Landfill Barrier Spell
Could you imagine living next to an unshielded landfill? The smell would be unbearable
Most people, especially those living near landfills, consider the Landfill Barrier Spell a life-saver as it blocks all of the unpleasant smells present in such places. The spell works by creating a magical dome over a landfill, trapping the smell. The main side effect of using the spell is high concentration of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia produced during the breakdown of waste. At most landfills the levels are so high that workers need to either wear protective masks or steps are taken to ensure the levels are acceptable. One of the ways of reducing the amount of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia without letting it out of the dome is collecting it into tanks and putting it into underground cisterns.
Manifestation
The effect of the spell is barely visible to the naked eye. A layman would only notice sparkles similar to stars above a landfill, but nothing more. They would also have no problem walking through the barrier. It only stops things that are in a gaseous state.
Source
When casting the spell the magic-user uses their own magical energy to create the barrier. However, once the barrier is up it is linked to the magical energy of the ground and the caster isn't strained by it.
Discovery
The Landfill Barrier Spell is as old as people were throwing garbage onto big piles and the odour was bothering them. Historians and archaeologists believe that the spell was first used in the first proto-cities of the Middle East and Indus Valley.
Areas interpreted as garbage dumps in Jericho, Çatalhöyük, Harappa or other proto-cities have a round shape. It might mean that they used the Landfill Barrier Spell to block the smell of garbage.
Kathrin Janowski
Simple but clever! A great way of dealing with one of those problems that we tend to forget in worldbuilding.
Creator of the Kaleidoscope System, an alien star system shaped by a colorful radiation source. My pledge for WorldEmber 2022 turned Worlduary 2023
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