Black Zenith [Adventure RPG / Chapter Four: Fires of Heaven]

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Tentatively raised Watson's damage reduction to 25%, subject to further evaluation.

Finally given a chance to relax for a while, those remaining aboard the airship are left with a chance to rest and recover. Selphy steadily pilots the battered ship across the landscape below, bathed in the twilight of the two suns.

Meanwhile, Myra has busied herself with the study of magical theory.

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Excerpt from the Book of Warding


Chapter Three - On the Nature of Barriers, Page 127

... it is important to remember that barriers are one form of the manifestion of our attunement to our magical forces, and, as with anything else, it is important to train and develop. This is basic knowledge. What few realize is that the layers of magical power we use to shape such barriers are more often than not built with brute force, through little more than the inherent power of our magic. Even a child can often create such a barrier - the nature of the barrier is such that it comes to us instinctually when we feel threatened. This, too, is well known. But it is surprising that even many of the most esteemed mages still use this basic form of the barrier, never developing upon it or questioning its practical use. Even those who do tamper with the magical flows they employ when building their barriers rarely do so to great effect. A priest may temper it with divine power, giving him a shining barrier that is, although visually impressive, still none too different from in actual application to the basic barrier. This is also true of practioners of more questionable magic, who also often employ a barrier tinged with their personal magical flavor, often resulting in eldritch shields and the like. Through my research, i have discovered that there are only common variants of the barrier employed by a wider range of the population. The most well known type are the variants of spellward, which are each designed to block only against certain things. A fireward, for instance, would deter fire, but would interfere with little else, which can be useful in a wide variety of situations. Each variant of the spellward shapes the magic differently, the magical matrix lending the ward strength, aswell as changing the trigger to only employ the spell's power against the ward's chosen subject. The fireward for instance might be effective against both fire and lightning, but would crumble almost immediately from having a mere pebble dropped upon it, should one refrain from changing the trigger - the magical structure simply would not support the physical pressure, resulting in an immediate drain of the ward's power source. I have heard reports of divers using very powerful versions of a waterward, for instance, fiting them to themselves in accordance with their goal in diving. In one tale i recorded, the diver shielded only the insides of his mouth and nose, keeping strain off of the barrier by keeping it out of the water. Where his peers shielded either all of their body or just the head, they would expect their barrier to last a short while and then run out of power. By keeping his barrier out of the water, this particular diver could rely on it to last a great long time, knowing that he could count on it to prevent accidental swallowing during stress or the like, as it would not expire from other force placed on it as more regular barriers would. This concept of protecting only what is necessary with our magic is important to mages who would study this field. Knowing when, how and where to employ a barrier can make a great difference. Without consideration, we may shield against things we have little desire to. Some untrained mages often shield against even air, and without the magical attunement and knowledge of how to alter your spell to allow air through, this can lead to some rather embarrassing situations for young casters. One report speaks of a mage who fainted during a duel after having kept a barrier up for a longer period against his opponent's barrage of attack. Until then he hadnt even known that he accidentally shielded out air with his barrier, and the mistake cost him the academy championship.

The second type of barrier-variant commonly employed is the forcefield. At first glance, it is very similar to the basic barrier, but is constructed to last almost indefinitely. Most forcefields can withstand relatively little punishment, but are often enough to keep the curious away. Forcefields are interesting because they renew themselves from the latent magic in the air around them, which is a trait that is incredibly difficult to reproduce in other magical branches. As of this writing, i believe the latest discovery is everburning flames, which appear to be incredibly difficult to produce and even then require that the mage feed them magic directly once in a while. Yet in forcefields, this form of self-sustainance is easy or even trivial to cast into the spell. The forcefield is commonly used in high ranking wizard's homes, both to keep unwelcome visitors away and as common decoration, such as by indefinitely levitating your favorite tome over a pedestal - most commoners find that sort of thing impressive and a hallmark of wizardry, and you may find it a useful skill if you have issues with local the local citizens lacking respect. Regardless of your employ of the forcefield, keep in mind that it is merely a cheap parlor trick, and will not do much to deflect a determined individual, and will definitely be of very limited use to battlemages, who prefer the much more stable and reliable basic barrier. In addition, do not forget that the forcefield will drain the area around it. Do not keep forcefields in your laboratory or around magical artifacts. It may interfere with the magic involved, leading to unforeseen...

(Myra turns the page. It goes on like that for a while.)

After several hours of cruising through the sky, an indistinct speck of gray on the horizon starts to take shape, soon becoming great spires and districts of sprawling stone dwellings as you draw nearer. High walls with guard towers interspersed at regular intervals incircle the city. Seen from up high, the city seems to be built entirely from stone, a massive gray sentinel watching over the surrounding farmlands, with a great fortress of towers and ramparts at its center.

As you draw nearer and pass over the outer walls uncontested, it becomes obvious that the streets are abandoned, only a few people passing by below, their heads down and backs bowed. For the greatest city in the kingdom, Valonar is far too empty.