Spell

Quake Step

Earth · Circle 2 — A line of the ground, shaken under the feet — the earth does not move, so the mage moves it a hand's breadth, and the hand's breadth is the whole argument.

What It Does

A line of the ground, shaken under the feet — the earth does not move, so the mage moves it a hand's breadth, and the hand's breadth is the whole argument. The line stumbles, the formation folds, and the ground is the one who decided the shape.

The Cost

Circle 2 · Earth · Exchange: breath — casting time one round. On the ladder in The Veil, the breath rung is the price, and the meter pays the budget while the exchange pays the spell.

The Failure

The shake holds the line a beat too long, and the ground keeps the tension — the line stumbles, and the line stumbles into the gap that was not there.

In Stories

The skirmish spell of the earth school; the one the camp casts when the formation is the argument and the ground is the one who has to decide.

The door's scale anchor is Stonewrought — the dragon casts it without thinking, which is how a reader learns the shape of the thing.

Inscribed Sep 09, 2026 at 10:10 PM Revised Sep 09, 2026 at 10:10 PM