Spell:Raising the Earth’s Bones
Source: Book of the Emerald Circle by Brian Hon/Limited Reagent
Cost: 20m, 1wp
Circle: Emerald
Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Keywords: Component, Shaping
Duration: Instant
This spell bends the earth to the sorcerer's will, forcing it to take on the shapes he desires. First, he must mark out the general area he wants to affect by driving cut sapling branches into the ground. The definition of "ground," in this case, must be a contiguous region of earth, mud, sand, clay, stone, or some other earthy or stony substance; Magical Materials (such as jade) or magically reinforced earth (such as that of demesnes or the Elemental Pole of Earth) cannot be affected by this spell. If the sorcerer has no stakes, he may drive his Essence into the ground instead by increasing the cost of this spell by ten motes, forming shafting of light shining the colors of his anima like candlelight. This makes the spell Obvious. Enough stakes must be placed to roughly sketch out the shape of the resultant structure—usually this means placing them at corners and vertexes or every few yards of a curve. The maximum area he can mark out is (Willpower + Essence) acres.
As part of the dramatic shaping action the sorcerer takes, he must pace along the lines of any berms, mottes, buildings, or trenches he wishes to construct. When his circuit is complete, the sorcerer visualizes the structure he wants to create. The Storyteller may require an (Intelligence + Craft Earth (Ability) roll to visualize the structure correctly; generally, the difficulty of the Craft roll is two less than it would be to design the structure the traditional way, to a minimum of zero. Therefore, simple structures of difficulty 1 or 2 such as box housing or walls do not require a roll at all. The Storyteller may also require a (Intelligence + War) roll if the structure is being built for war.
The sorcerer then steps off the path and slowly raises his arms, palms facing upwards, over the next five minutes. The paced lines and stakes glow ocher-yellow as earth and stone flow like wax to shape themselves into proper forms as a Shaping effect. The maximum distance above or below the surface the sorcerer can form his structure is (Essence x 5) yards; one story is about 3 to 5 yards, depending on the construction.
If there is any creature larger than a rabbit or any sapient beings where the raising of earth was to take place, it fails to happen in that location, leaving an area a yard radius around the being unrisen. Smaller creatures or non-sentient plant life, however, does not impede the spell, moving along with the earth.
The sorcerer also is limited by the earth at hand — if he does not have enough earth to shape, his structure will be left unfinished. Note that the structure will be constructed of that earthy material, although the shaping process can help increase structural integrity; sand will turn into glass or quartz while mud and clay will harden as if it were dried or fired. This gives the structure a minimum lethal and bashing soak of (Willpower) and at least (Willpower x 3) Damaged and (Willpower x 5) Destroyed health levels. Stone walls, to note, have 12L/18B soak and 40/80 Damaged/Destroyed health levels. (See Exalted p. 154 for more more information on the soak and health levels of structures made of various materials.)
Component: The sorcerer must stake out the outline of his structure with cut sapling branches. If he cannot, he must increase the cost of the spell by ten motes. He must also, as a somatic component, pace the perimeter of his spell, step off the path, and raise his arms. If he steps off the path before completing the circuit or cannot raise his hands, the spell fails.
