The Undivine Elements

Decay

Disease, poison, pestilence is what those who are afraid call it. Though I prefer kinder words… if I knew any, I would write them here, however there isn’t any I could think of, it is hard to portray this element in a good light. I suppose that was their reasoning when they outlawed it. But don’t let what they say fool you, you won’t grow swollen with buboes, cysts or boils. Nor will you be at risk of contracting deadly and horrifying diseases that are unknown to any doctor. On the contrary actually, immunity and knowledge is what you will gain. Along with power; the power to bring out the rot in your enemies’ bones, to dissolve their skin in a cloud of noxious gas and have the earth reclaim them.

-Preface, Plaguewright, Vol. 1

Soul

The soul is a fickle construct and requires thorough understanding before going about trying to rend it. One caveat that is important in the combat with another mage; the power of your opponent. Though there is no way to measure one’s magical power, especially not in the midst of intense arcanic combat, if you attempt to rend the soul of a mage more powerful than you, it will not work. And the results can and will be disastrous for the caster. If you are reading this tome, you should know that a mage's power is apart of their soul, if you don’t know this you should put this tome down and pick up something more elementary. Attempting to do this is like trying to catch a rock that weighs more than you; which is to say it will crush you. Might this be a warning not to try it, unless you are sure you can catch the rock.

-Chapter 4, The Art of Soulcraft, Vol. 2

Necrosis

Unless you want to be haunted by the souls of the damned, I recommend you master a binding spell before reanimating any sort of corpse. This first chapter will teach you the basics of binding spells, and by the end of it, you should hopefully be proficient in them. That is an important sentence, read it again. Being proficient in binding spells will save you a lot of headaches in the future, master them. I’m serious. I’ve seen many a novice conjurer filled with confidence and hubris attempt to reanimate a corpse in the morning and be driven mad by lunchtime.

-Chapter 1, A Curious Conjurer, Vol. 1

Scourge

If you want power, you practice scourge magic. You might think fire makes you powerful, or being able to make a corpse stand up and dance around. Or perhaps you think void beckons, it doesn’t, and it isn’t worth it. Learning the ways of laceration, scathetreading, woespinning and sorrowrending will make you feel like you can kill the gods. Moreover, it will make you enjoy it. I will let you in on a little secret; no one wants to be an executioner, but those who do, those who beg for the job almost always practice scourge magic. Because you will never know true power until end the life of poor soul who has just shit himself and is now begging you for mercy. At that point, you are their god.

-Preface, An Affront to the Gods

Void

You will never know the full secrets of the voids. Gaze up at the night sky and tell yourself you know everything that goes on up their, that its processes are documented in a book somewhere, gathering dust in a rich king’s library. What you wield you will never understand, it might be worth it to never bother to try. But when you wield the void, you wield it right, you respect it lest it claim you as another one of its victims.

Now, the fabric of space itself is yours to command. You are unstoppable.

-Conclusion, Novachaser, Vol. 12

Entropy

Ionize is the most basic spell of an entropy mage. Don’t let its basicness turn you off; it is also the most useful. Should you find yourself face to face with the full might of a fire mage, flinging the heat equivalent of a sun at you, you will be able to dissipate it with little more than a flick of your arm. To break down something into its most basic forms is a skill that is extremely under appreciated. The art of entropy is powerful in the right persons hands, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

-Chapter 5, Into the Maelstrom

Mind

Step 1. Place your hand on the victim’s forehead. It is best to have them lie down and stand behind their head, though sitting beside the victim is another option.

Step 2. Bring forth the energy from your mind and into the victim’s. Do not enter yet, you must create a vault; a safety rope if you will to make sure the victim’s mind does not crash in around you, and leave you in a comatose state which will last you your very short life.

Step 3. Slowly, enter the victims mind. If this is done too quickly, what was warned about in the previous step will happen regardless of any safety measures taken.

Step 4. Be quiet, act as if you are trying not to wake up a sleeping person. Because that is exactly what you are doing.

-Chapter 11, On Neuromancy, Vol. 2