Restore limb

Description

This spell complements the heal and purify spells - it allows a ruined limb to be restored to full functionality. Bone, sinew, muscle, flesh and blood vessels knit back together and the limb is as good as new within moments. The spell only repairs the functionality of the limb - the patient can still suffer from physical stress and blood loss caused by the original crippling wound. Such damage must be treated separately, either with the heal spell or with traditional medicine.

Having a limb restored with this spell is never an entirely natural experience. Some feel a gentle, comforting warmth that spreads from the caster's hands to envelop the chosen body part. Others experience a freezing chill that immediately removes all sensation from the damaged arm or leg - as if it had been entirely severed - which fades slowly after the spell ends. A very rare few patients feel only the horrible sensation of bones knitting and flesh flowing like clay under the hands of the magician, which can be quite traumatising in its own right.

The spell has some serious limitations; a particularly traumatic injury may leave lingering effects or complications that require the attention of a physick. In this case, the restore limb spell may not be sufficient to restore the full use of the broken limb, or may repair the gross physical damage but leave some internal damage that may continue to threaten the life of the patient.

All magical healing requires the magician to focus their attention on the patient, and anything that disrupts that attention causes the spell to fail. The inability to use an arm or leg is rarely life threatening, so it is almost always better for an injured soldier to drop back behind the line, with the assistance of a companion if their leg is crippled, than for a magician to risk disruption of their magic trying to perform it in the middle of an engagement.

Casting

• Type: Regular spell
• Cost: 1 Personal mana

Effects

You may restore a single limb ruined with the CLEAVE call or IMPALE call.

Sample Spellcasting Vocals

• (laying a wand along the limb like a splint) The limb is hewn, but the branch of the Oak never breaks. I invoke the Net of the Heavens to splint your arm/leg with one of those mighty branches. While your will endures, so shall your body!
• (slapping a handful of clay on the limb) The power of life flows from the earth. Like the grain that keeps you standing, let the mud of the land you fight for restore you to health (or 'to the fight'). Let [name], your loyal companion, get you back on your feet.
• (striking a pose) A-ha! A wounded soldier comes before me / Demanding I heal twisted limb repair / That once again, she'll take up sword and arrow / 'Gainst Orcish charge, which Loyally she'll bear. / Well, hero I am none if not her Captain! / Her flesh I'll mend as surely as her shirt (or skirt (or trousers))! / But here, the bone is shattered into pieces! / Hold on, soldier, this is going to hurt -
• Blood I take, and mark you with Rhyv: walk again, fight again, dance again, die again. Mana I give, and mark you with magic: walk again, fight again, dance again, die again. Bone knit to bone, I'll take no more blood - walk again, fight again, dance again, die again - soon enough we'll get you back on the Trod: walk again, fight again, dance again, die again.
• (using a sprig of cerulean mazzarine to touch the wounded limb) "Shattered limb and broken bone, through these words shall be regrown. Muscle, sinew, blood and skin, knit together, restore this limb."

Common Elements

• Rune Magic: As with all magic that heals living things, the rune Rhyv resonates with this spell.
• Astronomancy: An astronomancer knows the value of the Chalice in healing, and that constellation is especially appropriate to a spell that brings together severed flesh and bone. The Oak and the Stallion are also a good fit - the idea of regrowing and regenerating a living creature works well with these constellations.
• Dramaturgy: A dramaturgist might take on the persona of the Captain when casting this spell - typically with a no nonsense approach, laying hands on the crippled limb and using brute force to twist it back into shape. Alternatively, a more gentle approach might use images associeted with the mystical wisdom of the Witch, or the transformative powers of the Mountebank.
• Other traditions: Unlike many healing spells, water and fire are rarely used during the casting. Some magicians carry specially prepared bandages to loosely bind the damaged limb, while others - especially Marchers, like to slap a handful of damp clay, mud or soil onto the damaged limb, shaping the ruined arm or leg as if they were applying plaster to the side of a house. A Dawnish witch or Navarr magician might evoke the powerful regenerative powers of the hydra.
• Realms: This spell regenerates damaged flesh and is firmly within the purview of the Spring realm.