WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0150 0150
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his bones and joints are no longer as flexible. His skin
wrinkles; his hair grows gray or falls away; and teeth rot
or fall out. Worst of all, memory becomes faulty or fades
and thinking becomes more difficult. The wizard has
trouble remembering spells and even the names of associates, plans recently made, or goals he has set out to
achieve. These changes can be masked with clothing or
even makeup and hair dyes, while written notes and informed companions and assistants can mitigate failing
memory. Such provisions cannot turn back the advanced
clock—only sorcery’s eventual revocation of the same.
Regional Afflictions
Nothing inspires the hatred of wizards among the
general population than the propensity of sorcery to
take action against his immediate surroundings. Villagers chase known spell casters away with torches and
pitchforks, and many would simply kill them outright
were it not for widespread belief that doing so brings
down even worse curses. Many a wizard owes his life to
those superstitions; they foster them and make them
even more terrifying whenever they can.
Common folk associate regional afflictions so widely
with sorcery that they often ignore or dismiss natural
causes. Crop failures are always the result of witchcraft,
or so Khitan farmers believe. Wrongful accusations can
send a wizard packing in the face of local anger as easily
as anything else.
Bad Weather: Extreme and inclement weather darkens
the region. Wastelands become especially hot during the
day and frigid cold at night. Sandstorms grow in ferocity, stinging and burying everything in their path. Land
storms may erupt. In more temperate areas, dark clouds
bring heavy rains or snows, lightning storms, and flash
floods. Fog rolls in and gloom hangs over the land. Hail
and tornadoes may appear. This makes life all the harder
for natives who always suspect sorcery’s wrath in times of
harsh weather . . . and seek the ones to blame.
Withered Crops: Wherever seeds are sown and grains
grown, farmers fear strange, unexplained blights. Winter
wheat fails to emerge from the thawing ground. Plants
grow sickly, blotched with evil spots or twisted with unnatural growth. Grains taste foul or spoil in the cribs.
When the crops die, there is usually little reserve to live
on. Famine ensues, and woe to a wizard found nearby.
Infertility: Livestock no longer reproduce successfully.
Ewes are stillborn. Eggs never hatch. Young animals
grow weak and die in their mangers. Local agriculture
suffers terribly as most herders drive their herds or
flocks further afield. Older farmers “know” all too well
that the unexpected deaths of young animals re the
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first heralds of reckless wizardry. They seek, accuse and
threaten witches and magical perpetrators, if they don’t
drive them away immediately.
Disease: Cases of pox or plagues rise dramatically. An
epidemic picks and chooses among the locals, challenging the weak and taking many lives. Children and the
elderly are most vulnerable. Folk test local remedies
and employ folk cures. Whole villages are quarantined,
marked with warning signs enforced at spear point. To
the simple, diseases always seem of mysterious origin,
so many blame the more mysterious witches and spell
casters for their ills.
Infestation: Locusts swarm the fields by the hungry
millions. Famine follows the ravaging of the crops. Only
the most tightly sealed granaries can protect the precious seeds. Other invaders include mice, rats, termites,
rock-worms, mites, spiders, or ravens—anything en
masse that might disrupt everyday life, gnaw at the local food supply, and bring filth and sadness.
Manipulating the
Wrath
Prepared wizards can turn sorcery’s wrath against their
enemies, but personal risks redouble. Certainly spell casters take great pains to mitigate the effects of sorcery’s
wrath. Indeed, entire wizard schools and philosophies revolve around particular means by which to trick it or endure its effects so as to continue in the dark arts. Turning
sorcery’s angry power against particular others and to the
wizard’s advantage is, among spell casters, the truest sport.
The first step toward such manipulation is absorbing
the target into the wizard’s circle of emotional attachments, which can be done either truly or artificially. The
former is far more difficult, but not impossible. It entails
the spell caster initiating and fostering a genuine relationship with someone he eventually plans to betray.
Dark sorcery can sometimes be fooled by the trappings
of actual emotional attachment, such as proximity, social and organizational ties, time spent in each other’s
presence, and so on. Add enough of these trappings together and they might be strong enough for vengeful
magic to seek them out as a victim.
Artificial emotions are sometimes easier to manifest,
using simple things such as love potions and amulets.
A wizard can feign friendship or even love, though such
things take time and the application of charisma in ways
unfamiliar to him. Disingenuous love is everywhere in
the courts and palaces of high society, providing easy
examples for a caster to emulate or use. To help venge-
