This is a spell that creates a 'mana ribbon' whip. The caster can customize it with various flags, and a color selection. It gives some extra flair to whips, which they seem to be lacking on most MUDs. The mana cost and equip level are modified by whatever flags the player chooses to put on their ribbon.

Also worth noting, it has an argument function similar to one_argument that might be useful for other things, like setting multiple flags at once in OLC, for instance. Just have a look for yourself.