Winterhold College Textbook: Basics of Destruction Magic, Chapter VI: Glacial Barricade”

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, I have been busy with my work and it has just been Chinese New Year so I was not around ( I am Chinese BTW). And after this, I am going to change the direction of the series. I am not going to write anymore chapters of this book in the foreseeable future, instead, I am going to focus on a new book, the title of which can be found at the end of this piece)

Introduction

Though there have been extensive debates about whether “ Glacial Barricade” belongs to the school of Destruction or not, common opinion suggest that it should be taught by Destruction tutors as the spell is very similar to others of the same school. “Glacial Barricade” is not an offensive spell by nature, when cast, it will instantly crystallizes the air in front of you to form a thick wall of ice, most battlemages use it ward off against arrows on the field. Due to its nature, the barricade could be easily destroyed by magic, especially fire spells, however, one is expected to use the “Ward” spells from Alteration school to fend off attacks of arcane nature. The importance of this spell is that it fills a crucial gap of battlemages’ defensive capabilities. Before its popularization, mages were able to fend off spells with wards, deflect weapon blows by hardening their skin with stoneflesh spells, however, very few were capable of dealing with arrows on the battlefield. Though flesh-hardening spells from the alteration school were capable of protecting against physical impact, it requires the user’s concentration to harden the area of contact, while this maybe practical when used against close quarter blows as they could be easily predicted, it proves to be ineffective against arrows due to their erratic nature and the huge number that the enemies could launch. Instead, by creating a physical icy barrier in front of the user, most arrows would simply fail to reach the caster, and the very few that does, would have so little momentum left that they would be hardly capable of piercing parchments.

History

“Glacial Barricade” was not the result of some complicated research by master mages, but rather, an intuitive spell invented by the earlier ancestors. It is not a complicated spell demanding meticulous dedication in order to enhance its power, but rather, its potency is strengthened only by the magical capability of the caster. And thus, though most mages are capable of using the spell, only the most powerful ones can truly create an impregnable barrier. Due to its simplistic nature, “Glacial Barricade” is a common sight on the battlefield, this greatly reduced the amount of damage arrows can do to the battlemages. Perhaps a rather unknown fact is that “Glacial Barricade” inadvertently advanced many aspect of large-scale combat. As arrows are less and less effective against battlemages on the back of the formations, archers began to divert more and more of their attention to the vanguards at front, which resulted in a high mortality rate for frontline warriors. This shift in targeting strategies resulted in the demand for improved armor from most armies, many blacksmiths were hired to find a good technique for forging armor and thus this began one of the most revolutionary movement in history to improve the quality of defensive armaments. Perhaps without “Glacial Barricade”, artisans today would still struggle to produce mails and plates that can deflect arrows.

Usage

The only practical usage of “Glacial Barricade” is the deflection of physical projectiles, with the popularization of armor-piercing fire spells, “Glacial Barricade”’s effectiveness against arcane attacks is diminished. There are two ways that this spell can be used, either instantly or used as a defensive position. Instant: the caster can immediately summon and use “Glacial Barricade” akin to using a ward spell. By channeling magicka to form a thick ice wall about half the height of an altmer and levitating it to the upper body, a skilled mage can quickly defend himself against a rain of arrows while advancing on enemy positions. The spell can be quickly dismissed thereafter, although the casting process is more complicated than using a ward, it allows for effective defense against projectiles even when mobile. Mages typically cast this way when advancing on an enemy’s position, while using the other hand to hurl spells, occasionally, paranoid mages can be seen using both the ward spell and the “Glacial Barricade” spell while moving, though it might provide comic relief on the battlefield, the effectiveness of the combination is unrivaled.

Defensive: By channeling magicka into thick blocks of ice, the caster can create a barricade based on the ground, this is far less fatiguing than having to levitate the wall, and as one does not have to dismiss it, tougher barricades can be created. This is mostly used by mages in defensive positions, as the barricade is not mobile, by casting the spell and stacking repeatedly to form multiple layers of walls, the caster can easily construct an impregnable barrier of shimmering rime. Due to its nature, using “Glacial Barricade” as a defensive position is only largely seen in warfare.

How to practice

Though it may seems that “Glacial Barricade” is drastically different from most destruction spells, it is not fundamentally different to cast. However, the two different ways which the spells could be cast demands different approach and varies in difficulty. This section will start with the easier of the two: Defensive: There is only one thing of importance to keep in mind when casting the spell from the ground is that the caster should always maintain the barrier with his magicka. Though the ice would not melt too rapidly, its effectiveness to ward off attacks would be diminished overtime. To cast the spell, project your reserve of energy into the shapes of ice blocks, just as one would when casting projectile spells, obviously, instead of ejecting them outwards, one need to place them on the ground. Doing so repeatedly would quickly build up a wall, however, if the caster is only satisfied at this, even a strong gust of wind would be more than capable of toppling the barricade. A caster should maintain the barrier by using his magicka, and only by doing so, the wall can withstand concentrated attacks.

Instant: Practicing using “Glacial Barricade” instantly is moderately harder than using it defensively, as casting it this way would require both fast reaction time and knowledge in the school of Alteration. Casting procedures are quite similar to the aforementioned passage, by conjuring several blocks and immediately lifting them off the ground with telekinesis spell from the Alteration school to chest height, one can fend themselves against projectile attacks quite effectively. When practicing said spell, one can measure the proper reaction time by dropping an arrow with one hand, and use the same hand to cast the spell, if a wall can be formed before the arrow drops to the ground, one could be considered to be ready for battle.

After finish practicing said spell, one should move on to the next chapter.

In addition, the book : “ Practical Application of Destruction” is also available to students of this level should one have the interest to study.