The Calm
spell, as the name implies, causes the mind to become serene and calm, and thus
temporarily frees the target from whatever anxiety or emotional turbulence they
might be going through. At the higher levels a skillful application of the spell
can also induce a state of deep relaxation, making the target feel safe and at
ease. Those affected by the spell often present a very composed appearance,
seemingly unperturbed by the chaos and confusion whirling around them. Great
care must be taken not to disturb the natural balance of the targeted spirit too
deeply; overexerting the magical influence of the
spell might numb the mind or (if performed by a very powerful magus) even put
the target in a coma.
Spell Effect. The
basic objective of this spell is to calm a fretful mind. By reducing the
ascendancy of the water of the
cár'áll, a mage is able to indirectly
tone down qualities like unpredictability or restlessness attributed to this
undecided element. Less erratic means changes are not very quick or irregular
anymore, thus perceived from the outside as an
air of serenity and calm.
Changes in mood can be abrupt if the spell is rashly applied. The dominance of
the water in the target must be reduced
slowly to minimize the trauma.
The Calm Spell is often used to quieten one’s inner struggles or put a restless
baby to sleep, but of course possibilities are endless. Anything that requires
the calming of a mind, from preparing oneself for a quiet morning of meditation
to allaying the agitated pacing of a bureaucrat can be achieved – all it takes
is a little innovation and proficiency in the Water
School. Although the spell is sometimes also used on people in the middle of
a rage, this is not a recommended use of the spell and should not be attempted
until a mastery over the forces of this element is achieved. Rage and zeal are
attributes ascribed to the element of fire.
Reducing the dominance of water in a
cár'áll will cause the other
elemental ratios to be increased proportionally. In normal cases this should
reduce the overall amount of chaos in the mind, calming the person. On the other
hand, even a slight increase in the already
fire-dominated cár'áll of a
person beside himself with rage might lead to terrible consequences – achieving
quite the opposite of what the spell intended.
A very undecided or fretting mind has an unbalanced
cár'áll. This spells attempts to put
a stop to the water “tyranny” in the
cár'áll by decreasing the
water proportion of the aura to its
normal value – or slightly below if a further calming effect is sought.
Therefore, mages should also be cautious in applying the spell on a balanced
cár'áll or an already calm mind as
doing so might tip the scale too much in the opposite direction this time,
overdoing the spell effect and stunning/‘freezing up’ the target’s mind.
At any case, great care must be taken not to upset the natural balance/state of
the cár'áll significantly; making too
great a difference in the water
cár'áll too abruptly might numb the
mind or (if performed by a very powerful magus) even put the target in a coma.
Note however that “natural state/balance” does not necessarily imply that the
cár'áll is “balanced” (even-handedly
distributed). A cár'áll could be
heavily dominated by one element (i.e. 'unbalanced'), but it could be naturally
so. For example, the existential orientation of a fish is very much towards
water, giving the animal similar
characteristics (like rapid, abrupt movements and unexpected turns) to the river
it swims in.
Casting Procedure.
All the Calm spell really requires other than that the target to be in a place
where their cár'áll can be easily
reached and altered is expertise on the mage’s part. It helps if the caster’s
own mind is in a state of calm before he attempts the spell on others, as an
unruffled mind will better resist the chaotic tendencies of this element.
If a novice spellcaster finds it hard to focus on the abstract qualities of the
target’s mind, he may also direct his attention on the reagents at hand,
symbolizing either the current mindset of the target or the state of calm
looked-for. Although paralleling the target mind in a material resemblance might
smooth the casting of the spell, it also subtracts from its power as the
energies of the mage’s mind is now diverted.
Sphere I is considered to be the simplest of the three types of elemental
cár’áll manipulation. This spell
reduces the dominance of water in
general, not a specific property of it. As such Calm is additionally
straightforward; mages at Ximax can
generally be taught the spell from Level 1 onwards. However, a greater degree of
water mastery is necessary to reap the
full benefits. Due to all the dangers and nuances mentioned, some teachers at
the Academy do not include the spell in
their curriculum until level four or onwards. This latter group usually uses the
Calm spell as an comparative example to help their students better appreciate
the subtle differences in cár’áll
manipulation before moving on to the more complicated Sphere II Serenity Spell.
At the higher levels (Level 5 onwards), mages learn concentrating only on the
chaos property of water, effectively
honing their precision and enhancing the spell effect as their energy no longer
needs to be apportioned to the other aspects of the element.
Sarvonian
humans being very fond of labelling every
concept and categorizing knowledge into separate compartments, this advanced
version frequently takes on the name “Chaos Reduction” in Academy classes.
Magical Formula.
Not defined yet.
Focus/Target. The spell
can be used on any sentient being, although affecting a strong will purposefully
seeking a state of agitation or a fire/water
mage already oriented towards their chaotic elements is a considerably harder
task. Some wizards also claim to be able to influence the minds of other living
beings (for instance animals).
Reagents. The basic
purpose of a reagent is representing the desired outcome, the spell procedure or
the energies involved in the casting act. Thus anything which resembles in some
way either the restless mind of the subject (for instance: swirling, unsettled
sand in a cup of water), the composure
aimed at (a basin of cool, unruffled water)
or the course of reducing the dominance of
water (e.g. sucking the water out
of a glass with a small reed pipe) serves as a possible reagent for this rather
straightforward spell.
It is advised however that novice mages endeavour to cast the spell without any
outside assistance as much as possible. Wizards should not forget the true
purpose of reagents (symbols to assist them in focusing their will) and should
not grow dependent on material objects for completing what is really an act of
the mind.
Spell Class.
Sphere I, Enchantment (Spiritual Representation of the
Water School).
Range. At the first
levels (level 1 and 2), students often think touching the target is required to
aid the focussing. Once the mageling is able to see beyond this illusion
(usually around level 3), physical contact no longer becomes a requisite for the
casting. As the wizard gets better the range increases exponentially starting
with 3 peds at level 3
until around 100 peds at
level 12.
Casting Time.
Reduction of the cár’áll’s
water dominance begins affecting the
mind right away and the average wizardling generally needs no longer than a
quarter of a minute to bring about the full effects of the Calm spell. Of course
casting time is a mere reflection of the complexity of the spell and the
caster’s mastery of will, so the time might vary.
Duration. Sphere I
spells typically last as long as the caster continues focusing. Once the
concentration is broken, willingly or otherwise, the
cár'áll quickly returns to its
natural state, causing the spell effect to end. Hence, the only limit to the
duration is how long the caster can sustain the manipulation. Here, like other
relaxing activities, the effects can often linger a bit longer.
Nonetheless, the spell effect is still temporary, since both the mind’s own
attempt to rearrange itself and external stimuli (if the events that gave rise
to the nervousness in the first place are still present) continue to influence
the target.
It might be best to either move the target away from the source of its anxiety
while the spell effect lasts or alternatively continue repressing the
water to prevent it from regaining
dominance in the cár'áll until the
target has had a chance to order his thoughts.
Counter Measures/Enhancing Measures.
The spell can be countered by anything that re-instigates the dominance of
water in the overall
cár'áll or alternatively by
spells/actions prompting further confusion or worry in the subject. For example,
constantly asking confusing or ridiculous questions in an utterly serious manner
to throw the target off balance or demanding answers one knows the subject in
her current state would not be able to bring together might cause his/her mind
to revert back to the undecided characteristics of the
water element. Singing absurd and
off-tone melodies or making any sort of incessant, disturbing noise works to a
similar effect. Use your imagination.
A soothing environment (low, peaceful music, meditative hymning, a relaxing
fragrance in the air etc.) of course
adds to the spell effect. Focusing only on the chaos characteristic of
water at the higher levels also gives
more power and precision to the spell (see Spell Level for further details).
