Alter Aeon The Great Library

Welcome to the Alter Aeon Historical Archive!

Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  37386
Title: a book called 'Ceremonial and Group Casting'

"Ceremonial and Group Casting" by Professor Gisela Aalfhaus, Arcane College
of Eisdorf.

There are various types of ceremonial magic known from antiquity. While
magical ceremonies are most frequently performed by clerics, they are also
popular amongst druids, as well as some schools of necromancy and elemental
magic.

Numerous implements are used in rituals, ranging from wands and staffs to
specially proscribed clothing. Magical rituals typically involve the use of
spell components, often infused into incense or candles. Summoning rituals
may involve special chalks or other materials for drawing containment
circles.

Clerics have refined ritualized casting to an artform. The discipline of
"group casting" allows multiple clerics to cast nearly any cleric spell, in
any location, in concert with one another to enhance the power of the spell
and distribute the mana cost. Even non-clerics can participate in and
contribute to groupcasting rituals. While powerful, groupcasting requires
concentration and cannot be used in battle.

Very few magical rituals actually require multiple casters. Most summonings
can be performed by a single caster. Groupcasting is used to boost the
power of cleric spells, but is not required. There are a few exceptions.

The wardbreaker spell allows a group of clerics to pool their mana together
to create a powerful barrier that traps mana. This affect is used to
overload magical wards that cannot be dispelled through normal means.

Rumors speak of another ritual that requires multiple casters: the
summoning of an Unholy Eater. These monstrous entities were created by
Dentin himself. It is unknown when they were made, but it is known they
were used as living weapons against the forces of the Evil Immortals during
the Great Wars. In more recent times, a heretical cult of Dentin
worshippers was able to call an Eater into Ralnoth, where it laid waste to
a large portion of the city. It is said that the Eater's toothmarks can
still be seen today, etched into solid stone blocks where is devoured whole
buildings.

There may be other rituals that require the power of multiple casters, but
none have been well-documented.