Name: Flowryde D'Cerf
Age: 29
Gender: Male
He has tattoos on his back and carries a staff
The staff is like a marker pen that can draw on air
Back tat
Role: First Templar of the Occult
Interests:
Flowryde puts the well being of his Coven before all else, his actions are solely for the best interest of the Coven. Loves dabbling in magic, whenever he gets a break from templar duties, especially in the experimenting with glyphs and words of power. Also, he frequently socializes with the citizens of Moonshearth, applying his knowledge of glyphs to the benefit of the people.
Flowryde is well studied in Glyph Magic. He spent most of his youth experimenting and studying intricate symbols, ancient drawings and rune carvings as his curious mind led to a religious pursuit for a deeper understanding of magical phenomena. His studies led to the discovery of Glyphs of Power which is a form of expressing the will of witch and the intent of the magic desired. The strength or effectiveness of Glyph magic depends on the material and the amount of time and effort and craftsmanship of the runes and also the strength of the creator and the user. Essentially, it's stylised images/writting/drawings/Glyphs which lets the witch do magic.
eg.
This rune, when written on a piece of toilet paper by you average witch and stuck to his or her foreheads, will prevent sunburns on areas where the glyph is applied. But if a High Priestess were to wrought some gold and silver into a necklace shaped in that rune embedded with diamonds and fancy bedazzles, and she wears the glyph (assuming she has a high capacity for magic), she can stick her hand into boiling water and only feel a mild warmth.
Flowryde spent more than 10 years of his life experimenting on combinations of glyphs and different drawings, carvings, etc. of all shapes and forms allowing him to develop a few complex glyph structures. Most of his work is used by D'Cerfs magicians for many purposes.
Commonly carries 2 obsidian runes with elemental glyphs inlaid in gold. Upon activation, he can summon elements of water from the air around him, create either light or fire depending on fuel sources available. Combining the operation of his runes he can perform more complex magic such as healing cuts. He also as a Glyph tattooed onto his back which, when activated, increases his running speed.
Personality: Genial mostly. He is friends with many lay people in Moonshearth despite attaining a title. Does not show his temper but can be irrationally spiteful when it relates to Coven politics.
Biography:
As an infant, he was left to the wolves one cold winter night. A priest from D'Cerf's Occult found the bawling infant on a forest trail on the way back from collecting Moonsprigs. Being a compassionate man, he brought the child back to the Temple where he was raised as a servant. They never let him listen during rituals and would send him away while they perform their duties as Temple Wardens. At the age of six, Flowryde's world of endless mind-numbing chores built a rebellious persona who would defy the Temple Wardens at every opportunity. He would play tricks on the other Denizens of the Temple, hiding their clothes when they went to the showers, dropping rat tails into delicious smelling broth which they never let him have for dinner. Once, the Wardens even caught the boy stealing from the Temple library, his left buttock was never the same after that incident. As he grew older, his antics became extremely outlandish, from annoying the staff to actually disrupting Temple worship as the boy somehow flooded the temple with frogs over night. During the ceremony of the winter solstice, the High Priestess ceremonial scepter went missing, apparently stolen from its usual glass cabinet. After delaying the ceremony for a whole day while the Temple was in upheaval, the Priestess found her staff nestled comfortably in the cabinet as if it were never moved. The head Warden was furious, he knew it was the boy playing his pranks again even if he could not prove it. Apologising profusely to the Priestess for the child's behaviour, he divulged into a tale of a juvenile delinquent while promising retribution.
The Priestess demanded to see the troublemaker for her own judgement. She was shocked to see a young youth, no older than 10. A mere child that managed to make a fool out of her Wardens. Gazing, into his clear sapphire eyes, The Priestess decided to take him under her own wing, showing him the intricacies of magic. Under her tutelage, Flowryde made leaping advancements. On his 21st birthday, the D'Cerfs officially recognized him as one of their own. Henceforth, Flowryde was for ever grateful towards the D'Cerfs, and pledged his life to the Coven.
The death of The High Priestess deeply distressed him but as of late, the Priestess had warned him of enemies trying to destroy the Coven. Now he is determined to restore the name of the D' Cerfs to its former glory.
Going off this as a guide:
the potential to do magic (which all have), the choice to use it (a spell is hardly done on accident, well a spell with the desired effect), some sort of intent (that is a desired effect), and the understanding/knowledge required to both prepare and execute the spell
A glyph of power is a symbol or shape with a corporeal form which enables a user to perform a desired magical effect. Through experimenting/learning forms of glyphs, the witch gains the knowledge/understanding of the nature of the magic he wishes to perform. They are like magical instructions which determine the resultant magic executed. The act of inscribing the glyph on to objects is important, as these magical instructions are often too complex to just be remembered and spoken as words unless the magic you want is simple(VERY RARE, a picture paints a thousand words). Moreover, since the object being used to communicate these glyphs(magical instructions) is essentially a pipe/bridge/train tracks for the magic to flow, there is a need to ensure that these objects are one of value and integrity, if you desire a stronger, more lasting effect. This idea of a suitable medium ties in with the "execution" bit.
The example shows how glyphs can be carved into sticks and such but the down side to using objects with low integrity is that they break down once the magic is used through them. Runes are just small stones which are polished and can be used as a medium for glyph etching. Also note how the farmer had to activate it, for the intent and choice to use magic to play in. In this case the farmer's own magical potential was not a big factor as its just a simple heating action.
However, the need for magical potential is pivotal is cases where highly potent glyphs are activated. For example, a Mithril suit of armour with glyphs engraved. To protect the wearer, the instructions would be: [Keep the material connected at all times,metal can not deform the armour, wood can not deform the armour, dust and grime can never dull the shine]. Instructions are explicit, and learning the right glyphs to accurately convey instructions will take a lot of studying. As a result, a magical icicle that is harder than the armour would not break the mithril armour but it can deform the mithril and still damage the wearer. Now, for magical potential, it differs from each individual. Strength of armour is directly proportional to strength of the magic user. Note, if the potential required greatly exceeds the limit of the user, the caster can die of shock, even if the mithril armour still doesnt break. The reason is uncertain. Therefore, Flowryde or glyph users who know their thang would add instructions to deactivate the instructions in the event of over exertion.
Finally, because the glyph is a manifestation of the creator's intent, not the user's (the user merely choses to activate the glyph and wills the magic to perform). The creator's own magical potential is important for a variety of reasons. Obviously, a glyph user with low magical potential will be hard pressed discovering glyphs of power(They are not random drawings!). Furthermore, the intent of the glyph is not only physically imprinted on an object, it is also imprinted in a magical sense. Hence, glyph creator's have their unique magical signature on their creations. The stronger the magical potential of the creator, the more integrity it has.
TL;DR: Glyphs require skill and understanding to use. Pros: Dynamic application. Cons: Limited to knowledge of glyphs, time, materials, magical potential.
The tattoo came with the character. I'm embarrassed to admit it... but I thought it looked cool so I wanted it to do something... Enhancing reflexes seemed to be the most subtle option. If you dont like it, what do you think about speed enhancement. When activated, he can run as fast as Usain Bolt. It does not shorten his life but burns up the butt fat
o, not all materials break down over time. The magic does not naturally damage the vessel (unless it's the desired effect..).
Compare glyphs that are: 1. Carved on a wooden bowl 2. Engraved on a brass pot 3. Cut on a diamond palette. The instructions will be [collect water from air, fill vessel].
When activated, water will slowly collect on every vessel and you drink the water. For weeks you use the vessels activating it every day and drinking from it. A month later, you notice the water in the bowl takes a very long time to fill and it does not fill to the brim(looks dodgy too). 2 months it stops working altogether. Same thing with the pot but it takes 8 years for the magic to wear out the integrity of the pot. The diamond palette however seems to last indefinitely as at least 50 years wouldve passed before it is completely useless, assuming daily usage.
You could say that an object with a higher aesthetic value will have higher integrity. The act of engraving also increases the integrity which is why very well crafted glyphs work better than ugly looking ones. Magic is very picky.
About the dagger, because the nature of the magic is to produce light, instructions: [shine], it would not damage the material. iron dagger will last you a few days, steel probably months-years(depending on the grade), Mithril decades, diamond(?) a very long time. Alternatively, materials could be damaged if instructions were [pierce and deform metal] and you used an bronze dagger and tried jabbing at a hardened steel block. Scenario one, glyph is dormant, jabbing the block makes you look like a fool but nothing happens out of the ordinary, maybe the dagger is blunted but the block has hardly a nick on it. Scenario 2, glyph activated, the magic will insist on piercing but because the bronze is shyt it will shatter, and the user might die, regardless of how magically potent the user is. Really depends on the nature of the magic.
@Ichthys: Glyphs magic, when used offensively is dangerous to the user as seen above. Its also quite useless in direct combat unless you have top of the range equipment, which Flowryde doesnt own, but he does makes some for the noble people of D'Cerfs. Flowryde is a broke ass kid. Since instructions have to be precise, using it in battle is inefficient. You want to use magic to create invisible barriers? No probs, leme get my staff out and draw a bunch of glyphs. Hey please stop hitting me, im concentrating on drawing glyphs, also, can you stand in between those two lines, the magic wont work anywhere else.
He does have a battle outfit that has glyphs weave in to prevent burns and grazes, but its only as effective as the next persons chainmail. Flowryde is has high magical potential but physical limits (money,time) really constrains his magic.
Flowryde carries 2 runes, one that says [make heat] and another that says [collect water]. quite useless in battle. But it can heal cuts simply by gathering blood in the wounds and burning them close.
Editting: Format, Grammer, Brain farts
