Most mages have a special ability that, while not necessarily unique to them, is perhaps their 'signature' technique and one that they are highly practiced in. For some mages, this spell is something they very commonly utilize, for others it's something they consider to be the greatest example of their power, and for others still it could simply be the spell that they find the most fun, interesting or suited to them.

Amity: Platecrusher, a special technique that Amity pioneered primarily to specifically kill his father. This metal-magic spell requires a heavy palm-strike that, upon landing, sharply caves in any metal plate it touches turning it essentially into a giant spike. The palm-strike that precedes it sends a pulse through the armor to destroy the anti-metal magic wards common to most suits of full-plate, allowing for the ensuing magic to take full effect against targets with standard protections.

Aoife: Dawn Fog. Aoife sends their servants forward to protect them while they charge up a powerful magic spell, swinging their censer in a circle above their head and thoroughly spreading the mist throughout the area. They then slam their charged censer into the ground, sending a shockwave of magic through the fumes that massively enchants their servants and any allies as long as they remain in it, wreathing their weapons in the Architect's light and allowing them to cleave through or crush plate armor and ignore magical wards and granting them magical regeneration. Aoife themselves becomes heavily empowered as well.

August: Moonbeam, a surprisingly powerful spell that their father taught them. It allows them to conjure magical arrows, ranging from low-power ones that resemble real arrows to high-power ones that are highly magically charged, far higher velocity and can even burn targets.

Aya: Dominate Nightmare, a spell that is almost unique to Aya as one of the Grace's chosen. Unlike most who aim to destroy or abate nightmares, Aya can use her magic to twist the subject of a recurring nightmare into something more like a dream-guardian that can act as a mental ward against other nightmares, should it recur.

Charlotte: Mortal Coil, a spell which involves Charlotte gouging her own jugular vein and putting herself on death's door. As soon as the blade cuts into Charlotte's artery, a wave of lightning blasts out of Charlotte and typically bowls over most unprotected humanoid targets while heavily electrifying them. Lightning strikes Charlotte, who is at this point either dead or rises dramatically, crackling with overwhelming magic. At this point, Charlotte may direct this into a single, extremely powerful bolt, one that no ward in the world could withstand and that would cleave over a thousand meters of land, bowing and splitting trees in its path and leaving a deep scar in the earth, typically obliterating Charlotte's target. She may also direct it into the environment, unleashing so much lightning that she briefly glows like the sun, saturating an area up to a quarter of a mile around her with enough electricity and plasma to liquify plate armor and thoroughly char anything that lives. If Charlotte is permitted to perform this spell, she's flipping a coin to end the combat there and then--either she dies once and for all, or whatever is attacking her is almost certainly killed.

Claire: Claire's most-used combat spell is by far Star Mire, which causes a circle of space around twenty feet from them to begin 'melting' into harmless 'inert' Ichor. This ichor builds up under the feet of any assailants and has no effect on Claire's allies, slowing them until they can no longer move and eventually beginning to produce tendrils of ichor that pull the target down until they are immobilized.

Cyril: Gleaming Blade, a technique that Cyril develops to kill Strigoi and later perfects for killing Angels. A fairly simple spell, it wreathes any weapon he wields in intense light magic that severely burns anything struck by the weapon and readily melts through armor, and which later can repel and kill Angels due to their weakness to light magic.

Deziree: Moonlight Avatar. Deziree focuses on a single target, who is equipped with ornate magical plate armor themed after the moon that shimmers with iridescent light whose crown is a dragon-shaped helmet that can physically open and gnash at the wearer's command and blast rays of burning or freezing moonlight from its maw, and a weapon and potentially shield that fits the skills of the wielder. A shaft of light wreathes the target and a small radius around them, which either freezes or burns anything in range, and the affected person is able to move much faster, is granted extreme strength, resistance to an element, and almost complete magical immunity--though each magical effect blocked weakens Deziree until the spell eventually falters.

Eren: A spell called Dark Star, in which Eren projects increasingly vast amounts of shadow magic into the titular 'dark star', a shimmering violet light that appears a few feet above him. The burning Star heavily empowers the magic of Eren's allies while dampening that of foes, as well as physically sickening and confusing his foes as long as they are within sight of it. Any Lacunae in view of the Star are not subject to the Architect's light.

Ezra: Mass Disenchant, a spell which Ezra has spent many years perfecting. Intended to be a way to disarm multiple dangerous spellcasters at once, Mass Disenchant does exactly what it says it does--obliterates, or at least stifles, enchantments on a wide variety of magical objects. It also 'jams' magical channels for a time, preventing things like wands, staves or focuses from working for some time if they were hit by the initial pulse.

Foxfire: Conjure Doom is Foxfire's primary way of robbing people. A surprisingly powerful illusion spell that would typically be outside of Foxfire's level of power, Conjure Doom is a signature spell of the People of Anthe tribe and one she has learned to perfect since she was a young child. While under the effects of Conjure Doom, up to five targets can lose all perception of others and feel completely alone save for what Foxfire wants them to see. The sky goes completely dark, and Foxfire looks much scarier, displaying total omnipotence over the environment, readily twisting the landscape around her, which she uses to frighten people into handing over their valuables.

Fran: Grave Strike. Fran charges their shovel, Gravedigger, with powerful magic that allows it to immediately resurrect a struck target. An easy way to establish minions in the heat of combat, a being killed by Grave Strike will usually be reanimated quickly enough that it remains standing and can jump into the fray immediately. Fran restrains themselves from using this on people, but does not entirely abstain.

Gail: Emberspeak, a spell that allows Gail to retrieve memory fragments from Embers, the totemic remains of ancient spirits. Emberspeak is a technique that Gail has mastered, and is a significant part of his investigations.

Halley: Summon Sparkles. It is exactly what it sounds like. It has no combat use whatsoever, but Halley uses it all the time to add flair as they speak and just to dazzle random people they meet.

Heike: Field of Pikes. Heike charges up for a moment, and then releases a wave of ice magic, covering foes in a layer of frost and then suddenly impaling them on ice spears that burst out of the ground. Straightforward, but effective.

Hileni: Gleaming Eye. An exhausting and limiting form of the focus that Hileni uses throughout her typical combat, Hileni hones her spirit to its absolute limit, slowing her perception of time to a crawl. In this moment, she cannot move any faster than her surroundings, but her mind runs even faster—allowing her to make a dramatic, clinch reaction in a moment of desperation. She can assess her situation quickly and make incredible, almost impossible maneuvers, slotting her wand-gun shots through the tiny gaps in the visors of enchanted plate armors and performing superhuman feats of acrobatics. This focused state is typically reflected in a faint magical runoff from Hileni's eyes. Once this state wears off, Hileni's ability to tap into her spirit is totally exhausted briefly, and she's faintly fatigued.

Ikali: Cleave Wards. Empowering his axe, a mixture of metamagic and force magic imbues his next strike with the ability to cleave through almost anything, be it magical wards or plate armor. The highest expression of power from a wizard specializing in metamagic, not even wards summoned by the minor God En could withstand a strike--thus, it is his key to killing En.

Isabelle: Melting Wail. Isabelle releases a frightening magical cry, ablating the surface layer of everything around her--though she can exempt targets. While this might just melt through platemail or very thick leather armor on the first pass, it can be instantly lethal to lighter armored targets. This effect also tends to stun people and animals for a significant length of time.

Jacie: Jacie doesn't really have much of a signature spell except for 'summon stun powder'. Really, it would be more appropriate to call stun powder Jacie's signature--a special concoction that Jacie developed themselves that when blown into the face of an assailant will almost instantly stop them in their tracks, leaving them extremely confused, barely able to see and coughing heavily.

Kenzo: A technique legendarily practiced by the Ihara family, Deathly Presence. Kenzo charges themselves with powerful spirit magic, creating an aura around them that emboldens and strengthens allies while cowing foes. Enemies in range are not necessarily automatically frightened but experience heightened fear, and are likely to panic in Kenzo's presence. Worsening this, Kenzo becomes an almost unstoppable beast, easily smashing through doors, slicing through plate armor and throwing foes around.

Khepri: Purging Ray. When he is frightened and believes he has no other choice, Purging Ray is typically the exomagic spell Khepri is most likely to use. He charges for a moment, and then reaches out his hand, releasing an instantaneous 'line' of magic about 4 inches across. Any physical matter of any kind within this line is instantly deleted from existence, leaving absolutely no trace, passing through all wards and obliterating them in the process. It also instantly destroys any magic attached to the target's soul. This spell is very draining for Khepri but is a good way to instantly kill an attacker. A particularly eldritch expression of exomagic, it produces a brief and sharp tone that pains the ears and rattles the minds of everyone who hears it, excluding Khepri but not his allies.

Keke: A legendary spell that combines multiple disciplines of magic, Keke's ultimate expression of power is Moonfall. An area roughly a quarter mile around, centered on Kiki, sinks into depthless nightfall--if they are indoors, it seems as if the world falls away into wilderness around the affected individuals. Those immune to spiritual manipulation would instead see thick clouds of darkness enveloping them, as Keke's darkness begins sapping their lifeforce and weakening them. In the illusion, the moon appears to come crashing to the ground in great fragments, as shards of ice begin to crash into the ground, often seeking out Keke's targets. Most mortal targets will die to the life-sapping effects by the time the moon 'lands', completing the illusion, if not to the small ice comets or any of Keke's allies. Keke has remarkably fine control over targeting all aspects of the spell.

Kore: Nova Shell, a special munition that Kore considers her pride and joy. Incredibly annoying to manufacture such that Kore can only generally afford to store two in reserve at a time at most, the Nova Shell is Kore's last resort when faced with an insurmountable problem. Containing five pellets of magically-charged lead, each pellet generates a powerful, shaped and short-ranged explosion (without destroying the projectiles themselves) at the point of first impact. The result is a devastating blast riddled with extreme-velocity heavy buckshot, piercing designed to punch a yawning hole through even tank-like armor without putting too much strain on Kore's body to fire it. The Nova Shell was designed in response to an encounter with one of Fran's servitors.

Leiko: Teleport to Beacon. Leiko is perhaps most famous for her Crystal Beacons, special magical crystals that allow infinite, instantaneous teleportation between two locations. Each Crystal Beacon is extremely difficult to make, taking months of painstaking precision work and enchantment on top of a lot of very rare materials. Leiko is the only person on the planet with the ability to at-will teleport to a beacon, as their creator, and does so frequently to manage her spy network.

Mary: Lightning Fist, a fairly straightforward one: Mary charges her storm arm and punches forward, extending it however far she needs to in order to strike her opponent. When it lands, it produces a powerful discharge of lightning that can easily be lethal.

Moya: Moya has two. Call Meteorite is one of a few 'legendary spells' that exist to exemplify that absolute limit of nature magic power, and for most it's purely theoretical. Without being an elemental, Call Meteorite is almost impossible for a mortal to cast, but Moya's combination of elementalism and status as a magma druid allow him to use it under extreme circumstances. Call Meteorite does exactly what it says, dragging a meteorite out of space and towards a target for extreme damage. If Moya is very threatened or experiencing extreme mental duress, he may also use Conjure Ash Devils, which summons dangerous ash beings to fight on his behalf.

Najwa: Consume Magic. Najwa touches a target--really, usually grabs them by the neck or pins them down--and begins draining any magic affecting them. Any item they are holding can have its magical charge taken, and any ward attached to them will be consumed unless it is vastly more powerful than Najwa's level. Najwa also consumes a small amount of magic directly from the target's soul, briefly weakening them both physically and magically; all of this empowers Najwa.

Ngairi: Hyperbeam. Ngairi charges a powerful beam with the aid of a wand, focus or a wand gun, and the wand begins to levitate out of their hand/the weapon's armature. The focus splits apart and disintegrates unless it is very high-grade, and disgorges a beam of magic. The beam has sharply limited range depending on Ngairi's will, and can either be instantaneous and thinner--requiring a longer charge period--or slower, wider and ablative. In instantaneous form, it makes a loud crack and is visible for only a moment, is about four inches in diameter, and punches through almost any ward and all but the most powerfully enchanted armor. In ablative form, it lasts about two seconds, generally dealing more damage than the instantaneous form and extending the damage over a foot in diameter, but it is weaker to wards and easier to take cover from. Both forms are spectacular displays, displaying such force as to gouge the landscape between them and their target.

Odessa: Illusory Shot. A vitalist spell that allows Odessa to point at a target and cause the target to feel as if they have been shot where Odessa is pointing. The affected target does not actively believe they have been shot, but they suffer most of the sensory effects and shock of having been shot for about an hour after. Ironically, this spell is banned by the Lantern Bearers and the Verdant Grasp both, mostly for its absolutely nightmarish effects when the spell is pointed at the head that would undeniably be an extreme form of torture--Odessa just never aims for the head.

Olivia: Consume Whole. Fairly straightforward, Olivia's maw cracks open and releases a blast of wispy black flame, engulfing the spirits of anything it hits. As they burn, instead of smoke they emit a thick and colorful mist which Olivia then sucks back into their maw, consuming the souls of their targets and becoming much more powerful for a short time.

Orrari: Ward of Hope. Orrari lifts her hands or weapon into the air, and projects a sphere around herself and other allies, throwing back foes as the ward expands. Inside of this bubble, all allies will have their wounds knit and will feel their exhaustion abate, usually completely restoring everyone within the bubble by the time it falls again. As long as Orrari concentrates, the ward is nearly impervious.

Paige: Paige's real signature spell is not for combat whatsoever, and instead is something of a hobby--Water Dance. Water Dance is a spell that enables the eponymous Wildkin tradition of water dancing, enabling the wielder to move gracefully on water, usually while using water magic to lift themselves up or cause the water to dance with them. Paige is very fond of water dancing in the nearby lake.

Pallavi: Feint. A simple but effective illusion spell that Pallavi has mastered, it allows them to summon illusionary duplicates of themselves that will pretend to strike their target, hopefully opening the enemy's guard for a surprise attack from another direction.

Renz:  Astral Jaunt. Renz suddenly projects her spirit up to ten feet in any direction, her body briefly becoming stunned and vulnerable. At this moment, the Black Arc teleports into her spirits' grasp, gathers power for a deadly armor-piercing shot, and Renz enters her highest state of focus, able to make impossible shots that ricochet in ways that are only possible through divination and pierce multiple targets. Renz can only sustain this a few times a combat.

River: Wild Flare, River's main spell that they use to defend themselves from wildlife or bandits. They release a slow moving but homing bolt of wild magic that chaotically transforms between different forms of nature magic including sub-types.

Rook: Lift Person. A simple arcane spell that levitates a person up to a couple of feet off of the ground, Rook uses Lift Person to help get around her tiny size. She can, however, use it in a pinch to lift animals or people who might threaten her, suspending them in the air for a few moments.

Rowan: Conjure Doom (But Real!) Unlike Foxfire's version of Conjure Doom, Rowan's version is essentially real. If Rowan is in extreme danger, she will expend all of her magic to cast this spell. At once, a roughly 60 feet area around her becomes oppressively dark for everyone but her, and a dark mire begins to form. In this mire, Rowan's foes are slowed while her allies are completely unaffected, and everyone else inside of the effect will steadily die over the next minute unless they exit the effect as the pall of shadows saps their lifeforce. This effect works on almost everything, including the avatars of Gods, who the Ch's power supercedes.

Sadiya: Reload Wand. Most Lantern Bearers treat wand gun wands as magazines and simply discard or stow them when they are spent, but Sadiya is one of the few to have received training to re-empower their wands in the heat of combat. It takes some energy out of them and so cannot be done indefinitely, but it at least extends their ammunition considerably.

Sunder: Both he and his thralls have signature abilities. The thralls, when highly threatened, will use two empty hands--even dropping their weapons that vanish into smoke--to pull open the fabric around their chest, revealing a vacant darkness that spews a high-pressure ray-shaped cloud of shadow magic that would vaporize most things.

Sunder's signature ability is to project his spirit forward out of his human body at impossible speed, carrying the Claw and striking with great force. Sunder can cross the battlefield in a blink this way, but his body is vulnerable in the brief window it takes for him to strike and return.

Suzette: The Numberless Legions. Channeling their illusion magic with their servitors already on the field, Suzette will begin to 'summon' more. As Suzette channels, portals will begin to appear all around--some will indeed contain new servitors which will be at the frontline and begin to attack, but vastly more will simply be illusions that will pretend to advance, easily frightening most opponents Susie would be likely to face.

Tamaz: Javelin Blade. Tamaz grabs their blade by the tang, sometimes giving it a spin, and then lifts it up as if it were a javelin. It accrues bright golden light around it, until the blade is simply a spear of light, which Tamaz throws with the aid of magic. The force projects it like a bullet, able to punch through almost any cover and any magical ward--theoretically, Tamaz's blade could pierce all the way through the broadside of a tank with some velocity left to spare. The blade then dislodges itself from any surface and zips back to Tamaz's hand, impaling anything on the way, where Tamaz will either catch the blade by the tang again or grab the hilt of the blade and rip it out of the target as it returns.

Tycho: Conjure Candlelight. An extremely common spell, Tycho is very adept with it--he can light many candles or incense sticks at once, and is so used to using it to light tealights that he simply does it without thinking.

Vashau: Flash Missiles. Vashau lifts her hand and releases a scattering wave of 8 sparkling, multicolored light projectiles which all fly in wild arcs, winding towards their targets. When a Flash Missile strikes a target, it acts essentially like a colorful, sparkly flashbang, probably injuring and possibly even killing unarmored targets on direct hits. Vashu's hat is secretly a secondary focus for this ability and can be used to cast it without any gesturing.

Willoh: Grace, a very common Arcane healing spell. Willoh is a fairly good healer, and Grace is the spell they certainly use the most in the field.

Wren: Blade Dance. Wren frequently uses her force magic to control weapons, to use her naginata as a projectile and recall it, and to launch loose projectiles such as arrows.

Zura: Final Stroke. Zura expends almost all of their power, lifting up to 20 targets around them six feet into the air. Zura then slams their palm down, throwing all of the targets into the ground with extreme force.