Crest Sorcery

A Crest from Wild Arms TV, moments before exploding

Crest Sorcery is a type of magic in the Wild Arms series.

Overview

Crest Sorcery is an art of using magic, that was previously inscribed upon Crest Graphs (or simply "Crests"). Without corresponding Crest Graphs, the user can't use spells. The magic inscribed upon Crests is relatively small-scale, allowing the user to summon elements, strengthen their allies, and weaken enemies.

Crest Graphs are alternately depicted as resembling either paper talismans, or playing cards. Later material leans towards the latter depiction. It's never made clear what exactly makes Crests special, but they are generally very rare, and in games it's impossible to just buy them, only find in dungeons. It's also unclear how much the magic's power depends on the user of the Crest. Virginia is able to use them as tools seemingly without any preceding training, but both Cecilia's and Lilka's growth make their magic stronger.

Wild Arms 1 & ACF

In Wild Arms and its remake Alter Code: F, Cecilia Adlehyde is a Crest Sorceress and the party's magic specialist. Her spell list is split into "Black" (attack) and "White" (support) magic, which she can learn by visiting magic guilds and inscribing spells upon empty Crests.

In the original game, she has a total of 64 spells available, with half of them being "advanced" and available only in the Isolated Guild. The advanced magic has been cut from the remake, leaving her with only 32 spells. In the original game, the amount of Crests is limited, and Cecilia can't learn all of her magic at once. In the remake, however, there's exactly 32 Crests in the game.

According to Cecilia, Crests' magic drains her energy, making her hungry. However, it's unclear if this applies to the following Crest Sorcery users.

Wild Arms 2

In Wild Arms 2, Lilka Eleniak is a Crest Sorceress, and one of the party's magic users. Much like Cecilia, she has to create magic in guilds, by collecting empty Crests and inscribing spells upon them. Her spell list is unified, with only 16 spells in the base set, and 16 more in the advanced set, available at the Island Outpost.

Additionally, it's possible to find special "Crest S", which makes the magic inscribed upon it more powerful, and "Crest Cap", which can be used as an item by anyone.

Wild Arms TV

In Wild Arms TV, Loretta Oratorio is a Crest Sorceress, but her magic contains several inconsistencies with games. Most notably, her Crests are said to be single-use, which often makes her reluctant to use them. However, she also notes them to be "expensive", which implies that they can be bought, and aren't as rare as in the games. Lastly, Episode 9, The Slave of the Game, reveals that Loretta is over 100 years old, likely thanks to her magic, an aspect that hasn't been brought up in games.

Wild Arms 3

Wild Arms 3 doesn't specifically mention Crest Sorcery, but Virginia Maxwell's tools, Tindercrest, Galecrest, and Changecrest, are all various Crests that she finds on her journey.