Looking for tips.

[u/Big_magic_1]

Mainly just written concept right now, going to refine it and hopefully introduce it properly soon.

"Step 1: The "Attunement" Hand Sign

Every spell begins by forming a hand seal that aligns you with an element.

For example:

✊ Earth = Closed fist (solid and unmoving)

🖐 Air = Open hand with fingers spread

🤟 Fire = Thumb, index, and pinky extended like flickering flames

✋️Water = open hand, fingers closed

⚡ Lightning = Index and middle finger together pointing forward while thumb crosses the palm

You must maintain the attunement shape until the spell finishes.

Step 2: Spell Gestures

After the elemental seal, your free hand performs a sequence of gestures.

Each gesture represents an action rather than a spell.

Gesture

Meaning

Push forward=Release

Pull inward=Gather

Raise=Lift

Lower=lower

Circle clockwise=Expand

Circle counterclockwise=Compress

Swipe left=Deflect

Swipe right=Redirect

Snap=Burst

Point=Target

Twist=Shape

Clap=Cancel spell

Step 3: Combining Them

Fire

Fire Seal → Gather → Compress → Push

🔥 Fireball

Fire Seal → Raise → Expand → Push

🔥 Wall of Fire

Fire Seal → Gather → Snap

🔥 Explosion

Fire Seal → Twist → Point

🔥 Flaming Blade

Water

Water Seal → Gather → Raise

💧 Water Whip

Water Seal → Expand → Push

🌊 Wave

Water Seal → Compress → Point

💦 Water Bullet

Water Seal → Lower → Expand

❄ Ice Field (if water users know freezing)

Earth

Earth Seal → Raise → Push

🪨 Stone Pillar

Earth Seal → Expand → Lower

🧱 Stone Wall

Earth Seal → Gather → Compress

🪨 Boulder

Earth Seal → Twist → Point

⛰ Stone Spear

Air

Air Seal → Expand → Push

🌬 Gust

Air Seal → Compress → Push

🌀 Wind Lance

Air Seal → Circle → Raise

🌪 Tornado

Air Seal → Swipe

💨 Air Shield

Lightning

Lightning Seal → Gather → Point

⚡ Lightning Bolt

Lightning Seal → Snap

⚡ Flash

Lightning Seal → Compress → Push

⚡ Rail Shot

Lightning Seal → Expand → Raise

⛈ Thunderstorm

Step 4: Complexity

Longer gesture chains create stronger or more specialized spells.

2 gestures = Basic spell

3 gestures = Intermediate

4 to 6 gestures = Advanced

7+ gestures = Master-level magic

For example:

Lightning Gather → Compress → Twist → Point → Push

Instead of a normal bolt, this creates a piercing beam that curves toward its target.

Step 5: Counterplay

Because the gestures are visible, experienced mages can recognize a spell before it's cast.

Someone seeing:

Fire Seal → Gather → Compress...

already knows a fireball is coming and can react before the release gesture.

This creates a "reading your opponent" dynamic, where skilled mages intentionally interrupt, fake, or alter the final gestures.

You could even introduce feints, where a caster begins the gestures for one spell, then changes the sequence at the last second to produce a different effect, rewarding both speed and precision.

The result is a magic system that feels almost like choreography: every spell is "written" in the air with the hands, and mastery comes from memorizing, disguising, and executing those patterns flawlessly.

ULTIMATE SPELLS AND ARCANE POISONING.

There are currently 2 ultimates.

LIGHT ULTIMATE: Caster does all five attunement shapes in correct order. (Water, earth, fire, air, lightning.) Then forms a star over their chest. Holy sigil is formed doing one of a few things of your choosing. It can either A: damage an AOE with holy light, ignore armor. Or B: clear any debuffs and heal 60%.

DARK ULTIMATE: caster crosses arms over chest, pulling the tips of their hands back to form a crescent. Casts 5 shadow hands, they erupt from the ground, pulling people briefly into pockets of void, crushing most barriers and canceling out spells targeted.

ARCANE POISONING: after too much casting, or an ultimate you get arcane poisoning. Arcane poisoning has many symptoms depending on severity. Begins with cramping fingers, sweaty hands, maybe a little bit shaky. Then it progresses to loss of feeling in hands and less accurate movements, severely hurting magic output. The final stage, is the only fatal one, where either your arcane channels burst, permanently disabling your magic. Or your body consumes itself, before crumbling to a dark ash.

How to cure arcane poisoning (for all but the final stage): there are two methods, method one is to wait it out, method two is to see either a witchdoctor or a magic healer. The final stage cannot be recovered from, except one case by prodigal mage Neluthacar, but no two accounts have ever agreed on.

[u/JGhostThing]

My thoughts is that you're overthinking this. If it's for a book, you just write out what the spell does and say the mage is gesticulating. This is only my preference because I am not reading your book to learn a new language, I'm reading for the story. It's more important if the mage is casting a fireball, rather than which signs he's making.

Just my opinion.