WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0152 0152
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seems subtle, even minor. No conventional methods
bring the person back to consciousness. Over time, the
body deteriorates, muscles atrophy, bones weaken, and
the skin bleeds from bedsores. Without constant care,
the victim rots away.
Madness: Sorcery affects a mind, intensifying obsessions and sowing mistrust. Paranoia slinks into consciousness, and problems both real and imaginary grow
exponentially. Victims believe friends are enemies,
while strangers become as kin. Once great intellects
retreat to simplemindedness or utter self-absorption.
Loved ones despair for victims gone mad.
Suicide: Problems become so overwhelming that victims consider taking their own lives. Minds struggle
with seemingly insoluble problems. Multiple attempts
by a variety of methods may occur. Even watched or restrained, a victim remains in danger as the urge to ends
her life overpowers her (and any in the way).
Indirect/ Impersonal Misfortunes
These misfortunes harm a wizard or dark sorcery’s target only indirectly. Most spell casters instantly recognize these are due to their disruptions of sorcery’s rest,
whether they admit this openly to others or not.
Vicious Rumors: Whispers blow through the streets
like foul breezes. Every manner of insult and slight
takes shape as nasty rumors race like wildfire through
the community. Despite being completely untrue, their
strength builds by volume and frequency. Reputation
suffers from myths of cheating, infidelity, cowardice,
pettiness, or anything that causes others to look askance
at the victim.
Runaway Cart: Even a gradual grade can provide a
merchant’s cart with deadly momentum. Rocks bracing wheels crumble or are kicked aside. Beasts rebel
and occasionally run amok with their stalls or wagons
still in tow.
Shunned: Lifetime acquaintances grow cold and distant. Friends who would normally lend comfort cannot be found. Common courtesies become rarities even
among complete strangers. Even associates involved
in joint ventures recoil from simple discussions or attempts at continued contact.
Rival: An enemy gains the upper hand. Whether romantic, business, or other, the rival’s resources expand
tremendously, his allies multiply, and his advantages
expand in all directions. Simultaneously, one’s own
assets decline, opportunities fade, and competitive
advantages mysteriously disappear. Plans must be
abandoned, associates disappointed, and competition
steadily drains away one’s wealth, power, or social prestige.
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Fire: Flames sweep through the family residence, gutting the building. A lifetime of memories, heirlooms,
and treasured belongings become ashes. Smoke chokes
the victims and all people and things nearby. Flesh
scorches, blisters, and forever disfigures victims not entirely engulfed in a fire.
Building Collapse: Beams creak and weaken beneath
heavy burdens over the years. Techniques vary and
the quality of craftsmanship becomes uncertain. Roofs
leak, tiles loosen and fall. Floors give way, heavy objects
plunging through upon the unwitting beneath them.
Lightning: Brilliant blasts of heavenly energy blast
the ground, scattering dirt and stone. Trees split, boulders crumble, and woe to any standing nearby. Tinder
ignites and entire fields or buildings go up in flames. A
direct strike rarely leaves anyone to tell the tale.
Avalanche: Any hillside harbors unseen dangers
above from stones piled precariously. Every sandstorm
grinds away at their foundations, and every rainfall lubricates their slick surfaces. To those passing beneath,
sudden crushing injury or death lurks silently above.
Targets
Vengeful sorcery’s aim is to punish those who disturb its restful state. Scorch a wizard with fire, hack off
a limb, or crush his body—that only leaves him to one
day recover, gather again his ambitions, and return to
his spell-casting ways. It recognizes this after millennia,
and its punishment always involves emotional cruelty.
Magic’s dark consciousness seeks to scar spell casters in
body, mind, and soul to make them think twice before
ever again opening a spell book.
For minor or first-time irritants, sorcery contentedly
inflicts emotional afflictions directly on the tampering
wizard. For major continued incursions against it, sorcery often works more effectively against people the
wizard cares for. Its sole intent is to convey the wizard’s
culpability for the terrible consequences.
Masking personal relationships is virtually impossible.
It can tap a spell caster’s true feelings about those in his
life, ignoring words, actions, or thoughts. A wizard may
deny any emotional involvements to keep his closest relationships secret, but magic acts according to deeper
truths. Vengeance upon a secret loved one can put the
wizard in a truly painful position. Regardless, Khitans of
every culture know the consequences of magic can fall
upon associates of a spell caster, so they protect themselves. They shun most magic-users or drive them from
their villages, if not worse actions. Spell casters often
live lonely, solitary existences for their profession. Magic is indeed the orphan’s trade.
