The Tomes: Section VI: Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Break
To the experienced practitioner in the magickal arts,
As has been stated in the beginning of this section of The Tomes, alchemy was the founding, investigative entity in researching methods of transforming matter from one form into another. This process began as somewhat of a selfish endeavor to transform materials into highly valuable gold. However, the main problem with this is that no matter how much magickal energy is put into a spell, the result of such a spell will become unstable and the "gold" will always revert to its original state.
However the way this was remedied was through a discovery of a process known as likeness assimilation. While this sounds like a daunting element of magick to understand, once it is explained, it is not as difficult to understand; though casting the spell will remain daunting. It is essentially ensuring that matter transformed from one form into another. In order to accomplish this, one needs a certain quantity of the original element in order to transform other elements into desired ones. In simpler terms, taking the issue of wanting to turn objects into gold, one needs a sufficient portion of gold to be able to keep the spell active without a constant need for mana, thereby making this spell Esunic. Put into effect, one would first need some gold and a target to create the magickal gold. To complete this process, one needs to envision the substance needed to be turned into gold in the same manner one envisions the targets in all matter spells, the one needs to magickally or physically attach the gold to the target thereby making the target completely made of that one substance. The real material, combined with the magick is sufficient enough to keep the spell in effect. Do note however, that this spell only works with forms of matter that exist as solids in current atmospheric conditions. The molecular movement in solids is slow enough to allow the magick expended on the spell to sufficiently retain the non-intended material in the spell's intended state.
Also note that when casting this spell, one needs to be quite familiar with the substance that is being transmuted with the spell and should have a sufficient supply of raw material to be able to cast a version of Break they can use for the duration of their magickal careers.
This innovation in the field of magick led to a rampant use of counterfeit gold that began circulating around the world and caused a great deal of inflation. Most of the previous means of determining whether or not gil was real or not didn't work in this case since the gold that the coins were made of was now gold in nearly every way thanks to this new process of matter reconfiguration. The first solution to combating the rampant counterfeiting was by having those extremely skilled with white magick casting large spanning Esuna spells on stockpiled amounts of gil. However, this was not a very efficient solution since it did not help track down who was creating all of the fake gil. This lead to the creation of the remedy item known as the gold needle, a small needle that had been enchanted with an Esunic spell specifically engineered to remove enchanted sediment required by the break spell. Interestingly enough, this is the very reason for the naming of the gold needle. not only because of its enchantment aura being a gold hue, but also becuase of the fact of its first implementation, a device to determine the legitimacy of gold. Although creating these items was not easy, the became a somewhat viable way for merchants to determine the legitimacy of gil; if the needle did not loose its enchantment aura, the gold was indeed real, this also helped preserve the number of gold needles available to the currency testers. Eventually with enough underground investigation, the gil was tracked back to a single source, a man who had a falling out with the mages of Mysidia and and was presumed to be dead.
The reason that stone was chosen was because of its embedded principle use in the studies by mages. If you could not from previous books in this collection, you would notice that mages are told to practice with stones and rocks for many of their spells, the reason being that they are inanimate and are usually constituted of a simple set of molecules. Such a basic familiarity sets the stage for the break spell, an otherwise very difficult spell to perform. Even with the familiarity of meddling with rocks and other sediments in early years of a mage's practice, the break spell is by no means a simple feat. Understanding how to successfully cast the spell consistently, let alone mastery takes years of practice, this is one of the most difficult spells to manifest among The Tomes.
For use in battle, this spell is rarely used not because of its inefficiency but because of its rarity. Few mages are actually able to consistently cast this spell to officially make it a viable portion of their spell regiment. When it is used though, it is presumed to be the most effective restraining spell. When dealing with monster, those that are not of earth elemental or bear any resistances to earth attacks can be turned into the sediment of that mage's choice. After they have been turned into stone, all that is needed to finish the creature off is a large force to destroy it once and for all. However upon experimenting on a pile of broken stone that was once a monster, one curious mage decided to use a gold needle on a portion of the remains; this lead to the disturbing result of pieces of monster flesh skewed about the battle field. Do note that if the state of the stone deteriorates further from the magical form, such as being absorbed into the ground, water, or magma the spell somehow becomes irreversible even with the aid of a gold needle and even the original matter used in the spell is lost.
"Of all shapes a materials that are known, let my foe know the form of stone. Break!"
Of course, as with the case with all spells, Break has its share of dangers and abuses. One of the benefits of traveling the world is being exposed to a great deal of experiences and people, art in no question, is one of the more enjoyable things to encounter. Painters and bards are very common amongst larger towns. However when one finds a truly prosperous town some artists are accomplished sculptors, creating lifelike works of art. Indeed upon a visit to such a town, Iv and I were invited to spend a night with one of the more well off citizens in the city who just so happened to be a very accomplished sculptor. Throughout his mansion, statues adorned the halls, each one seeming like they had a story to tell. We were not the only guests spending the night at this artist's home and as we prepared for bed I decided to take another look through the halls of the mansion when I encountered an act of magickal cruelty that I had never, in my most horrendous nightmares, conceived. In another room I overheard a conversation between the other guest and our host. The guest was excited about having a statue being made because he inspired our host.
Unfortunately for the participant in the host's artistic project, he was unaware of the sinister deed in the works, first the host asked him to turn around so that he could begin with the easier part of a statue to create, but it was a ruse for the true means of how the "artist" created his statues. Break was used on our fellow traveler, and before I could help him there was already a new work of art in our host's room, where the host turned and looked at me, contemplating the creation of a new statue no doubt. I immediately called out for Iv whom I hoped would be able to help me suppress this mad mage. As it turned out, he had a great deal of experience in casting the Break spell, he had already managed to ready some sedimentary particles and was already casting a second spell directed at myself. Before I had a chance to complete the incantations for a Blizzard spell, his break spell was already taking effect on my body. It started on my feet, and I quickly felt the loss of sensation in my feet as if one had cut off circulation to them. However unlike the natural occurrence, this loss of feeling did not cause me to loose balance but rather succumb to an effect similar to the Stop spell. As control and feeling of my body quickly crept upwards, there was at that moment a great deal of panic that struck my consciousness as the spell completed itself. Then, in what seemed in an instant, I found the feeling returning to my body and could visually see the spell reversing in process. Before me I saw Iv, completing an Esuna spell and asking me if I was alright. I reassured her of my state and proceeded to explain what that man, now lying on the ground dead, had been doing to people. I also noted the sizable hammer that he had laying next to his body; I suspect this was the reason that Iv took such drastic actions against the man. After clearing our heads of what had just transpired we then realized that all of the statues that occupied the mansion were no doubt real people who had visited his manor at one time. After freeing the victim previous to myself, Iv and I set out to speak with the town's authorities and returned to the estate the next day and proceeded to undo the Break spell on all of the statues.
As it turns out this "artist" had been doing this nefarious deed for years. Some of the victims that were freed, by Iv's Esuna spells and what supply of gold needles we had, turned out to have been petrified from over two decades previous. At first, when we freed them they looked like the living forms that were turned into their stone representation, but after a matter of minutes, they quickly aged into what they would appear at the current time. This curious effect is currently under investigation at Mysidia. As for the lesson learned from this incident, at any time an artist would choose to present a statue or sculpture, a gold needle needs to be applied in order to determine the legitimacy and lawfulness of the artist.
One more spell belongs to the categorization of Matter reconfiguration spells, and it is one that perhaps is one of the most dangerous magick spells to have been crafted. It is one of the few spells that even practitioners of Matter spells come into ethical conflict of using.
Ebon, High Black Mage.
Author's Note: With a three month unexplained hiatus, I believe I owe readers an explanation; first, it was the fact that it was the finals grind and the end of my summer semester, second was the fact that I had used up my creativity for the moment and felt I needed a break. And third, this would have come out a moth earlier if I hadn't been occupied with another game that came out. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this meaty chapter.