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+----- Thread: Mavis Haemin -- Custom Spell (Menzana (aka Galdr Scan)) (/showthread.php?tid=8234)
Mavis Haemin -- Custom Spell (Menzana (aka Galdr Scan)) - Blissey - 08-02-2021
Applicable BYOND Key - Blissey
Character Name - Mavis Haemin
Request Type - New Mercalan Domain Spell (not a mechanical spell)
Request Details -
Menzana (also known as Galdr Scan) is a spell carefully crafted over the course of four decades by Mavis Haemin, High Priestess of Mercala and Chief of Medicine of the Church of Lispool.
Menzana is a Mercalan-classified spell that is predicated and founded on the ‘element’ of 'Sound', and written in the elusive Heronic language. Menzana is Focus intensive, though as the progenitor of this spell, and one who has had more practice with it, Mavis would provide more efficacy with it before it could take its toll.
Menzana intends to magically scan and sense the internal organs of an organic or pseudo-organic body for the purposes of detecting malformations, internal malfunctions, contusions, anomalies, or general injuries that cannot be detected simply by social cues or medical tapping. Through this method, Menzana would relay feedback to the user of the spell for the purposes of acutely assessing the situation, condition, and integrity of an injured body.
Menzana, despite being a magical spell, does require the spellcaster to have some level of anatomical understanding to properly use the spell. Although the only true requirements are having enough Focus, understanding and translating Heronic, and practice, anatomical understanding is what truly allows this spell to shine. Therefore, as one deepens their understanding of anatomy and increases their affinity for Sound magic, they will be able to more accurately detect multiple injuries within a body.
Menzana, despite its elemental-type, would be less effective on races that naturally abjure Mercalan-classified spells, such as Vampires and Homunculi. This is due to how the spell is engineered specifically to be supported by the Mercalan domain of magic.
Menzana, much like the Mercalan-classified spell 'Rescue', must be used with consent; it cannot be forced upon another, unless they are unable to give consent in that moment (such as a patient being unconscious). Essentially like 'Rescue', Menzana can only be used on those who view the spellcaster as an ally.
Menzana is wholly verbal -- there is no somatic component. Therefore, if the spellcaster is silenced, they will be completely unable to cast it unless the silence is dispelled. Herons would not be restrained by this condition. Furthermore, Menzana is not used like a traditional spell; although the chant must be recited, whether vocally or mentally, the spellcaster must use their voice tonally (sing).
Menzana cannot be used to harm another. It is not the intention of the spell, and that remains immutable.
Menzana can be obstructed by other Sound-elemental spells or too much noise in the area. Although this would not necessarily make the spell fail entirely, it could muddle the feedback the spellcaster would receive when it comes to scanning for internal injuries. Partial or complete loss of concentration can interrupt the spell if too much noise pollution is present or another potent form of Galdr/Sound-elemental magic is used.
Menzana cannot perfectly assess or locate all internal injuries, of varying kinds, all at once. This is to say that if a larger organ or bone is damaged, Menzana is far more likely to pick up on that injury as opposed to a smaller injury within. Only when larger injuries are remedied can Menzana pick up lesser injuries. Mavis Haemin, as the progenitor of this spell, can detect internal injuries with more certainty. This is not simply due to her crafting the spell, but her own acumen when it comes to the physique, her knowledge of the arcane, and her affinity for Galdr and Sound magic. Despite this, the former condition applies to Mavis herself as well, albeit it on a lesser scale.
Menzana can detect Void Poisoning.
Menzana cannot be used on multiple people at once. It is a spell that must have a sole target. The usage of ‘Mass’ or derivatives would not expand Menzana’s area of effect.
Menzana is not beholden to the tenets of Mercana in the same way as other passive or active healing/Mercana spells. This is due to how the spell is crafted, how it functions, and how it cannot necessarily be abused. However, if necessary, the Church can exercise exclusivity over the spell. This is also due to how the spell is crafted, how it functions, and how it came to be -- even if it cannot be necessarily abused in the traditional sense.
Additionally, although Menzana can be used to aid non-magical healers in their efforts to locate internal injuries and apply practical methods with greater accuracy and alacrity, Menzana’s primary usage would be to aid magical healers -- specifically Mercalan healers -- in reducing Mercana misuse (not necessarily abuse). As Mercana exists to save lives, it is imperative that Mercana is not used to heal all wounds, afflictions, inflictions, and injuries at once for the sake of retaining the importance of restraint and calculation.
Herons and Theno would be able to learn this spell quicker, and generally can use it with more efficiency.
Reason why you are making this request (if applicable) -
At present, based on what we know and what is presented in the lore, there is no magical sense or spell that allows a healer to accurately assess internal malfunctions or injuries within a body. The intention behind this spell, which would have been crafted over several decades on the side by Mavis Haemin (an Elf that is well over four-hundred years of age), is to provide such a magical method that is both more reliable and more accurate than the rudimentary, physical methods that exist in the world's limited practical scope of medicine.
The intention is also to let others who are inclined to using Mercana and healing magic to also learn it and put it to use -- specifically crafted as a method to be used by trusted Church devotees and healers. This spell, although not meant for wild healers or your average adventurer, can still be used by them -- provided they meet certain criteria. The criteria, of course, would be the ability to read, understand, and translate Heronic to produce the effects of the spell vocally. They would also need to have enough practice in Galdr -- the manipulation of the voice through magical means. Since this is a spell, those who can steal spells (Spell Thieves) have a chance to be able to copy it -- if they are able to get their hands on someone who knows it, while it is in active use, to do so.
This is also in an effort to provide more of a spell repertoire for the Church of Mercala, and to add more spells to the world that are wholly 'fluff' in nature, and not necessarily mechanical or hard-coded. This is also in an effort to progress the medical standing of the world, even if it tips it further to the magical than the practical.
Furthermore, since it's understood that no magical sense exists in the lore of SL2 (as answered in lore questions in the past by Dev), I did present the spell and how it functions to Dev via PM last month. He managed to go over it and reply, and this was his answer. (Click the link. C'mon... Cliiiick it. You know you want to. Cuuuuuuuuuh'mon.... Cliiiick it.) I didn't send it to him for approval, but merely to see if it would be possible to create such a spell since it hasn't been done before. The intention of this application is to seek review and potential approval. (also i am really sorry for how long this application is oh god...)
Roleplay & Lore supporting your request -
Spellcrafting has persisted through the ages ever since the tools were given to mortal-kind. At some point in time after the Gods came through the Void and enlightened early humans, magic began to permeate almost every facet of their lives, and soon humans and their fellows began to elevate in intelligence to the point of being able to fashion magical spells for their own uses. Although magic has always been extremely complex, it has never been impossible to create magical spells that did not exist -- assuming that one follows the criteria set forth by the Gods and the divine languages presented.
Mavis Haemin, High Priestess of Mercala, is one such mage who had mastered many facets of magic long ago. Not purely due to her own affinity for magic, but due to sheer age and longevity alone -- her racial benefit allowing her to study magic more intensely, and generally far longer than most mages would ever hope for (without potentially risking it all).
Spellcrafting is not a simple feat, and Mavis certainly has never seen it as such. Like all things, she began with simple steps -- analysis on divine languages that she had long since memorized and understood, and then increasing the complexity of her analysis to invocations and spells of the like. Mercalan spellcrafting is her area of expertise due to her inclination to Mercala, and her supreme understanding of all things Mercana. However, crafting a spell of this level was not exactly Mavis’ primary priority. As it has been known for many years, Mavis’ main goal was to grow closer and closer to eradicating the Void through mortal means without having to default to Mercala -- for she would not want to place the Goddess of Life in a position of hegemony. Because of this, Mavis soon began to realize that she would require a better method of detecting and studying Void Poisoning -- and this thought sprouted a young seed in her mind on how certain elements work, and how if tied to other domains, it could progenerate an unprecedented effect.
Mavis has always had an affinity for Galdr and sound magic since a very young age -- her connection to her Elven lineage strong, and her understanding of vocal magic even moreso. By applying what she already knew about sound in general, she used the fact that 'sound' could ping back from solids and effectively generate somewhat of an 'image' of how that object looks like, and anything else that might be applied to it. Of course, this did not necessarily mean that such things could occur so easily -- so she would build upon this by reviewing the anatomy of mortal bodies, and drawing the spell together with this intention and restriction in mind.
The foundation she began to apply and the spell that she wove allowed her to reach a breakthrough when it came to medical study. Applying the rudimentary spell on patients, knowing well that the spell she had begun to design was not created to harm them, she soon reached a breakthrough that she could get somewhat of a ‘mental image’ or feedback of the internal machinations of organic and pseudo-organic lifeforms. She continued to build upon this, applying her research and using the resources of the Church after she had presented her idea for experimentation and creation of such a spell, and after managing to convince them of its intended use, she soon got to work on manifesting it. She would apply this method to her patients after they consented to treatment, and assured them that like all other patients before them, the spell would not come to harm them.
However, the Menzana spell was not necessarily a major priority on her list. Over the years she continued to build it and apply all her notes on her findings, but her primary focus was always on tending to the wounded, researching methods to vanquish Void Poisoning (and the Void), her duties as a high priestess, and managing the medical ward of Lispool. It was only recently (after about four decades) that Mavis managed to perfect the spell for proper usage and induction into the Church’s Mercalan ritual repertoire. Mavis had also made it clear to the Church that her intention was to teach devout and practiced Mercalan healers the method as well, so that they may use it to identify inner issues without having to ‘risk’ complacency with Mercana and heal a wounded patient entirety without accounting for how that may affect their view on risk. She presented that using this spell would allow a healer to heal only what needed to be healed, and reduce the need for extremely risky and invasive surgery -- as practical medical science of that caliber was not well honed, nor safe.
The Church would eventually allow its addition to the spell and ritual repertoire and lend credibility to the spell Mavis had created, not only due to her standing and longtime devotion to Mercala, but due to how the spell worked and was intended to be used. It was the first spell of its kind -- a true magical sense of an internal body, and the Church understood well how beneficial such a spell could be in the hands of a magical healing professional -- and perhaps a medical professional as well.
RE: Mavis Haemin -- Custom Spell (Menzana (aka Galdr Scan)) - DerpyMcPandos - 08-25-2021
Given the numerous logically construed constraints provided, the clear indications that there is a very specific application of and difficulty of usage outside of said application, Dev's commentary on and adequate background facilitating its construction, I have no complaints with this, especially given the ability for it to be learnt and used by others through RP or other means.
This is approved.