The Tomes: Section V Mind Alteration Spells: Fog
To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,
The power of suggestion is a powerful tool, with or without magickal abilities. Thieves, rogues, and deceptive people of all kinds use it in order to get by if even for a brief moment. Trickery is not something that mages are ordinarily known for, but when it comes to this category of spells, it is necessary for one to become better acquainted with deceptive practices.
As mentioned in the previous book, Sap, mages have always dealt with the issue of stopping other spell casters. Mana constraints and duration are all issues that have proven difficult to overcome, that was until the creation of the Fog spell. Branching out on the notion of a self fulfilling prophecy that is a scenario where one believes that an event will occur after being influenced repeatedly that it will happen. One of the key aspects in a self fulfilling prophecy is that the person being targeted is the one that allows it to happen; only when they truly let the thought consume them does the effect occur, usually at their own hands or lack of will to overcome it. Fog comes into these ideas by suggesting to the target that they do not have any knowledge of a particular skill at all. If one cannot recall how to do anything, they are at the mercy of their opponent. That said, this spell focuses on blocking the targets ability of casting spells.
Firstly, mana must be directed at the head of the opponent where one can fill their mind with thoughts of ineptness with magic. The issue differentiating the effects of this spell from other mind spells has to do with knowing the skill that is being blocked. At the core of preventing spell casting the simplest and most effective means of preventing it is by creating an image inside the targets mind that they do not have control of mana at all, nor do they possess magic. This creates a situation similar to and if not exactly to amnesia. However, a true case of magickal amnesia only occurs when the caster masters the ability to make the Fog spell esunic in nature. This is done by creating a loop in the target's thoughts with the mana energy from the initial Fog spell. First the target is "convinced" of their lack of magickal understanding, but if the caster conveys a real enough image, the target may believe this situation "permanently". While it is not truly permanent since the amnesia effects are magical, as long as this magical block on memory exists the skills will not be applicable.
As with any of the mind alteration spells, the images sent to the target appear as if the target is truly experiencing them in real life. I myself have been reduced to the state of novice by this very spell as part of my training at Mysidia, not only as an understanding of the nature of mind spells, but also as a realization that one's magic is not something to be taken for granted. The removal of this spell in its "permanent" form requires either a powerful Esuna spell to remove the magick from the mind or an item purchasable at select shops. The mallet might seem a bit physical as a remedy to magickal amnesia, but this is by no means that simple of a solution; however, it does have folk tale roots. As the lore dictates, a man who one day could not remember who he was drove his wife to the point of frustration that she clubbed him over the head with a large object; either by concussive force or the will not to continue a guise of ignorance, the man quickly reverted to his old self. In the case of the magickal remedy, a mallet is charged with properties of the Esuna spell concentrated in dispelling images inside the mind. As for mages that do not know the Esuna spell, they can attempt to charge their staff with magical energies while concentrating on mind alteration spell properties, then striking the victim of the mind spell.
"Like plants in winter's frost, experiences gained and lessons be lost! Fog!"
As elaborated earlier, Fog can be used to prevent the use of magic. But this spell can also be used to prevent the use of other skills; the problem with this scenario is that the caster must also be skilled in the abilities she or he is trying to repress. In theory it is very possible to render an opponents physical combat abilities, but there is distinct need to have combat prowess oneself. Mages at Mysidia have been known to undertake some sword lessons funded by their own private means. The effects of the Fog spell by these students have been shown to inhibit the ability of enemy combatants.
The propensities of this spell, while amazing, have also proven to be quite dangerous. If someone with horribly dark purposes wished, they could, with a massive dedication to the practice of the Fog spell only, prevent a person from remembering who they are as in the case of true amnesia. Only then could an expert mage detect if the person is afflicted with this magic spell or not. It is because of this inherent danger that some select books in this series are not available to the public, or rather limited to pubic access. These mind alteration spells are a clear example of such books and thus have been limited to kingdoms that have proven their worth in many aspects fitting of the Mysidian council. If you are reading this tome, then you should consider yourself quite fortunate to have access to such a rare document. Even so, if on the very marginal chance this tome were to fall into the wrong hands, those not trained in magick spells and have had a massive dedication to its study before this one are not likely to succeed, or even fall victim to the dangers of casting this type of magic.
Iv, High White Mage
Note: Yeah, some of these spells are way too dangerous for public use. As always, I welcome and encourage the reader's thoughts and remarks.