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Skin Binding

Page history last edited by Shieldhaven 15 years, 1 month ago

 

Ordien's Notes on Skin Binding

 

The Horrors wield a power called Skinshifting against mortals who challenge them. I have seen firsthand its awful results; it tears asunder the connections between skin and the muscle beneath, and its horrifying effects linger beyond even the initial catastrophic attack, on the unlikely chance that a victim has survived that long.

 

Nethermancers of a particularly visceral and gruesome bent have learned to imitate this power. From the grimoire of the Queen of the Elves I took a copy of this dreadful spell – though in truth it is scarcely noteworthy in comparison to the other spells available to a nethermancer of that advanced circle. I have not yet attempted to attune myself to that grimoire out of a deep revulsion.

 

In many regards, skinshifting is a logical outgrowth of Pain, a spell I have mastered. It is, in another sense, an inverse of Bone Dance, save that Bone Dance does not destroy its marionette. When casting these spells, I concentrate on the image of my target struggling within my grasp. It is then a matter of exerting my desired reality against the wishes of the target. Particularly strong-willed enemies have demonstrated an ability to shrug off my projection of magic.

 

I have even learned to shift my own skin in the form of a Death’s Head. This is not especially painful to me, for all that it terrifies those who look upon me. When the spell ends, my skin returns to its proper place without any lasting visible effect. In this case, my subconscious mind asserts its own reality, and I struggle against my own self-knowledge so that the spell might take effect.

 

What I need, then, is the undoing of all these things. I need to assert my will in contravention of a Wormskull or any nethermancer that might turn this power against us. Much as the victim of one of my spells attempts to sustain a reality in which he is not wracked with agony, I must strengthen a person’s ability to deny the Horror’s chosen reality. It will be easier, I think, to cast a spell as interdiction against a reality not yet made than to reverse a reality brought into being.

 

Better still would be a forceful and preemptive imperative that the skin of the target cannot be shifted, like rivets of nethermantic force. This approach risks the conjuring of objects within the body I intend to aid, but it is possible that this will be less horrible than the skinshifting. The clear advantage to this approach is that it will not be a distraction to me once battle is joined, and I will not have to guess which of my friends the Horror has chosen for destruction. For all that, this is not what the nethermantic arts do best.

 

Easier, then, to meet will with overwhelming will during battle. I might have to sacrifice all of my other efforts in that battle, but a warrior may stay his sword to defend against an anticipated strike; why should this be different?

 

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