Song Casting

Song casting is a type of magic characterized by the use of longform, primarily vocal invocations to cast spells and rituals that draws primarily on emotional energy, termed eir'olia, and spiritual energy, termed fai'olia. While other energies may be channeled in song casting, those two must be present in some form for it to count as such. Song casting has its origins in a lost civilization from an unknown amount of time ago, the only thing known to be left of them being relics, this magic, and their language, Fil'nyari.

History
Song casting, rava thalnyi'alo in Fil'nyari, is known to originate from the civilization that used said language, but other than that there is very little knowledge on how it came about. For a great many years since the fall of its originators, song casting was completely lost to time, but around two hundred years ago, Luna Maris Argentea, the longest practicing song caster (or fai'vaoren to use the Fil'nyari term) known and alive in the current era, uncovered a magically sealed ruin deep underwater of the lost civilization that contained a multitude of texts in Fil'nyari, among them texts on song casting. The language had luckily been taught to Luna by her grandmother, though she refused to tell Luna where she herself learned it, so she was able to translate the texts and bring this lost art back to life. Luna is currently the leading practitioner in the small but growing field.

Capabilities
Being able to do basically everything other magics can do with the proper application and technique, song casting technically only qualifies as its own form of magic and not a pure casting style because it draws on it's own energy source. As a general rule, the amount of eir'olia channeled into a spell or ritual is proportional to the power output of said spell or ritual, not accounting for modifiers. The same holds true with fai'olia. Song casting can be used in any way imaginable, only limited by the power of the caster, though this can be augmented with amplification factors.

Principles
Song casting has four basic principles, outlined in the ancient texts, that are as follows;


 * 1) For any difference from normal singing or speaking to be observed, and for any magical effect to take place, one must project their feelings from their soul into their voice.
 * 2) The amount of emotional and spiritual energy inputted into a spell is proportional to the output.
 * 3) The amount of emotional and spiritual energy inputted into a spell is proportional to the emotional and spiritual drain on the caster.
 * 4) The effect of any given spell is highly, but not wholly, dependent on the desires and willpower of the caster.

Principle one is fairly straightforward, normal singing obviously is just normal singing, so something must be done to make it magical. Principle two was touched on previously and is also quite straightforward. Principle three is a bit less so, but still fairly simple to understand. Principle four need a bit more explanation. Song casting's result is much more influenced by desire and willpower than the majority of other forms of magic. This is because of the emotional and spiritual aspect of song casting being so heavily ingrained. If the caster wants a certain effect badly enough, then even if the spell components in use are not ideal for that effect, they might get it, though ideal components would certainly help. The reverse is also true, which makes it very difficult for someone to be forced to use song casting against their will.

Cost and Overuse
Any spell or ritual cast using song casting expends eir'olia and fai'olia and thus is spiritually and emotionally exhausting to the caster, and, if overuse occurs, a caster can cause damage to their soul which can result in pain and a variety of other symptoms. In the most extreme cases, this can result in being spiritually crippled, permanent apathy, or even the soul's complete destruction. Luckily both eir'olia and fai'olia replenish naturally over time, so all a caster has to do to avoid overuse is pace themselves with mind towards their personal capabilities. It is worth noting that the less of the energies used in song casting you hold in your soul at any given time, the longer it will take for them to recharge.

Synchronous Casting
When using song casting, it is possible to link your soul up with that of one or more other people to achieve a greater effect for any given ritual or spell. This, of course, is only advisable with people you would trust with your life, happiness, and wellbeing due to how spiritually vulnerable synchronizing in this way makes you. As such, it is not really useable on a large scale.

The degree to which the synchronicity amplifies the power of the casting is dependent on many factors including the strength of the bond or bonds between individuals involved, with things getting more complicated when you have more than two people, and the combined willpower and desire of the casters to see the outcome intended. If one or more casters are in disagreement on whether they truly want the spell or ritual to succeed, participation in the casting is quite perilous and can cause dangerous spiritual backlash for all involved parties.