another thing entirely and older and wiser men then I have found nothing but madness staring too deeply into the sorcery of stars).

As simple minor practitioners, god botherers and Wizards yet young to their primal insight or entrenched entirely within their Truth we all of us work with the world in the manner of a kind of speech.

When I bring forth flame it is only by my deep familiarity and practice in the depths of my Truth that it happens in a seeming instant gesture.

But I am ultimately calling to the depths of the inner world and saying in the manner it will know my intent what it is that shall transpire.

As is my Truth my word is then struck as letters onto the script of the world. And in the case of fire that word is burn.

For the god botherer I have witnessed their calling of miracles and I am confident in stating plainly that it is an act of mortal sorcery (despite what some claim).

Of this act the so called divine casters perform a call to the stars or their collection of enticed entourage of gods. They will then again speak their word as prayer and in doing compel or plea that a contract be struck that moment or a prior earned promise fulfilled and then by a divine heavenly magic will the bequeathed god bring spark and flame (or total and worthless immolation, do not trust a young and proud god botherer to accomplish anything in a controlled manner).

And for the simple minor practitioners, who muddle through the hardest of any user of sorcery, the managing of many intricate and difficult means might yet be required for the simple expedient of fire.

They might gather the sticks and tinder and then make of them a cairn like pile and perform a ritual of spun wooden wand within, or concoct together with ash and the spittle of a fire serpent a fluid which leaps into a heat on touch with wood, or they might have the correct stones to crack together for a spark carefully gathered and the proper striking angle mastered.

Or maybe they might even know a fragment of a fragment of a Truth learned either from a Wizard or passed on by tradition or book and so be able to utter in a mangled way some of the piece of a word.

But in all cases the fundamental aspect in all mortal Sorcery is the forming of a word or more.

Imparting it to be spoken by actual throat or whatever manner is needed to reach the world itself or the agents of stars.

And by this spell forth the change desired upon creation.

The tricky part after that is making sure that once the word is heard that anything of use is done about it.

And it is in this that a separation exists for the Wizard and even further those deep in our Truths to have earned the mantle of Weirds.

We have learned how to be convincing in our words.

-On the Workings of Sorcery by Lord Sorcerer Urul The Written Weird.