The Arcane Warrior - The Art of Combat and Survival Without Blade or Heavy Steel Vol#1 Destruction
Looking around Skyrim, I was very disappointed to not find ONE book that talked about all magical combat! As for the few I found, I'm sorry to say I was not impressed with them and so I decided to write my own skill book series! giggles I was bored and felt creative! Oh and Jo'rasha-daar is my Khajiit mage and this is his written novel! Lol!
YOUR DESTRUCTION HAS INCREASED!
Fire, frost and lightning are the prime weapons at hand for those who use the School of Destruction to smite down their foes. A reckless mage often gets carried away using heavy spell fire to take out a single opponent and has no Magicka left to take out the second that wasn't far behind the first. This has been the doom of many arcane users and has brought upon the idea throughout Skyrim that all mages and users of the arcane are weak and feeble. A very unfair point of view I must point out, for even a warrior can be reckless with his sword in taking out a single foe and finds himself too exhausted to defend himself from the second who smites him down as he catches his breath.
A Mage must be like a warrior who uses heavy steel and weapon. Please do not misunderstand and think I mean a mage must go around swinging a sword like a common barbarian. That would be asking too much and detour one from the much-needed time in studying and practice of the arcane arts! A mage must be like a warrior in that he has disciplined himself and learn how to properly use the skills set before him without exhausting himself to the point of collapse.
In this book series, I have jotted down my own example of how a discipline and a keen mind of a arcane warrior who uses only spell and skills thinks and comes out unharmed and ready for the next fight!
_ Know your Enemy, Know Your Elements and above all else _
_ Know there Strengths and Weakness _
The mage novice unleashed a stream of flames from the palms of his hands at the unbound Daedra conjured before him. "The flames, they have no effect!" He cried to his master who was running has hands over his face and shaking his head with disappointment at his young protégée. "Perhaps I was too hasty in my time educating you and need review with you again what a Flame Atronach is and why fire has no effect!" - Comedy Act of The Mage's Apprentice, Act 3#
Any warrior would be a fool to challenge a foe he dose not know and or understand! Granted a few reckless souls have charged into combat and survived, but they now bare heavy scars and have learned the hard way. Unfortunately, I must point out that few have survived long enough to be tempered with the knowledge they now know. An example I will point out is the story of the Ice Mage who battled a Frost Troll and survived. Sadly, he now spends most of his time drinking and mourning the loss of his right arm that became a meal to the fowl creature and gave the Ice Mage a moment to deliver an Ice Spike to the key spot behind the creature's skull, severing the connection from head to spine and killing it instantly! Had this Ice Mage known that Frost Trolls are almost completely immune to the effects of frost and devastated by the touch of fire, he might have been able to walk away with both his appendages unharmed!
Fire - Fire in my strongest opinion is the mages best friend and should be the most used element in combat! The element of flame is easy to control and requires less energy to call forth unlike the other elements! Flame is very devastating to both flesh and armor! While it sears the flesh, it heats the armor to an unbearable tempter and often roasts the one it encumbers like a mudcrab in a stewpot! Fire is especially devastating to the undead as undead flesh has no resistant to fire and quickly sears it to ash! Fire will not work on any foe that is born corporeal into the element of fire and it has little effect on Dunmer flesh. Note - True masters in the element of fire have been noted to make the flames sear so hot that even the most resistant foe runs in fear as the fames brake their spirit and sear their flesh to a crisp!
Frost - Perhaps the most underappreciated and misunderstood element in the school of destruction in Skyrim is frost. The Nord population have a strong resistance to the element, most likely due to there ancestral Atmoran bloodline that originated in a much harsher and colder climate then Skyrim. Granted frost alone will not be enough to take out a Nord warrior who charges in at full ready to strike you down, but know this key fact that even though the warrior feels little harm to his body; his strength will be quickly taken from him! Necromancers know this and know it well! Frost is their most preferred element for they would rather drain their sword-welding foe of his strength first and finish him off when he has barely enough strength to swing his sword, let alone move at all, soul trap him and doom his animas -the very essence of his soul- to an eternity serving the Ideal Masters in the Soul Carne. -- A well deserved fate for anyone who foolish enough to challenge a master of the arcane with brute strength and no true understanding of the foe they faced. It must be pointed out that any foe who is born corporeal into the element of frost is immuned to it and frost has almost no effect on undead flesh aside from witness reports that undead flesh can be frozen solid much like living. The element of frost should be considered as a means to weaken rather then killing your foe, a conjunction of fire from one hand and frost from the other would quickly bring down your foe! Sapping both strength and life! Note - True masters in the element of frost have been known to freeze their opponents solid in there most weakest condition, thus making them helpless and at the mercy of spell welding foe!
Lightning - Perhaps the most widely recognized and feared element in the hands of any arcane user is lighting! It strikes it foes instantly upon use and armor is not enough to shield it from its wrath! Granted that lightning is the most tempting of all elements to master and use, what must be known is lighting requires a lot of concentration and Magicka to invoke! A reckless mage who strikes down his foes solely with lightning bolts will quickly find himself without any Magicka to spare and is helpless until his pool of energy restores! It should be noted that lighting not only requires a much higher degree of Magicka to caste, but it also saps its victim's pool of Magicka! Lightning attacks not only a foes body but also his mind, it breaks his concentration and thus his power bleeds out like blood from an open wound! Lightning is the most highly recommend element to use when battling other arcane users, for an arcane user without Magicka is like a warrior without a sword or shield! They are helpless and at your mercy! Only way to quickly bring down your arcane foe is to use with one hand a steady stream of Sparks to bleed them of not only their life but their spirit and with your other I recommend using flames, but know that fire is useless against Dunmer and Frost has little effect on Nords and almost no effect on undead! As I have said before - Know your Enemy and Elements strengths and weakness! Note - Perhaps the most terrifying display of mastery in the elements of lightning is disintegrating your foe to nothing but a pile of ash! Such mastery no doubt requires a high degree of discipline in the art of destruction, but it is well worth the time and study required!
_ Close and Far Range Combat _
"Remember, against spells your blocking is useless until you're trained. So get up on mages quickly and let them eat steel. Deserves them right for using a witches weapon." - Killing - Before You're Killed
Upon reading that quotation highlighted above, isn't it any wonder that these pitiful Nords are losing the war against the Aldmeri Dominion? Please do not misunderstand and think I am prejudice against the other races in this world for I am not! Granted I do have a bad habit in looking down on Nords and their common day fear and or hatred for magic. I have only but to be envious of the great Shalidor who himself was a Nord and had an understanding of Magicka that makes even my mastery look like nothing more then a troll trying to read an Elder Scroll! If only these Nords knew what power they could wield using the arcane, the Aldmeri Dominion would not stand a chance!
Please forgive my ranting overviews, I was only trying to point out what was lost and what could be regained if the Nords would put aside their modern day fear and embrace the arcane as their ancestors once did!
Getting back to the topic at hand, I was discussing using the art of destruction in both close and far range combat!
Melee - A key fact that must be pointed out from the quotation highlighted above; All sword and ax welding warriors with almost always rush in and try to take you out as fast as they can before you could even cast your first spell! Never, never let your foe get within striking distance of yourself! Granted that this is not always possible, but it is a strategy that must be pointed out first! Always keep yourself at a distance, most preferably up high and out of range. Two-handed welding foes unlike single-handed are much easer to doge in strikes. Two-handed weapons are slow and heavy, watch your opponent's swings, time them just right and you can walk circles around them as they are trying to hit you! Most humors to watch if you have the reflexes of a Khajiit like myself! Be warned should a two handed blow hit you, it most likely will be the first and last blow laid down! One-handed opponents are much harder to doge, for they can quickly readjust their swing as quickly as you move! It is not easy but not impossible to doge a single-handed foes blows! -Note -- A wise mage always casts a protective shell when engaging in any combat- Using only destruction spells, I strongly recommend that the mage arm himself with firebolts and honed his skill to the point where a concentrated duel handed firebolt will stagers their target! As your foe charges in first hit them with the duel fire bolt to stagger them, then quickly barrage them almost none stop with single handed fire bolts with a timed contracted blast to keep them staggered and most importantly, always at a distance until they are dispatched! Frost works well for sapping a foe of his strength, but never underestimate the determination of those who wield weapons! They will keep attacking until they drop. A wise mage should focus more on killing their foes rather then sapping their strength, they would do the same to you with the steel they wield! Those who are exceptionally skilled in destruction magic would do well to caste a shell to protect themselves with one hand and with the other summon a cloak of fire, frost or lighting to discourage any foe from getting to close and punishing those who do. Caution - When using cloaks of destruction I must advice the user that you are dealing with very hostile magic's and they do not make the distinction between friend or foe. Added Note -- In my experience, casting a cloak of flames before taking a swim into possible hostile waters not only warms the water to a decent temperature, it also discourages the local slaughter fish from eating your flesh.
Range - Those who fight with bow and arrow laugh as us arcane users for they believe that their skill with a bow is more then enough to make up for neglecting the understanding of the arcane. They are very arrogant and believe that are above us, how misinformed these fools are! Never lose sigh of a foe wielding a bow, find cover immediately until you can locate where they are raining down arrows at you from! It should also be taken into knowing that rang fighters are very quick and smart enough to move out of the way of on coming spell fire. A simple fire bolt and ice strike move slow enough to get out of the way of, my best recommendation is the mage use lightning bolt for it will hit your target the instant it is released and smite them down!
Ambushed - When the arcane user of destruction is surrounded by his foes, it is often though that this is his end, not always true for a skilled user in the school of destruction can easily smite down an entire army with single high-powered spell! Chain lighting is the most commonly used by skilled mages, nothing like the smell of lighting cooked foes to make one pleased with their skill and imbue fear into his foes! Lighting is nice but my best advice for when you are surrounded is to use fireballs or Ice Storms! Few foes can handle a barrage of exploding fireballs, it is very effective if not slightly overkill. After all merchants aren't interested in purchasing weapons and armor seared by spell fire, not forgetting peeling cooked flesh from steel dose a number on your claws. Ice Storms are very effective when taking out a line of foes! The spell with pass through the first opinionate and continue on until the energies that make up the spell dissipates. Remember - Knowing your foes strength and weakness, you can easily bring down an army of bandits and whatnot! A master of destruction might be tempted to use a devastation firestorm to end all foes, but the time and Magicka required to caste said spell is very taxing! It is best to use this level of spell when your foes are unaware of you and you can take them all out in one shot! Use extreme caution when dealing with master level destruction spells, for they can just as easily kill the mage who conjured it.
Runes - Ah yes, lets not forget about the powers behind the runes of destruction. Runes require one who is very skilled in Destruction and has a disciplined mind to use. When one casts a rune of Destruction upon the ground, they are imbuing the area with a dormant destruction spell that will activate once something trespasses over the seals. A wise mage uses runes as a trap. - For example - a cleaver mage will cast a fire rune at the doorway leading into a space where he has the advantage and time to regain his strength to caste spells! When the rune is cast, the mage should take a moment to regain there strength and proceed where there foes are located, unleash full fury in killing or weakling his foes, retreat back and let the rune finish them off should they be dumb enough to overlook the glowing seals on the ground! _ Added Note -- From my own experience I have noticed that Runes work very well in dealing with sleeping draugr. Should you case a rune near a sleeping draugrs sarcophagus, the rune will instantly detonate, often killing the slumbering draugr in its sarcophagus and or forcing it out of hibernation. My hypothesis is that the runes energies are very sensitive to the unknown magic's keeping the draugr animated, a reaction of some kind happens when both magic's meet, triggering the runes seals to instant detonation without being disturbed. This is most promising for it has assisted me in clearing out possible draugr ambushes. _ _ Caution -- Just as runes can be a mages friend, they can be his enemy. A wise mage will use caution when trespassing into a arcane foes lair, for they these foes may have used these magical traps to punish anyone who trespasses into there dwelling. A simple destruction spell is more then enough to brake the magical barrier and trigger these magical traps, ensuring the trespasser proceed unharmed but be warned, runes have a wide rang when they are triggered._
End Vol# 1.