The Chromatic Chord

Lightweaving

The compound school of Lux with Imago and Verba, which treats perception as something that can be composed. See The Schools of Magic.

Philosophy

Lightweaving treats perception as something that can be composed. Its practitioners think like heralds, painters, players, priests who stage a rite, and the illusionists of a great lord's hall. They care less for private dreams than for meaning that everyone in the square can see.

This school values clear intent, rich symbol, and exact craft. A Lightweaver does not simply fool the eye. They build an experience the observer can inhabit.

Example Places of Study

  • The Prism Conservatory: The best-known academy of visual magical composition.
  • The Hall of Mirrors and Banners: A school kept by great houses for ceremonial illusion and the art of looking stronger than you are.
  • The Radiant Workshops: Crafters of projected sigils, festival spectacles, and the battlefield tricks that sellsword captains pay for.
  • The Lantern Opera: Performative masters of moving illusion and choreographed story-light.
  • The Glass Scriptoria: Specialists in sign projection, symbolic teaching, and temple image magic.

Common Spells

Glow Script · Halo Mark · Colour Shift · Prism Flash · Banner Image · Luminous Veil · False Torchline · Glass Echo · Story Panel · Mask of Office · Radiant Outline · False Door · Mirage Stage · Sun Thread · Revealing Beam · Glory Mantle · Phantom Procession · Mirror Array · Sign of Peace · Righteous Glare · House of Light · Image Lock · Splendour Screen · Beacon of Claim · Courtly Facade · Shatterimage · Prismatic Cathedral · Radiant Doom · Glass Veil · Deep Glass Veil · Flawsight · Unmasking Eye

Typical Cost/Power Source (every spell): Usually fed by ambient light, reflective surfaces, symbolic intent, and the caster's concentration; dim or visually chaotic spaces raise the cost.

Glow Script

Purpose/How It Works
Glow Script writes visible light into the air or onto a surface as message, sigil, or display.
Notable Exceptions
Heavy daylight reduces readability.
Example Use
A watchtower writes warning of raiders on the north road in light down the whole wall line.
Casting Methods
Finger-writing cast, a breath. Stylus or rod focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
The air close by or a touched surface. A moment to half a night.

Halo Mark

Purpose/How It Works
Halo Mark places a bright symbolic marker on a target for identification or ceremony.
Notable Exceptions
It is obvious and therefore poor for stealth.
Example Use
After the ambush, healers mark the wounded who must be carried first.
Casting Methods
Point cast, a heartbeat. Seal focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
One target within sight. A short while to several days.

Colour Shift

Purpose/How It Works
Colour Shift alters the perceived colour of a surface, garment, banner, or space.
Notable Exceptions
Texture and weight remain unchanged.
Example Use
Fleeing outlaws turn their red cloaks to the lord's blue and ride straight through his pickets.
Casting Methods
Surface wash cast, a few heartbeats. Pigment focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
An object up to the accents of a room. A short while to an evening's performance.

Prism Flash

Purpose/How It Works
Prism Flash splits light into blinding fragments and rainbow shards.
Notable Exceptions
Less effective in darkness without an existing or created light source.
Example Use
Guards are dazzled as a prisoner rushes the door.
Casting Methods
Flash cast, a heartbeat. Prism focus, at once when raised.
Range/Duration
A burst a few strides wide. An instant.

Luminous Veil

Purpose/How It Works
Luminous Veil drapes a figure in idealized light, smoothing flaws and emphasizing chosen qualities.
Notable Exceptions
It flatters appearance but does not change substance.
Example Use
A high priest enters the hall under sanctified radiance.
Casting Methods
Self or touch cast, a few heartbeats. Garment focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
Self or one subject. Through an entrance or a whole ceremony.

False Torchline

Purpose/How It Works
False Torchline creates the look of marching lights or distant lit positions.
Notable Exceptions
Sound and heat do not match unless supported by other means.
Example Use
A dozen sellswords look like a war-host on the ridge at night, and the raiders turn back.
Casting Methods
Distance cast, a few breaths. Beacon focus, a short chant.
Range/Duration
A distant scene within sight. A while.

Glass Echo

Purpose/How It Works
Glass Echo reflects a false angle or duplicate position, complicating enemy perception.
Notable Exceptions
It works best with existing reflective surfaces or clear light lines.
Example Use
A bandit archer misjudges where the delver truly stands.
Casting Methods
Mirror-line cast, a breath. Glass focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
A small scene. A few moments to a short while.

Story Panel

Purpose/How It Works
Story Panel displays a short moving visual scene for teaching, warning, or ceremony.
Notable Exceptions
It is best for prepared or simple scenes, not improvisational complexity.
Example Use
A village elder shows the children, in moving light, what came out of the barrow the last time it was opened, and which road to run.
Casting Methods
Panel cast, a few breaths. Projector or wall focus, a short chant.
Range/Duration
A wall or open air. A short while.

Mask of Office

Purpose/How It Works
Mask of Office overlays visible signs of rank, role, or duty on a person.
Notable Exceptions
Skilled observers still test behaviour and authority.
Example Use
A false herald walks into the enemy camp wearing every visible sign of a lord's envoy.
Casting Methods
Touch cast, a few heartbeats. Badge or seal focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
One figure. Through an audience or a festival day.

Radiant Outline

Purpose/How It Works
Radiant Outline reveals hidden or invisible shapes by tracing them in hard light.
Notable Exceptions
It exposes position better than true identity.
Example Use
A concealed assassin is outlined against a wall.
Casting Methods
Sweeping light cast, a breath. Lens focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
A small area. An instant, or a briefly lingering outline.

False Door

Purpose/How It Works
False Door creates a convincing but intangible architectural feature.
Notable Exceptions
Touch immediately reveals the fraud.
Example Use
The lord's men waste crucial moments at a painted exit while the thief goes out by the real one.
Casting Methods
Wall cast, a few heartbeats. Masonry or panel focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
One architectural feature. A short while to half a day.

Mirage Stage

Purpose/How It Works
Mirage Stage builds a visual set with painted depths for performance, ritual, or deception.
Notable Exceptions
It requires space and stable viewing angles.
Example Use
A square becomes a battlefield tableau for a victory festival.
Casting Methods
Stage cast, a few breaths. Multi-anchor rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
A stage up to a hall. A short while to a night's festival.

Sun Thread

Purpose/How It Works
Sun Thread connects several lights into one moving symbolic design.
Notable Exceptions
Poor in chaotic weather or heavy obstruction.
Example Use
The beacon towers of a valley weave one warning sign above it as a warband comes up the road.
Casting Methods
Linking cast, a few breaths. Beacon network rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration
A scene of many lights. A while.

Revealing Beam

Purpose/How It Works
Revealing Beam directs attention with focused light, making one thing impossible to ignore.
Notable Exceptions
It highlights but does not compel belief.
Example Use
In a lord's hall, the bloody knife on the table becomes the one thing no one can look away from.
Casting Methods
Pointed light cast, a breath. Lens or staff focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
One target or point in a scene. A few moments to a short while.

Glory Mantle

Purpose/How It Works
Glory Mantle heightens awe, charisma, and perceived stature through visible radiance.
Notable Exceptions
Hollow or cowardly behaviour can still puncture it.
Example Use
A war-chief appears almost mythic as the host raises him on its shields.
Casting Methods
Self-crown cast, a few breaths. Crown, cloak, or relic focus, a short chant.
Range/Duration
Self. A short while to a long ceremony.

Phantom Procession

Purpose/How It Works
Phantom Procession conjures moving ceremonial figures, banners, and ordered visual pageantry.
Notable Exceptions
Works best in formal, expected contexts.
Example Use
At the memorial for the border wars, the fallen march again in a visible procession of light.
Casting Methods
Processional cast, a few breaths. Parade-route rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
A street or hall. A while.

Mirror Array

Purpose/How It Works
Mirror Array multiplies reflections and apparent positions into tactical confusion.
Notable Exceptions
Touch and area attacks bypass much of the deception.
Example Use
Duellists surround themselves with shifting false selves.
Casting Methods
Reflection cast, a few heartbeats. Mirror shard ring, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
Self or small area. Moments, or through a short duel.

Sign of Peace

Purpose/How It Works
Sign of Peace imposes calm through sacred or authoritative visible symbolism.
Notable Exceptions
It is strongest on crowds willing to respect the symbol.
Example Use
Rioters hesitate when the old peace sign blazes above the square.
Casting Methods
Symbol cast, a few breaths. Banner or shrine focus, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration
Above a crowd or square. A while.

Righteous Glare

Purpose/How It Works
Righteous Glare strips concealment with hard directed illumination and symbolic exposure.
Notable Exceptions
Reflective shields and blinds can blunt it.
Example Use
Cultists hiding among the pilgrims are exposed under hard light.
Casting Methods
Hard-light cast, a breath. Lens focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
One target or line within sight. An instant to a few heartbeats.

House of Light

Purpose/How It Works
House of Light creates a temporary constructed space of projected surfaces and visible walls.
Notable Exceptions
It gives appearance and orientation more than full physical shelter.
Example Use
Two warlords parley under a pavilion of light on the burned field between their hosts.
Casting Methods
Structure cast, a few breaths. Anchor-pillar rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
A room-sized structure. A short while to an afternoon.

Image Lock

Purpose/How It Works
Image Lock binds an illusion to a surface, object, or trigger phrase for repeated reappearance.
Notable Exceptions
Wear, vandalism, or broken triggers can ruin it.
Example Use
A map to the hoard appears on the tomb wall only when the right oath is spoken.
Casting Methods
Surface binding, a short chant. Triggered image rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
One object or wall. Days to years, or until broken.

Splendour Screen

Purpose/How It Works
Splendour Screen hides a crude or damaged reality behind polished radiant appearance.
Notable Exceptions
Physical contact reveals underlying truth.
Example Use
A raided, half-burned hall looks unbroken to the envoy sent to see whether its lord is weak.
Casting Methods
Surface glamour cast, a few breaths. Hall-scale rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
Object, façade, or room. A short while to several days.

Beacon of Claim

Purpose/How It Works
Beacon of Claim projects a territorial, civic, or lordly sign visible at great distance.
Notable Exceptions
It declares claim; it does not enforce it.
Example Use
A fort retaken from the raiders signals the victory back to the host.
Casting Methods
Beacon cast, a few breaths. Tower-light rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
Visible as a landmark across a valley. A while to several days.

Courtly Facade

Purpose/How It Works
Courtly Facade alters the apparent condition of a person or place with convincing detail and polish.
Notable Exceptions
Requires active upkeep under scrutiny.
Example Use
A wounded ruler appears composed for one necessary audience.
Casting Methods
Detail cast, a few breaths. Dressing chamber rite, a minute's work.
Range/Duration
One subject or room. Through one audience, sometimes a day.

Shatterimage

Purpose/How It Works
Shatterimage collapses a maintained projection into blinding or distracting scatter.
Notable Exceptions
It destroys the active illusion in the process.
Example Use
A false wall bursts into glittering fragments as the escape route is taken.
Casting Methods
Collapse cast, a breath. Triggered shatter sigil, at once when prepared.
Range/Duration
One active image. An instant.

Prismatic Cathedral

Purpose/How It Works
Prismatic Cathedral builds a large sacred or ceremonial illusion structure of light and symbolic geometry.
Notable Exceptions
It is expensive and usually temporary unless heavily anchored.
Example Use
A conquered city sees a peace rite conducted inside a cathedral made only of light.
Casting Methods
Major structure cast, a minute's chant. Full ceremonial rite, a long ritual.
Range/Duration
A great hall up to a city square. Through a rite, sometimes a whole day.

Radiant Doom

Purpose/How It Works
Radiant Doom exposes and publicly defines a target with symbolic force, often at judgements in a lord's hall or in religious settings.
Notable Exceptions
It can reveal what a community believes, which is not always identical to truth.
Example Use
A false penitent stands under a sign that names their betrayal before the assembly.
Casting Methods
Public decree cast, a few breaths. Hall or temple rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
One target before an audience. A short while, with lasting social effect.

Glass Veil

Purpose/How It Works
Glass Veil bends light, expectation, and edge-definition so the target ceases to register as visibly present.
Notable Exceptions
Sound, scent, footprints, and physical disturbance still betray the hidden target.
Example Use
A spy crosses the gallery between torch shadows while the guards stare directly past him.
Casting Methods
Self-veiling cast, a few breaths. Cloak-clasp activation, a heartbeat.
Range/Duration
Self or touched ally. A few moments to a short while.

Deep Glass Veil

Purpose/How It Works
Deep Glass Veil maintains concealment even while the target moves, fights, or casts, though each action stresses the weave.
Notable Exceptions
It is expensive and easier to track by nonvisual means.
Example Use
An assassin remains unseen through the entire duel she starts.
Casting Methods
Deep veil cast, a short chant. Mirror-cloak rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration
Self or touched ally. A few moments to a fair while.

Flawsight

Purpose/How It Works
Flawsight attunes the caster to visual stress, missing reflection, and light-bending distortions that hidden things leave behind.
Notable Exceptions
It reveals hidden forms better than their full detail, especially in crowded or reflective spaces.
Example Use
A warden looks straight at the invisible knife-bearer and raises the alarm.
Casting Methods
Eye-touch cast, a few heartbeats. Lens activation, a few breaths.
Range/Duration
The caster's own sight. A short while to a long watch.

Unmasking Eye

Purpose/How It Works
Unmasking Eye strips away glamour upon glamour, false presentation, and simple concealment so underlying forms and magical distortions become visible.
Notable Exceptions
It is mentally taxing, socially disruptive, and can overwhelm the unprepared in highly magical places.
Example Use
A hunter of shapechangers sees the demon-mask, the disguise, and the hidden wound all at once.
Casting Methods
Eye-opening cast, a few breaths. Consecrated lens rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration
The caster's own sight. A short while.

In the Writers’ Guide

See Also