Line of Warding

Also known as a Defensive Circle, a Line of Warding is a round shape, usually a circle but occasionally an ellipse. All of them have bindpoints, points at which other Lines may be 'bound' to the Circle for various uses. A general rule for Lines of Warding is that the more the curve, the stronger the line. This is why ellipses are stronger on the two pointed sides but are weak on the flat sides.

Common Forms
Circular Lines of Warding are usually divided by two, four, six or nine bindpoints. Having more bindpoints allow for more variation and flexibility but it is not necessarily better than simple defenses. Circles with more bindpoints are more difficult to draw, especially as speed is concerned, since a single mistake will weaken the entire defence. Nine-point circles are drawn using a complicated division by an obtuse triangle and are the hardest circle for a Rithmatist to master. Ellipses usually contain only two bindpoints.

Complicated Forms
It is possible to have up to nine points in any Line of Warding. However, this is not wise when it comes to ovals, since the wide curves of the sides of an oval are not particularly strong. Ovals have their best strength when drawn using two bindpoints. It is possible, using different kinds of triangles over a circle, to produce five- and eight-point circles, but this possibility has not been well explored in-world and there are no defences shown with these circles.