In the following, One hopes to lay out some general thoughts on the nature of the peculiar art which we term "Sorcery"

Before doing so, however, One must briefly explain a few concepts that One will be used and which are required for One's discussion of the Art itself to be understood.

One will, to start with, discuss the nature of language, then make an analogy between language and magic, and discuss how this analogy will help us understand the nature of Sorcery in particular.

Language as Discourse

A "Discourse" is, at its most basic, a written or spoken communication, it is, in essence, the process of language. But One means much more than this simple definition.
Language is much more than words and symbols which are used to communicate them which we refer to as "writing." Language is a complex set of social expectations, a way of thinking, speaking, and acting.

This is the reason behind, for example, idioms. If an individual from a particular culture uses an idiomatic expression, such as when a Faendryl parent tells a misbehaving child that they "will be tossed across Shieltine's Ward" other members from that culture understand that this is not an actual literal threat, and furthermore can explain the cultural resonance of this symbolic threat.

Language, then, is more than words spoken or written, but is a complex process deriving from culture, religion, politics, and the interaction of people. Language is defined by the time and space of the people who speak it. Thus, "language" is, in fact, a discourse. It is not a set thing, it is a process.

This is what One means by "discourse": this whole way of "speaking/writing/acting/thinking" that is involved in the process of communication which we term "language".

As such, there are multiple discourses within what we might think of as "one language." Dialects which might be mutually comprehensible with some misunderstandings, dialects which are mutually incomprehensible and so on. This province of an empire speaks this way, while the other speaks that way.

But it goes much further than this. "Discourses," understood as "ways of thinking/acting/writing/speaking" get very granular and specific. It is not just that this province or town speaks in a different way, they act differently, they speak differently, and as a consequence they think differently. And yet it goes further, for it "thinking/speaking/etc" determines how we communicate (which should be obvious) then it is not only the case that this town will differ from that town, but rather than the people of a single town will differ from each other. The women will speak differently than the men. The rich will speak differently from the poor. And so on.

Every part of what makes an individual defines part of how they speak, and they might speak differently under different circumstances, much as a child might speak differently to their friends than to their parents.

And so, each individual possesses multiple discourses, and each of these discourses result from who they are, and the nature of the discourse cannot be separated from the specific set of circumstances which gave it birth.

Magic as Discourse

If languages are a discourse, that is a way of thinking, acting, etc, it follows that Magic is a discourse.

To learn a particular circle of Magic, an individual must study with others who have mastered that circle. If an individual is to do so seriously (the minor tinkering which a Warrior or a Rogue can do with minor spells here does not count, any more than learning a few words of Elven allows a Human to be part of that society..), then they must join into the larger society of individuals who study that circle. In short, to learn Magic is to become part of a discourse.

The way a Sorcerer learns Minor Elemental spells is different from the way a Wizard does, which is different from the way a Bard does the same.

And in each case, the individual is not simply learning the spells, but is imbibing and entire history, a culture, a way of being and acting and thinking (etc) that comes with it. When an individual learns Magic, in short, they cannot learn the mere rote facts of casting spells, for no such thing is possible. To learn magic is to learn the culture of the magic users One is learning from. The skills are not autonomous and can not be made autonomous.

In short, Magic, like any other discourse/language, is a social thing. To perform Magic is a political act, because an individual does it informed by the culture of magic users from which they came and the consequences of their actions are likewise political, even if only in a minor sense.

Sorcery as Discourse

The strength and the power of Sorcery is that we, above all other forms of magic, understand and take advantage of the fact that Magic is a Discourse.
It is Sorcerers who have, above all other groups of Magic users, united their efforts into collaborative ventures, thus explicitly using the social collaborative nature of Magic into Art of Summoning.

Nor is this a coincidence, for Sorcery, by its very nature, is a blend of discourses/languages into a new and more powerful entity. While the Elemental and Spiritual Energies that we tap for this Art are universal, the incidence of how we tap them is the result of a particular social development in the history of Elanthia. Our Elemental and Spiritual magic is likely different in style than that of other valences where magic might be carried out. Nor do we need to use our imagination: the very way various professions perform the acts of Magic differ in sound and gesture and tone, a knowledgeable observer can see the difference between the preparation of an Elemental Spell from a Spiritual Spell or a Sorcerer spell.

In Sorcery, the Faendryl did something new, and different, and unparalleled: they combine seemingly opposing and contradictory magical discourses into a united whole which takes the form of Life itself, as we understand it. It is because of this that Sorcery allows travel into other Valences, it is because of this that we can alter the image of reality: because Sorcery taps into the Discourse of Reality itself by mixing that which we have artificially created as opposing constructs: the Elemental and the Spiritual.

The Magical is the Political

Because we have tapped into the very fundamental nature of Reality itself, and because Sorcery has been, above all other forms of magic, a social form of magic, Sorcery is without question the Magic that has had the most serious political impact on this world. It has, let us not forget, saved the world from Despana. But all magical is political.

Other Professions would have it that the act of magic is autonomous, that exists outside of any outside context. It is an individual working their will on the world.

But that individual carries that way of thinking, acting, speaking into their act of Magic. They carry the discourses of who they are into the spell. And their spell has an impact on the larger world however small. Once this is seen, the act of using Magic to political and social ends is no longer objectionable in itself, if it were, we would ban the act of magic, along with all other acts. All acts are political. It is only Sorcery that truly has recognized this, grasped it. and used it.

We Sorcerers understand that these distinctions between politics, society and magic along with the distinctions between the elemental and the spiritual, are false and constructed dichotomies which we need not pay attention to. Out of these "opposites" we create a Unity. Out of many discourses, we create One.

What does this mean for the Art?

It has, at the least, three consequences for the daily practice of Sorcery.

First, Sorcery was born in a specific time and place and context, and it cannot be properly and fully understood and practiced to its fullest extent without understanding this time and place and context. The Art is seeing an extension of its practice from its birth place among the Faendryl, and this is for the good, but it behooves Sorcerers from other contexts to approach the "birth discourse" of Sorcery so as to fully understand that which they are practicing. Sorcery cannot be separated from Faendryl culture and beliefs: it was born out of it and cannot be treated autonomously.

Secondly, like all discourses, Sorcery is not a fixed and eternal constant, it is a growing and changing thing in the process of becoming. The influx of individuals who come from "other discourses" will, in all likelyhood, enrich the practice of it, for it from the inclusion of seeming difference into a greater and unified One that Sorcery draws its true power.

Finally, do not forget that Sorcery is a political act. If you do forget, attempt to bring a perfectly harmless Gantris into some towns and see what the result is. Our realization that Magic is Political, and therefore a legitimate tool of power, inspires fear and jealousy among some with small minds. Do not forget this, but also use this to your own advantage and the great good of Sorcery as a whole. Fear and jealousy cause complications, but they are also powerful tools if wielded correctly. Likewise, while the practice of every day magic is often a solitary act, you never have been and never will be alone in it. To read a tome on the practice of Sorcery is to be in the company of the author, to cast a spell is to take the Word of power that is Sorcery and connect it to the World.


Aeillien Mandoragan Faendryl