The Tomes: Section II The Intermediate Spells: Drain
To the apprentice practitioner of the magick arts,
As you know, the spell Cure is one that heals wounds at the cost of your own mana reserves, and that the elemental black magick spells cause damage. But is there a way to do both at the same time? Many mages' questions were answered with the spell, Drain. However, this spell does both actions in a very different fashion.
If you are well acquainted with the Cure spell, then you know that it is one that speeds up the process of healing in one's own body. Drain allows one to remain in battle in a much different way. This spell does exactly what one might derive from the name; Drain literally takes the life force from the target and feeds it directly to the caster.
Imagine if you will, the energy one feels from a well rested night, or the energy from having just satisfied their hunger. It certainly spurs one's own willpower does it not? In the case of Drain, the spell takes this conscious energy from the target and feeds it to the caster, granting them much more stamina to last the battle. In a sense, Drain is a spell that does not necessarily cure injuries, but prolongs the will to remain in battle with the very energies that fuel the target. However, there are some precautions that are to be taken when wielding Drain, take note on the life energies that fuel creatures of this world. Not everything is truly alive. The undead exist and continue to do so because of some sort of unholy energy. When one attempts to steal their energies, one is actually absorbing the evil power directly into their body. By doing so, you are actually doing harm to your body, and in some strange twist of irony, are healing the undead simultaneously. In addition, Drain can be used in scenarios that involve a companion that may be on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. In theory, this spell can be used to transfer energies to the other person to keep them moving.
In battles against various vile mages throughout our world, Iv and I have dealt with our fair share of sinister black mages that use Drain to keep them going in battle. When struck, one suddenly feels like they have been awake all night, but with this instance, I felt like I had been without sleep for a week. I was on the verge of collapsing in heap at that very moment had it not been for a quick thought that streaked by my mind at the last moment, and that was to return the favor. I the cast the spell Drain on him and I suddenly felt refreshed, not only to the point of having a well rested night, but as if I somehow had been away form my studies, the adventuring, and work for some time. The end result for our opponent was him laying unconscious, easily allowing us to capture him and send him to the authorities.
"This body is exhausted, energies flow in my foe; give me strength to continue! Drain"
Casting Drain is like other spells that involve auras in that you need to be able to see them manifest themselves. The difference here is that you must now devote you search for life energies. Once you have discerned life energies, which often appear as a pale red color, you can now prepare yourself to cast Drain. Using your mana, focus the energies from the target and pull them towards yourself. In actuality, the premise of using drain is quite easy, broadening its uses though, are not. Unlike most other spells, this one does not have the propensity to target everyone on the battlefield from the start. Beginners must focus on one enemy then branch their way into targeting all of the enemies. Upon mastery of this spell, one might be able to even drain the energies and send them to multiple targets. Even the very skill of identifying the life energies can prove to be very useful in a mage's future. With them, one can not only detect life energies, but ones of death and evil as well. This undoubtedly is useful in the decision in deciding whether or not to use the spell on the target and detecting the undead themselves.
Drain has its purposes in battle, and although it does not replicate the actions of a cure spell, they indeed are a fantastic addition to any arsenal of anyone who practices black magick, but that is not the only spell that can replenish your own energies. Alas, there is another.
-Ebon, High Black Mage