Craft spells are listed using the following format:
Name:
Keywords: focus, fodder, gesture, concentration, chant, object
Difficulty: basic, intermediate, advanced, master
Summary:
Variations:

Example:

At De Arcana

Writers can suggest new Craft, keeping in mind the earth-bound, viscerally-focused tone of magic in this world

Heat

↠ Spark

gesture

basic

Snap your fingers to produce a spark, a small, brief tongue of flame.

Notes: This is the first Craft learned at the coven.

Variations: Practice can improve the quality, size, and duration of the flame. See Fireball.

Frank pressed his middle finger to his thumb as hard as he could and brought to mind, as Dame Magna had taught him, the intention of fire. He imagined a lighter, how his thumb hurt when he tried to ignite his dad's old brass flip-top. He let his finger slide off his thumb and it struck his palm with a sharp crack, but also a flash of orange light and heat. He'd made his first spark but there'd been noone there to see.

↠ Heat Water

gesture

basic

Make a stirring motion with your finger over a mug or pot of watery liquid.

Notes: Another very early bit of craft learned young

Variations: Use one finger for a small amount of water. Use a larger hand gesture for heating more quickly or at greater volume.

See also: Freeze Water

↠ Fireball

gesture

intermediate

Conjure a small ball of fire between your hands which can be flung up to a meter. Do this by snapping all your fingers at once with a blazing flourish and form the fire between your hands. Throw the fire before it dissipates.

Notes: The more fire one creates the more chances of ill-crafting and burning yourself.

Variations: This is a progression of Spark.

↠ Breathe Fire

fodder (fresh or dried piquant leaves), gesture, intent

intermediate

Chew on pepper leaves (or similar) to build up heat and fire in your mouth. The more you chew, the more flame you can produce. Blow out the fire in a jet or spray.

Notes: Risk of burning yourself

Nicolai dug into his pocket as he ran down the twisty alleys behind Seven Dials, fist coming close on curry leaves. They were crisp - his own little innovation to bake them in mustard oil - and brought tears to his eyes as he stuffed a handful into his mouth. Two sets of steps hurried along behind him, gaining. His lungs burned. They would burn yet more. The alley turned into a dead end, a cul-de-sac of abandoned terrace houses. The changeling swallowed with great effort, twisting about on the balls of his feet as he drew breath. The acolytes chasing him slowed down, breathless, grinning in self-satisfaction. Fuck them. Nika stuck out his tongue in a full-chested exhale, letting loose the first jet of fire into their advancing faces.

↠ Lightning

Gesture, fodder

intermediate

Vigorously rub salt between your hands until you hear a crackling sound. Touching someone will give them a nasty electric shock and burns. Extended touch might render someone unconscious.

↠ Acid

saliva, blood, chant

advanced

After muttering a quick incantation (sal sanguinis ustiones) swish blood in your mouth and spit it out. This will have a corrosive effect on anything it touches, akin to a strong acid. A type of blood craft (consumption).

Light

↠ Glow

gesture, object

basic

One of the Fae's most basic gifts is light. Hold a small object in your hand and cover it in your warm breath. The object will glow a heatless orangy-yellow for several minutes fading gradually.

↠ Take Light

gesture, focus

intermediate

With your hand, reach out to a light source and take the light. Quickly place it upon your focus where it can remain for quite some time, until shaken away. Light from the source is dimmed until its mechanism would light it up again.

“Permit me,” he reached his hand into the hearth of the fireplace, not quite touching its flames. “The light is weak in here.” A burning light appeared to move through his knobbly fingers and into the silver watch that served as his focus. He turned his wrist in delicate gesture so that the light shone forward, cutting through the darkness of the hall. They could better see it now - the untouched bookshelves, stone sconces barren of torches, a rat skittering across the floor.

↠ Salamander Lantern

fodder (salamander)

intermediate

Create a heatless lantern by taking advantage of a salamander. Place the salamander in a glass vessel with a bit of moss and splash of water and watch the salamander glow brightly. You'll need to feed the salamander.

↠ Flash

fodder (incendiary substance), gesture

intermediate

Create a blinding flash of light. Smash between your clapping hands a considerable sum of incendiary material like matches, magnesium, or flint. Clumsily done, this could lead to burnt or harmed hands.

Water

↠ Fill the Cup

gesture, object (vessel)

basic

Pull from thin air enough water to fill a vessel. The second thing you learn at the coven. Make a twisting motion with your hands and watch the water appear.

Notes: A vessel is the focal point of this craft. A pot, a tub, and open mouth.

Variations: Larger vessels require more skill and larger gestures.

↠ Freeze Water

gesture, chant

intermediate

Lay the palm of your hands against the surface of the water (or watery liquid). Amplify by invoking the chant.

Variations: The quantity and initial temperature of the water affect the difficulty. How fast, how much it freezes may require invoking the chant. Take care not to freeze your own hands.

Victor picked his way out of the shrubbery. It was spring and he had sneezed a half dozen times following the damned Caliban off the country road but now it was nowhere to be seen. A narrow river burbled noisily between shallow banks and past it there was more wilderness. Had the Caliban crossed? Victor knelt - mud on his nice jeans! - and felt out the chilly water, letting it flow along his palm and fingers. He frowned a little, murmuring. “Lapis frigidam viam crescit…” Victor repeated thrice and the water under his fingers grew colder, freezing over, forming an icy path under which the deeper waters flowed. He stood and tested his weight on the ice. It would do. He wasn’t wearing wellies, after all.

↠ Cleanse Water

fodder (salt, wood)

Water or watery liquid can be cleansed with salt and wood. Sprinkle enough salt into dirty, poisoned, or cursed water and stir with naked wood. The salt and impurities (and alcohol) will move into the wood.

Variations: Whatever the wood has absorbed can be released by snapping the wood. Whatever trapped inside will seep out.

Ishmael was a paranoid man and always carried with him packets of salt from the cafe and wooden stir sticks from the Starbucks. Everyone mundane around him must have thought he was mad to pour salt into coffee and soups.

↠ Part the Sea

gesture, focus

intermediate

Hold the focus and push or pull a quantity of water out of your way. The water only holds as long as you keep it held at bay.

Making

↠ Stitch

fodder, object

Damaged fabric, knits or weaves itself back together. Thread a needle with your hair and get the needle started. The Craft will do the rest.

Notes: The hair will be consumed on this craft. The repair is binding back together the original material.

"Damn." Hollis had pricked her finger on the needle she'd been searching for but at least now she had it. The rip in her satchel was gaping. She took the needle, made sure it was free of blood, threaded it with a strand of her greying hair, and poked it through the start of the rip. On its own, thank fae, the needle began jetting through the heavy canvas inspiring the fabric to reweave itself. Soon as it was done, Hollis put the needle between the pages of her book, tested the satchel's heft, and was off.

↠ Lock/Unlock

focus, object, chant

intermediate

Touch your focus against the a an actual lock, box, lid, door, drawer, pocket and speak a chant to craftily lock it up. "Close", "Lock up", or "Open to none other" are all popular.

You can also unlock something locked, either mechanical locks or Crafted locks. Touch the lock with the focus and speak clearly "open", "open up" or something like it.

Notes: Craft may or may not be able to open a coblyn-made mechanism.

To unlock a lock, the best way is clear: first lapis in manu dextra (hold your stone[read: focus] in the right hand) and hold it against the lock or clasp, whatever it is that should be barring your entry. Then with clear purpose invoke the Old Ones and command "open" in a clear voice. To the novice, this Craft sounds rather easy but one will find that even with practice, not every lock is so amenable to being tampered with. – "Craftwork for a Good Wife" (1952) by Dame Tanith

↠ Paper Messenger

fodder (saliva), object, gesture, chant

basic

Smear a dab from your tongue onto the edges of your letter paper and fold it into the form of a winged animal, the more functional the better. Send it on its way by uttering the name of the recipient and giving it a puff.

Notes: The messenger is vulnerable to whatever paper is vulnerable to, and moves as fast as your quality of folding. It will never stop unless unfolded or damaged.

↠ Weave

fodder (cobwebs, varies)

advanced

Gather cobwebs and treat, spin, and weave them according to the beldam's old patterns. Depending on how you do it, you can create useful things.

Variations: With cobwebs you can make uncuttable rope, trapping nets or bindings, invisible tripwires, with thread that's sticky, strong, or searing.

Corpus

↠ Trip, Shove, Pull, Push

focus, gesture, object

intermediate

Cause someone to lose their footing as if by tripping. Make the gesture within sight of the subject while wielding your focus.

Variations: This craft can be performed upon all kinds of things in all different but simple ways. Doing it effectively and accurately requires practice.

Tripping someone up falls into a category of Craft available to anyone in possession of a properly attuned focus whereso a Fae-Touched can manipulate the physical world with the corresponding mundane action, but at a distance. Trip, grab, hit, push, touch, pull to your heart's content, or play the feline and knock the vase from the mantle. Hold your focus, make the gesture in thin air, and see the Craft work.

↠ Leap

fodder (live cricket or locust)

intermediate

Swallow a live cricket or locust and steel your nerves. You'll be able to jump very high or very far. You've got one or two in you.

↠ Zip

gesture

intermediate

Make a zipping motion over your mouth while making eye contact with your intended target, causing their lips to stick shut. Can you undone by reversing the motion or them unzipping it themselves (unless they are Untouched).

↠ Stun

fodder, gesture, object

intermediate

Knock a body to the floor dizzy by pressing your thumb dipped in iron ink between their eyes.

He closed in on her and Bianca began to panic, but she forced herself to wait. Wait! Wait until he's closer. When he grabbed for her, Bianca lunged forward and pressed her thumb, dripping with ink from her handy well, between his eyes. He fell like a fleshy plank of wood.

↠ Sleep

fodder, chant

Bring sleep upon someone by whispering "seven bells and all is well" into a fistful of sand and salt, and depositing the mixture over the intended's head. Expect the sleep to last about 30 minutes.

Heart in mouth, Dido peered over the banister at the Watcher on the floor below - he was too busy talking to someone on his cell to notice. She dug into her pocket, taking out a fistful of rough sand and salt. It wasn’t the good stuff but it would do. Dido whispered into her fist, taking care not to rush her words. She stuck her hand over the railing and let the mixture trickle down onto the Watcher’s head. By the time he so much as felt it, he was heavy of limb - mumbling swears and bumping into furniture on his way to the floor.

↠ Wake

fodder (jade), object, chant

Wake up someone from unnatural unconsciousness. Put a bit of jade under the patient's tongue and whisper "wake up" in the sleeper's ear.

"Please, please, please," wept Mara as she kissed Astrid's limp hand. Astrid had gone cold. Cadmon arrived and handed the Watcher the small stone green stone, perfect and round. Gently, the Watcher opened Astrid's mouth and placed the pebble under her tongue. Cadmon slid his daughter's dark wet hair away from her ear. The Watcher bent close and whispered.

↠ Hide

fodder (salt, wood ash), chant

advanced

Draw a circle around you in a mixture of salt and ash, all why murmuring a chant, any variation of "unseen and unheard from without". To initiate, make your ears pop. While within the circle, you and anything else inside, and the circle will be invisible and unhearable.

Note: The circle is bound to he who made it, but anyone and anything else can enter. If the circle is disrupted by a footstep or wind, it the Craft will be broken.

Variations: You can make this circle however big you wish, but good luck keeping the entire perimeter intact.

↠ Nauseate

fodder (spit, ash), chant

intermediate

Smudge a paste of ash and spit under a person’s nose. Provided they inhale, they will feel the effects for up to an hour. Effects fade if they vomit.

↠ Deadlimb

fodder (spit) object

advanced

Spit on a brass thumbtack and press it into the flesh of the joint above the limb you wish to numb/paralyse. Works whilst in place. Considered dark craft but also used in healing.

↠ Stoneskin

Fodder, chant

intermediate

Chant “from within and without” and swallow a smooth pebble; will toughen your skin against abrasion and heat for up to an hour.

↠ Waterproof

fodder (snail shell), gesture

basic

Crush a snail shell underfoot and clap twice; will cause water to slide off your skin, hair and clothes. The larger the shell the longer the effect.

Medicine

↠ Warmth

gesture, object

advanced

Warm up someone who is freezing. The Fae left us with their warmth and we can share it. Rub your hands together until they warm, then place your hands on the person you wish to warm up. Beware of giving away too much at once.

Notes: In a way, you are the fodder. You are transferring some of your body heat to another person. In theory, you could harm a living thing.

↠ Cool

fodder (soil), object

intermediate

The earth's cool touch can save a body from overheating. Use fresh soil on your hands to cool the patient. In theory, you could harm a living thing.

Variations: See Heal Burns

↠ Heal Burns

fodder (soil, milk, sage)

advanced

Combine fresh soil, milk (any mammal will do), and sage leaves into a poultice and apply to burned skin.

Notes: This fodder only has Craft if combined by the Touched

↠ Heal Cuts

fodder (yarrow, witch hazel, floral water)

advanced

Immerse yarrow and witch hazel in floral (any) water. Soak cotton fabric in the infusion overnight, let dry. Press fabric against shallow cuts to heal. Deeper cuts require longer exposure. Often prepared ahead of time, kept in reserve like band-aids. Referred to as patches.

Notes: This fodder only has Craft if combined by the Touched

↠ Sew Skin

fodder (hair, honey, gold needle)

master

A nasty gash can certainly be stitched up by hand in the mundane way, but this is faster. Take your clean gold needed, string it with human hair, and begin. The Craft will take over. Add honey to help.

↠ Mend Bones

fodder (raw silk, blood), gesture, object

master

Weave a cat's cradle above the broken bone. The string should be of raw silk and dyed with the blood from the patient, preferably left to soak for two nights. The woven silk should be held there near to touching the injury for as long as it takes for the bones to knit, so you must be strong for it could take hours or even days.

It goes without saying that the more fractures one must mend, the more complicated your weave and movements. Ideally your string must be twisted of pure raw silk and treated with the blood of your patient for two consecutive nights at the very least. - “A Beldam Novice’s Guide to Practical Healing” (1968) by Temperance Hollinghurst

The World

↠ Find Door

focus

intermediate

Find the nearest door. Something about you always knows if there is a door nearby. Using your focus as a kind of detector, cast about with it until you feel in your gut there's a door nearby.

Notes: Not all doors are findable, and even if you find it, you may not be able to use it.

↠ Seek the Lost

focus, object, chant

advanced

Create a helpful wisp that will lead you to something lost, something singular. Apply your focus to something with a connection to the lost thing and speak its name. When you will it, the wisp would leave your focus and begin its journey towards the thing, getting dimmer the closer it comes.

Victor knelt and examined the dead woman, who had last been seen wearing a red trench coat over her dress. Where was the coat now? He removed his glove and touched his bare hand to her cold neck, making sure his focus made contact. “Seek that which can be found, covering of red.” No sooner did the words leave his lips than a bluish light shot from Victor’s ring - straight down the alley, away from the Phrontistery.

↠ Clear the Air

focus, object

advanced

Using a sheet of natural paper, keeping it in contact with your focus, gesture in spirals as you walk around the room. A light breeze will pick up and syphon the air in the direction of your gestures. Larger, more expressive spirals will summon stronger winds.

The Mind

↠ Pendulum Lie Detector

device (lead plummet), object

advanced

Hang a lead plummet/plumb bob from a string over the upturned palm of someone you suspect is lying. The plummet will hang dead steady over the hand of the honest and begin to swing if they're lying.

Notes: Cannot always be relied upon, because anyone can swing a pendulum.

Sorcerer Rhodes reached out and grabbed Nika's hand and pulled it towards him, twisting it around so Nika's palm faced upwards. Nika nearly fell forward over the desk. From his desk Rhodes took out a leaden plummet and hung it over Nika's hand. "Now, tell me again - what were you two doing last night?"

↠ Sleepwalk

fodder, favour (seeker)

advanced

Dried valerian root placed under or over the sleeper. A seeker must consume a tendril from the same root and enter their dream, moving them as a puppet. The root can only be used once and the seeker is vulnerable when practicing. Considered darkcraft.

“Look alive,” drawled Victor to his familiar, who watched him settle in the armchair. He chewed on a bit of the root, the rest of which was sitting pretty under Sebastian Pym’s bed. His pupils dilated, bled out until even the sclera turned black. He closed his eyes. In the dorms across Knareswick, Sebastian opened his eyes. Victor saw through them clearly enough after a moment, even as one part of him could sense the acolyte dreaming. To move in Pym’s body was like moving through water - slowly rising, slowly turning towards the door…

↠ Remote viewing

Object, focus, favour (optional)

advanced

A polished obsidian mirror submerged in water that contains something from the subject or place of viewing; submerge focus and incant “oculo meo” to activate. Soothsayers are said to produce the clearest images.

“Hold on,” he muttered, “I’m a bit rusty with this.” Alasdair hadn’t used the obsidian plate in some years now - not since his Stalker days - and he felt ridiculous, placing the bloody thing in his bathtub of all places. Fae knew where the matching basin had gone. Tom handed him Dahlia’s lock of hair, which was as good as anything. They exchanged a guilty look. The things you did for an old hearthmate! “If she isn’t cheating on you, we’re taking this to our grave.” Alasdair warned as he dipped his hand in, clutching both focus and hair. “Oculo meo.” Nothing happened. And then the glossy blackness frosted over, a patchy image taking form under the water. There was Dahlia, yes, walking into Pendragon with— “Motherfucker!” Tom groused, breaking Alasdair’s concentration.

Protection

There are ways that a wix can resist, repel, reflect or otherwise stop Craft from taking affect on themselves or others. It all depends.

TBA

Chalk

Chalk of the earth is said to be the stone wall of the Fae. Carefully measured designs in the right kinds of chalk will create powerful effects. These are called sigils and they may be used as spells in themselves or as part of a ritual.

▶ More about sigils