"It is a vision of beauty! Of absolute wonder! It is so bright that it burns my mortal eyes as well as my immaterial ones! It shines like mother-of-pearl lit by a thousand suns, scouring me with absolute brilliance and yet filling me with indescribable elation. How tempting it is to reach out for it, to try to grasp it and weave it as I do the purity of Hysh. And yet I know that were I to try, it would be my end, for even gazing upon it with the unseen eyes of my Gift, I am brought low and must close myself off to its glory after but a fleeting moment. How I long to stand for even the shortest time in the body of our great master and mentor, Loremaster Teclis, and be thus enabled to reach out at touch the radiance that is Qhaysh..."
- ——Extracted from the private journals of Volans, First Supreme Patriarch of the Orders of Magic
An Archmage of Ulthuan utilizing High Magic.
High Magic, also called True Magic or Qhaysh, is the art of using all of the Winds of Magic. Exclusive to High Elves, Wood Elves, Slann, and the Skinks of Lustria, spells from High Magic are powerful, beyond the ken of Human minds and ability. In fact, the spells Teclis taught the Human Wizards were but minor spells of True Magic. Teclis' Human students revealed they lacked the finesse at manipulating anything more complicated than what could be achieved through a single Wind. The reason is because High Elves are better suited to sensing the ebb and flow of the Winds of Magic better than any other race, anticipating dangerous changes before they occur.
Its polar opposite is True Dhar.
Applications
Spells using Qhaysh use elements of many or all the Winds of Magic at once. High Magic is far more versatile than all other forms of magic, and spells woven from it are certainly among the most powerful, as well as being amongst the most difficult to cast. The great Mages of Ulthuan can balance all the different Winds of Magic they channel directly into a spell, ensuring there is little or no magical leakage. The archmages and Loremasters of Ulthuan have mastered the art of grasping and refining the separate Winds of Magic and weaving them so finely and so carefully that they can create spells of flawless and massively powerful effect. This balancing and precisely measured use of the Winds of Magic is Qhaysh, or High Magic, as used by Ulthuan’s mages, and is the most potent form of magic and spellcraft.
While High Magic is a potent force in the Old World, it is beyond the means of most characters to ever attain. Elf Wizards adventuring in the Old World work towards mastering the fundamentals of magic and those who do return to Ulthuan to be ushered into the teachings of True Magic, spending decades, if not centuries in study and meditation.
Famous Practitioners
All famous practitioners are Elves, Slann, or Skinks, as all other races who have attempted to use High Magic have failed, usually with disastrous side effects.
- Belannaer
- Caledor Dragontamer
- Teclis, High Loremaster of the Tower of Hoeth
- Lord Kroak, first of the Slann
- Loremaster Finreir
List of Known Spells
A
C
- Coruscation of Finreir - Drawing upon the magical waystone conduits, the Mage summons an Arcane Fulcrum from the bedrock.[6a]
- Curse of Arrow Attraction - The air around victims shimmers with magical energy as it warps and twists.[2a]
D
- Deadlock - Such is their mastery in magic, High Elf Mages can mystically nullify the flow of a foe's sorcerous powers.[6a]
F
- Flames of the Phoenix - Pure white scented flames emerge from the air itself and envelop the target, immolating the unworthy foe.[2a]
- Fortune is Fickle - To normal folk there is no effect, but to those with the witch sight it is obvious that the victim has been set upon by malign spirits made from the very stuff of magic itself. These creatures drag and pull at the unfortunate spellcaster, distracting and confusing his attempts to work magic.[2a]
- Fury of Khaine - Calling upon the dread might of Khaine, the mage launches a searing bolt of brilliant white energy at his enemies.[2a]
G
- Glamour of Teclis - This spell can be cast on any one individual or group within 36 yards. Those affected believe themselves to be lost in a realm of mist and shadows, and are unable to remember where they are or what they are supposed to be doing. To outside observers they appear to wander in a daze, unable to see or hear anything around them; if struck or shaken they will show fear but will not attempt to defend themselves. To those targeted by the spell, it is as if a dense mist has risen. Through this, strange and sometimes threatening shadows move, just on the edge of sight. They feel as if they have always been in this mist, stalked by creatures that never attack. Memories of the real world and their lives before the mist are vague or nonexistent. After sufficient time, the caster can give a command to the target to move in a particular direction for the duration of the spell. At the end of that time (if the targets haven't walked over a cliff or fallen into a fire) the victims will come back to reality with no memory of how they reached their present location.[7d]
- The Great Leveller - Gathering together the energies of his brother Slann the world over, the Mage-Priest sacrifices himself to conjure a final mighty spell that will see the battlefield changed once and for all.[6b]
H
M
- Madrigal of Greening - The Spellweaver casts acorns of the ages across the battlefield. As each acorn strikes the ground, a mighty tree springs up - an outpost of Athel Loren in this foreign land.[6b]
S
T
V
- Vaul's Unmaking - Glowing swords grow dim and blood-warm chalices grow cool as their magical energies are drained.[2a]
- Verdurous Harmony - At a simple word of command, spring comes again to the Wood Elves, and with it renewal.[6b]