Psychic Block
"A Block is to a human mind what walls are to a city. To go without is to invite the pillagers in."
A Psychic Block is a construction that can be placed in a subject's mind to protect them from psychic intrusion. Once placed, the Block will remain unless removed or destroyed.
Limitations
A Block is impermeable; as such, it is either on or off and its impermeability goes both ways. Many Voldrs find it unpleasant to be Blocked permanently, as a Block also disrupts their own magic. For this reason, most Voldrs prefer to utilize other means of mental defenses for personal use (e.g., enchanted items and stelli).
There is one exception to the impermeability. The nature of a Block requires it to be built from within the mind of the subject. For this reason, any psychic who places a Block on another retains a pathway back to their own mind (a tunnel through the figurative wall, if you will). This allows the psychic who place the Block to bypass the Block at any time.
(And unless the psychic is also well-defended, it allows a single path into the Blocked subject's mind for any other psychic intruders. If the Blocking psychic Blocks themself or dies, however, that path closes.)
Blocks are not unbreakable. A sufficiently powerful psychic (approximately twice as strong as the one who placed it) can overwhelm a Block and either pass through it or break it. Usually, however, this requires that the invading psychic be either in the physical vicinity of the subject or already be familiar with the psychic signature of the subject's mind (which they could only have done before they became Blocked).
Controversy: Long-Term Effects
Recent disputed scholarship suggests that there may be deleterious effects to long-term Blocking. There is a correlation found between long-lived individuals functioning under a Block (usually Sheyla) and a decrease in empathy, sociability, and even sanity.
The posited theory for why this is lies in Balthazier's Treatise on the Sentient Mind, wherein he posited that there is a low-level "background telepathic network" that every sentient mind is able to detect and subconsciously tap into, facilitating social interaction. This claim itself has come under fire through the centuries.
Source
Members of House Voldr are taught early how to place temporary blocks on their own thoughts. Many extend that use to their closest servants and confidantes.
Other methods of Blocking are also readily available. The Kaelic Temple is known to place Blocks on their leadership through the use of physical magic, and enchanted items that claim to Block the wearer are highly prized, though uncommon.
Related Organizations
Related Discipline
Psychic Magic
Effect Duration
Permanent unless removed/destroyed
Effect Casting Time
Varies, up to ten minutes
Range
Touch
Applied Restriction
Members of the Imperial Psychic Network may not be Blocked at any time.
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