Reading Life Magic
What it is
Each Life spell leaves a small material sign at the person, item or plant it actually changed. Closing tissue appears beside a mended wound; a cut straw bundle appears over a harvested crop. These signs show what really happened, not what the spell tried to do.
Use the in-game journal
Open your Cord and select Grimoire. Reading Life magic has notes for every Life rune you have learned. Hover a rune for its clues; click its name to find it in the Codex. Magic visuals opens your settings, and Done or Escape brings you back.
Read the result
- Healing signs follow the health that actually came back. A bright cast is not proof of a full heal. Check the health bar for the amount.
- Cleansing signs (spent husks) only appear when something harmful really left. A clean target shows nothing.
- Repair stitches appear beside the hand or armour slot that was mended.
- Growth signs appear at cells that really changed. One cast does not promise every cell grew.
- Wards show when they start, when they trigger and when they end. Starting a ward is not a save that already happened.
Signs can be hidden when crowded, far away or very close to the camera. Your visual settings change decoration, never the result. When in doubt, check health, status effects, equipment and the ground.
Mending
| Rune | Sign | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Heal | Two tissue lips close on a sap bead | Real health or a shield was gained. Restores 8 health at base; repeats in one cast heal less. Healing you can’t use becomes a shield of up to 2 hearts. |
| Regrowth | Tissue bands beside a small stem | Regeneration took hold, in three stages (about 7 health). A stronger regeneration already on the target can block it. |
| Cleanse | Dry husks peel off a pale seam | Harmful conditions, fire, freezing or elemental marks were removed. Good for breaking a reaction setup. |
| Nourish | Seed halves cup a food-coloured drop | A player was fed, or an eligible animal healed or got ready to breed. |
| Restore | Crossed stitches beside the repaired slot | Heals 4, puts out fire, mends 8% of each worn and held item’s durability. Each item can be mended once a minute. |
| Remedy | Husks turn into sap beads | Harmful conditions became useful ones. Weakening a zombie villager is only the first step of a cure. |
Try it: save Self + Heal, Self + Cleanse and Self + Restore. Heal while hurt, then at full health. Cleanse a real ailment, then a clean self. Restore a damaged tool, then cast again at once: the same item is not mended twice.
Gardens
| Rune | Sign | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Grow | A vine spine rises and sheds a seed coat | A plant grew, or a young animal aged. |
| Harvest | A cut straw bundle drops seeds | A mature crop was harvested. Check drops and the replanted crop. |
| Glimmer | Pale lichen plates | Real glow lichen was placed. It keeps lighting the area. |
| Ancient Seed | A seed coat opens around a branching stem | A flower was placed or a crop grew in one of its sweeps. |
| Glowvine | A hanging vine with one berry | A vine was placed or a berry grew. It needs a ceiling. |
| Lifebloom | Uneven petals cup a sap drop | Heals 4, then 1 a second for 5 seconds, then bursts to heal allies within 3 blocks for 3. Refreshing updates the same bloom. |
| Bloom | Three opening petals | An ally got regeneration, pollen hopped to another ally, or a plant grew. |
The crop itself is your lasting record. Use the signs to find which cells changed.
Shelter
| Rune | Sign | What it means and how to answer it |
|---|---|---|
| Bramble | Twig teeth on the protected ally; a thorn at the attacker | The next 4 things that hurt the ally from within 4 blocks take 3 damage and are shoved away, for 10 seconds. Attack from farther away or wait it out. |
| Haven | Leaf shutters and a vine piece | Enemy projectiles can glance off and foes can be pushed. It is temporary shelter, not immunity. |
| Reversal | A folded tissue pocket opens | Its death save fired. Set it before danger; some damage is not caught. |
| Soulbond | Two knots of fibre facing each other | Two partners are bonded and share wounds. Watch both health bars. |
| Second Wind | A seed shell cracks around a Time piece | For 20 seconds, a killing blow leaves the ally at 4 health with Regeneration II and Speed II for 4 seconds. Once death is cheated by any spell, it can’t be again on them for a minute. |
| Root Bulwark | Root splinters climb each wall cell | A temporary living wall. Nearby allies get brief regeneration. It drops no wood. |
| Stitchtime | Interrupted stitches beside a Time tooth | Heals 4, counts wounds for the next 4 seconds, then heals them back at once (12 at most). |
Each ward is a different promise. Enemies can wait out short fields, stay out of retaliation range, break a link, or strike between setup and trigger. Saves still leave you low on health.
Wild Life
| Rune | Sign | What it means and how to answer it |
|---|---|---|
| Fortune | A seed token flips over a forked stem | The luck mark took hold, a lucky hit landed, or a kill gave extra XP. It does not promise drops. |
| Bloomstep | A petal tread toward the arrival | You arrived safely, an ally gained regeneration, or a plant grew. A blocked teleport shows no arrival. |
| Vinelash | A living tendon frays toward a thorn | The struck enemy was hurt or pulled. Bosses resist the pull. |
| Moonpetal | A silver petal, warm for healing, cool for harm | An ally healed or an enemy was hurt. The moon still affects its strength. |
| Sporebloom | A split fruit opens into rising grains | Enemies were confused or hurt, or allies nourished. Poison immunity does not stop its damage. |
| Rootsnare | Root forks hold low around a foe | Enemies within 3 blocks are held for 1.5 seconds and take 3 damage, then lose health as they move (5 times at most). Standing still avoids it. |
| Drowse | Dry-leaf curtains fall with pollen | The target fell asleep, or a boss became drowsy. Damage wakes them, and the waking hit gets a bonus. Don’t waste it on a stray blow. |
| Venom | A puncture pair seals around sap | Poison or its custom damage landed. The custom damage still hurts poison-immune enemies. |
Two fused healers
Ashen Mercy. Puts out an ally’s fire and removes harmful conditions, turning only what it removed into at most 4 health. It also gives 5 seconds of heat protection. A clean target gets no healing. Save it for a burning or poisoned ally. See Field Signatures.
Pulse Ferry. A sap parcel visits two different wounded allies within 4 blocks, on separate beats. Each gets at most 3 health, 6 in total. Crouching refuses a visit. Gather two hurt, willing allies close together before you cast. See the expedition field journal.
Where to go next
Use the Life runes for recipes and costs, and Living Materials to recognize spells as they are cast.