Spellshine

Spellshine was an arcane alteration and divination spell that allowed the caster to see auras and traces of magical activity left behind by another magic-using being.

Effects
This spell made magical residues created by one other being (see Components below) visible to the caster. The spell lasted for 28 minutes (longer for more experienced casters) and could detect magical remnants created by the subject in the previous seven hours (again, more experienced casters could detect older remnants). As a side-effect, the caster's eyes glowed a bright blue for the duration of the spell. The detected auras were quite distinct and detailed, showing any symbols, sigils, outlines, or boundaries of magical effects, also in vivid blue, regardless of the ambient light conditions.

Spellshine revealed glyphs and wards but did not trigger them nor reveal their triggers. If a creature or object was the target of a magical effect but no longer in the vicinity, there was only a small cloud of swirling blue where the effect was cast. For example, if a wizard cast continual light on the head of a staff and then walked away, spellshine would indicate the location where a spell was cast, but not the nature of the spell nor the direction of travel of the wizard or the staff.

This spell did not require concentration once cast so the caster could do other things, including invoke other spells, while spellshine was active. The spell could be dismissed by the caster at any time or allowed to expire normally.

Components
This spell required verbal, somatic, and material components to cast. The subject of the spell could be anyone the caster had skin-to-skin contact with in the past six hours, or else the spell required at least three drops of the subject's blood as an additional material component. The intrinsic material components of spellshine were two tears, one from each of the caster's eyes, and a small piece of some substance that had been altered by magic. Examples included a bit of burned charcoal or melted glass created by magical fire, a pebble buried in earth or sand that had been the subject of a magical effect, or an object bathed in a potion or other enchanted fluid.