Craftsmanship - Marks and their effects
As it has already elaborated, marks are the preferred way for a caster to direct the power of a magical item the way they want it to be. However, it should be noted that maks take many forms; the basic is to have the mark painted or carved into the iterm, but that's far from the only one. For example, when putting gem into an item, they could be set up in a different pattern - all aolong a line, or a central one with the others froming the rays of a cross or star, or in a circle - and so on. Even the shape of the item itself matters, since some items are clearly more easily shaped into a form which can contain one, or even multiple, marks: an arrow tip is easily also in the shape of an arrow point, a shield can easily be a circle, pentagonal or triangular shape by itself, and a sword combines the cross, dual line and arrow point marks together into a single item.
Triangle
The most basic and strongest of all markings, and the simplest of all geometrical figures, the triangle is easily the most effective of them all in its power, helping shape a spell much more decisively than anything else and having a multitude of uses that can be made to suit any situation.
Of all markings, the triangle is by far the most defensive, sporting three sides of equal length, each one of which are supported by the other two, and an acute angle connection which is better built to handle stress, as well as a structure which allows is to turn as necessary to defuse danger. In addition to making it so good an expression of the concept, the perfect structure of the triangle also allows it to perform best on a structural level; this means that the mark can be easily combined with other figures, as well as itself, without ever losing potency in its symbolism.
In addition to these three basic and most easily seen meanings (excellent balance, strongly structured build, and defense) the triangle is also the most mystical of the numbers, considered such from the beginning of mankind in a belief that gave this symbolism more and more strength as time went by; many suspect this to be a truism born from the fact that there are three major gods (Kai, Ishir and Naar), but other metaphysical evidence – like the success at the third time attempt, the essentiality of three as the ideal number of the core family, and more like this – helps to cement this view as real. This is proven by the fact that, when handling metaphysical or mystical effects for one’s magic, the triangle is always the best way to correctly build the magic to this goal, which makes it almost the only ever used choice for the goal.
One further significance of the triangle is in the fact that three is the most basic amount of things or items that can be called “group” (as opposed to two which, as the number of a couple, has very different connotations), and this helps the triangle play an essential role in any spells that is meant to affect, influence or otherwise work on many people at once, giving the mark even further usefulness.
It is important to note that all of the previous assumptions are meant to indicate the mark of a perfect, closed triangle, with equivalent sides and equivalent angles; imperfect triangles – with any one side shorter or longer than the others, for example, or a larger angle, or a missing side – are not identified as such in item crafting, but as a rather different marking (arrow-point) with quite different significance.
Arrow-Point
This definition is the one normally used among crafters to identify any triangular mark with imperfect proportions, which can be easily identified by the fact that one angle of the triangle can be said to be pointed in a determinate direction, giving it a front and back on an ideological sense.
If the triangle is the perfect representation of defense, then the arrow-point is the ideal concept of the offense, being always aimed to something and thus giving any spell directed with it a specific, strong purpose and direction to propel themselves on. This is not merely an offensive figure, like the circle or the line, but an actually aggressive one – whereas the offessive marks can be used to give a spell’s effect a bit of attack power to manifest themselves with, the arrow-point is innately aggressive and pushes toward conflict every effects that it touches, in a very active and direct manner.
The arrow-point is a very decisive mark, so any spell affected with it can be expected to be very precise in what it does – the pointed arrow is not something that can be misunderstood, and in the same manner, a spell tied to its symbol will have a clarified intent and purpose, which makes this a very favored and heavily used mark among the beginners. However, the mark also has another meaning, and that is one of growth, as it can be taken to symbolize a tall structure aimed at the sky, and this allows the symbol to also helps with any effect that is meant to be enhancing, which allows the marks a very small bit of flexibility.
Note that, while the most obvious way to employ an arrow-point symbol is to imbue an item with a spell meant to enhance an effect which will hurt an enemy, this is not always the case, and the mark does has some limited flexibility, although usually only the greatest crafters are capable of leveraging it to any degree.
Circle
By far the most used and more versatile of all geometrical symbols in crafting, the circle is a compelling mark due to its ability to embody very many concepts, some of which not very intuitive.
A classic example is the fact that the circle is an offensive symbol. This might appear strange at first thought, because the circle tends to be a steady sight in our mind, but that’s a mistake of perception, mistaking the circle’s emphasis on focus with one on defense.
The circle does is the best mark to get a spell to be focused; this is a basic result of the fact that the circles is built around its center, which means that every piece of the figure is focused on it, making the symbol not merely one of focus, but of extreme and almost unyielding focus, the best for spells and effects who cannot be allowed any leeway if they’re to be effective.
When one, however, pictures a circle in the physical reality of the world, however, what we get is the wheel, which doesn’t stays fixed in a single place – like a proper defense would – but instead, if given a powerful enough push, will continue to move forward without pause, pushing past everything in its way. For this reason, the circle is the perfect symbol to use for spells which are focused on an unrelenting attack, especially since it is also a very empowering symbol, given that it allows for the highest amount of energy to be focused in any one area due to its exceptional geometrical properties.
One aspect of the circle which is very important to crafters is its lack of weak points; this gives them some tangential uses as ancillary defenses, but it is mostly a different way to get a spell toward perfection than the triangle’s structural and more balanced approach to it – whereas a triangle would help an effect reach a perfect balance in its effects, the circle would help it reach a state where no particular point of the effect can be identified as its point of failure. This also helps it give some spells reliability – that’s something that can be valuable and hard to obtain on a spell even for the greater crafters, which is why the symbol sees use at all levels of the competency scale in crafting.
Occasionally, the circle is also used to represent the Sun, although this is very rare – since most spells or effects hardly have anything to do with the sun, using the circle in this manner is usually merely asking a blessing from Kai himself on the item crafted, something only very few crafters (mostly Sommerleding) would do, as only a true Kai Master can take advantage of spells who actually draw power from the sun.
Aside from these various significances though, which does help the circle be a widely popular symbol among crafter and gives it a wealth of uses, the most important meaning it can have is undoubtedly that of cyclical awareness, something no other mark can convey with quite the same emphasis. This gives it an even greater importance in crafting empowering effects – not only is the circle an empowering symbol by itself, it also encourages effects to go through a cycle of incrementing themselves, allowing for powers who grow more powerful through time.
Lastly, the circle also is by far the more inclusive symbol of them all, representing comprehensiveness and unity; whereas the triangle is the symbol of preference for spells who reference or target a group, the circle is ideal when a single spell is meant to encompass many different aspects of something, or to affect a very specific group of people to the exclusions of all others. It’s also the best means to symbolize a containment, trap or housing spell – almost all known souled items have a circle as part of their markings, since it helps give the item the power to be filled with the soul, although, as always, soulcrafting is not very well researched and the large majority of what’s known about it is supposition and guesswork.
Ellipse
Much like the triangle mark only refers to perfect triangles, the circle mark only refers to perfect circles; imperfect ones usually go under the ellipse label. Although an ellipse is a very specific geometrical figure, the term in magical items markings is used loosely, to identify the effect which all circular markings who don’t met the standards of a perfect circle have on shaping a spell; it is worth nothing, though, that these effects work better the closer the mark is to a perfect ellipse – unlike with an imperfect arrow-point, which always have the same effectiveness regardless of proportions.
The ellipse is a defensive mark, although less so than a triangle; this stems from the form’s cohesion and closed shape mixed with higher dimensions and lesser mobility than a circle – the ellipse can be anchored easily, and the first shield mankind ever used where ovals in form. While this protection is looser than a triangle’s, it’s also more encompassing, since the ellipse works well to contain the human form – thus, it is preferred to craft effect that protect the whole of one person’s body, instead of acting like a shield the way a triangle would.
More important, though, is the similarity of the ellipse to the number 0, which ties it to the concept of emptiness, or void; this works well to shape spells who need to achieve a lack of something, or alternatively require a lack of something in the user to function properly. Since the ellipse’s other uses can often be substitute for by others marks, this is the most likely reason to find an ellipse mark on a magic item, and since this kind of effects themselves are not really much used, it’s one of the reasons for the ellipse’s relative lack of use if compared to other marks.
That said, the ellipse do can be used in more ways. In particular, where the circle is tightly focused and comprehensive, the ellipse is instead marked by a distinct lack of a single focus – since the ellipse it’s built around two – and is thus very effective in giving spells a dispersive effect, or otherwise weakening them or the power they carry. One the other hand, where the circle is a continuous cycle, the ellipse has a short and long curve, and this allows it to be used to give spells a gradual development; instead of the evergrowing energy of a circle, the ellipse allows power to have phases of greater and lesser intensity, making it more useful for effects which needs to vary their power output depending by the circumstances.
It is worth nothing that several gemstones – opal and onyx in particular – are oval in shape; this usually allows for ellipse marks to be carved around them without disrupting the magic item’s general focus, so when used in this manner, the ellipse can be an useful way to increase a stone’s power without the risk of overloading that could be run by adding more gems into the item itself.
Spiral
Another very overused symbol, the spiral is a favorite of crafters everywhere because of its ability to do double duty, being one of a rare few symbols who can convey multiple meanings with a same carving. This is a result of the amount of variables that go into a spiral’s carvings, as it is the only commonly used mark which is three-dimensional, and the only one to have more measurements than merely an angle and side length, which allows for different spirals to convey different things.
That said, there is one dominant meaning the spiral almost always carries, and that is one of transferring power from one of its ends to the opposite, usually from the external to the internal, although the opposite is also known to happen. This can go hand in hand with the spiral’s additional effect of draining power and drawing within itself, but it doesn’t always have to; just as often, the transfer of power is one where authorization is needed, rather than a draining, self-activating one.
The spiral is one of the small number of neutral figures, ones who are not classified as either defensive or offensive; however, whereas the majority of those are usually inapplicable to either purpose, the spiral is different in that its neutrality is instead a result of it being efficiently useable in both sense, a characteristic it only shares with the pentagon; this rarity is a result of the spiral’s three-dimensionality. Whereas approaching it from the side suggest the concept of maze and layered strata of defense, making it a perfect fit for crafting a spell into a strong defensive array, if one follows it along the side toward the center one get the effect of focused force into a single point, like a drill or bow shot. Because of this, the spiral is most often used to craft spells meant to pierce defenses of all kinds, or ones who unleash a single, powerful blast which travel long distances – although not rays, since that’s much better conveyed with a linear mark.
The last and less often used effect of the spiral is related to its use by illusionist everywhere: it is one of hypnotism and confusion, which means that, if an effect has to be chaotic in the way it manifest, or otherwise aimed to confuse people, then the spiral is the way to go. This, being the hardest use of the spiral can be put into, is normally only the province of masters of the crafting – most beginners would feel much too intimidated by the risks carried to try using a spiral mark in this manner.
Square
Usually considered the most simple of all marks in crafting, the square is usually identified because of its strong neutrality, in that it doesn’t convey neither offense nor defense in any possible use; being just as regular as the triangle but far less rigid and strong in build, the square fits neatly into being the one mark to go by when an effect is needed which is aimed to only play a support role, which gives it a very effective niche use.
In addition to its neutrality, the other most important meaning of the square is equality; there’s a reason why squares and cubes are used for measurement units, and that’s because the highly symbolical value of the square is that of an area where everything is administered in equal parts. This particular essentiality of the square can also be used to emphasize an effect’s magic toward a more physically supporting role, much like a cornerstone would act for a building.
Most importantly, though, the square is a very structured symbol, if less so than the triangle; it is still capable of creating several more copies of itself simply by intersecting with other square, and while the potential for growth are not as exponential, it still allows for more complex combinations in a smaller space, which is always useful and hints at the hidden power the square can unleash, if used properly.
Rhomboid
The rhomboid is similar to the ellipse in many respects, being to the square as the ellipse is to the circle. As far as marks go, this one is somewhat weak, but that’s not a bad thing per se; it merely means that the effect it shapes will not reach the same heights of power – which is useful when the goal is to create a very precise effect, and potency is not essential.
That said, the rhomboid has uses for the lovers of powerful effects, as well – given the build, with equal length sides but unbalanced angle, the center gains prominence on the figure, which means that any rhomboid formation will grant increased power to an effect tied to a symbol or stone at the center of it.
Also like the ellipse, the rhomboid has a weak defensive connotation – specifically, it allows protective spells to focus on letting harmful effects slid over it surface; this is of course an useful facet of the mark, but the weakness of it means that a powerful enough attack might still pierce this kind of defense, making it not as favored as ones based upon stronger marks, like the Triangle or Cross. Additionally, the great majority of stones are rhomboid enough in shape, so the same trick which works for the ellipse (carving it around a stone so that, as a repeated shape, it gains power) is even better when applied to rhomboids.
Unlike the strong structure of the triangle, or the solid structure of the square, the rhomboid is much weaker from a structural standpoint – combining rhomboids can be done, but getting an exponential growth is not very likely, thus greatly limiting the chances of increase. This still doesn’t make it worthless, though, as some effects might need a middle ground of flexibility between being firmly fixed in their effects, and being very variable; this is where rhomboids come in, allowing the effect to keep some flexibility but limiting it to the goals the crafter is focused on.
Hexagon
Structure is one of the core elements of applying marks to a magic item: by creating a third mark through the intersection of two others (for example, two triangles overlapped with opposed orientation creates six more triangles, as well as an hexagon in the center and a hexagonal star following along the external borders), the magical effect will, in the same way, channel its magic to produce more effects, as indicated by the end result. However, the most complex of effects can easily get out of hand if the order of effects application is screwed up somehow, or if some unpredictability in the construct causes it to backfire; to prevent this, the effects need to be organized, and the mark that better symbolizes organization is the hexagon. As such, hexagon markings are practically a must in all the most complex or multi-effect magic items, and any crafter worth their salt knows that, if an hexagon marking is present on an item, there’s a very high chance of it being an item with very complex multiple effect, and likely very dangerous one, if the crafter felt the need to regulate them this way.
Of course, while this is by far the most usual application of the hexagon and thus a reason to always thread with care when an item has this symbol, others, less widespread uses exists, the most likely of which is likely the meaning of sturdiness and efficiency; hexagonal structure in nature are used by many an insect (especially bees) to optimize the space in the construction of their nests, and thus they work very well to make effects who consume the least amount of magic or effects which preserve an item’s integrity. This also makes the hexagon a slightly defensive mark, although only in a positional sense – the hexagonal structure can help an effect be static and stable, and thus creates a defense only if it is standing in place; it is a good means to apply defensive spells to walls or buildings, but rarely to more mobile items like shields and armors.
The hexagon, while being less heavily structured than the triangle, is still better at it than every other mark can get; this is in good part because triangles and hexagon mix very well together, so that they make building a magic item’s structure a lot simpler if they’re used in combination. While not a very usual application – the triangle do is the dominant force in terms of structure everywhere – the hexagon mixes better with multiple marks, so it is a good fallback mark to use when the other marks on an item are not suited to being combined in a simple manner, which gives it sort of a niche use there as well.
Lastly, the hexagon is the last mark (after ellipse and rhomboid) who can also be used to surround and enhance a stone; this naturally gives it a more intuitive use than the highly complex other ones it has, allowing beginners to gain familiarity with the mark itself before trying to put it to use in its more powerful and potentially much more effective applications.
Pentagon
Unlike most other figures, the pentagon is not a popular or widely used mark; this is mostly a result of the popularity of star marks, but it can probably also be partly ascribed to the general “weakness” of the meanings ascribed to it. This doesn’t mean, though, that the mark lacks uses or flexibility, merely that it is not as glamorous as the rest.
Of all these meanings, probably the most used one is that of “weakness”; unlike the triangle, the pentagon lacks a proper center of balance, and unlike the circle, it cannot be easily turned to many functions at once. Also, pentagonal structures are rarely found in nature, since it lacks any solid structural virtue. Also, the easiest way to draw a proper pentagon is to pick a center and produce five equally long lines from it – which can be seen as a process of “draining” power from the center, and indeed, the mark is usually applied on sealing effects or other such things where power need to be contained and made weaker for safe handling.
While this is by far the greatest use of the pentagon, it has others, less glamorous ones, but which can often have niche uses for the experts. First of all, the Pentagon offers a different outset for neutrality than the spiral, in that it lacks in both offensive and defensive connotation, and this makes it useful for those support roles where a true neutrality is necessary.
More interestingly, though, five is considered the holy number of Ishir, since the moon has five phases to its cycle – new, growing, falling, half and full – and thus it is always the best reference point when calling on the power of the moon is required. This is even more enhanced by its other meaning, which is that of friendship. This might come as a surprise, when one considers that the triangle already covers the meaning of group, but the matter is easily understood by mere use of perspective.
The fact is that, while three can be any sort of group, five is typically bigger than the size of a family nucleus, but smaller than what one would call a society, and is thus a much better starting point for an ideal conception of people gathering together, either to help each other out – which gives it a side meaning of cooperation – or else for mere companionship. This is a crucial reason why set of armors usually have five pieces, and why crafters who are working on a set of item meant to be used together will pick five as the ideal number, as it grants more symbolic meaning to such a grouping.
An interesting bit of trivia is that, when used for this particular meaning, it is not unusual to have the mark be drawn with a point at each corner, rather than leaving them sharp; this is both a symbolical way to represent the softer meaning of the mark, as well as a reference to the commonly recognized mark of friendship, five people holding hands around some form of campfire or other such gathering point.
One last notice is that the pentagon, due to its multifaceted nature, it’s also the mark for “oddness” and “weirdness”, in a sense, being the odd one out of the geometric mark and thus one very useful to help an item into manifesting powers or effects who are somewhat uncommon or unusual in nature.
Star
The star is a most particular single, since it is not actually a self-standing one - rater, a Star is obstined by placing triangles of equal lenght touching all the borders of a different poligonal symbol, resulting due to this into a design with a number of outward points equal to the polygon numbers of sides.
Due to this, a star is usually the symbol of complexity built over simpler values, and is especially useful when crafting an effect into something that is reliant on something else - be it another effect, or external conditions.
Another important apsect of the star is its complexity relative to the base polygon; crafter utilize this to create effect that drains more power than they should, making it a very effective safety measure upon tampering over their work.
Of course, stars on their own have lso a meaning aside from their geometrical configuration - most importantly, of their beauty and light, which makes the star a very ornamental mark, more than any other. As such, this is the mark of choice rfor a crafter that wants to add a little bit of showmanship without substance to their magic items, one used to produce accessory effects without any particular weight.
While these are the most simple uses of a star mark, there is one more complex one, which most crafter would not dare use lightly - thanks to its ability to overwryte all the geometric symbol, a star can be used to alter, modify and change the pre-existant effect an item could have. Considering how dangerous it is tto attempt and modify an already enchanted item, only the most skilled of crafter would dare this - and this makes it pretty hard to tell if the presence of a star in a mark composition is merely there for its own uses, or as a sign of tampering from a master crafter.
Lastly, the star is the most disperive mark there is - which makes it perfect for those instance when an effect needs to be diffused across mutiple targets, or a single, very dangerous failure point needs to be widespread among multiple sources to make it harder to attack directly - all things that makes the star a makr best exploited by experienced crafters.
Line
The line is the most classic of the offensive symbols, as well as the simplest, so it very widely used. Most importantly, though, the line symbolize a directed offense, conducing the spell along its lenght and toward its target; this make it a somewhat weaker attack mark, since it's more of an "accompanying" offense than a "pushing" one, but it still forces a spell into a predetermined effect, which makes it very easy to use, and one of the favorite marks for beginners.
Of course, much like all other marks, the line too has more meanings that a skilled crafter could call upon. The first and most important its the singularity of it - nothinepresents the number one, and this allows it to be the key mark for any effect which needs be related to a single target or user, or any other extremely exclusive effect of that type.
Additionally, the line is just so simple, it simplifies all effects, making things much more easy and straightforward - when the interaction between a ton of effect is hard to grasp, it usually helps to dispose them along a line of causation and results, making everything more intuitive and clear.
One further use of the lise ia as a separator, a way to compartimentalize effect - nothing quite sends the message of two things being unconnected than tracing a line that separates them completely.
On the other hand, where a line separing two symbol hints division, a line connecting two symbols represents union; such connection are often used to strenghten both symbols involved in the effect, and to create more complex, interlocking symbol that can substain very complex and developed magic effect.
For all of its effectiveness and it's ease of use, the line mark do has the characteristic point of fail of being incredibly direct - any kind of subtleness or lateral approach to demolish effect supported by a line is almost always guaranteed to work, which is why it's common wisdom to only use the line as aprt of a group composition, some of which at least meant to counteract the line's one weakness.
Despite all this, the line is considered the easiest to use of all marks, and it's the one most favoured by beginners, and although it has some variants which one needs be careful about, on it's own its one of the best marks to practice with.
Double Line
The double line it's the first of the line variants, and the most used of them all. It's easy to recognize, in that it's just made by two lines perfectly parallel to each other, yet this is enough to give it very different characteristics from the basic one.
Most important of them all is that the offensive power of the double line is much, much greater than that of the line - only the arrow point can surpass it in sheer agressiveness. This is because, where the line is a directional indicator of how to attack, the double line is like a tunnel, which makes the attack singularly directed and much more forced, as well as keeping it protected from both sides, removing the single line's weakness entirely.
An additional implication of the dual lines is that of compulsion, and a very forceful one at that - like a canal, it can forcefully pushes a magic effect into a specific result, and this makes it a siymbol of order and one of the most powerful from a straight meaning perspective - it's a security measure over powerful effects that almost never fails.
In addition to these meanings, the double line is also the symbol preferred to indicate the pair, or the couple - two forces acting in concert to achieve a unity of result, thus still feeding in the sense of accomplishment that is the unerlying meaning of the double line, even if in a less forceful, more understated manner.
Overall, it is easy to see how the double line is a very straightforward mark to use, just like the single line - however, it's forceful meaning makes it a much less frequently seen one, since it takes a great amount of skill to understand which spells can be constrained appropriatedly by this symbol, and which ones would instead react explosively to it. Handle with extreme care.
Cross
The second and more often used of the single line's variants, this is made by two lines set perpendicularly to each other, and it's also a very flexible symbol to use and a favourite of crafters who favour economy of mark placement, since crosses are extremely easy to trace and integrate very well with any empty space an item might offer.
Between the moltitude of meaning the cross carries, the most important one is that of defense - the cross is the only defensive symbol to be on par with the triangle in term of strengh, HOwever, the cross is also strong for the opposite reason - whereas the triangle is perfect for deflecting the attacks to the sides and keeping structural integrity, the cross' strenght comes from taking attacks head on and remaining undamaged by them. Thus, depending on the kind of defenses one desires, it might be better to place a cross instead of a triangle - and this is not something another symbol can claim.
The cross is also shaped in the same way as an instrument of torture, so it's very easy to apply it to an item in order to give the magic within the ability to create pain and suffering. This is the less well liked of the cross uses, but also the more diffuse among the darkest of crafters, for obvious reasons.
However, the cross is overall a very positive mark, especially when used in its function as a connective. This is similar to how a line can connect two symbols to make them work together - however, the cross connets four things together with each other, and that interdependence between symbols can allow crafter to shape things much better, and create relationshiop between different effects much more easily.
One furter use the cross has is as a mean to focus power over a single target, centralizing the magical effects of an item into a single place, which is incredibly useful for the most powerful and complex of magical effects.
Lastly, the cross it's also the mark of deleted mistakes - thus, this makes it the ideal mark to use for magic which has some kind of negative or nullifying effects.
Due to its wide versatility, the cross is a mark which requires considerable skill to be used properly, but when proper mastery over it is achieved, it allows the crafter a great deal of freedom in their creative endeavours.
Arc
The arc is any line which has a single curve within itself. While most arc are imperfect and thus weaker in their intents, a perfect arc is a portion of a perfect circle, and that makes it a very powerful and useful mark to apply to an item.
The most important meaning of the arc its derived from its architectonic function - it is a very effective mean of giving support and stability to the most unstable of effects. This meanings of stability is the more often used of the arc's possible values, so whenever an arc is present in a magic item, it's fair to expect this one meaning for it.
That said, the other means of the arc are important as well. The arc is a valid defensive fiure, but more often useful for magic spells that have to substain a constant, steady assault, much like an arc can support the whole weight of an edifice without crumbling.
Additionally, the arc is also the most efficient way to frame a spell for gaining contact and support from the earth. Due to this, many an armour have been known to sport this symbol, particularly on boots and such - since the earth is the most solid anchior point there is, and having defensive spells anchored to the ground makes them so much better and effective.
One last effect is based upon the very essence of the arc, which is that it resists stress by redirecting things on the ground - as such, when one of those rare effects which bounce back things is required, it's almost always a good idea to go with an arc symbol to guide the magic that way, since such effects are usually very easy to get wrong without using marks to help.
Overall, the arc is an effective and versatile mark, and a good way to adapt to the flexibility of others marks for a beginning crafter, without for that losing value for the experienced one.
Wave
Last of the line variants, and also last of the marks, is the wave, which is identified as a line containing at least two bends on its path (unlike the arc who always has only one).
The wave is a very different mark from all the others, because of the complete lack of structure it embodies; there are a thousand and more ways to make a wave and none is more correct than the others.
Because of this, the most important value the wave has is that of a neutralizng factor, something that puts a balance in the magic and keeps it from going into one direction or another by curbing all excesses that too rigid a form would impose.
Additionally, the wave is the best way to represent something that it's fluid and ever changing; magic items connected to controlling waters or other fluids almost always will have swirling patterns on themselves, and the spell also helps in situation were the user has a pool of magic that can be shifted to different purpose, heloping it from locking too strongly into one use or another.
Further, the wave is neutral where offense and defense are concerned, as well - it can easily do both, the flexibility of adapting to an attack or the swift surprise of a twisting strike being both excellent uses of its application,. this makes it a favoured decoration on those weapons (like swords) who have a flexible use and can be adapt to both defense and offense easily, making it a favourite of all crafters who focus mostly on weapons rather than more generic magic items.
One particularly useful aspect of the wave is that, when properly shaped, it can repeat itself into an intinite pattern. This allows it to give stability to effects which require a repetitive interaction of magics, to create virtuous circles more easily for magicvs who require it, making it a very effective mean to control the power of some very complex effects.
Lastly, the wave is avery whimseical in anture, being ever-changing and always different, and this allows it to be useful for any effect which requires some level of uncertainty or randomness.
Overall, the wave is a very useful mark due to its unicness - but this also makes it somewhat tricky to handle, requiring a great deal of care and attention to it.