While Archie himself does not possess any extraordinary gifts, his abilities instead come from possession of a grimoire which was written by the infamous warlock, ZECHARIAH AUBER. A student of the legendary wizard, EMYRS, Zechariah was arguably one of the most powerful warlocks of the early twentieth century before his disappearance. His grimoire contains all of his experience and knowledge, which, with practice and caution, can be passed on to Archie or anyone else who comes into possession of the powerful book.

The grimoire itself acts as a conduit between realities, time and space, allowing those who harness its arcane knowledge to summon and manipulate an extra-dimensional energy known as 'mag'ik'. A seemingly limitless power, mag'ik is not without its consequences and cost, taking a great toll on the wielder's person and the environment around them. Mag'ik always comes with a price, and the magnus is responsible for paying it.

The mag'iks contained within the book are divided into three main categories: ALCHEMY, RITUALS and SPELLS. While these casting methods each have different requirements, mag'ik, too, is drawn from one of three sources. The primary source and least costly of all mag'ik is the DEEP MAG'IK, which uses the extra-dimensional energy to manipulate the Earth herself. Deep Mag'iks primarily rely upon the manipulation of the classical elements of Earth. New Mag'ik or URBAN MAG'IK is built around the elements of industry and primarily focuses on aedificatio (constructs) and the rhythms of cities and streets. The last, and most powerful form of mag'ik at the greatest cost to the mage is BLOOD MAG'IK, which draws upon the manipulation of life force, mind or even spirit of either the caster or those around them. Blood Mag'iks is addictive and destructive, often linked to curses and rituals, making it considered the darkest form of mag'ik. Even a maven warlock should hesitate to draw on Blood Mag'ik.

Of the categories of casting, SPELLS, of course, are the most common tool of any witch, wizard or warlock. This form of diablerie is primarily cast either via incantation or gesture, though more complex spells may require both and/or even a conduit through which to channel the powerful mag'iks. There are six types of spells that a mage may cast, each with varying costs and efficiencies.

CHARMS are spells which focus on altering appearances or perception. Like most spells, the complexity and duration heavily play into the casting requirements. Prolonged illusion or trickery is often bottled into a potion or an elixir for more rapid deployment, while something on the scale of warping a building or the perception of a crowd might require a ritual.

CURSES are devastating spells built for maximum harm, often to the point of lethality. Curses are especially costly and can only be paid in blood, either of the victim or the caster. While ritual curses and poisons exist, the vast majority of curses are cast from hand, with few even requiring incantation. The curses which do not kill are often excruciating and leave those affected wishing for death.

HEXES are the most common kind of spell and range from simply inconvenient to maliciously harmful. Like most spells, the duration of a hex can be elongated through ritualistic casting. A hex can be as simple as making someone trip to casting a fireball. Hexes draw from all three mag'iks and have the most varying degrees of cost which some simple hexes being free to cast from any competent magus.

REMEDIES are spells which cure ailments and injuries. Most traditional remedies draw upon Deep Mag'ik to heal and aid those who have been injured by wrapping them in the Earth's embrace. However, modern practitioners have leaned into Blood Mag'ik, which harvests the life force of others for more rapid healing. Some believe Urban Mag'ik might provide a pathway between Blood and Deep, using new mag'ik to manipulate science and technology to heal and cure without the downsides of Blood Mag'ik and more efficiently than the Deep Mag'iks.

SUMMONS call objects or individuals to the user, though at the spell level, these abilities are rather limited. Conjuring of objects also falls under this category. Though the cost difference between summoning a pen from across the room versus conjuring must be budgeted accordingly. Many summons actually require full rituals, which are further detailed below.

WARDS are protective spells. Simple individual wards or deflective methods can be cast with quick gestures, while a perpetual barrier will require more intentionality and cost to create. Large-scale wards, much like summons, require a ritual to prepare.

ALCHEMY focuses on the transmutation of ingredients and materials along with the transference of mag'ik into physical objects, elixirs, poisons or potions. These concoctions are created through great time and effort, which often requires the use of various apparatus. Such apparatus often includes alembics, calcinators, cauldrons, mortars, pestles, and even retorts. Some witches and wizards were known to use a pointed hat as a funnel to consume the vapours of their alchemy creations. Alchmey also covers rune writing and object enchantment, leading to dabbling in blacksmithing, calligraphy, and other metalworking or glyph writing.

POTIONS are the default for many mages and come in a wide variety of effects and appearances. Potions rarely taste good and often smell even worse. Less refined than either elixirs or poisons, most potions are made in an open pot using a wide variety of ingredients. The more powerful the potion, the longer the brewing time and more exotic ingredients are required.

ELIXIRS require more advanced tools to create and are often pleasant in aroma and taste. Sweet and generally positive augmentations, elixirs are a favourite among older wizards, witches and warlocks, with some even consuming them daily.

POISONS are harmful concoctions that can range from a consistency and taste similar to an elixir to a salve or an oil for applying to weapons and objects. Most ideal potions are odourless and tasteless to avoid detection, and can inflict anything from illness to a curse to death upon those afflicted.

RUNES are inscribed or engraved characters laced with mag'ikal effects once touched or invoked. Runes are often spells written out either in a single character or a longer inscription. Some runes activate based on proximity, such as barriers or traps, while others require a verbal incantation to activate. Runes can also be used to enchant objects or to add an enchantment to an object that was not previously enhanced.

ENCHANTMENTS are materials and objects that are forged with mag'ik imbued into them. While any object can have a rune inscribed on it, runes that are damaged or destroyed lose all mag'ikal ability. Enchantments occupy the very material of the object, meaning even a fragment or shard still holds power. Many mages enchant their personal conduits and clothes, personalizing their properties to complement their abilities or weaknesses.

RITUALS are the most powerful form of casting, the most costly and the most time-consuming. In addition to the materials and time, rituals require specific sites and very precise steps. Many rituals require more than one mage, making them even harder to cast. Furthermore, rituals send out ripples through the mag'ik, alerting other casters of their happening and drawing unwanted attention to the original caster. Rituals are highly complicated and unpredictable ceremonies which are recommended only to be used as a final result or with enough preparation to cover all bases.

While some of the Grimoire is translated into English, much of it is written in languages that Archie does not possess even a passing familiarity with. The most ancient of texts are recorded in a combination of glyphs and Aramaic. Much of it is also written in Ionian Greek, with only a few passages actually recorded in Latin. There are even several pages that bear Ogham rubbings. All this to say that one of Archie's greatest limitations in using the Grimoire is his ability to comprehend it.

Beyond this, as previously reiterated, all mag'ik comes with a price. That price increases exponentially with more dangerous spells, alchemy and rituals. This price can range anywhere from actual wealth to Archie's own life force. Given his limited resources and previously mundane life, Archie doesn't have access to a lot of desirable materials to pull off spells with even a moderate sphere of influence or those with direct lethality. Many of the materials required for both alchemy and rituals are exotic or incredibly niche, further locking Archie out of these practices at this time.

At the end of the day, Archibald Hardwick is a mortal human with little to no experience in either physical altercations or mag'ik. Archie possesses no enhancements via the Gray and, as someone only beginning his journey into the arcane and macabre, is still very naïve with a gross amount of insecurity that cripples him in every aspect of his life. Furthermore, Archie possesses a large chip on his shoulder that's easily exploited to goad him into acting against his better instincts. Archie constantly has something to prove, to the point of being overbearing and overzealous, so people see him as actually worth their time. As an emotional wreck and lacking any augmentation or enhancements, Archie is a very vulnerable, if not volatile, individual.

Mag'ik itself suffers from several weaknesses and drawbacks. As previously touched on, the cost and penalty of insufficient payment can be devastating to the caster, more so than to the target. Archie could likewise end up completely defenceless without proper means or abilities to cast. Mag'ik isn't without its twists and fine print either, meaning some spells operate as a double-edged sword. Being gagged and bound, more or less removes Archie's abilities to cast, along with being disarmed of his conduit, or even more blatantly at this point, the grimoire itself. Wounded or otherwise weakened also impacts Archie's ability to cast.

Both alchemy and rituals require time and precise steps to enact, and an interruption to either will cause them to either fail or backfire spectacularly. Summoned or conjured creatures and people can break free of Archie's will or even overpower him. Every time he casts, he opens his soul to corruption from the other dimension. Lastly, to another warlock or mag'ik wielder, Archie's essence is desirable as an easy power-up, absorbing his abilities into their own and leaving Archie little more than a zombie or revenant.