Sikomancy (See-Ko-Man-See)

Sikomancy is the arcane practice of inscribing runes on physical objects for the purpose of granting them paracausal abilities.[1] It is a science that covers the use of these runes whether in Arcana, Draconic, Giant, Abyssal, Infernal, or (occasionally) common: their composition, structure, properties, behavior and the properties they bestow when applied and activated.[2][3][4][5] In the scope of its subject, sikomancy occupies an intermediate position between spellcraft and enchanting.[6] It is sometimes called the "beginner's enchanting" because it provides a foundation for understanding both basic and applied enchanting concepts at a fundamental level.[7] For example, sikomancy explains aspects of mana channeling, the selection and preparation of objects to hold enchantments, how raw mana is shaped into specific effects (channeling), the various methods of activating magical effects, how mana transforms physical matter (alchemy), and how to measure existing magical auras.
Sikomancy addresses topics such as how lines and circles interact within the Weave to form new magical effects. There are two types of runic sigils: 1. primary sigils e.g baseline runes, in which basic elemental effects are evoked and 2. secondary sigils e.g. directional runes; Otiluke area runes, sigil looping interactions, permanency runes, etc.
In layman's terms, creating a magical item through sikomancy involves determining the correct runic sigil, carving the sigil, reinforcing the creation with an arcane conductor (traditionally crushed gemstones depending on the type of rune), and then the channeling of ambient or personal mana into the sigil, activating the item.
The history of sikomancy spans a period from very old times to the present. Since the earliest years of the first era, civilizations were using technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of sikomancy. Examples include basic ore transmutation, the formation of mana-infused materials, brewing of potions and acids, creating basic arcane objects for daily use, masking odors with pleasant magical scents, making communication devices, and even a few documented attempts at golem creation. Sikomancy was preceded by its protoscience, spellsinging, which is an intuitive but non-scientific approach to understanding the words and symbols and their interactions and vibrations within the Weave. It was unsuccessful in explaining the nature of physical form and its transformations, but, by performing experiments and recording the results, spellsingers set the stage for modern sikomancy. Sikomancy as a body of knowledge distinct from spellsinging began to emerge when a clear differentiation was made between them by Minpograat in his work The Sceptical Syykomist (1E 112). While both spellsinging and sikomancy are concerned with language and its arcane vibrations, the crucial difference was given by the scientific method that practitioners of sikomancy employed in their work. Sikomancy is considered to have become an established science with the work of Koraavlingrahlein, who developed a law of radial intersection that demanded careful measurement and quantitative observations of sikomantic phenomena. The history of sikomancy is intertwined with the history of etymology, especially through the work of Inchel Othorion.[11]

The word sikomancy comes from a bastardization of the word "sik", which is draconic for "rune". The original draconic scientists used "sik" much like we use "sikomancy", as they were mainly focused on finding methods of manipulating this branch of magic due to their war-torn circumstances, though is ought to be said that they made far more practical advances in this field in their early years of study than have been made in recent memory.[8] The modern word "sik" in turn is derived from the draconic word "rot", which means "word". This was likely an artificially created word for scientific use.[9][10]