Storm Magic

School of magic

Classification	Compound School
Prime blend	Ignis + Zephyr + Aqua
Core discipline	Lightning, weather violence, pressure discharge, and storm-scale energy transfer
Key distinction	Storm Magic is not just wind plus fire. It relies on unstable charged interactions between atmosphere, motion, moisture, and release.
Spells	30

The compound school of Ignis with Zephyr and Aqua: unstable convergence, great force from tensions held just long enough to break together. See The Schools of Magic.

Philosophy

Storm Magic is the school of unstable convergence. Its practitioners believe that great force arises when several tensions are held just long enough to break together.

This school attracts battlefield mages, ship-wardens, weather-priests, and reckless prodigies. It values nerve and timing, but it is infamous for backlash, because its power lies in controlled imbalance.

Example Places of Study

The Tempest Spires: Tower schools built at storm-prone heights.
The Fleet of Black Pennants: Sea-trained stormcallers who learn in live weather and sell their storms to whichever fleet pays, pirate or prince.
The Hall of Charged Breath: A severe academy focused on lightning discipline.
The Monsoon Halls: Seasonal schools that only convene during violent rains.
The Thunder Priories: Religious orders that treat storms as divine trials.

Common Spells

Static Kiss · Storm Scent · Rain Draw · Thunderclap · Flash Arc · Spark Net · Cloud Veil · Charged Spear · Pressure Wall · Chain Flash · Storm Lash · Downburst · Blue Vein · Thunder Mark · Squall Run · Cyclone Eye · Forked Crown · Deluge Burst · Storm Cage · Cloudbridge · Ball Lightning · Sky Rend · Storm Shepherd · Thunderwake · Monsoon Call · Tempest Wrath · White Line · Lightning Strike · Storm Tether · Briar Arc

Typical Cost/Power Source (every spell): Usually fed by ambient charge, moving air, moisture, and the caster's reserves; prepared storms, high places, and conductive environments reduce the personal cost.

Static Kiss

Purpose/How It Works: Static Kiss generates a painful electrical snap for irritation, signalling, or disrupting concentration.
Notable Exceptions: It is minor on insulated or heavily grounded targets.
Example Use: A storm adept makes a thief's hand flinch from the lock at the crucial moment.
Casting Methods: Finger snap cast, a heartbeat. Metal ring focus, at once.
Range/Duration: Touch or a hand's reach. An instant.

Storm Scent

Purpose/How It Works: Storm Scent detects charged air, pressure tension, and approaching weather shifts.
Notable Exceptions: Urban clutter and magical turbulence create false readings.
Example Use: Sailors reef lines before the storm breaks the visible horizon.
Casting Methods: Breath-sense cast, a few heartbeats. Salt focus, a few slow breaths.
Range/Duration: The caster's own senses. A short while, or through a long watch.

Rain Draw

Purpose/How It Works: Rain Draw pulls moisture into a local gathering mass, preparing mist, cloud, or heavier precipitation.
Notable Exceptions: It is weak in truly dry air.
Example Use: A drought shrine coaxes enough cloud to save a planted terrace.
Casting Methods: Skyward draw, a few breaths. Basin and air rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration: A local pocket of weather. Lasts from a short while to most of a day.

Thunderclap

Purpose/How It Works: Thunderclap releases a concussive pressure burst to stun, deafen, or break formation.
Notable Exceptions: Stone halls can dangerously amplify it.
Example Use: Boarders are knocked off a gangplank by one deafening report.
Casting Methods: Hand-clap cast, a heartbeat. Staff or rod focus, a few heartbeats.
Range/Duration: A burst a few strides wide. An instant.

Flash Arc

Purpose/How It Works: Flash Arc strikes with a short leap of lightning between caster and target or between nearby conductors.
Notable Exceptions: Dry insulated targets reduce effect.
Example Use: A saboteur shocks a guard off the iron latch.
Casting Methods: Point cast, a heartbeat. Conductive focus, at once when charged.
Range/Duration: A few paces. An instant.

Spark Net

Purpose/How It Works: Spark Net spreads crackling charge across metal, wire, or water-connected surfaces.
Notable Exceptions: It needs conductive path and can endanger allies in the same network.
Example Use: Harbour chains become untouchable when raiders try to climb them.
Casting Methods: Surface charge cast, a few heartbeats. Net or wire focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: Whatever conductive surface is connected. A moment.

Cloud Veil

Purpose/How It Works: Cloud Veil darkens a patch of sky or air with dense vapour, obscuring visibility and preparing heavier storm work.
Notable Exceptions: Strong crosswinds break it apart.
Example Use: A beaten warband's retreat is hidden under fast-grown storm haze.
Casting Methods: Vapour gather cast, a few breaths. Basin and sky rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration: A lane, a courtyard, or a patch of sky. A short while.

Charged Spear

Purpose/How It Works: Charged Spear hurls a focused bolt through a conductive line or weapon path.
Notable Exceptions: Without a good line, it dissipates quickly.
Example Use: A pike line becomes a lightning channel into a charging beast.
Casting Methods: Weapon cast, a few heartbeats. Rod or lance focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: A stone's throw along the line. An instant.

Pressure Wall

Purpose/How It Works: Pressure Wall halts missiles, smoke, and bodies with compressed stormfront air.
Notable Exceptions: Heavy artillery and prolonged force can break it.
Example Use: Archers watch arrows flatten against invisible air.
Casting Methods: Wall cast, a few heartbeats. Anchor-point rite, a few slow breaths.
Range/Duration: A small frontage. Moments, rarely longer than a short chant.

Chain Flash

Purpose/How It Works: Chain Flash leaps lightning between nearby targets once one conductor is struck.
Notable Exceptions: Grounding, spacing, and dry insulation reduce chaining.
Example Use: A clustered boarding party is shocked in sequence across wet deck planks.
Casting Methods: Arc cast, a few heartbeats. Charged weapon strike, at once when primed.
Range/Duration: A cluster of targets close at hand. An instant.

Storm Lash

Purpose/How It Works: Storm Lash combines cutting wind and charge into a striking line.
Notable Exceptions: Hard grounding weakens the electrical portion.
Example Use: A storm-priest lashes across a shield wall to open a gap.
Casting Methods: Whip cast, a few heartbeats. Staff lash focus, much the same.
Range/Duration: A whip's reach or a little beyond. An instant, or a moment's crackle.

Downburst

Purpose/How It Works: Downburst slams a target area with descending force, as if a storm column punches downward.
Notable Exceptions: It is risky in structures or around allies.
Example Use: Siege ladders are blasted backwards from a wall.
Casting Methods: Overhead slam cast, a few heartbeats. Sky-anchor rite, a few slow breaths.
Range/Duration: A small patch of ground. An instant.

Blue Vein

Purpose/How It Works: Blue Vein charges a weapon, staff, or shield with stored lightning.
Notable Exceptions: Poor materials may crack or arc unpredictably.
Example Use: A sellsword's spearhead crackles before the first charge of the battle.
Casting Methods: Weapon touch cast, a few breaths. Rack or altar charge, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration: One item. Holds a short while, until discharged.

Thunder Mark

Purpose/How It Works: Thunder Mark brands a target so the next strike or storm effect finds it more easily.
Notable Exceptions: Cleansing, grounding, or concealment can weaken the mark.
Example Use: A siege engine crew paints one gate section for the next lightning call.
Casting Methods: Point mark cast, a few heartbeats. Conductive pigment mark, a few slow breaths.
Range/Duration: One target. Lasts from a short while to the end of a day's fighting.

Squall Run

Purpose/How It Works: Squall Run moves the caster at speed through wind and rain by aligning body and storm force.
Notable Exceptions: It is unstable on slick stone and crowded decks.
Example Use: A thief flees across a flooded street faster than the watch's arrows can track.
Casting Methods: Self-motion cast, a heartbeat. Boots or bracer focus, a few heartbeats.
Range/Duration: Self. One short dash.

Cyclone Eye

Purpose/How It Works: Cyclone Eye creates a brief calm centre inside surrounding chaos.
Notable Exceptions: It is easier inside an existing storm than in dead-still air.
Example Use: Healers carve out a calm pocket on a storm-tossed deck.
Casting Methods: Centring cast, a few heartbeats. Multi-point rite, a few slow breaths.
Range/Duration: A small circle. Moments to a short while.

Forked Crown

Purpose/How It Works: Forked Crown holds several lightning branches ready for release.
Notable Exceptions: Holding the charge strains control and invites backlash.
Example Use: A war-mage stands with three ready bolts while deciding which targets matter most.
Casting Methods: Charge-hold cast, a few breaths. Conductive crown or rod focus, a longer gathering.
Range/Duration: A charge held by the caster. As long as the caster can bear to hold it, which is rarely long.

Deluge Burst

Purpose/How It Works: Deluge Burst combines water pressure and impact shock into one smashing release.
Notable Exceptions: Needs water mass or prepared reservoir.
Example Use: A floodgate breach is turned into a weapon against the raiders wading through it.
Casting Methods: Burst cast, a few heartbeats. Cistern release, at once when primed.
Range/Duration: A small impact zone. An instant.

Storm Cage

Purpose/How It Works: Storm Cage entraps a target inside rotating wind, rain, and current.
Notable Exceptions: Heavy grounded targets and anti-movement wards resist it.
Example Use: A renegade lightning-caster with a price on her head is held until the bounty-takers bring the shackles.
Casting Methods: Enclosure cast, a few breaths. Prepared anchor ring, a few slow breaths.
Range/Duration: One target's space. Moments, up to a brief struggle.

Cloudbridge

Purpose/How It Works: Cloudbridge builds a semi-stable charged mist platform or crossing.
Notable Exceptions: It is short-lived and unsafe under heavy loads.
Example Use: Priests cross a broken shrine span during a storm rite.
Casting Methods: Span cast, a few slow breaths. Weather-node rite, a short rite.
Range/Duration: A small gap. Moments to a short while.

Ball Lightning

Purpose/How It Works: Ball Lightning sustains a wandering sphere of unstable current and pressure.
Notable Exceptions: It is unpredictable and dangerous in confined spaces.
Example Use: A corridor is denied to the lord's hunters by a drifting sphere of living charge.
Casting Methods: Sphere cast, a few breaths. Rod-and-ring focus, a few slow breaths.
Range/Duration: A drifting sphere near the caster. Moments to a short while.

Sky Rend

Purpose/How It Works: Sky Rend calls a high strike from prepared clouds or charged sky conditions.
Notable Exceptions: Without prepared sky, it may fail or downgrade sharply.
Example Use: A watchtower beacon guides one devastating bolt into the siege tower rolling up below it.
Casting Methods: Sky-call cast, a few slow breaths. Full storm rite, a minute's chant or more.
Range/Duration: A chosen point within sight, struck from high above. An instant.

Storm Shepherd

Purpose/How It Works: Storm Shepherd redirects a larger weather front or storm mass along a preferred course.
Notable Exceptions: It guides rather than fully commands major weather.
Example Use: Monsoon schools spare one harbour by leaning the storm onto the pirates' anchorage up the coast.
Casting Methods: Weather-guidance cast, a minute's chant. Tower or fleet rite, most of an hour's ritual.
Range/Duration: A whole weather front. Influence lasts through a day or several.

Thunderwake

Purpose/How It Works: Thunderwake leaves a violent pressure disturbance behind a moving charge, mount, or vessel.
Notable Exceptions: Difficult to control in allied formations.
Example Use: Cavalry break pursuit because the rear line is hit by rolling shock.
Casting Methods: Motion-linked cast, a few heartbeats. Vehicle or mount focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: A trail behind the moving charge, mount, or vessel. A moment.

Monsoon Call

Purpose/How It Works: Monsoon Call pulls heavy rain and hard wind into an area, often for flood, concealment, or blessing.
Notable Exceptions: It is dangerous to agriculture, roads, and weak structures.
Example Use: A temple ends a drought at the price of washed-out roads.
Casting Methods: Large weather cast, a minute's chant. Rainy-season rite, most of an hour's ritual.
Range/Duration: A pocket of weather over a district. Through an afternoon or a night.

Tempest Wrath

Purpose/How It Works: Tempest Wrath unleashes a large-scale storm assault of wind, lightning, and pressure at major personal and environmental risk.
Notable Exceptions: It is one of the least safe compound battle workings in common use.
Example Use: A storm adept breaks a siege line but nearly kills herself in the backlash.
Casting Methods: Full assault cast, a short chant. Major storm rite, a full rite and longer.
Range/Duration: A battlefield or a district. Violence that rages for a short while.

White Line

Purpose/How It Works: White Line drives a concentrated line of charge through air and grounded targets in one violent path.
Notable Exceptions: Poor grounding, wet allies, and reflective metal geometry can make it as dangerous behind the target as before it.
Example Use: A storm caster spears three brigands in a doorway with one blue-white line.
Casting Methods: Forward discharge, a few heartbeats. Rod focus, a heartbeat.
Range/Duration: A straight line reaching across a courtyard. An instant.

Lightning Strike

Purpose/How It Works: Lightning Strike calls a vertical or near-vertical discharge down onto a designated target point.
Notable Exceptions: It is strongest outdoors and less reliable under heavy roofing, deep caves, or null weather.
Example Use: The enemy standard erupts in white fire when the priest points at it from the ridge.
Casting Methods: Skyward cast, a few breaths. Mark-and-call rite, a short chant.
Range/Duration: Any point the caster can see. A single instant strike.

Storm Tether

Purpose/How It Works: Storm Tether sustains a storm link that allows repeated strikes over a short period rather than one discharge only.
Notable Exceptions: It is demanding to maintain and vulnerable to line-of-sight interruption or counter-weathering.
Example Use: A storm adept walks the battlefield, dropping one strike after another as the enemy tries to scatter.
Casting Methods: Sustained storm cast, a few slow breaths. Great-weather rite, a minute's chant or more.
Range/Duration: A patch of battlefield under open sky. Holds from a brief while to a good stretch of the fighting.

Briar Arc

Purpose/How It Works: Briar Arc forks one primary discharge into several secondary jumps across nearby conductive targets.
Notable Exceptions: Good spacing, insulating cover, and ward separation reduce the chain's reach.
Example Use: An entire shield knot convulses when the first man is struck and the rest are too close together to escape the arcs.
Casting Methods: Forked discharge, a few heartbeats. Conductor focus, a heartbeat.
Range/Duration: The first target and those close around it. An instant.

In the Writers’ Guide

The Schools of Magic FoundationsThe Compound Schools, The Common Spells
Storm-Callers A Bestiary of CaeldonLore and Belief
Weather Goats A Bestiary of CaeldonUses and Dangers
Glossary Foundations