Unholy Ceremony of Alteration

Disciplines

History

This rather dark and dangerous ritual was initially concocted by the Sun Lilithians, surprisingly, during the early years of The Era of Expansion in order to better defend themselves from several clans of Southern Orcs who, having clearly interbred with Ogres in the past, were physically much stronger than they. The Sun Lilithians in question were not warriors (in spite of their race's reputation,) but several villages of mostly mages on the southern coasts of Asivis. Three brutal clans of Southies had encroached upon their territory, seeking conquest, and had cut them off from outside aid. Seeking a way to tip the scales in favour of their few defenders, short of decimating their surroundings with violently destructive magicks (which would likely have been unsuccessful,) they worked out a ritual by which they could transfer the muscles of oxen into their own bodies. By the time help did arrive, the villages had managed to hold their own quite admirably, and the orcs were routed.

Reports of this spell spread amongst the magical communities of Asivis, and emissaries were sent to the villages to learn the arts for their own ends. Due to the difficult, and somewhat unwholesome nature of the working, this spell is not particularly widespread.

The most well known usage of this spell being on Iras Rhomax, The Winged Warrior who was given the giant wings of a Lesser Dragon.

Worth noting is that it's uses do range beyond that of creating sturdy warriors. Anders Rumter, the famous Dwarven blacksmith, took the lower arms of an ogre thief who was sentenced to having them removed anyway, to aid him in his craft.

Description

This ritual will take a physical trait or feature of a sacrificed creature and imbue it into the target. The spell alters the physiology of the target so as to better accommodate the structural enhancements bestowed upon them. In the case of Iras Romax, his bone structure became lighter and more flexible, while his muscles became lean and incredibly powerful.

A location for the ceremony is chosen (anywhere without abnormal magical interference is fine,) and two zones are marked out, size depending on the target and the sacrifice. The zones are marked with runes of power and transference, with one zone specifically laid out for the receiving target. Though not necessary, the target is often magically prepared to facilitate the usually drastic physical changes and to smooth the process of the transfer. The sacrifice is brought to the location marked out for it just before sunset, and kept in place

until night has fallen fully. The target then takes his or her place in the appropriate zone, and the rites of the ceremony are read. At the stroke of midnight, the ritual proper commences, and as soon as the first lines of the transfer are invoked, the sacrifice is killed. The death must be clean and quick, but preferably not instantaneous. As the ritual progresses, the form of the sacrifice melts away partially, and is absorbed into the body of the target. This part is often said to be quite painful. It can take days following the ceremony for the target to recover from the ordeal.

Casting Time

A full half day's preparation is required, starting at noon, with the ceremony itself taking up to an hour (though usually only a few minutes.) The ceremony itself takes place at night.

Spell Duration

The effects of this spell are permanent and irreversible.

Area of Effect

The effect of the spell is proportionate to the target. A tiny mouse's tail would be large upon a human, for instance. The transferral can only be made from one sacrifice, to one target.

Limitations

The ritual can only transfer a physical feature, such as an arm, a horn, claws, or even non-magical firebreath. The spell can not transfer innate properties, such as a creature that breathes fire out of dint of it's own magic, or an understanding of a certain language from one being to another. It could transfer appearance though, though not form in full (a human could be made to look like an orc, but would still be completely human inside.)

Casting Complexity

Preparing and casting the spell is difficult, and requires the caster to possess a grimoire detailing it's use. While not impossible, it is generally not worth the time required to learn the entire ritual off by heart and be skilled enough in it's use to perform it without such a grimoire.