The Magus Rod

Jesse glanced down at the withered wooden rod and the dusty grey rock tangled at the top, and then glanced up at the hooded figure extending it. "Let me get this straight. This rod can cast magic spells?"

"Oh yes." The gravely voice replied.

"And if I don't know a spell to get what I want this will create- or recreate any spell to give me what I desire?" The figure nodded, only evidenced by the shifting of the hood. "And you want to give it to me at no cost?"

"Of course, of course!" The stick was pushed further between the two before Jesse shot out a hand, firmly holding it in place.

"What's the fine print?" Jesse peered into the darkness of the hood seeking their benefactor's eyes.

The cloak shook uproariously as the figure leaned back. "In all my time making this offer, you're the first to ask about details. So, ask away and I'll answer honestly, just this once."

"The rod can cast any spell."

"Yes... any spell except bonding the rod to a single caster. Those will always fail."

"Then the rod will work for whoever holds it?"

"Yes, it's meant to move about and most don't know what they have when it comes into their possession. If it stops moving it comes back to me, and I make this offer again. Someone takes it eventually."

"And are the spells permanent?"

"Meh." The hand atop the rod waggled in a 'so-so' manner. "You get what you give and everything costs. If you put enough energy into something it will last until it is dispelled. There are a few artifacts out there created by the rod that no one knew about so no one thought to get rid of them."

"Everything costs." Jesse murmured, glancing at the rod. "So what about spells? What do they cost?"

"The magic of the caster, of course. Different spells need different amounts of magic to take effect, and that amount is deducted from your internal pool."

"But I have no way of knowing what the spell is taking or what is in the pool."

"Nope. You'd have to consciously create something to tell you that, and since no one ever asked about no one ever knew they needed it."

"So what happens if I use all the magic in my pool?" Jesse asked.

"People are adaptable, constantly evolving. If you drain your magic dry, then your body will realize you need more magic, and your pool will become deeper than before as it refills when you rest between castings."

"So stop drawing on my magic and it tops itself off. Okay... but can I keep casting from an empty pool?"

"Spells cost energy, and not necessarily magic energy. The rod often returns to me because the caster is dead. Why do you think that is?"

"Well given the topic we're on... I'm guessing they drained their pool, and kept casting and it drained their life?"

"Oh so clever, Jesse! If you're not careful or unaware a spell exceeding your limits will take whatever it can to cast."

"So the same spell will always have the same cost, right? So what if I cast the same spell at the same target?"

"The spell with same effect and parameters will always cost the same magic, but changing those parameters creates a variant spell that has a variant cost. A greater understanding of the spell will enable you to do more with less, likely reducing your casting cost. On the other hand, manipulating the duration or area of effect alters the cost often increasing it. As far as repeated casting goes, you're applying more energy to affect the spell properties, most commonly duration by resetting the spells effect clock, but sometimes it adds something else. What every recast has in common is a boost in the way a spell connects to a target. Each time the connection improves cumulatively until the spell is indistinguishable from the target. That's your spell permanence there."

Jesse frowned in thought before shrugging. "I'm out of questions, then."

"Then I've got one for you." The figure gave a last push of the rod.