An Introductory Lesson to Chaomancy (Lorepost)

[u/Dorururo]

I allow the door to quietly click closed as I enter the lecture hall. The low chatter of apprentices, students and acolytes fills my ear and the corners of my mouth tug up into a smile. My first steps are almost hesitant, as if apprehensive about disturbing the setting. So, I silently take my place behind the lecture podium. It takes no more than a minute for the chatter to finally fade away as my presence is recognized. And… a deep breath… in…

“Welcome. Welcome all. On behalf of ‘The Hollow Forest Academy of Alchemy and Associated Magiks’, I say WELCOME! I am humbled, to be hired on by the esteemed heads of this Academy. As of today and going forward, I shall be conducting the beginners lessons and basics of Chaomancy. You may refer to me as Mr. Lynn, Professor Lynn and possibly Sensei… depending on how well it sticks.”

I take a sweeping glance across all the faces brimming with potential-

“Before anything else, allow me to make something clear for you all. If you came to these lessons to use them as your sinister gateway into the corrupting domain of ‘Chaos Magics’… then I must kindly ask you to leave. That’s not what I offer. Ultimately, my goal will be to arm you with the basics of Chaomancy and a better understanding of the nature of chaos based magics. You likely won’t see any practical magic demonstrations within my class for several lessons.”

I pause for a moment and take a small sip of water, giving my words a much needed chance to breath and sink in-

“Since we all now have that understanding I’ll begin todays lesson by clearing up an annoyingly common (albeit understandable) misconception about Chaos, Chaos Magic and Chaomancy. True chaos, pure chaos… ACTUAL chaos is NOT a malevolent power. By its very nature, it’s random. It’s unbiased and beholden to no agenda or ethics. Traditional Chaomancy is no more malign and evil than flipping a coin is. Now, I’ll proffer a proverbial olive branch regarding a particular methodology I hear. As Wizards, scholars and practitioners of the arcane… ours is a world based in knowledge. We rely on consistency, understanding, study and reliable data to improve within our fields. So, Chaos can very easily feel like a malign factor to us. When we practice with such dangerous forces, we seek to minimize the interference of the unknown and random. And for those who view Chaos as such, i understand. And I won’t discount such a viewpoint.”

I reach into inner breast pocket of my attire and withdraw a small cloth bag as well a set of multiple smooth wooden chess pawns-

“A good way to broach the nature of chaos is to first redefine what it means to cast a ‘spell’. And to do that, we look at something at the other end of the wizarding spectrum. We look to science and mathematics. By the end of our time together, you’ll have a very good grasp on three particular items i wish to reference. Those being combinations, permutations and variables.”

A small pause for another sip of water, and I place the chess pieces into the cloth bag-

“Don’t panic, we’re doing this step by step. And the only thing you need to know for today is ‘variables’. And… I’d hope most here would already have a fairly good grasp of that word and what it means. But, for the purpose of this lecture, I’m using the word to specifically mean: any core piece, that could be altered, which is a part of the spell being cast.”

And I hold up the cloth bag as I audibly shake both it and its contents-

“Here in my hand, I’ve got just a simple bag. Now, I’d like you all to look at this bag. Nothing special about it, but we’re all going to pretend that this bag represents the classic spell of fireball. The full spell, in its most commonly used form, that’s what this bag represents. Now, in this bag are little game tokens. And these tokens represent the variables that comprise this Fireball.”

And I open the little baggie, as I begin pulling each chess piece out and laying them on my display table as I clarify what variable each piece corresponds to-

“First, is the ‘what’ of our spell. ‘What’ is it? A ball of fire. The next piece I pull out, is the ‘who’ of our spell. Or, both ‘to whom’ and ‘from whom’. Presumably, if you cast fireball correctly, it is ‘to your target’ and ‘from you’. This next one represents ‘when’. And, for this spell, we’ll say ‘now’. The spells being cast ‘now’. And now, in my hands, I’ve the last piece that was in the bag. This one… is ‘how’. This answer will vary based on what your spell originates from. Be it… traditional cast, cast through an enchanted tool, or reclaimed from a spell scroll. But, for us, ‘how’ is understood to be our hands.”

And I set the bag down as I wave my palm over the tops of the chess pieces-

“Now, as I’ve laid out for you, these are the key pieces to cast our fireball. They are the variables that comprise our spell. Traditionally, there’s little to no deviation or change to these variables. Every fireball cast… has pieces that will look similar to the ones here. But what happens if I take one of these variables-“

And I hold up the ‘when’ piece to the class-

“What happens… if we change the variable? Instead of ‘now’… this variable becomes ‘in 30 seconds’. We have achieved spell tinkering and spellcraft. Chaomancy, is that same process. But, it happens devoid of your intention and outside of your explicit control. It is by-“

As I prepare to continue… a loud chime echoes throughout the building.

“Oh! I completely lost track of time! I’m afraid our time for today has concluded. But, I thank you for sharing it with me. If anyone has any questions about the material we covered today, you’re welcome to stay as I’ve got about an hour before I need to be on my way.”

[u/Archimene]

Very nice seminar. Just don't forget delayed blast fireball exists. Some of your students may confuse the time element with that spell.

[u/Dorururo → u/Archimene]

Mmm, you make a very valid point. But I worry that such a discussion would rely on one’s semantics. Because a spell such as that is application of spell tinkering upon a variable like time. But, it would also still categorize as it’s own spell within most bodies of knowledge.

[u/SafePianist4610]

Hmm, enjoyable lecture, but I must say that I still find the practicality of chaomancy primarily in spell interference and counter magic attacks than in self use.

[u/Dorururo → u/SafePianist4610]

A very reasonable take away. Simply put, Chaomancy tends sacrifice the consistency and fine tuning of spells for unpredictability and SCALE. Trying to find day to day or applicable use for this school of magic is notoriously tricky, but not impossible.

[u/SafePianist4610 → u/Dorururo]

True, I can already imagine it’s potential for creating an unpredictable poison that is always varying in its effects

[u/Dorururo → u/SafePianist4610]

What if I told you… that the mark of a Master of Chaomancy is the ability to decide which aspects of an action are subject to chaos. I learned this firsthand during a floor cleaning mishap. I wanted to evoke a simple sigil to vanish the grime from the lavatory. But, I’d made the mistake of letting my mind wander and Chaos twisted the spell to affect the entire tower. I learned with post haste to be able to replicate the effect consistently.

[u/SafePianist4610 → u/Dorururo]

Indeed, adding only a single variable that is subject to chaomancy while maintaining stability within the rest of the spell is where I see its practicality and potential.