10th Level Spells
With disbelieving eyes, I saw the spellcaster glow with power, unlike any I had seen before, hands stretching the very fabric of the world until it was rent asunder, an open portal to gods-only-knew where, maintained with crackling power from their very touch…
- Commander Kiela Firgrave, Attestations of the Incident at Blackrock (1903)
Although the world of Ariel is rich with magic, there are legends that speak of magic more powerful still. Certainly, ruins from times before the Tear, a mysterious catastrophe that devastated the world Before, hold magical relics and treasures that cannot be replicated using modern magics and resources, and seem to regard as mere trifles what would now take a king’s ransom in magical supplies to create.
With most contemporary magic understood to rise in nine broad levels of complexity and required energy, it is theorized that there may exist ‘tenth circle’ spells as well. If such spells do exist, then they are dangerous and complex, for many who seek them die, or have their minds and bodies destroyed by magic that they can neither contain nor control.
There is evidence of those who have reached beyond what may be readily grasped – but few who have done so are in any place to answer questions.
Divine Avatars
For some, the search for ever more mystical power is one of faith; these ‘tenth circle’ priests have so thoroughly invested their very beings into their adamant, often all-encompassing belief, that their bodies have been reformed as a reflection of the god that they serve. Powerful and zealous, such clerics are magical as much as they use magic, and will often speak with the surety of one who knows that they represent their god – at least one significant aspect of that god.
Such power is not easily attained, and those who have grasped it have delved deeply into mysteries of faith not shared with the laity. Even the highest of high priests must undertake deep spiritual journeys and walk a path not lightly trodden in order to have a chance at such attainment.
Circle Magic
The very cutting edge understanding of magic cannot easily be performed on the battlefield; pulling together scraps of knowledge and forgotten lore from ruins and lost works, as well as secrets gleaned through the interrogation of powerful spell casting demons, some mages describe setting complex series of runes, in order to push known magic beyond its usual limitations. These magical arrays often take the form of circles, thus leading to these works being known as ‘Circle Magic’.
The secrets of these magic circles are not easily won, and rarely shared. Although accounts vary, it is generally agreed that there are safe ways to disable them, if they are doing something that you dislike – but that disabling them incautiously, or in the wrong order, may lead to them discharging all of their magic at once.
Magical Artifacts
Every now and again, a delver will pluck something from an ancient barrow or a lost battlefield, or something unusual will wash up in a stream pouring down from mountains unpassable even by the most resilient dwarven mining party. Some of these artifacts speak to a craftsmanship not seen in two thousand years – and some have magical effects not reproducible by other means.
While some magical items made more recently have sought to reproduce the unusual qualities of artifacts emerging from Golden Age ruins, the success rate is very low. Of those that do succeed, the distinction between successes and failures is not obvious. The truly dedicated continue to work, and gradually have uncovered some scraps of lore and wisdom, but no one now living has reliably managed to create such rare treasures.
Authored by: Andrew Dunlop
Fantasy Alive Lore Team 2026
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