Projection: Blackout

The lecturer held out his hand. A small, powdery black ball was between his finger and thumb. With a deft motion, he flicked his wrist upward, and the ball rose into the air before expanding outward, quickly enveloping the stage and dais in a sphere of inky darkness. The surface of the sphere swirled a bit, before the sphere broke apart and shot towards the upper windows of the lecture hall, immediately plunging the entire room into the dark. The lecturer lit a candle.
"You can think of Blackout and Illumination as being opposing spells, but recall that Illumination is a charge spell - the caster must charge the lime with power before it can begin to cast light. Blackout, on the other hand, is merely projection of an already prepared material, and much simpler to cast and maintain, as the powder itself does the job of barring light. Now then - split into pairs. There's enough lime and black mushroom powder at your tables to practice - one of you will make Illuminators, and the other will attempt to shroud them in full under Blackout. How much black mushroom to use is an art, and your job today is to figure it out.

Effect

Blackout is as the name implies - a spell that creates a barrier of inky darkness that is impenetrable to light. Nothing on one side is visible to the other as long as the blackout barrier is maintained. The caster may manipulate the barrier as they desire, making multiple small barriers or moving them around in space.

Manifestation

Depending on the whims of the caster, blackout can manifest as simple walls of darkness, or as small spheres to snuff out individual lights, or as a moving sphere or shade to keep an area in darkness.

Source

Powdered grindings from black mushrooms are treated with certain alchemical reagants in order to increase the elasticity of each grain and make them stickier. The caster is using magic to move the powder into position and stretch and flatten the grains, but the light absorbing trait is derived from the black mushroom powder itself.

Discovery

Blackout is another standard spell, found in the first textbook a wizard encounters during their formal training at the Etoile Academy.

Material Components

A palm-sized lump of treated black mushroom powder

Gestures & Ritual

None

Related School

Projection

Effect Duration

An average mage can maintain a 6" square barrier of blackout for roughly an hour.

Effect Casting Time

Instant

Range

Blackout can be maintained as long as the caster maintains visual contact.