In a world where a magic practitioner is virtually omnipotent, we need something that can keep them in check. It’s not just me saying this—the inhabitants of this fictional universe themselves express it. Without methods for nullifying magic, they stand no chance of survival.
Fortunately, I’m a benevolent author, and I’ve decided to gift these poor souls an abundance of methods to repel spells and even completely annul the magical abilities of a Summoner.
There are three ways to achieve this, which we will develop below: the magical path—magic that nullifies magic; the natural path—natural resources and ingredients with extraordinary capabilities; and the artisanal path, where a craft or trade utilizes these resources to enhance their properties.
Magical Method
Let’s begin with the magical path, as this is accessible only to other Summoners, not the ordinary people I mentioned earlier.
Every Summoner needs to learn how to defend against magical attacks from others, or else their career will end far quicker than it began. Of course, one way to counter spells is with more spells—force against force.
But it’s more practical to use your head and employ the right magic at the right time.
Anyone who has played a role-playing game or even a certain collectible card game will understand the power of counterspells or protective measures. In Harbinger of the Ancestors, we have the following spells to counter another Summoner’s magic:
Abjuration: This is the ability to return a spell to its plane of origin. We’ve already discussed this in the entry on the Components of a Spell: if conjuration involves bringing magical objects from other planes, abjuration is the opposite. Ethereants are especially powerful in this area, especially when abjuring spells of the element they dominate. A fire Ethereant will have no trouble sending a fire spell back to its elemental plane of origin. If two Summoners face off and sustain the spell, it becomes a battle of wills.
Negation: The famous counterspell falls under the method of negation, which is similar to abjuration, but with the key difference that it completely destroys the spell it seeks to annul. While abjuration uses the Summoner as an “exit door,” negation is a spell cast with the purpose of countering another summoning.
Protection: Some spells create shields and auras to reduce the impact of enemy spells—total protection from a type of magic, or simply enhancing resistance to a particular type of attack.
Enchanting: So far, we’ve looked at methods to combat spells with other spells, but we can also use magic to enchant objects with the same goals we just described. The art of enchanting is complex and intricate, and it might deserve its own entry. But you get the idea: a ring of fire protection, a shield that deflects spells, shackles that outright prevent the summoning of magic.
Runes: Runes are similar to enchantments and, in some ways, work in much the same way. Runes can be single-use or, like enchantments, provide continuous use. In this case, we are talking about nullification runes, or abjuration runes, protection runes, etc.
Natural Method
Now that we’ve discussed magic and summoning, we can move on to the natural ways to prevent, divert, and annul spells.
Of course, in a fictional magical universe, there are resources we don’t have in our world. What is “natural” in Harbinger of the Ancestors may not be something we consider natural.
By natural resources, I mean:
- Metals, minerals, precious stones, and gems: Some are magic-repelling, while others are magic-absorbing.
- Glands, bones, organs, leather, and skins of certain animals: A classic in witchcraft paraphernalia, and something that definitely makes its way into our fictional universe.
- Poisons, from both animal and plant origins, as well as from alchemical sources (which we’ll explore later). Imagine being a Summoner and suddenly finding yourself unable to use magic due to a poison.
- Mushrooms, plants, roots, fruits, and herbs: Some naturally nullify magic when consumed or are used as ingredients.
Artisanal Path
And here’s where the natural resources listed earlier come into play. There are various crafts that allow artisans to create countless objects with magical properties, including those with the ability to repel and nullify magic or increase the user’s resistance to spells.
I know this sounds like a role-playing game, and in many ways, it’s similar to one. After all, it’s no coincidence that I’m both a gamer and a game designer.
I can list five crafts that refine, process, and/or cook materials to nullify a Summoner’s magic:
- Jewelry
- Blacksmithing
- Alchemy
- Leatherworking
- Woodworking (the art of manipulating wood, bark, and roots to create objects).
If you think about it, any craft that makes use of these resources could take advantage of them to create whatever they want. Carpenters, sculptors, even painters could create works that repel magic through pigments that include a certain flower, a particular sediment, or a specific root.
Magic Annulement in the Plot
Once again, the fictional universe of Harbinger of the Ancestors allows for hundreds of possibilities.
However, in the plot, we’ll see the most common, practical, and accessible methods. Of course, accessibility will depend on the resources available in each region.
For example, in Jarferún, they reinforced the walls with the famous Nordür Black Iron to prevent being besieged with spells.
In Härsaggon, they are experts in magical nullification, with an elite battalion exclusively armed to fight Summoners, equipped with an arsenal of nets, shackles, poisons, and gases designed specifically to reduce them to ordinary non-magical individuals.
In the Shorts we’ve read on this site, we’ve seen details of the fall of Jharferún and Chärsian’s role in that event. This isn’t a spoiler, so I’ll tell you: Chärsian drank a potion specially designed to temporarily nullify all magical abilities.
It gave him just enough time to infiltrate the walls undetected by the Nordüri’s enchantments. I won’t spoil the entire plan and its outcome, but that’s how Jarferún’s walls exploded from within.
I’m mentioning this example because it’s one of the most relevant events where magical nullification played a pivotal role.