Invisibility Gone Wrong
Out of all the spells that have been created perhaps the second most famous, after the notorious fireball, is invisibility. The idea of disappearing and being able to do things unobserved is easy to understand and appealing to many. We of course know that it has its limitations and it can be tempting to consider the possibilities if the spell could be improved. However, changing a well established spell comes with a great deal of risk. There is a reason a spell has not been changed for hundreds of years, and as the example I am about to give you will show, only a Fleeting fool would think they are the first to come up with an incredible improvement to such a spell.
Veria Daekiir was an apprentice wizard from a respected family. While competent enough that she likely would have successfully completed her apprenticeship, Veria had an excessively high view of her own talents. Assuming no-one would have thought of trying adjustments to time-honoured spells, Veria regular caused harm to herself and her surrounding as she tinkered with spells in the same way that a human might. Despite repeated warnings she insisted that she would rewrite our understanding of magic. Either arrogance or ambition can be dangerous for a wizard, but combine the two and it can be deadly as Veria found to her cost.
Having nearly lost an arm to a modified fire spell, Veria turned her attention to the spell for invisibility. Having learned of it’s limitations Veria was determined to improve on the spell, hoping to make the subject silent and permit a greater range of motions before the spell breaks. Once again her impatience got the better of her. Rather than waiting till she had finished her apprenticeship she rushed into trying to tinker with a spell that was beyond her. Failing to head the teachings of more experienced mages, in fact I don’t think she even bothered to look at previous research, Veria started playing around with changing the spell from an illusion to a transmutation.
Many of you here will instantly recognise the dangers of this approach. When someone is taking out one bit of a spell they think is illusion, and inserting what they assume will make a change of form, the potential for harm is almost unlimited. Veria’s teacher forbade her from continuing with this line of research but Veria would not be dissuaded. Filled with pride she cast her spell, and to her surprise nothing happened. Or so she thought.
A few days after casting her spell Veria noticed that her hands had become slightly transparent. She could make out shapes through her hand but no detail. It was like looking through fog. She kept this quiet for a week, donning gloves to hide what was happening. During the week mistyness spread up her arms. Everything still seemed fine, and she wasn’t in any pain, so she continued to keep it secret. After all this might be the improved invisibility she was hoping for.
Veria finally realised that something serious might be wrong when her hands started passing through objects as if they weren’t there. The mistyness had spread to cover most of her body when she finally sought help. But by then it was too late. A quick inspection of the spell by her teacher revealed that Veria had unwittingly started a change that was gradually moving her body from our plane of existence into the ethereal. It would make her invisible, but she would be unable to interact with anything. There was no way to undo the spell, and within two days Veria had vanished entirely.
Some speculate that she may still be alive, trapped in the ethereal, with no way to communicate let alone return. Whether true or not, I’m sure many of you have heard people around here blaming her whenever something goes missing or a candle is knocked over at just the wrong time. Maybe it is her, or maybe it is their own clumsiness. I’ll let you decide.
This is a fun idea and a neat 'ghost' story!