Rapid Lattice Shields
"A bubble floating pops and merges with its own kind now stronger and changed."
Discovery
The discovery of this particular art dates back about 50 years, although there is some debate about the exact timing of it all. The common sequence of events follows that Yun Guan, a young defensive mage from the Kaguyan Federation, was pondering about how to make faster, stronger shields. Proper warding took time, after all, and as The Border Wars were picking up steam, fast defenses were becoming all the more necessary. At the time, they were pondering the question with a smoke break next to a pond, and they saw a particularly foamy bit of the water lapping against one of the edges, seeing strands of smaller bubbles "popping" and merging to create bigger ones. This was their eureka moment, as they talked it over with their peers and developed the Lattice Shield method. For the years that followed it got plenty of use on the battlefield, and has been refined and examined time and time again, setting a new piece of groundwork for the field of abjuring magic in general.Inventor
Yun Guan wasn't a militant person by nature, they favored themselves the pacifistic scholar type. However, they knew that the war was going to turn brutal, especially with the more ravenous heads of state at the time, and so despite their reservations about it they allowed their technique to be used by the military. At the very least, they thought, it could end up saving lives more than taking them.Complexity
The method is actually quite simple: all magical shields can be likened to a bubble of sorts, but for larger, sturdier, or more conditional bubbles it can take a while for them to be active, as the bubble can only form once the designated space has been totally enveloped. What Rapid Lattice Shields do is create a series of smaller bubbles that begin working in a manner of seconds, and once the perimiter of the warding has been completed with these smaller strings, then they turn into the larger bubble. It takes some practice and careful positioning in combat situations, but a well trained caster can raise a shield in a matter of seconds.Access & Availability
While in its experimental stage the technique didn't have the furthest reach, it was primarily tested on battlefields in the Border Wars, mainly fought between Hippolyta but also with Agartha and, very rarely, the 'Oki Islands. After being tested, refined, and approved, it became available to the academic public, with many finding it fascinating and adding it to their own repetoire or teaching it to their apprentices, increasing its spread and availability further. Now it's a common part of magical education, although the beginner or layman probably won't know the intricacies of it.
Parent Technologies
Social Impact
Being developed at the advent of a world war made quite the splash on the battlefield. The swift and durable technique kept many people alive to tell of its success, and while it wasn't fool proof the continued growth and development of the Rapid Lattice technique made it a well-loved tactic among Kaguyan armies.Utility
Defensive magic comes in several varieties, and Rapid Lattice shields can be applied to many of them.- Personal shielding is the main use, as a body-sized shield can be made in seconds and patched up just as swiftly.
- Larger shielding, such as for vehicles, houses, or settlements, can be a bit trickier as even with the speed of Lattice Shielding, they take quite some time.
- Conditional shields, more commonly referred to as wards, can be the biggest struggle, as you have one of two methods: put the magical condition on each of the small shields along the way, or wait until the entire shield is active to ennact your modificiations.
The first is really only possible for broad conditions, like allowing anyone except spirits or keeping anyone without a key away. The latter defeats the main advantage of the technique, even if those larger shields can be made quicker anyways.
Comments