Nightmare Wave

Intensity 10

Casting Time: A day and a night

Duration: Width in minutes

Attunement: Yes

This spell produces a wave of intense darkness that issues from the caster's hands and sweeps across the landscape, blotting out the sun and moon and draining smothering all light from artificial sources. The darkness is filled with weird croaking and moaning that confuse and disorientate those trapped within it (Sense + Direction roll not to get lost).

As well as the darkness the spell directs a group of spirits at a set of targets within the darkness chosen by the caster when she casts the spell. They are Threat 2 minions which if they can kill a target while the darkness persists will climb inside the body and animate it as a Threat 3 zombie. The number of spirits is determined using a spare set the caster has rolled in casting the spell, multiplying height by width to get the total number.

eg. Fidelia rolls 8+MD to cast the spell and gets a 2x10 and 3x7 – the spell lasts for 2 minutes, and summons 21 spirits. She has to use the 2x10 for the casting roll due to the spell's intensity.

Trying to cast it again, Fidelia rolls 3x10 and a number of waste dice. The spell lasts for three minutes, but doesn't summon any spirits.

Casting the spell finishes with pouring out a vessel of water from a sea that has never seen the sun or moon. The inky darkness contained within the water is released to surge forth as the water splashes on the ground. The preparation involves inscribing the ground to direct the water and inscribing the names of spirits of darkness into each fork and join of the flow.

If the caster can carve channels into the ground – whether it's soft earth heaped up into mounds and gullies, or channels carved into stone by minions the duration of the spell is doubled.

If the caster has access to a gallon or more of such water then the number of spirits is doubled.

Spell design notes as per First Year of Our Reign: 

Target: As far as the eye can see - +6

Effect: Shadows Significant +3

Duration: Width in minutes +0

Effect: Minions +4

Duration: Years +3

Casts in hours: -3

Baroque components: -2

Uses secondary pool for secondary effect: -1

This spell is one of a number of very rare Shadowbinder spells known by an imprisoned legendary sorceror who has escaped during the events of my campaign. 

There is another spell, that I have outlined, which I'm waiting to post until after the results are encountered by the players. It animates something very, very big.