Implements

From rings, to wands, to staves, to almost anything you can imagine, spellcasters have been using implements to assist them in their craft for ages, but what are implements?

Simply put, an implement is a tool that, depending on its shape and design, can assist in the control of, or even increase the amount of, a spellcaster's power. It is worth noting that wizards require an implement to use magic at all.

To go into more detail, an implement is a tool that has been crafted and embued so as to direct energy, usually in one direction. For example, a wand takes whatever power the user directs through it and casts it along its length, essentially in a straight line. It allows for more control and something to point and aim with.

You can even make them out of materials to bolster spells, or store power for later use by using glyphs and gemstones, metals, and different kinds of wood.

Implement creation and Channeling fields
To create a magical implement there are a few ways one might go, but the simplest and earliest way is simply to concentrate on an object for a period of time, how long it takes, and how powerful the implement ends up becomming is dependant on the willpower of the imbuer and the material the tool is made out of.

The basic concept to this is that as you concentrate on the object, you apply a little bit of your willpower to it and over time your willpower will cause your own aura to flow through it, granting it an alignment and a channeling field based on it's shape and your perception of the object.

A channeling field is essentially a kind of aura that directs energy through an object. In sentient things a channeling field is more fluid, affected by the entities mental and emotional states, as well as their level of concentration. So forexample if you concentrate on pushing energy in a straight line, your field will re align to push energy in a straight line, the better your concentration the straighter and clearer the path will be.

In magical tools however, since they have no will of their own (usually) they will keep a constant field around them that makes them incredibly useful for directing energy in a predictable and stable manner. To make a tools aura more accurate or to your liking all one needs to do is spend more time aligning it through concentration.

Different types of tools and what they do
Everyone is familiar with the magic wand, but implements come in all manner of shapes and sizes.

Wands
To start with the most basic, the magic wand has been around for as long as anyone can remember, largely due to its relatively simple construction, light weight, and ease of use. It's a primal thing to pick up a stick and command things with it. Indeed the earliest wands were nothing more than twigs and branches from very old trees, sometimes with beads or gemstones tied to them. They were nothing compared to the wands of today, but still useful enough to be worth making.

At some point in the past, someone learned that you could meditate over a wand to align it more accurately, or to relign it. This allowed wand makers to carve wands, instead of just using raw branches, and they were now able to carve them into the more recognizeable simple straight shape you often see today. From there it was largely trial and error until the first glyphs were discovered and people started etching them into their wands to further improve them.

The wand has come a long way since its inception but has always retained the simple design that has made it so popular from antiquity into the modern day.

Staves
Something of an upgrade on the wand, the magic staff has been around for almost as long and works on the same basic principals as the wand, just on a larger scale. Long branches were used instead of sticks, the added mass drastically increased power and control, but at the moderate cost of being heavier and harder to hide.

The increased power also causes more prominent kickback when casting powerful spells, which makes them a little harder to use. It also means that there is more to it that can become damaged. An improperly maintained staff can lead to much more prominent caster's burn, often spread throughout the body instead of localized to one or both hands as is usually the case with damaged wands.

The staff does of course have its advantages, in addition to being more powerful, the increase in size allows for more embellishment than a wand does. Some staves even have an Orb (see below) emplanted on them for added function and power, and of course the shaft of the staff allows for much larger glyphs to be etched in for even more increased power.

Bottom line, a well made staff is a powerful thing indeed.

Orbs
An interesting spin on the storage properties of gemstones, orbs are exactly what they sound like: a ball, usually about 10 to 15 inches in diameter, and made of some conductive material. You can make a simple orb out of wood if you don't have any more conductive materials available, but most modern orbs are made of at least some kind of metal. The most common ones are made of some variety of crystal, or even specially treated glass.

The basic function of an orb is in raw amplification. They soak up whatever you put into them and make it bigger, though usually much more spread out. If made properly an orb can also amplify a caster's power. Again the surface area of an orb makes it very easy to apply glyphs and other embellishments to it to further increase its power.

While an orb, especially a crystal one, can be easy to damage, they are also easily maintained, as any cracks that they may have will be easily visible. That said, an improperly maintained or damaged orb can be very dangerous to the user. It is not uncommon for these devices to outright explode when they fail, and the aura of risk for caster's burn is likewise widened by the way it works. Often it will burn not only the caster in their whole body, but anyone who stands near them frequently. A well made but damaged orb left active and set in a public place can cause widespread casualties, often times not being detected immediately due to the symptoms strange nature. Be very careful with orbs.

To sum them up, the function of an orb is to expand and amplify, like a prism, it will scatter effects far and wide and can be very useful if you know how to handle it.

Rings
A ring is an interesting spin on a wand. They come in different sizes, some worn on the fingers like a normal ring, and others are larger and worn upon the wrist more like a bangle. They are usually made of metals or other highly conductive materials, but again simple wood can work for a basic one. They offer more or less the same power as a wand on average, but much more control as they act heavily with the user's own aura, allowing for say spells to be shifted in midair through willpower or hand motions. They also have the benefit of leaving your hands free, which makes them popular with magical knights.

Rings can be somewhat easily damaged however, since you can't just shove them in your pocket or drop them when you need to the way you can with most other tools. If you take a hard fall, or block a hit with your arm you might damage or crack it. Caster's burn from a damaged ring will almost certainly cook through whatever limb it is on, and often much faster than a wand, because it is wrapped around your finger or wrist rather than the other way around.

Some rings include small orbs, allowing for both control and a little boost to effects cast through it. Because of their shape, it is possible to apply all manner of interesting boosts and embelishments on them, and they have become very popular recently in sports due to their ease of use and the control they provide. Also, they can often be used in conjunction with other tools for fairly impressive effects.

Disks
A variation on orbs, Disks are better suited to defense and melee where combat is concerned. The reason for this is that the shape of the disk more easily fits a cyclonic field arrangement, making it naturally good for blocking, also, it's kind of shaped like a shield anyway so there's that.