The Tomes: Section III The Battle Enhancement Spells: Protect

To the seeker of advancement in the magickal arts,

Our skills as mage's go beyond direct influence into turning the tides of battle. When warriors of different varieties join us in groups on various quests, we can play a much more substantial role. Many have heard that mages can alter the properties of a combatant in battle, now is the time in which you will know how we accomplish such feats.

These spells are likes status ailment spells of the basunic variety in that these enhancements last until the end of the battle, but unlike other basunic statuses this one retains its potency even if the caster were to become unconscious from the battle. The reason for this is that once the spell is enacted, all that remains is for the spell to draw mana from a source. Although one who is unconscious is considered to be out of the fight, their mana source is apparently still enveloping their general area. The spell ends when the caster dispels it themselves to prevent any more mana from being used, which is why this spell is more often used only in battles.

Essentially, Protect is a magickal barrier that is placed over a target to act in the same way armor would without encumbering the combatant. This is why many warriors alike favor having this spell at their party's mage's disposal. With this spell, the focus is on preventing or minimizing physical damage, be it sword, spear or any form of direct attack.

I remember what it was like using this spell for the first time. Once in my life I had tried to wear armor, but having only trained in the magickal arts, my body was not accustomed to the weight of most armor. The most I had ever worn was light chainmail under my robes, so already I knew that the time I was in the heat of a battle to come, I would not be able to evade blows as easily as I did before. Although most mages were discouraged from using heavy armor, I decided to press my luck and soon learned why plate mail was avoided by my fellow magickal practitioners. I remember we had encountered a massive hill gigas, the great overgrown beast threw a punch at me. Knowing I could not jump in time, I expected the worst and braced myself; to my surprise, the punch did not bring me as much pain as much as coming into contact with the ground from being launched. This spell made other normal blows from weaponry feel just as the punch from the hill gigas with only my thin chainmail to slow down the impact. Knowing this, I could only imagine what kind of resilience this spell brings to warriors who did tote about those large steel containers which they resided in.

"Coat my ally in magick, hinder blows of both sword and bludgeon; give them the resilience of a mountain! Protect!"

Casting this spell only calls for you to pull you mana into a protective shielding around the target. You must manifest it to form armor around the target, although most may not be able to see it, the magick does take the shape of weightless armor. When this spell does take hold of the target, it will be visible to those skilled in magick with an orange hue. Take note of this as there is no doubt that your enemies will also take advantage of this spell. Eventually you will be able to shape this spell into a much more durable armor. Though with time, the spell will begin to start to manifest actual armor if enough mana is given to the spell, when this happens, you are probably at the greatest potential of this spell.

This spell also has been rumored to have been used in enchanting some of the more powerful amor in the world. Those were able to accomplish such feats were able to do so because they completely depleted their mana reserves in the process. Although useful in theory, enchanting normal armor may not prove to be effective as it may not be the armor that will have continued usage, also the skill of enchanting is different in both application and learning. Then there is the matter of bracing a physical barrier with this spell. Take for example a wall, if you know that is going to be struck my an attack that may lead to it crumbling, this spell can be used to reinforce it momentarily.

This is but one of the many spells that you will come across in The Tomes that involve shaping mana into shields for your allies. The next spell does behave quite closely in the way Protect defends.

Iv, High White Mage