The Tome of Cheese
by Orin Vossar
Introduction
The Art of Cheese Magic is largely unknown to the vast majority of Arcane practitioners. I stumbled upon it not from discoveries in the Desert, or in ancient tomes, but from my colleagues, who shared myths and tales of what once was.
This is a collection of this knowledge, my attempt at organizing it and translating it for others to view. Its practice may, sadly, be mostly lost to time.
A Synopsis of Cheese Magic
Cheese Magic is a simplification of this particular school of magic. Its use consisted of the use of more than just cheese, such as milk and other products made out of it. In a practical sense ridiculing the notion of Cheese Magic is akin to saying that using Clay for any manner of Arcane practices is a joke, and yet we witness to this day both Golems made of Clay and more complex Terracotta guardians that to this day dutifully safeguard buried ruins of the old Caliphate.
Yet while Clay has a sort of permanence of it, Cheese, milk and its many products does not, and so the use of different dairy products in magic served a more short-term magical purpose, rather than an extended one.
It is said that among civilizations now long gone, Rat Arcanists used this form of magic to facilitate the production of what could be equated to our every day potions. To them it was more practical to enchant and preserve cheese than it was to produce large quantities of bottled liquids, and by consuming the cheese it could produce a number of different effects.
Similarly, as we often use different herbs and materials with unique qualities to enhance our potions or other herbalist or alchemical products, Rat Arcanists did the same, spicing up their products in vast quantities. Further, they found that milk of certain origin contained its own magical properties, so in combination with different herbs and materials they could achieve any number of possible results.
Uniquely, there seemed to be spells that used extremely exotic cheeses as components in their casting. It is said that one such spell worked similar to that of Stinking Cloud, where an especially powerful cheese odor would stun those within its range. Similarly, as a form of punishment, a spell of Flesh to Cheese was also devised.
Apparently among some of the least successful experiments were attempts to create "Living Cheese", through the invigoration of the mold that grew upon it, which was so disastrous that the practice was banned altogether, as it caused the downfall of many societies.
A rough recollection stated;
"The cheese became an epicentre of a mold that grew around it. Said mold would consume everything in its wake, and bring whatever nutrients it could to the ever growing cheese. If stopped early a disaster could be averted, but even if a small slice remained or hid somewhere it would soon begin growing anew."
The use of Animated Cheese was apparently also practiced, though as a temporary, emergency solution, as cheese lacks endurance or permanence for such.
The Fall of Cheese Magic
Over the centuries however, the methods of creating such magical cheese were largely lost. Apparently in a distant Ring, some remains of that ancient cheese could still be found, storing a tiny quantity of magic that was.
The exact cause for this downfall is not known, but it seems to be partially accredited to the rise of the Sibilant, the Rings of the Old City, and apparently other natural and super natural disasters. What remains is hearsay of an Art that has been largely lost to time, especially today where most of the sources of milk and other resources have largely been lost.
The Cheese of today is said to be a pale imitation of the "Cheese of Old" that may never come to be again.
With the loss of the necessary components and traditions to keep Cheese Magic alive most Rat Arcanists moved to more standard practices of the Arcane, with most of the knowledge regarding Cheese Magic passed on from Master to Student among the Rats, with gradually more and more of it lost until but memories and tales of it remained.
A New Theoretical Approach: Transmutative Properties of Cheese - Fondue
While we cannot recreate the Cheese that once was, a possible path forward is to approach it from another direction. By infusing cheese of different origin and make with the right dose of arcane magic we could perhaps empower it to produce varying effects.
The method of creating Fondue seems the best way to do so, as in its melted state the cheese can be enchanted, or infused. However, the results of what such cheese could do may be a bit unpredictable and would call for a lot of careful testing and discovery.
I have begun work on a prototype "Cheese Forge", a machine that would, via an arcane process turn whole cheese into fondue, while infusing it with magic.
In concept it is somewhat similar to the Forges of the Collosi, but on a much smaller and safer scale. I cannot hope to recreate what the Collosi did, but perhaps I can bring back just a portion of Cheese Magic that was.
If successful we could catalogue how different cheeses of today interact with the Cheese Forge, and whether unique or exotic outcomes could be achieved.
Yet, this is a highly theoretical concept that may not amount to anything, but what is the Arcane if not a journey of discovery?