Apotheturgy

Apotheturgy is the school of magical energy transfer and storage. Students learn the basic tenets during their training regardless of their magic class, Battle Mages rely upon its more advanced aspects when casting city-saving defensive spells, and Rune Mages lean on its runic component, Dynapothics, to power the enchanted items of the world.

Utility

Apotheturgy allows a caster to store or transfer the magical power of their Imperium, permitting more powerful or longer lasting spells. It is divided into three main types.

Teamcasting

Teamcasting allows two or more mages to cast the same spell or group of spells together, entwining their spellwork and Imperium together into the final product. All involved casters are able to feel all aspects of the spell as it is cast, but also have full influence over the spell's final manifestation. This means that teamcast spells are stronger than those cast by each individual, but also increases the odds and severity of any errors, especially as more mages are added to the spell. As a result Teamcasting is typically reserved for use in training situations, as the student can feel each step performed by the mentor as if they themselves were casting, while a mentor can alter a spell quickly rather than reacting to counter it afterwards should a student's casting go awry.
Teamcasting has also proven useful for veteran Fire Companies when facing large blazes which prove too widespread for a single Firefighter to contain but also too volatile for the company's members to split their attention. In these cases the entire company will cast together, each manipulating their own section of the blaze but still working as a complete unit. To utilize this tactic the members of the Company must have an intuition about the actions of the others in the spell, and so junior members are typically barred from the Teamcasting outside of controlled practice scenarios until the entire group has fully acclimated to their participation.

Imperium Linking

A less error-prone variant of Teamcasting, Imperium Linking allows multiple magic casters to lend their Imperium to the same spell while only one caster performs the the actual spell. This allows a group to cast more powerful spells than able to be performed by an individual, while still relying upon a single caster to shape the spell itself. Each Imperium donor must cast their own link to the designated caster, who then determines how long to sustain the link. Donors must therefore trust the designated caster, or run the risk of Transitory Ungrounding should the designated caster draw too much.
Imperium Linking is most effective on channeled spells, such as the high-powered defensive Shielding Magic used by Battle Mages. With experience it can be adapted to perform stronger single-use spells, but care must be taken in these cases to not overload the spell with too much Imperium too soon as it may destabilize the spell.

Dynapothics

Dynapothics is such a common usage of Rune Magic it developed its own name. This process converts the caster's chosen level of Imperium into a power-storing Dynapothix rune for use powering runed spells and items. Once converted to runes the magical power can no longer be used to cast traditional spells but the rune can be saved for powering Rune Magic at a later date. Dynapothics therefore serves as a convenient way to store magical energy for later use and is typically the first Runic casting taught to Rune Mages.

Parent Technologies

• Rune Magic
• Thaumadynamics

Children Technologies

• Draconic Book Preservation

Access & Availability

Most students encounter Apotheturgy during their training, learning Teamcasting to better experience the more complicated or dangerous spells of their chosen magics. Mages accustomed to working in groups will also use Imperium Linking frequently, learning on the job if they have not yet used the skills. Apotheturgy is therefore extremely common within most magic casting communities.
Dynapothics is a rarer skill, typically only known by Rune Mages and their followers. The resultant Dynapothix runes, of course, are a different matter and commonly available for sale to power runed enchanted items, at least in larger cities and other affluent areas.

Complexity

Dynapothics requires a steady hand, a Runic crafting medium and supplies, and experience in Rune Magic. The other branches of Apotheturgy remain fairly straightforward and fairly intuitive for experienced mages, although they do drain concentration and Imperium.

Related Items

• Dynapothix rune

Further Reading