Atronach Summoning and Binding

Conjuration is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous schools of magic. Even discounting necromancy entirely, conjuration deals with devilish, powerful forces with no concept of morality. If the summoner isn’t equipped to bind the demons he calls forth, they’ll act spontaneously and often hostilely. For this reason, it’s important for all students of the arcane arts to have some grasp of binding and banishing spells. Even if one does not personally have an interest in summoning atronachs, they pose such a threat that it’s important to know how to react when one appears.

Atronachs are different than other minor Daedra in that they are not loyal to any greater Prince. The elemental atronachs of fire, frost, and lightning are pulled from a variety of Daedric planes, where they exist without swearing fealty to any lord in particular. They are made to manifest when their name is spoken or written, although some mages need only to visualize the Daedra’s name in their mind’s eye. A circle of runes must be maintained around the name in order to bind the conjured spirit to the will of a mortal. If the circle is broken by accepting a freely given gift from the Daedra, the spirit will no longer be subject to control.

Recent findings have suggested that atronachs can form in the Mundus without any influence from Oblivion. The most notable examples of this are the Ash Guardians and the Ash Spawn. Many scholars believe these non-Daedric atronachs come as the result of a destabilization event, such as a Tower becoming unbound. The rise in Wispmother attacks in Skyrim may be related to this phenomenon. Careful experimentation has shown that fragments of Padomaically charged material can be used as a component to augment traditional Daedric binding spells and exert a moderate amount of control over these terrible storm-children, but it would be unwise for any summoner to place too much confidence in his ability and attempt such a task without expert training.