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Chapter 8: SORCERY S MIND
,
SORCERY S MIND
Chapter 8:
A
reservoir of magical energy hides beneath the
physical universe, though only a paltry few realize
this. Most witness its power through wizards employing their craft, blind to understanding the power’s
true source is not its wielder. Few comprehend the reservoir’s existence; fewer still know how to tap, channel,
and unleash its energy in the desired manner; even
fewer again truly know what they touch has a mind,
knows what they do, and does not approve.
Magic has a consciousness—a decidedly inhuman selfawareness backed by an indomitable will. Dabblers,
hedge mages, and traveling wizards using minor magics fail to draw its attention any more than a colossadant
notices the birds clustered on its back to pick at the bugs
in its hair. Only more focused, powerful magic disturbs
sorcery’s slumber. Once roused, it does not settle back to
composure without incurring a toll.
Sorcery’s bargain is cruel and often soul crushing,
but simple and invariable. What the learned in magic
can all agree on, though, is that the magical reservoir
would prefer to be left alone, and woe to any who displease it in such a way that it levels its full and wicked
attention upon them.
In the broadest terms, sorcery’s demands are not satisfied by wealth or prestige. No material thing warrants
its interest. It holds no truck with the affairs of mortals.
No, the reservoir is nurtured, pleased even, by subtler
things, by thoughts, by terror, by suffering, mental suffering, and emotional strife. These things satisfy its
wants, appease its displeasure, and turn its eyes away
from any who have disturbed it.
Strictly speaking, the instigator of all these emotional attacks is the reservoir of magical energy that
exists in the greater universe from which all spell
casters ultimately draw their power. When referring
to its conscious state, it is collectively known as “sorcery’s wrath” or “vengeful sorcery,” though sometimes
“magic” or “magical ire” may be employed. Also, the
spell caster who draws magical ire on himself is known
as the “offending wizard.”
,
Sorcery s Wrath
Each time a wizard casts a spell, he taps into a magical
reservoir of energy that would rather not be disturbed.
Each casting may bring wrathful retribution down upon
the wizard or those emotionally closest to him. Mages
recognize and accept this risk as an unavoidable consequence of their dark craft. How they mitigate sorcery’s
wrath defines them. Common folk know that ill fortune and spellcasting walk hand in hand, so they shun
wizards and drive them away with torches and pitchforks. Magic is truly the Orphan’s Trade.
Triggers
Power and clumsiness are the two primary things that
draw sorcery’s wrath. A wizard who unleashes a powerful
incantation knows he has tweaked sorcery’s nose, and
he needs to be prepared for the aftermath. Presumably,
a wizard capable of such powerful spells has also steeled
himself against emotional attack, hardened by a lifetime of experience. Indeed, the means by which a mage
mitigates these attacks is his trademark, or the trademark of his wizard’s college.
Less-experienced wizards, however, suffer unwanted
attention from sorcery when they fail in magical attempts. The magical consciousness does not suffer fools
lightly and makes its displeasure known. Any miscalculation is sufficient. A spell that has less than the originally desired effect, or that the subject manages to ward
off by some means, causes the caster consternation.
Sorcery’s wrath seeks to demoralize and push a fledgling magician away from magic.
So, a wizard who casts a minute amount of magic and does
it well knows he is safe from sorcery’s wrath. He has flown
beneath its notice. A powerful wizard can perform low-level
magic for many years without bringing retribution down
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