Terminology: Implements

Many insen confuse implements with thaumines, but they are quite distinct. Thaumines are imbued with energy and instructions by magi while implements occur naturally. The four types of primary implements have been used by magi for thousands of gyres despite the fact that the reason they work continues to elude scholars. As with all such mysteries, there are many theories, but most doubt that even the mysterians know the truth.

The four types of primary implements are:

• Wand. A length of material usually between 4 and 18 inches. Wood is the most common substance for wands, but anything that will retain a largely straight shape will work. A wand aids the magus in targeting workings. Nearly every apprentice uses a wand for the first gyre or two, until the master has been reasonably assured that no magic will go astray.
• Staff. A long material at least 3 feet tall. Wood is again the most common substance for a staff, and the only real distinguishing characteristic between a wand and a staff is the length/height. Both need to have a diameter that fits easily in one hand, so the size really is the only difference, and there have been numerous instances where a broken segment of a staff has been used as a wand. A staff aids the magus in both pulling in magical energy from the environment and metering it back out efficiently during workings. The end result is more magic use throughout a rote and less overwhelming repercussions.
• Crystal. Any crystalline material can work as an implement to enhance cerebremancy. After the Schism, this implement fell into disuse with most magi, but is still used as an aid in concentration and focusing. The Hidden Masters are said to use crystal implements in many ways forgotten by other magi.
• Globe. A spherical object can be used as an implement to aid sensitivity workings. Sensing further through time and space is the most common use for a globe implement. Some magi require them for sensitivity workings even after apprenticeship, and the spherical shape is commonly used in thaumines that involve sensitivity.

A magus merely declares an appropriate item to be an implement, and it works. A magus who needs a new staff can walk into the forest, find a downed limb of the appropriate length, and decide it is a staff. It takes nothing more, though it is common for magi to modify their implements with artistic crafts and decorations. An implement works because of a combination of some natural magical effect and the magus’s will. As long as the magus believes it is an implement then the object will be one. Scholars refer to this as the Implement Effect.

Some magi have success in combining two or more implements, such as a crystal ball being both a crystal and a globe. Crystals or globes frequently adorn staves or serve as a kind of pommel on wands. There are few limits to the comingling of implements beyond the willpower of the magus, though most believe that a staff and wand cannot be comingled because of the size difference.

A lot of magi view implements as tools to learn magic, and as such they are not appropriate to use after apprenticeship. The idea that an implement is a crutch leads to the perception that a magus who does not need any implements is more powerful or more highly trained. Even with the negative opinions, the majority of magi in the modern era use wands.

One unusual interaction in the energies within an implement is that a thaumine cannot be used as an implement. This is another aspect of implements that is not well understood. An implement transformed into a thaumine stops functioning as an implement. That is one reason why it is so rare to see a thaumine staff. A magus can easily carry two wands, globes, or crystals, to have one that is a thaumine and one that is an implement, but carrying two staves is difficult.

There are also secondary implements that are less common and harder to will into functioning via the Implement Effect. Such secondary implements, such as dowsing rods and binding rings, are for very specific workings, and are too numerous to discuss here. Thealla’s Advanced Magics is an excellent resource on such items.