Encyclopaedia Magica
“Magica Combattiva, or combat magic, may be simple in structure, but luminaries in the field still marvel at the complexities surrounding the deeper ramifications of its use. When employed against living beings it stands antithetical to the Magica Curativa, even though it has been used in this fashion for millennia (see additional remarks in the corresponding section).”
The Encyclopaedia Magica, or simply the Encyclopaedia, as it is known in mages’ circles, is the standard reference work for guild mages. It contains detailed essays on the history of magic; a thorough directory of magic academies, known orders, research circles, and arcane luminaries of past and present; theoretical treatises and summaries of recent research; and a compendium of known magic spells (though curious readers are often disappointed to learn that most versions provide few formulae and no lessons in spellcasting).
Many mages own a set or at least a collection of excerpts relevant to their own interests or specialties. This is especially true with traveling mages, who dislike weighing themselves down with seven heavy tomes, each of which is two hundred pages long.
Every mage’s academy owns several sets of the Encyclopaedia, but not all educational facilities possess the most recent edition. The work is constantly under revision and new editions are issued each year. Popular belief holds that the work is more than 2,000 years old, but the oldest known editions go back only about 800. The latest edition was published by the Academy of Punin.
“Should I read those books as well, Hilbert?”
— Layariel Treetopglint, elven wyldrunner
“No, you’d better not. You don’t want to know what guild mages think about elves.”
— Brother Hilbert of Auen, Blessed One of Peraine
“OK, then. I’ll go back to meditating in the moonlight.”
— Layariel Treetopglint, elven wyldrunner
Editions of the Encyclopaedia Magica
Certain editions are famous and highly sought after, while some editions are noteworthy for other reasons. The most important of these appear below.
1st Edition
Written around 850 b.FB by Basilius the Great, one of the most famous arch mages in history. This set was quickly recognized as the essential reference work for mages.
Format and Distribution: 7 oversized volumes; only three sets are known to exist.
2nd Edition (the Fran-Horas Edition)
The Academy of Bosparan compiled the second edition under the guidance of Emperor Fran-Horas around 609 b.FB.
Format and Distribution: 6 volumes; Only individual volumes are known to exist.
3rd Edition (the Bosparan Edition)
The Bosparan Edition, created around 395 b.FB, holds little significance to mages but is a good source of information on magic during the Dark Ages.
Format and Distribution: 6 folio volumes (the first to be sorted alphabetically); Only individual volumes are known to exist.
4th Edition (written in Usim Script)
Another edition produced during the Dark Ages (around 200 b.FB); this work focuses on battlefield magic.
Format and Distribution: 6 folio volumes; A handful of complete sets are known to exist.
5th Edition (the Hela-Horas Edition)
Though nominally produced by Emperor Hela-Horas around 3 b.FB, this edition was written by her private tutor and was the first edition to mention the magic of the Adamantine Sultanate.
Format and Distribution: 6 folio volumes; Established the now-traditional per-volume page count of 200 pages; A handful of complete sets are known to exist.
6th Edition (the Hesinde Edition)
Arch mage Durthan of Erkenstein and a select team of contributors produced this edition in 211 FB.
Format and Distribution: Like the 5th edition; About two dozen complete sets are known to exist.
7th Edition (the Rohal Edition)
Published in 483 FB during the reign of Rohal the Wise. This is one of the best-known editions.
Format and Distribution: 7 folios plus a spell index called the Codex Cantiones; About 100 complete sets are known to exist.
8th Edition (the Argelion Edition; sometimes called the 1st Kuslikan Edition)
The Halls of Metamorphoses in Kuslik produced this edition in 604 FB, after the War of Mages.
Format and Distribution: 6 folios plus an added register; Volumes in this edition are far smaller, topping out at around 120 pages each; Around 200 complete sets are known to exist.
9th Edition (the Kuslikan Edition)
The last edition produced in Kuslik; this edition was published in 812 FB.
Format and Distribution: 7 folios plus an added register; This edition restored the per-volume page count to 200 pages; 300-400 complete sets are known to exist
10th Edition (the Puninan Edition)
The newest edition of the Encyclopaedia Magica, first printed in 1001 FB.
Format and Distribution: same format as the 9th Ed., but with a much larger distribution, thanks to the initial print run of 1,000 sets; Around 50 handwritten copies also exist.
“Even though this a Bosparanian work, it also is very popular in the Lands of the Tulamydes. It is standard practice for many guild mages to make a personal copy of the first volume when they graduate, as a sort of gift from their school, or so their teacher says.”
— Mirhiban al’Orhima, Tulamydian fire mage
“Oh, how glad I am that witches don’t rely on books.”
— Rowena of the Transweal, Bornish cat witch
“Mages don’t need books either. This is just a reference work and almanac of collected knowledge. However, certain editions do contain magic theses that can be used to learn new spells, and all without the help of a teacher.”
— Mirhiban al’Orhima, Tulamydian fire mage