The Tomes: Section VI: Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Toad
To the experienced practitioner in the magickal arts,
Tales have told of mages, wizards, witches and all sorts of magickal users alike being able to bend the elements to their will. Among stories about what we magick users are capable of, none have had such an effect on the opinions of others like the stories of magick spells that transform living things from one form into another. However, accomplishing this is far from the reach of even the most skilled mages.
As far as Matter reconfiguration spells rank, this spell requires the most prior knowledge in order begin attempting to cast the spell. However it should be noted that while this spell is known as Toad, and will be referred to as such through the course of this book, the spell is known amongst mages as the polymorph spell. It essentially allows the caster to change the form of a living creature into that of another species. The spell came about through the experiments and curiosities of mages here at Mysidia, and actually was developed quite recently. Our generation of mages was part of the first to develop and use this spell.
A polymorph spell requires two parts, first is the initial viewing of the intended target that is required by all matter spells. However the second requires experience as well as the information from this tome. In order to transform a target from one species to another, one needs to be familiar with the species they are transforming targets into. This is mainly the reason as to why this polymorph spell came to be known as the Toad spell. Being situated close to a vast marshland, there was not much choice of wildlife to study that was not either too dangerous or monstrous. Thus one of the more populous and easier to trap creatures en masse were frogs. In hindsight, choosing frogs and toads proved to be quite important to the study of polymorphing.
During the studies of the frogs' and toads' biology, we noted how similar in structure the amphibians were to humans in terms of some organs and skeletal structures. This confirmed some of the theories held by mages of old about the origins of species in which life had originated from the sea and eventually found its way onto land and became the complex organisms that inhabit the terrestrial world, including ourselves. Amphibians come into this theory as the bridge between the land and the sea; as creatures that were the first to adapt to breathing oxygen directly from the atmosphere, they have a basic aspect that all land creatures share. However, what separates a polymorphing from the Teleport and the alchemical Break spells is that one is attempting to change the form from one living state into "another" living state. In order to do this, crafting the spell required an in depth understanding of the physiology of frogs and toads and one of the only ways to understand this is by actually dissecting and examining the internal organs of said animals. Being small and somewhat simple life forms, it did not take long to fully grasp how the frogs and toads live and move.
Taking into consideration of the basic mechanics of Matter spells, in that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, it is not possible to polymorph a creature into a larger one. But when changing a creature into a smaller one, there are still complications besides temporal matter storage addressed with the Mini spell. The target must have sufficient amounts and varieties of matter to be transformed into the target creature. Once again, toads and frogs proved to have been good subjects to study in hindsight due to their simplicity and size, since neither constraint complicates turning most targets into these amphibians, the spell proves to be useful against most living organisms. Only those creatures which are constituted of one or a few types of materials are immune to such a spell. Also those with high magickal resistences are more than likely able to evade the effects of this spell.
To cast the Toad spell, one needs to envision the molecules of the target being transformed and implemented into those of a frog, this is easiest done by changing each part of the body and translating it into the form what it was previous into of that of a frog; this includes internal and external parts. In terms of transforming the target back into its original state, the esunic properties of the spell mean that reversing the process is done by dispelling the magick through the effects of an Esuna spell. There is also the maiden's kiss remedy, an item created and named after the folktale story's answer to the conundrum of the polymorphed prince. The item is essentially a statuete of a maiden's head enchanted with esunic properties specifically designed to restore the true form of the target by purging mana used for the spell that retains the polymorphed shape of the person afflicted. The reason that this spell is permanent sans any further magickal intervention and the Mini spell is not is due to the nature of what the spells are attempting to accomplish. Mini spells attempt to shrink the target into an "unnatural" state for that specific target, but the Toad spell attempts to change the target from one "natural" state into another. This effect does not require the constant fueling of mana like the mini spell because the target in frog form is a natural state that does not need any magickal intervention besides the initial casting of the spell.
"Reduce and change this person's features, reduce them to this simple creature. Toad!"
The benefits of using this spell are ideally for suppression in the case of battles, others have used it for capture of fugitives. During the first days of this spell's existence, Iv and I became acquainted all to well with the capabilities of the Toad spell.
Having been charged with experimenting with the Toad spell, Iv and I set out into the wilderness for the first test runs of the spell. We were to use it on various wildlife and were encouraged to use it against monsters whenever possible. We were part of four pairs of mages sent out in the cardinal directions from Mysidia to test the Toad spell, and after weeks of experimentation in the wilderness, iv and I learned that most creatures were affected by the spell, some had more magickal resistences than other, but the one type of creature that seemed to be immune to the spell were black flans.
Eventually we found our way to the coast of the continent one day and surprisingly spotted one of our colleagues in the distance on the shore line with a cart. His name was Velmoire, he had been tasked with experimenting with the Toad spell in another direction. As Iv and I approached his location, we noticed that he was alone, his partnered white mage was missing. When Iv and I finally arrived at his location, we inquired about why he was in the area. Velmoire stated that he had become lost and in disarray after he and his partner, Amber were ambushed by monsters; he went on by saying that he could not help her after the battle because the wounds inflicted by severe blunt trauma were far too severe. I found his story suspicious and while Iv continued questioning him, I looked into his cart and noticed the vast array of magickal supplies. There was no way that that his partner should have died given his description of what happened and considering the supplies he had with him. Velmoire caught a glance of what I was doing and immediately knocked Iv over and launched an icicle shard past my face.
It would seem we were close to unraveling his ruse of smuggling supplies from Mysidia. Given the selection and amount of supplies, he was probably intending on boarding a ship and never returning. The battle commenced, Iv had just gotten back on her feet was readying a restraining spell in the way that we deal with all rogue mages, be it a Silence or Stun spell. I was preparing a Thunder spell to avoid any possible inaccuracies and therefore hazards to Iv, who was on the side opposite. Velmoire directed his attention and faced Iv, and unleashed his spell surprisingly quickly, and I noticed that Iv's robes fell in heap. It seemed that he would be quite the adversary considering for being a black mage, he was able to use a Mini spell so easily. It didn't matter much because as Iv and I had learned from past experiences, that the Mini spell has no effect on a spell caster's magickal powers. I was just about ready to see Iv's retaliation when I instead heard it. A loud croak came from her direction. It would seem that Velmoire indeed was putting to use the practice and experimentation from our assignment and had taken no hesitation in using the Toad spell against a human; I believe that this may have been the same fate that his partner had faced days before. I let loose a wicked bolt of lightning, but he anticipated the attack and was already at work preparing another spell.
I felt the impact of an invisible concussive force, but remained standing. However the feeling I would experience next was unlike any other. A sudden sensation of cold came over me, I felt a nauseating feeling in my stomach and my limbs began to warp from their extremities, I could feel my own bones melding together and changing shape and position. Then came the addition of a melting sensation. Like a Fire spell but internal I felt as the process of losing my skeletal structure. It was not long before I realized that I had diminished in size and stature and what spell I had been hit with. I tried to release another spell but was only able to let out the croak of the amphibious body I now inhabited. Being the early days of the spell's development, maiden's kisses did not exist yet and thus I resorted to searching through the interiors of my robes for my only vial of a remedy potion, a cure all for status ailments. I found it hard to move in this new body and difficult to concentrate on where I had the potion that was my only hope. Eventually I was able to locate the flask and begin the arduous task of removing the cork without a firm grip on the glass container due to the properties of a frog's skin.
After a minute of struggling, I was finally able to get the vial open and drink the potion. Luckily, the esunic properties of the Toad spell were just like any other esunic status related spells. I quickly felt process begin to reverse itself and was able regain my original form. Again in the face of a current streak of magickal bad luck, I found myself without any protection of armor but fortunately Velmoire, confident in his own abilities was no longer paying attention to Iv and I and was instead focused on his cart of goods. I then readied a powerful fireball and immediately sent it towards Velmoire's back. It set him ablaze and in his panicked frenzy of being on fire, he made a mad dash for the cart of magickal supplies and remedies, he crashed into it and caught the cart on fire as well.
Unfortunately troubles for Iv and I were just beginning as well as experience with the toad spell. I then proceeded to deal with the situation at hand; I called for Iv, just before realizing the state she was still in. She came out of the pile of her belongings which I then collected and search through to help her. Being a white mage, Iv had a collection of remedies for various ailments except the actual remedy potion, the only thing that saved me in this predicament. This did not bode well for her chances of returning to her true form in the near future and as for using the stockpiled amount of magick items that Velmoire had, those went up in flames along with Velmoire. I decided to head out with what supplies we had left as well as Iv's belongings and with the mage gone toad in tow. For the remainder of the day I was bearing the encumbrance of our supplies on my back and Iv in my hands. She understood what I was saying about the situation that had transpired and about the report we would give to the authorities at Mysidia,though the only responses I received from her were the occasional nods, croaks, and glances from Iv.
The next day, about halfway back to Mysidia, I scolded Iv again for not packing a remedy potion for unexpected situations. I surmised that she had calmed down a bit since she didn't respond by puffing up, the usual response for an angered toad, and instead kept quiet. In just a few minutes Iv began to become restless and eventually leapt from my hands; I thought she just wanted to stretch or get her bearings back, so I decided to stand back and rest for a bit. But then Iv started off in the other direction. I called out to her to no avail; she just kept on going towards a body of water. I pondered if this act was out of curiosity of her new body so I followed out of curiosity.
Then, my suspicions of what may be transpiring were confirmed by the following. Iv just sat at the water's edge staring at the insects, then proceeded to hunt and eat them. I asked her aloud as to what she was doing. I didn't receive a response, not a glance or a croak. Suddenly, out of almost nowhere, a helldiver came down upon Iv and was in the process of bringing her into the skies with it. In nearly an instant I fired a precisely accurate icicle shard straight after the helldiver which was immediately killed. Before I could react, Iv had already plummeted and hit the ground. I dashed for her location and already had a potion in hand. Iv was on the ground stunned from the fall, her current body was batterd and had a few lacerations. I attempted to give her the potion to drink but she was unable to drink it, or rather Iv was not willing to do so. What I had surmised in my mind about the Toad spell had finally taken into effect. I had theorized that since the spell essentially transforms the body of the target, which could only affect the physical and not the mental. However, what had taken place within a day's worth of time was that the physical body, more particularly the brain, could not contain human consciousness for long and eventually consciousness would equivocate to that which the body was turned into. Iv had been losing her mind and transforming into the thought patterns of a toad, that is why she refused the potion; because a Toad knows not what a potion is and therefore won't drink it. It also explained why she left my company in the first place. The situation was growing dire and resorted to a rather dangerous course of action. I needed to have Iv regain her human consciousness, but I didn't have any medicinal remedies nor was I skilled with any white magic.
Then it occurred to me that if I reverse engineered the process of the Toad spell itself, there was a chance of returning her to her original shape and be able to give her the potion. I realized that since we all were practicing the Toad spell and as such learned how to do so in the same manner, including Velmoire's variant, I might be able to infiltrate the magick around Iv and reverse the process, I'd have an toad specific Esuna spell. After casting the backwards spell, Iv returned to her original form, retaining the same wounds in the same locations from being a toad, I immediately gave her a powerful potion and was able save her.
Black magick is about offensive magick, while there are spells that can destroy, freeze, and turn people to stone, I can think of none as destructive as the Toad spell. It alters the shape of the body and the proceeds to slowly destroy the mind and reverting it to a primal thought machine. This is why the study of magick is dangerous; the unintended effects of spells are the occupational hazards for mages.
This concludes the studies of matter reconfiguration spells. There is a class of spells higher than the ones of this area. The next sections of The Tomes contain spells dealing with raw power, considered by Mysidia as Master level spells.
Ebon, High Black Mage.
Author's Note: … Longest Chapter Ever. I told you all these chapters were going to get in depth. As always your reviews are greatly appreciated.