Suture of the Perfected Heart

Void Circle Necromancy Spell

Cost: 50m, 1 permanent wp

Target: 1 living mortal

With this spell, the necromancer can grant near immortality on a mortal servitor. Only living mortals can be the subject of this spell. The necromancer must cut upon the mortal’s chest and, through Essence manipulation, gather up the mortal’s shadow and stuff it inside his body. Then, he must suture up the open wound with soulsteel thread. Thereafter, the mortal is virtually immune to injury. He ignores all natural environmental damage as well as all damage inflicted by an attacker whose permanent Essence is less than that of the necromancer who performed the operation. Also, the mortal will no longer cast a visible shadow even in the brightest light.

The mortal does have one weakness. A lethal attack which targets the scar left behind after the operation has a chance to cut through the soulsteel sutures. The attack roll suffers a -5 external penalty in addition to the target’s normal DV, but if the attack results in at least one level of lethal damage, the sutures are ruptured and the mortal’s shadow escapes from his body. That attack itself inflicts no damage on the mortal, but once his shadow exits his body, he becomes vulnerable to normal attacks.

Notes: This spell is mentioned on page 83 of The Compass of Terrestrial Directions, Vol. II: The West. It was written by Alan Alexander, but cut due to space constraints. I got permission from the developer to repost it here. As it did not appear in a book, I guess it is not "official" but I was sure that fans would be interested to see what Alan intended.