Battle Magi

In Eälenspar magic can be extremely powerful, allowing single powerful users to dominate fights. However, the creating of symbols is delicate and requires maneuvering in space to create relevant effects. Earnest magical combat can be split into two forms, which are both important to every battle magi.    The first is ranged combat. Symbols create the effect at their location, and can be difficult to move, so a common tactic is to bind the symbol to a projectile like an arrow or javelin and launch this enhanced projectile at the enemy. This allows for the greatest range of effects, and for the mage to have the most time in relative safety to create these spells, so in large scale combat this style is the most impactful. Range of these spells is still limited by the range of the weapons however, so magi will often use mobile platforms like chariots to launch their spells from the optimal positions.   The other significant style of combat, used primarily in personal defense, duels, or skirmishes is to cast the spells in the location they are intended to have an effect, bypassing the need for projectiles. The challenge in this case is that the mage must physically be in the location they need to cast the spell, and by the nature to the situation the enemy will also be there, so wizards train in melee weapons in order to control space on the battlefield, giving themselves time in the positions they need to cast the spells. A duel between two magi then becomes like a game of chess,  where each mage will use physical weapon techniques and small weak spell to pressure their opponent away from the half completed major spells and to maintain control of their own, the completion of which will likely result in the end of the duel.