The most powerful witchcraft

[Excerpt from an essay by Augus Delreth, archmage of Winterhold Academy.]

Caution is the first concern of those who are used to occasional charlatanry and fraud. And this caution is justified!

Magic, also called "witchcraft" in some ancient areas of the world, is divided into many different trades. The Destruction-Craft, the Restoration-Craft and many more. As is usual for mortals who embrace divine abilities, there are steady comparisons and contests about which is the best Witchcraft. I myself am a recognized master of every single art of magic, except for the really best and am far older than some academies in the heart of the Empire.

If you ask me which magic craft is the most powerful for me, then my answer often amaze. I see magic as a gift given to us by the gods and that we need to use it to create good things. But many caster use their gift as a timeless, gloomy tentacle that drills through all good possibilities and stops only at the bad intentions. Especially those who have received magic as a gift, from birth, without practicing it. They do not understand the hard work behind their mastery. It is they who cause devastating consequences for Tamriel because they do not view their gift as a gift.

They wake up one day and the world changes and eventually one of the tentacle wizards will wake up and not change the world, but wipe it out. But let's get to some of the magic-crafts.

I always say, "It isn't dead until it eternal lie, and after strange aeons, even death itself may die." I call mages can wipe us out of existence rather than any other threat. In most cases, however, time protects us from the effects of these tentacles. Unfortunately, the Restoration-Craft gets in our way. The age of mortals has been increasing dramatically in the last few decades. Bretons and Imperial come closer to the age of Dunmer than we should approve.

Did not he who got a knife through his ribs do something for which he deserved this knife? What are the healers then able to decide if this man deserves to survive? Sometimes a death is a blessing. I often had to realize this myself when I learned the Restore-Craft by the Skaal.

I am even more worried about the Illusion-Craft. Sure, fun, distracting, or distracting with an illusion spell here and there may be a great bet for queens and kings, but at least since Jagar Tharn we know how far the illusion can go. A false emperor in front of our eyes and we did not recognize the illusion.

"In his house of thoughts, the dead illusionist is dreaming." A very fitting saying from Shadowfen. Who once was in the power of a trained illusionist knows how it feels, right? Who can actually know what feelings you felt yourself have been real? Who knows if we are not all in a great illusion spell, in a gigantic, barely comprehensible dream within a gods head?

As long as the Illusion-Craft exists, we can never be sure about the reality itself. Incidentally, I did my Graduation as an illusionist in Glenumbra.

The Destruction-Craft is the most honest craft of all, which is why the Graduation in Orsinium was particularly easy. Everyone knows about the destructive potential of this craft, and so the destroyers do not have to spend time pretending that their craft has anything good rising up from it. It would be easy for the Destruction-Mages to destroy Nirn, but they have not tried it yet because there was no need for it. They prefer to leave things as they are and spare themselves the trouble.

You see, even the most respected magic crafts are dangerous. There is only one craft that really and only produces good things and that I started to study too late and for that I still hate me to have never learned from a master. Magic can do good, but if you do not focus on one particular craft, then you die, alive. I'm not talking about the necromancy I learned at Necrom.

Necromancy has the advantage that the body of the victim remains alive, but the consciousness dies. The lack of knowledge of the craft, of which I speak, kills the body with full consciousness. In his deep inner heart you can feel how you are slowly dying in incomprehensible pain, but you do not know how it came from and how to stop it. It hurts more than a fireball directly in your heart and cunfused more than any illusion spell. But at the same time it heals you more than any art of restoration, if you master it.

So, what is the most powerful witchcraft, you ask me? It is Lovecraft.