Mageblock

From the writings of Thayndor Zahir, Mage in the Era of Shadow Amnesty

Dated 8 Whistlewind, 628.

There's a reason someone is "touched by Shadow" rather than "able to touch" it.

The reason is that the Shadow is something far greater, more deadly and more powerful than anything experienced in the mortal world.

Mages control magic -- but they do not control the Shadow. When Mages fail to transmute that greater force into an effect experienced in the mortal world, we lose control of an extremely potent force.

And it hurts. A lot.

Mageblock is what we have come to call that experience, that loss of control. Characterized by a feeling of disconnection from reality and a listlessness, as if we are not entirely in the world we touch and taste, Mageblock also severely limits coordination.

It is a consequence of failure, but it is also an inevitable part of learning our gifts. When it is a high risk, make sure you are among friends.