Illusion magic is a branch of Temporal Magic that uses Essence to alter perception. Mages hide people and places, change apparent forms and create moving doubles. An illusion can deceive an observer without changing the underlying person or landscape.
Practice
Illusions require study and sustained control. With no illusionist openly teaching in Zeydrith, Kaelion spent long hours studying in the magic school's libraries. Keeping his travelling party hidden in the Land of Darkness required a continuing supply of essence cores.
Uses
A veil can make occupied ground appear empty. Kaelion hid his companions behind the appearance of barren land. Moving doubles can draw attacks away from the caster; Kaelion blended his copies with his own essence to make them harder to distinguish from him.
Limits
An illusion's success depends on the observer and the caster. Kaelion could steer Eira's perception to hide himself, but her dense shadow field let her locate him. Not every darkness creature can be deceived.
Illusion magic is a branch of Temporal Magic that uses Essence to alter perception. Mages hide people and places, change apparent forms and create moving doubles. An illusion can deceive an observer without changing the underlying person or landscape.
Practice
Illusions require study and sustained control. With no illusionist openly teaching in Zeydrith, Kaelion spent long hours studying in the magic school's libraries. Keeping his travelling party hidden in the Land of Darkness required a continuing supply of essence cores.
Uses
A veil can make occupied ground appear empty or replace a visible route with a false obstacle. Kaelion hid his companions behind the appearance of barren land. Silas used false walls of trees to interrupt pursuit, and moving doubles can draw attacks away from the caster. Kaelion blended his doubles with his own essence, making them harder to distinguish from him.
Illusions also disguise people. Silas used them to appear human. He learned illusion techniques through Zal'therak's shard and charged his doubles with cosmic essence so that they exploded. Their destructive force came from that added power.
Limits
An illusion's success depends on the observer and the caster. Kaelion could steer Eira's perception to hide himself, but her dense shadow field let her locate him. His copy of Eira looked convincing but felt false when he touched it. It hugged him on command, though he could not make his illusions speak. Not every darkness creature can be deceived.
Attacks can destroy illusions: flames dispersed Silas's copies. Runic carvings in Skarnheim interfere with them.
Illusion magic is a branch of Temporal Magic that uses Essence to alter perception. Mages hide people and places, change apparent forms and create moving doubles. An illusion can deceive an observer without changing the underlying person or landscape.
Practice
Illusions require study and sustained control. With no illusionist openly teaching in Zeydrith, Kaelion spent long hours studying in the magic school's libraries. Keeping his travelling party hidden in the Land of Darkness required a continuing supply of essence cores.
Uses
A veil can make occupied ground appear empty or replace a visible route with a false obstacle. Kaelion hid his companions behind the appearance of barren land. Silas used false walls of trees to interrupt pursuit, and moving doubles can draw attacks away from the caster. Kaelion blended his doubles with his own essence, making them harder to distinguish from him.
Illusions also disguise people. Silas used them to appear human. He learned illusion techniques through Zal'therak's shard and charged his doubles with cosmic essence so that they exploded. Their destructive force came from that added power.
Limits
An illusion's success depends on the observer and the caster. Kaelion could steer Eira's perception to hide himself, but her dense shadow field let her locate him. His copy of Eira looked convincing but felt false when he touched it. It hugged him on command, though he could not make his illusions speak. Not every darkness creature can be deceived.
Attacks can destroy illusions: flames dispersed Silas's copies. Runic carvings in Skarnheim interfere with them.
Eira's magical mirror showed Silas's true appearance beneath his disguise.
Illusion magic is a branch of Temporal Magic that uses Essence to alter perception. Mages hide people and places, change apparent forms and create moving doubles. An illusion can deceive an observer without changing the underlying person or landscape.
Practice
Illusions require study and sustained control. With no illusionist openly teaching in Zeydrith, Kaelion spent long hours studying in the magic school's libraries. Keeping his travelling party hidden in the Land of Darkness required a continuing supply of essence cores.
Uses
A veil can make occupied ground appear empty or replace a visible route with a false obstacle. Kaelion hid his companions behind the appearance of barren land. Silas used false walls of trees to interrupt pursuit, and moving doubles can draw attacks away from the caster. Kaelion blended his doubles with his own essence, making them harder to distinguish from him.
Visual concealment and hidden essence require careful control. In Varnhallow, the unseen patriarchs suppressed their essence as well as maintaining a veil.
Illusions also disguise people. Silas used them to appear human. He learned illusion techniques through Zal'therak's shard and charged his doubles with cosmic essence so that they exploded. Their destructive force came from that added power.
Limits
An illusion's success depends on the observer and the caster. Kaelion could steer Eira's perception to hide himself, but her dense shadow field let her locate him. His copy of Eira looked convincing but felt false when he touched it. It hugged him on command, though he could not make his illusions speak. Not every darkness creature can be deceived.
Fast attacks can leave little time to exploit a decoy. Against Jin, Kaelion's doubles bought only a brief distraction before Jin identified him.
Attacks can destroy illusions: flames dispersed Silas's copies. Runic carvings in Skarnheim interfere with them.
Eira's magical mirror showed Silas's true appearance beneath his disguise.
Illusion magic is a branch of Temporal Magic that uses Essence to alter perception. Mages hide people and places, change apparent forms and create moving doubles. An illusion can deceive an observer without changing the underlying person or landscape.
Practice
Illusions require study and sustained control. With no illusionist openly teaching in Zeydrith, Kaelion spent long hours studying in the magic school's libraries. Keeping his travelling party hidden in the Land of Darkness required a continuing supply of essence cores.
Uses
A veil can make occupied ground appear empty or replace a visible route with a false obstacle. Kaelion hid his companions behind the appearance of barren land. Silas used false walls of trees to interrupt pursuit, and moving doubles can draw attacks away from the caster. Kaelion blended his doubles with his own essence, making them harder to distinguish from him.
Visual concealment and hidden essence require careful control. In Varnhallow, the unseen patriarchs suppressed their essence as well as maintaining a veil.
Eliona hid Azarion and the damaged ground around him, covering the craters made by his attacks.
Illusions also disguise people. Silas used them to appear human. He learned illusion techniques through Zal'therak's shard and charged his doubles with cosmic essence so that they exploded. Their destructive force came from that added power.
Limits
An illusion's success depends on the observer and the caster. Kaelion could steer Eira's perception to hide himself, but her dense shadow field let her locate him. His copy of Eira looked convincing but felt false when he touched it. It hugged him on command, though he could not make his illusions speak. Not every darkness creature can be deceived.
Fast attacks can leave little time to exploit a decoy. Against Jin, Kaelion's doubles bought only a brief distraction before Jin identified him.
Attacks can destroy illusions: flames dispersed Silas's copies, and Thalena broke Eliona's concealed battlefield by erupting the ground beneath it. Eliona struggled against darkness and lightning mages who began seeing through her veils. Runic carvings in Skarnheim interfere with them.
Eira's magical mirror showed Silas's true appearance beneath his disguise.
Illusion magic is a branch of Temporal Magic that uses Essence to alter perception. Mages hide people and places, change apparent forms and create moving doubles. An illusion can deceive an observer without changing the underlying person or landscape.
Practice
Illusions require study and sustained control. With no illusionist openly teaching in Zeydrith, Kaelion spent long hours studying in the magic school's libraries. Keeping his travelling party hidden in the Land of Darkness required a continuing supply of essence cores.
Alistair trained selected children rigorously for his intelligence network. He often chose mages with a natural temporal affinity because they could learn illusions more easily, though he also accepted other capable mages. His own concealment improved through studying Eliona; mimicking the surrounding world in perfect detail consumed considerable essence.
Uses
A veil can make occupied ground appear empty or replace a visible route with a false obstacle. Kaelion hid his companions behind the appearance of barren land. Silas used false walls of trees to interrupt pursuit, and moving doubles can draw attacks away from the caster. Kaelion blended his doubles with his own essence, making them harder to distinguish from him.
Illusions also disguise people and objects. Marcellus changed his apparent hair, height and clothing, and cloaked travelling companions. Alistair could conceal the approach of a cosmic beam. His hollow, fluid body was a separate development from the illusions used to disguise it.
Visual concealment and hidden essence require careful control. In Varnhallow, the unseen patriarchs suppressed their essence as well as maintaining a veil. Eliona hid Azarion and the damaged ground around him, covering the craters made by his attacks.
Illusions can carry other magic. Silas learned illusion techniques through Zal'therak's shard and charged his doubles with cosmic essence so that they exploded. Their destructive force came from that added power.
Limits
An illusion's success depends on the observer and the caster. Kaelion could steer Eira's perception to hide himself, but her dense shadow field let her locate him. His copy of Eira looked convincing but felt false when he touched it. It hugged him on command, though he could not make his illusions speak. Not every darkness creature can be deceived.
Fast attacks can leave little time to exploit a decoy. Against Jin, Kaelion's doubles bought only a brief distraction before Jin identified him. Attacks can also destroy illusions: flames dispersed Silas's copies, and Thalena broke Eliona's concealed battlefield by erupting the ground beneath it. Eliona struggled against darkness and lightning mages who began seeing through her veils.
Runic carvings in Skarnheim interfere with illusions. Eira's magical mirror showed Silas's true appearance beneath his disguise.
Strong perception helps, but it is not an absolute safeguard. The highest-level mages could see the true white of Marcellus's apparently yellow robes, while Alistair's refined concealment eluded even divine mages. Exhaustion can force a caster to release a veil.