Smooth Hands Shape the World

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual targets a character, who must be present throughout. The target character must have the magician skill.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

The target can cast the mend spell with a few words of appropriate roleplaying, rather than taking the standard 10 seconds. In addition, the casting is not interrupted if the caster or target are attacked, or if the target makes an attack.

The target does not gain any additional knowledge of, or ability to cast, spells they do not know. Other requirements of casting a regular spell do not change - the caster must still be unarmoured, and they must still be capable of touching the target with their casting hand throughout the performance of the spell.

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional characters from the same coven. Each additional character increases the magnitude by 6. Additional characters must be present throughout.

Description

This ritual employs the Autumn realm's resonance for crafted items, allowing a magician to restore sundered weapons and shattered shields with great alacrity and without risk of interruption. The enchantment provides no additional ability to actually cast the mend spell; the target must already have mastered that incantation, or possess an item such as a Runesmith's Gavel or Redsteel Chisel, to actually use the power this ritual provides.

Some magicians describe being enchanted with this ritual as exhausting. They talk about experiencing a slowed perception of time when they begin to cast their mend spell, and describe the magic as a "leaden weight" that they must work twice as hard to move as when performing the spell without the benefit of the enchantment. Some Marcher magicians likened using this enchantment to getting a stubborn ox to plow a field - as if the magic itself were surly at the attempt to make it flow more quickly. From the point of view of the observer, however, the magic of the spell is raised and released with great alacrity - but many magicians who endure this enchantment are physically exhausted once they leave the battlefield, and more than one has collapsed into a deep sleep once danger is past. By contrast, briar magicians who use the spell tend to report enjoying the sensation of having to "wrestle" with their magic, and are invariably left full of beans after extended use of the power the ritual grants.

The effect of this ritual has obvious application in dangerous situations; it allows a magician to repair the weapons and shields of their allies without risk of interruption, and without potentially requiring a warrior still engaged with the foe to drop out of line. Runesmiths in particular appreciate the enchanted alacrity the ritual provides when it comes to swiftly restoring magical weapons or shields whose properties are otherwise unavailable if they are broken. Some martially inclined magicians, especially among the Urizen or the war witches of Dawn are able to use the enchantment to keep their own shields, weapons, rods, and staffs intact in the face of destructive opponents.

Common Elements

The trappings of the artisan are common elements used with this ritual, as are ingots and measures of special materials. Washing the hands with water or wine is common, as are invocations using the names of famous or legendary crafters or the Eternal Estavus. Runes such as the rune of mastery or the rune of thought may also be evoked - the latter in its aspect as the rune that is concerned with education and mental skills.