Writing Prompt Having trouble with my soul and magic...

[Azhurie_Mythephan]

So... I'm having a problem recently, where whenever I try to stretch my soul across my entire body through my conduit, it slings itself right back through the conduit, thus making it nearly impossible to absorb the ambient ether. I cannot understand why it has become so hard to do this over the past month. Yeah, I went into the forest at 3:45 AM on a Full Moon so I could do this, but I just can't get my soul to morph itself into the form necessary to gather the ether. My soul is supposed to be moving more erratically when I do try to stretch it through the conduit, but recently, it has been very, very still and kind of looks cracked in a few places. It's also supposed to be glowing and emitting soul light, but it doesn't do that either, and I am worried that something is very wrong. It's also not supposed to be a dull gray color.

Reply as if you are a prominent Archwizard browsing a forum and suddenly finding this post made by another prominent Archwizard, but also reply as if any words you say can have dire political consequences because of your standing. No minimum, no maximum, no drowning your old war buddies in the oil river in the Crystalline Forest of Thexio'omnixza on Aeremetherlem'oeth. AXIO'THREMIA Canned Pickles; WARNING: CONTAINS PICKLES! Do not feed the pigeons. There are Angels in the walls.

 

[Hoshino]

Archwizard Arthoaneifex, your words trouble me more than you may realize. A soul that refuses to spread through its conduit, that recoils inward instead, is not merely fatigue or a fluctuation of ambient ether. A stillness where there should be erratic flow, a gray husk where there should be light, cracks where there should be smooth continuity—these are not signs of ordinary imbalance.

I must tread carefully here. To name the ailment outright could be read as accusation. Yet you know as well as I that a fractured soul often points either to overexertion at the wrong lunar resonance or to an external siphon gnawing at the core. The fact you attempted this under a full moon at such a precise hour only deepens my concern. What called you to such timing? What did you hope to draw in that could not wait for dawn?

If you speak truth about the dulling glow, I advise restraint. Do not force your essence through the conduit again until you are certain no hidden hand is bending your ether. Let the soul rest in its core chamber, and tend to it as one tends a cracked vessel—quietly, without pouring more weight upon it. You may also wish to confirm, discreetly, whether any wards you trusted have been disturbed.

You are too visible, and too many eyes are watching. A soul in this state makes an Archwizard vulnerable in ways that are not only mystical. Speak cautiously, act more cautiously still, and let no one glimpse the gayness you describe.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

You quite simply have not met the proper requirements for sacrificial victims to devour. Start with two packages of Peeps - different colors and, if possible, flavors - and a can of Mountain Dew. If that does not work, go to Taco Bell and order one of everything.
If that doesn't work, call an exorcist.

 

[Doctah_Quack]

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

 

[Supperset]

Must be a complication of your chosen locus. Are you, perchance, attempting this at Arzwiz? The ley-lines there have been unstable ever since Seorjdjino Jwodno Lheifn Wisjfo reported the fae intrusion near the Rouhged River caverns. The Conclave sent maestri to bind the flows, but their work is… incomplete at best. If you are indeed in that vicinity, I strongly suggest retreating to your tower and conducting the soul-stretch through a controlled rune-circle — preferably one keyed to your own sigils. It should mitigate the fractures you describe in your soulform and hasten reintegration.

If, however, the cracks are deep and persistent, consulting the Wizards of the Council may be the most prudent course. I recognize, of course, the importance of independence, and would never suggest binding yourself unnecessarily to their strictures. Until then, allow me to recommend a selection of tomes — all found in the Shadowed Holdings(SH), and none requiring political fealty to access:

1. A Seventy-Seven Fold Exegesis on the Conduction of Soul-Light Through Fractured Channels and the Prevention of Arcane Slippage in High-Ether Environments


2. The Treatise of Errant Glow: Diagnostic Approaches to Dull Soul Radiance in Practitioners of the Ninth Circle and Beyond


3. Runic Anchors and Their Effect on Ether Absorption: From the Cradle of Mystra to the Catacombs of Netheril


4. On the Fragility of the Soul’s Lattice When Subjected to Ambient Lunar Convergence at Full Phase


5. Erratic Motion Versus Stasis: A Comparative Study of Soul Dynamics in the Context of Broken Conduits and Their Repairs


6. The Codex of the Etheric Currents: A Deep Exploration into Fae Interference with Subterranean Ether-Streams


7. When Gray Replaces Gold: The Early Warning Signs of Conduit Decay and the Methods of Re-Lumination


8. Binding Circles and Rune-Rituals for the Restoration of Cracked Soul-Vessels Without Invocation of the Over-Council


9. A Dialogue on the Ethics of Soul Repair: Balancing Arcane Freedom With the Necessities of Stability in the Weave


10. The Seorjdjino Compendium, Volume IV: On the Misfortunes of Unshielded Casting Within Ley-Loci Compromised Fae Entanglement



I pray your recovery is as swift as my Fireball, and may your soul return to its brilliance before any whispers of weakness reach the ears of less charitable archmagi.