Huderezh, the Magic of Kroashent

Magic in Alvez is general divided into two overlapping facets. The underlying extraordinary supernatural forces capable of manipulating and altering underlying reality, and the directed control of these forces, AKA cast magik. Cast magik, in turn, is divided between subtle and ritualistic hedge magic and more overt, formalized Huderezh, or cast magic. The former, a mix of repeated ritual, medicine and herbology is carried out by Louzaouer, or Bonesetters. Louzaouer typically perform roles as seers, fortune bringers and healers, with the latter being the most practical of their skills. Huderezh, on the other hand, practiced by Similherez also known as Arkanists, Mages and Sorcerers, is more over, using magical power to exert will over reality itself.
For more on the folk magic of the Louzaouer, see Folk Curses and Spells

Foyson and the Hud

Magik in Alvez can be summed up along two central concepts: Foyson and the Hud. Foyson represents the quintessential energy at the "core" of an entity, its spirit and power. All creatures, places and objects within Alvez possess some measure of foyson, linked but separate from a physical form, representing an inner metaphysical reality. Foyson can be manipulated, bolstered, altered or siphoned through a variety of natural and supernatural means. Foyson is not a static force, but an ever-changing and ever-moving flow of energy between connected entities. This flow is called the hud. The Hud flows like a river, following channels to pool, mix and overflow in a constantly moving cycle of life-energy, seen and unseen. Across a geographic area, the channels of the Hud are often called meineg (leylines), while pools are called locus. In addition to more subtle connections, overt paths such as rivers, roads and megalithic alignments often form leylines, while confluences, crossroads and cromlech form locus. Flow and gathering along these paths will strengthen the hud, while neglect and disuse may cause them to fade.
Foyson typically is incorporeal, but it can occasionally manifest. This is most common in the Feth Fiada, the large banks of mistlike fog that roll across the world, typically the most common type of energy drawn from for casting.

Anoan

In many Bediz theological constructs, the core incorporeal, spiritual essence of a sapient creature, or Tuath, is called the Anoan, containing the memories, personality and identity of its bearer. There is a great debate among philosphers as to the fine points of the Anoan, surrounding its uniqueness, impermanence, and even which among the Tuath possess Anoan. For much of its history, the The Southern Church taught that only Bediz possessed Anoan, but modern reform movements and philosophies have argued for an expansion of the concept to all thinking, or even all living things.

Dle

Dle is a concept of balance and debt, prevalent among both the Fae and Similherez, and it has ingrained itself both in magical theory and wider Fae culture. Dle represents the direction of the hud in relation to the entity. Negative Dle puts one in the power of others, weakening them by comparison. Positive Dle puts others in the power of one, weakening the community and the world around them. Neutral Dle keeps both the individual and the world in balance, the strongest magical position. In Fae culture, this has led to a complex approach to debts, thanks and gifts.
To some Fae, when a gift is given altruistically, a direct expression of gratitude establishes the existence of a debt, poisoning the gift by tying it with the Dle. An exchange given of equal value maintains the balance, but an exchange with thanks disrupts that balance. It means that an exchange was not balanced, and a slight has been made by one or both sides.
It is vital also, that a payment is equal in personal value. For examples If a two equal fields are tilled, first of a poor man and then a rich man, a payment of a rough hemp shirt may be fitting for the former, but insulting from the latter. Likewise, if a one agrees to take on the threshing of Winterrule in exchange for a cloak and hat, if the payment is made early, they must cease work upon receipt. Do not share a gift. A violation of contract draws heavily on Dle, putting the positive Dle of a community on one who intended a gift for an individual or family.

Glamour

Glamour is a complex and often misunderstood concept central to the understanding of foyson, its changing and at times seemingly contradictory definitions only adding to this confusion. Glamour holds many meanings to many peoples, and its use in communication is heavily reliant on context. The first and most basic, as understood by the lay Bediz, is that glamour is a dissimulation, an illusory presentation to enhance or alter the appearance of a person or object. For many creatures of Faerie, however, glamour is an internal and external manifestation of foyson, a representation both of personal spiritual energy similar to the concept of Anoan, but also the outward projection of this internal being. Glamour, understood in this way, allows an entity to focus and cast out its own energy, in the form of both appearance and more overt huderezh. Only magical creatures possess their own glamour, but some semi-magical creatures, such a Boermerzh can also draw external foyson to simulate the effects of this personal energy. Lastly, glamour is often identified as a physical manifestation of foyson, appearing as a sparkle, shimmer or mist on an externally projecting entity. Objects and places may also exhibit these qualities, and the name is often the same.

Sovereignty

An important cosmological concept is the notion of Sovereignty. The spirit of the land, Genius Loci was spiritually "wed" to the spirit of the people, Genius Populi. The rightful ruler of a giver Sovereignty has both temporal, and metaphysical power over a place. A corrupted king would lead to a corrupted land, while a healthy and wise kind would lead to a healthy, well run land. While this is largely viewed as a philosophical exercise, it has immense metaphysical implications in Fisher Kingdoms, where the state of the Ruler has a physical effect on the land itself and those within its borders. Fisher Kingdoms are typically small, but can be of any size. The Dark Kingdom of Arle is the largest and best known Fisher Kingdom.

Hospitality

See: Hospitality

Threshold

A person's home is their castle, and they are the sovereign of that home. Structures that have come to support personal, daily life for a group or individual gain a certain amount of magical protection and power within that space. Thresholds become powerful barriers against ill-intended magic. The concept extends beyond the home to larger settlements, such as those defined by megalithic Kalvar on the Armorican Peninsula, or even to kingdoms, with rivers and mountains possessing some metaphysical protections. The more "tight" a sovereignty, the more focused and potent the metaphysical effects.
Inviting one who has cursed you, willfully or otherwise, across the threshhold will dispell or weaken the curse, while forcing oneself across the threshold places an exorbitant amount of negative Dle upon the intruder.

The Ere-Hud and the Aspects of Huderezh

Huderezh is cast magik, a formal and somewhat regiments system for powerful and overt spells that transpose their effects over reality itself with the casters will. These castings are called Ere-Hud, or "chained magik", and are built along four conceptual aspects, each controlling a different facet of the spell itself. Similherez often specialize in one of more of these aspects, but all four are required at some level for all successful Ere-Hud.

Druidecht (Druidry)

Druidecht is the ability to effectively draw foyson to power a spell, both from one's internal reserves and from one's surroundings. Druidechta are powerful, but unfocused spellcasters, wielding vast amounts of power for direct, blunt effects such as raw elemental magiks.

Tilsam - Focus Talismans

Sometimes, the Hud is a trickle or an even flow. Sometimes it is a flood. When an entity becomes a recipient of vast and sudden amounts of foyson, it may be remade into a vessel for that. A gem formed into a violent volcanic eruption or the high branch of an oak struck by lighting may retain the power that struck it. Such objects become sought after as powerful sources and channels of Druidecht.
On a related note, when an individual undergoes a similar process, they often become Milliget, caught between Bediz and Fae, while lands affected in this way become Bleed.
Some materials, compounds and items, such as Silverkey Doors and Lightning Sap, can be created artificially to specific purposes.

Fis (Name Magik)

Druidecht draws power from foyson, but Fis gives it direction and precision. Fis, in its most basic form, is name magik. The spirit of an entity, be it an individual, an object or a place, is known by many names, each with its own emotional and cultural context. These names give power over the entity, limiting them in some small way be defining them, reducing infinite possibility into finite meaning. All things, great and small, have names, but some are larger than one name. A river is harder to master from source to delta than a small pond, and it is known by different names in each land it passes through and each bridge it flows beneath. It is for this reason that many Fae, such as the Margot and the Eladan, shun writing systems, seeking to keep their magic less limited.
Feasa direct their focus on the names, drawing closer to the true essence of a thing. Feasa are scholars skilled in scrying, finding lost items and hidden secrets. It is the subtlest of the aspects, but is often considered the most powerful. Feasa are, as a result, the rarest specialists. The fearsome Agrippa is a living grimoire built around the recording of fis.

Fáistine (Prophecy)

Like a running river, the Hud flows along the paths of fate in wide channels and narrow rivulets, pooling and circling along a twisted path. While Druidecht controls the speed and depth of the flow and Fis is the nature of the "water" itself, Fáistine represents knowlege of its path, both where it has come from and where it would like to head in its constant movement. Ere-Hud subvert reality, and the Hud often seeks to correct its flow, limiting the effect and the duration of a given casting. Fáisteanach, however, know they paths untaken by the Hud and can adjust their castings, extending the duration and making the effect more pronounced, convincing the hud to flow over a possible route it would have once taken, effectively establishing a result as a possible natural outcome. Fáisteanach are often prophets, observing omens to determine the future, as well as conditions that can allow for the improved efficacy of an ere-hud. Most Louzaouer can be described as Fáisteanach to some degree..
While most are content to merely observe the possibilities and gently nudge an acceptable result, others thrive on chaos, creating situations ripe for wild and unpredictable effects. Chaos weavers use their magic to push unlikely realities, which in turn allows more possibilities. Chaos Weavers tend to focus on dramatic, but short-term and unstable ere-hud.

Amainsecht (Eloquence)

Amainsecht is the ability to weave an ere-hud, imparting with it the reality twisting blessings and curses that accompany it. Drawing from latent magical energy (Druidecht), a spell caster selects a target using the subject's true name (Fis) and the possibilities and circumstances of fate surrounding that name (Fáistine) to bend and shape reality, weaving the desired effect into the subject. The greater the skill of the user at defining the terms of an ere-hud, the closer to the desired results the spell will land. Amainsecht are bards, satirists and storytellers, capable of altering reality with their Ere-Hud. Amainsecht will often set up complex spells with dedicated "kill-switches", providing an outlet for the reality warping spell to come to an ending condition. By making these conditions elaborate or even impossible, an well-crafted spell with a dramatic effect can last significantly longer than most flash-in-the-pan Ere-hud.
Amainsecht needs not be spoken, and other means of expression have proven able to cast spells including dance, instrumental music and in rare cases, visual art.

The History of Huderezh

Following the Flight of Nemed from Rupes Nigra, the Eladan settled on the island of Emain Ablach, learning that they could manipulate the Feth Fiada that covered the lands, using this skill to overwhelm their enemies, the Fir Bolg.
Harnessing that great power, the Tuatha de Danaan set out to study and refine their Huderezh, founding the four great cities of Falias, Findias, Gorias and Murias,

Other Notes

Some materials, such as Silver and bronzesteel, can conduct and channel magical energy.

Iron nullifies and blocks magic.