Sorcery

Sorcery is the magic of fire, forced out of the powers of the imprisoned Pyros, Titan of Fire. Sorcery is practiced by the sorcerers of Daemon's Crag, a rock island in a lava lake. Sorcery almost exclusively deals with destruction and better ways to kill your foe. The Tongue of Flames is essential for the sorcerers, as it imprisons Pyros, preventing him from destroying the sorcerers in his rage.

The Ritual to Gain Spells

Sorcery is a very precise and difficult art. Many different components are needed for it to work. However, once all criteria are met, the sorcerer holds a devastating force ready to strike.

Before the ritual can be performed, the Sorcerer need to know the details about the spell and the following items are required:

• Black and red candles
• A pentagram
• A focus
• Reagents

Once all these things are at hand, the focus is charged with a spell by performing the following the ritual:

1. The black and red candles have to be put at the correct spots on the pentagram.
2. Put the correct reagents beside the correct candle.
3. Put the fitting focus into the centre of the Pentagram.
4. Ignite all candles and chant the correct words of power.

The candles will be doused, the reagents will vanish, and the focus will be charged with the spell. The spell can now be used anytime at the caster's bidding, until all charges in the focus are used up.

Practical considerations:

• The candles have to be nearly exactly positioned on top of the candleholds. This is a common major problem.
• The reagents only need to be placed close to the candles in question.
• Double-click on each of the candles, then the pentagram - not the focus. Be sure to stand moderately outside of the pentagram.

The Pentagram

The Pentagram used for preparing the spells consists of multiple different parts. The circle around the pentagram is called periferon and the lines that connect the five points on the periferon are called conducia. In the very center of the pentagram lies a pentagon that is called locus.

The point that represents the top of the volcano is called Aphelion (A) and, in Ultima VIII's particular case, is located toward the bottom of the screen. The two points that represent the base of the volcano are called Perivolcanae; The left is called Perivolcan Ze (PZ) and the right is called Perivolcan Pa (PP). The two remaining points are called Mesostelae; the left is called Mesostel Ze (MZ) and the right is called Mesostel Pa (MP). The candles and reagents are placed on the points, while the focus is placed in the locus.

Reagents

	Volcanic Ash	(VA)
	Brimstone	(BR)
	Daemon Bones	(DB)
	Pumice	(PU)
	Obsidian	(OB)
	Pig Iron	(PI)

For more, see The Reagents of Sorcery

Foci

There are five different foci. Each of them can hold different spells and charges:

	Symbol	Can hold multiple charges of Ignite and Extinguish. Only one charge of every other spell, however.
	Wand	Can only hold multiple charges of Ignite, Extinguish, Flash, and Flame Bolt.
	Rod	Can only hold multiple charges of Ignite, Extinguish, Flash, Flame Bolt, Endure Heat, Fire Shield, and Armor of Flames.
	Staff	Can hold many more charges than a rod, and it holds the same spells as a rod, plus Create Fire and Explosion. Only one (located with Malchir).
	Talisman	Can hold multiple charges of Summon Daemon, Banish Daemon, and Conflagration.

Cheat: The blue symbols collected in the Obsidian Fortress are also fully functional and can hold any Sorcery spell. However, they never run out of charges (no number of charges is given since there is no counter) and thus should be used for the four most-used spells that have high requirements.

The Spells

Extinguish

Words of Power: AN FLAM

Red Candles: None

Black Candles: All

Reagents: Pumice at Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze and Aphelion.

Foci: Symbol, Wand, Rod, or Staff

Effect: Extinguishes one fire, or when used on the caster, all fires near by. If used on a pentagram, it extingushed all the candles at once.

Ignite

Words of Power: IN FLAM

Red Candles: Aphelion

Black Candles: Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze, Mesostel Pa, Mesostel Ze

Reagents: Volcanic Ash at Aphelion; Pumice at Perivolcan Pa and Perivolcan Ze

Foci: Symbol, Wand, Rod, or Staff

Effect: Lights a candle. If used on a pentagram, it lights all candles at the same time. Essential for quickly creating spells.

Flash

Words of Power: FLAM POR

Red Candles: Aphelion, Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze

Black Candles: Mesostel Pa, Mesostel Ze

Reagents: Pumice at Aphelion; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Pa and Mesostel Ze

Foci: Symbol, Wand, Rod or Staff

Effect: Used to teleport from one place to another in sight, but not through walls. If an obstacle moves into the direct line of sight, it'll disrupt the teleport process.

Flame Bolt

Words of Power: IN ORT FLAM

Red Candles: Aphelion, Mesostel Pa and Perivolcan Ze

Black Candles: Perivolcan Pa and Mesostel Ze

Reagents: Pig Iron at Mesostel Ze; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Pa; Pumice at Perivolcan Ze

Foci: Symbol, Wand, Rod or Staff

Effect: A weak fire attack, causing moderate damage to the foe.

Endure Heat

Words of Power: SANCT FLAM

Red Candles: Perivolcan Pa and Perivolcan Ze

Black Candles: Aphelion, Mesostel Pa and Mesostel Ze

Reagents: Obsidian at Perivolcan Pa and Perivolcan Ze; Pig Iron at Aphelion

Foci: Symbol, Rod, or Staff

Effect: Enables the caster to walk over lava, as long as it is solid enough to stand on. Note that the yellow, liquid lava will still cause intant death.

Fire Shield

Words of Power: IN FLAM AN POR

Red Candles: Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze, Mesostel Pa

Black Candles: Mesostel Ze and Aphelion

Reagents: Obsidian at Perivolcan Ze and Perivolcan Pa; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Pa

Foci: Symbol, Rod, or Staff

Effect: Creates a fire ring around the caster, which only daemons can pass through. It'll vanish after a certain amount of time.

Armor of Flames

Words of Power: VAS SANCT FLAM

Red Candles: Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze and Mesostel Ze

Black Candles: Mesostel Pa and Aphelion

Reagents: Obsidian at Perivolcan Ze and Perivolcan Pa; Brimstone at Mesostel Ze; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Pa; Pig Iron at Aphelion

Foci: Symbol, Rod, or Staff

Effect: Protects against magical fire attacks. Note that it doesn't protect against lava, for which Endure Heat is needed.

Create Fire

Words of Power: IN FLAM YLEM

Red Candles: Mesostel Pa and Mesostel Ze

Black Candles: Aphelion, Perivolcan Pa and Perivolcan Ze

Reagents: Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Pa and Mesostel Ze; Obsidian at Perivolcan Pa; Pumice at Perivolcan Ze

Foci: Symbol or Staff

Effect: Target is engulfed in fire, causing great damage to the foe.

Explosion

Words of Power: VAS ORT FLAM

Red Candles: Perivolcan Pa, Mesostel Ze, Aphelion

Black Candles: Perivolcan Ze, Mesostel Pa

Reagents: Pumice at Perivolcan Pa; Pig Iron at Mesostel Pa; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Ze; Brimstone at Aphelion

Foci: Symbol or Staff

Effect: A strong fire attack, a stronger version of Flame Bolt, causing heavy damage to the foe.

Summon Daemon

Words of Power: KAL FLAM CORP XEN

Red Candles: Mesostel Pa, Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze, Aphelion

Black Candles: Mesostel Ze

Reagents: Obsidian at Perivolcan Pa and Perivolcan Ze,; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Ze; Pumice at Mesostel Za; and Daemon Bones at Aphelion

Foci: Symbol or Talisman

Effect: Summons a daemon to attack a chosen target. Note that once summoned, after defeating the foe the Daemon will turn on the caster, so a banishment spell is needed as well.

Banish Daemon

Words of Power: AN FLAM CORP XEN

Red Candles: Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze, Mesostel Ze and Aphelion

Black Candles: Mesostel Pa

Reagents: Pig Iron at Perivolcan Pa and Perivolcan Ze; Daemon Bones at Aphelion; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Pa; Pumice at Mesostel Ze

Foci: Symbol or Talisman

Effect: Banishes a hostile daemon without using physical force.

Conflagration

Words of Power: KAL VAS FLAM CORP XEN

Red Candles: All

Black Candles: None

Reagents: Daemon Bones at Perivolcan Pa, Perivolcan Ze and Aphelion; Pumice at Perivolcan Ze; Obsidian at Perivolcan Pa; Volcanic Ash at Mesostel Ze; Brimstone at Aphelion; Pig Iron at Mesostel Pa

Foci: Symbol or Talisman

Effect: Generates a huge explosion around the Sorcerer. This does not harm the caster in any way.

Lore

“

Sorcerers deal in magic of Fire and destruction, having long ago founded the Cabal that bound Pyros, the Titan of Fire, to their wills. In doing so, they also garnered the ability to call upon his servants, the daemons. In the performance of Sorcery, one must use rituals, reagents, foci, magical words and a specially designed protective circle, called a pentacle or pentagram for the five-pointed star confined within. The tremendous powers of Pyros are released in great gouts of flame, and only a trained Sorcerer would dare to call upon them. Even then, the pentacle is required to keep the Sorcerer from being consumed along with the reagents. The Sorcerer places the spell's focus at the pentagram I s center, the candles at each point around the circle, and the reagents near the candles, all while intoning the mystic words to shape the unbound energies. When this ritual enchantment is done, the Sorcerer is left with a charged (even multiply charged), glowing focus, suffused with the power of the spell invoked. The spell can then be cast at any time. – from The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII)

Trivia

• In the unpatched game, Sorcery was a source of frustration for many players, since the placement of candles and reagents was overly strict and there also was no feedback which elements were not done properly when having done something wrong. With the patch, the placement became less strict, and the Avatar, Vardion and Bane give feedback which errors were made during spell creation.

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Magic Systems
Sosaria	Sosarian magic
Britannia	Britannian magic ☥ Britannian spells ☥ Ascension magic ☥ Rituals ☥ Ultima VII (SNES)
Serpent Isle	Serpent Isle magic ☥ Serpent Isle spells
Pagan	Pagan magic ☥ Pagan spells ☥ Necromancy ☥ Tempestry ☥ Theurgy ☥ Sorcery ☥ Thaumaturgy
Other	Runic magic ☥ Runic spells ☥ Savage Empire magic