What a Spell Is

A spell is concentrated intent made repeatable. The caster does not need material, somatic, or verbal components unless a specific spell, ritual, class feature, or tradition says otherwise. Words, gestures, tools, holy symbols, diagrams, blood, and circles may still matter culturally or ritually, but they are not the default engine of spellcasting. The engine is will shaped through training.

Mana represents the amount of magical pressure a caster can safely gather, hold, and release. A character with high Magic does not merely know more tricks; they can survive deeper contact with forces that would burn, distort, exhaust, or hollow out a weaker caster.

Your maximum Mana is calculated as:

Max Mana = n × n

where $n$ is your Magic skill level.