d12 Metaphysics of Magic

from this reddit post

What are spells? (d12)

1. Spells are deeply ingrained memories of your previous, godlike existence. These are instinctive and indescribable, as if flexing muscles you no longer have. They cannot be shared, only unlocked through introspection and enlightenment.
2. Spells are arcanometabolic parasites, like magical mitochondria, that exist symbiotically entwined with your soul. Wizardry is the hereditary over expression of this magical potential.
3. Spells are the sudo commands of a universal simulation. Higher level spells require higher order administrator privileges, which in turn involves tricking the universe into thinking you created it.
4. Spells are favors, traded painstakingly with the G-ds in exchange for services and debts.
5. Spells are angels, bound by duty to defend important people and places. Acquiring spells requires binding them to service, either by persuasion or Pokéball.
6. Spells are ripples in the 6th dimension, sometimes referred to as the Weave. This vast, interconnected energy topography defines the leylines of the world. When two spells with specific wavelengths collide, they may cancel each other out or mutate into an aberrant waveform. All spells have an opposite which can be used to counterspell themselves.
7. Spells are ghosts, once-living spirits untethered from flesh at time of death. Finding new spells involves haunting local cemeteries and bottling up poltergeists. Wizardry is often considered taboo, except in specter-plagued city morgues, where wizards are a logistical necessity.
8. Spells are history, echoes of great feats performed long ago. Casting is empowered at the site of a great occurrence or in the presence of an important corpse or relic.
9. Spells are manifestations of sentient will; by wanting something badly enough, the universe can be bent to the wielder’s will. Wizards, therefore, are masters of want.
10. Spells are reactions born from rapidly-decaying rare elements. Charcoal, bladders of helium, and white iron are common spellcasting tools. Gold is inert, and resists magic. A wizard’s backpack is very heavy and explosively volatile. Most wizards, fearing radiation, wear lead-lined robes. They tend to die from lead poisoning.
11. Spells are languages, through mastery of which one may speak with the elements of the world. Most wizards know short commands; masters can hold a conversation and tell stories in their spelltongue.
12. Spells are dogs; loyal, easily trained, enthusiastically servile beings native to the ethereal plane. They were once the pets and servants of a higher intelligence, but some ancient catastrophe destroyed their civilization. Perhaps some of these spell-lords are still out there…