Winterhold College Textbook: Basics of Destruction Magic, Chapter V: Ice Shiv

A short one I know, but this is kind of a special case

Introduction

“Ice Shiv” is one of the most notorious spells in the school of Destruction, though utterly ineffective against heavily-armored opponents, its reputation as an assassination weapon is uncontestable. Rumored to be used by the early Morag Tong members of Morrowind, “Ice Shiv” is practiced almost exclusively for nefarious purposes. When cast, the spell will produce a razor needle made from pure ice which can easily penetrate unprotected flesh, however, due to its nature, most “Ice Shiv” projectiles instantly shatter upon striking metal or similarly hard surfaces, rendering it useless for most battlemages. Because of its mostly malevolent purposes and non-existent usefulness in general combat, on the behalf of the curriculum set forth by the current archmage, “Ice Shiv” is not taught to students, and as such, this chapter will not cover how to practice this spell.

History

According to the general consensus of the academic communities, “Ice Shiv” is believed to be invented by the members of Morag Tong, an organization based in the eastern province of Morrowind. “Ice Shiv” is among the one of the most unique spell in the school of Destruction due to the fact that it failed to evolve much beyond its original and singular purpose: silent execution. Despite countless attempts by skilled mages and renowned warlocks, “Ice Shiv” proved to be unable to perform on the battlefield against armor or the hardened skin of wild beasts. Even its name “shiv” is unrefined and crude. Unlike other incantations which have been given names by respected mages, the designation of this particular spell is much more likely to stem from the more colloquial expressions of rogues or mercenaries. Though “Ice Shiv” is by no means a easy spell to cast, most scholars and wizards regard the spell as no more than a tool of a bandit. Thanks to “Ice Shiv” ‘s inaccessibility to common scoundrels and most mages’ contempt for it, the users of the spell are often elite mercenaries working for high-paying contractors, which further aggravated commoners’ fear of “Ice Shiv”.

Usage

As this chapter has repeatedly stated, “Ice Shiv” is only useful on unarmored targets, its needle-like icicle will instantly shatter upon striking hard surfaces, and unlike fire spells, it does not possess the capabilities to melt through metals. The sole reason for its popularity as an assassination weapon is its discreet nature. Producing almost no sound when cast and leaving no trail once the ice quickly melts, the corpse of the victim often leaves the investigator with little evidence as to who might commit such an act. In addition, unlike lightning or fire magic, uncontrolled casting will not result in unintended casualties, as the projectile will not jolt between targets or set the surrounding on fire, making the spell useful as a surgical way to silence targets.

As this chapter is only included for the sake of pure academic interest, once the reader has finished reading and have done sufficient research on it, please continue to the next chapter: “Glacial Barricade”