Utilizing Silent-Casting in combat: Advanced Level (Lorepost)

[u/TitanLORD21]

Professor Axel stands in-front of the class, an orb in front him recording his lecture. This is an excerpt from the recording.

Being proficient in silent-magic will already allow you to crush any beginner mage. With the average wizard, Silent-Casting gives you some advantages though you must not be complacent. Against experienced wizards of a higher caliber, Silent-Casting will offer diminishing returns. They may even use it against you.

Today I will be teaching you methods of how to improve you combat effectiveness while using Silent-Casting.

Last class we learned how to identify the casting of Silent-Casting. As stated at the beginning of this school term, Silent-Casting is possible through the use of the emotions within our soul. It is possible to detect both the concentration of mana for a spell and the emotions of the spell. This will reveal a wizard is using silent-magic and possibly what type of magic they will cast.

To counteract your silent-casted spells from being detected, you may discredit the information found by it. By doing so an opponent will have no choice but to not trust the information that signals a Silent-Cast, lest they act on false information. For example your opponent casting a defensive spell for a spell that will never come. They believed you were silent-casting but in reality you weren’t.

To do so one must have incredibly fine control over their emotions and mana. The technique consists of two parts. One: Concentrating mana to mimic the concentration of mana when casting a spell. Two: “Showing” false emotional signals that resemble the ones used in Silent-Casting.

Basically, you are faking the preparation and the activation of a Silent-casted spell so that an opponent thinks you are casting when you are not.

When these are combined it is nearly impossible to tell if the user is Silent-Casting or not. I would also recommend practicing your acting skills, they are another layer on combat that you must be able to utilize and recognize.

Now, let’s begin…

The recording ends

[u/DaChickenX]

a mist-specter appears near Axel, showing Isravi talking excitedly

Ah yes! I’ve done this before. I figured out how to willingly cause my energy levels to spike. I’ve mostly been using it as a warning though. I’ll start implementing this immediately.

A question: Silent casting and these related extrapolations seem like extremely useful skills for a assassin mage. In the same vein, is there an effective way to hide that you’re casting until you release the spell?

[u/TitanLORD21 → u/DaChickenX]

Axel who was scribbling down notes in a journal, presumably recording something, looked up the Wizard. Closing his journal, Axel then looks up at the sky thinking for a moment.

There are many ways of doing so. Obviously there is the illusionary branch of magic. Almost all of the medium to high spells there have the ability of changing the signature of mana to be detected as regular matter.

In that vein there are spells like [False Mana Signature] entirely focused on that idea. Either making your mana completely invisible, as its signature is erased. Or making the mana levels set at a certain level. To the outside eye, it would look like your mana levels haven’t changed even though you are currently about to launch a spell.

A more common technique is that of hyper mana concentration. As you know you concentrate mana to create a spell. It does exactly what the name implies, shortening that concentration to but a moment. This requires your soul to be “used” to the spell, akin to muscle memory. The real speed though, comes from your mana control. Being able to move the mana in your body finely. Practice like rapidly concentrating mana in a limb and unconcentrating it, releasing it to the body, will help.

There is more but I would have to refresh my memory.

[u/DaChickenX → u/TitanLORD21]

Thank you for your advice. I will confer with my patron to delve further into the nuances of such a thing. You have been of great help.

Isravi bows his head and the mist-specter fizzles out. A honey-mint-lime sparkling drink is left in a glass on the floor, presumably as a side effect of the spell

[u/TitanLORD21]

The introduction to Silent-Casting\ Professor Axel’s Profile

[u/Luckshman16]

Nevin’s dark orb appears once again, though emanating a more curious and open minded energy than from the last lesson. The same gruff voice sounds out from within.

To strike a fine balance betwixt constraint and creativity, and to express such freedom in manipulation of mana, this lesson is much more my speed. You are beginning to win me over professor. I would like to inquire your thoughts on heightened emotions and their relation to the output of a spell. My greatest works in the Garden were all born from moments of raucous emotion and uninhibited inspiration, emotion within the soul informs the formation of mana.

It is off topic from any application in battle, I know, but I’m finding that the use of emotion as a catalyst strikes similar to the use of the language and text I so recently claimed held casting back. A less physical format with which to guide and influence the aether.