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The Truth Spell is a spell that calls the vrondi, mindless air elementals who cannot stand the emotional reaction caused by telling a lie. This either forces its target to tell the truth or indicates to the Herald whether or not they are lying, depending on the strength of the Herald.

Origins

In Arrows of the Queen, it is explained that a "contemporary of Herald Vanyel" discovered the Truth Spell not long before the demise of Vanyel himself. At the time of the events of the book, it is "the last bit of real magic ever created in Valdemar, and is about all the 'real magic' we have left".

Nature of the Spell and its Stages

When under the Truth Spell, a vrondi will settle in a person's mind, causing a glowing blue mist like a visible blue aura around the subjects head and shoulders. Any observer, Gifted or not, may see the light, although the target cannot see it.

In the first stage of the Truth Spell, the target may say anything they like, but the glowing blue mist (vrondi) will disappear to indicate their dishonesty if they lie. In the second stage, the blue light remains the same, but the target is physically incapable of speaking with dishonesty.

It is noted in Arrows of the Queen that the Truth Spell relies on the target's knowledge of the events he is describing.

Method of Casting

In order to cast the Truth Spell, a person must have the Gift that makes being Chosen to become a Herald possible.

In Arrows of the Queen, the method of casting the Truth Spell is described as follows:

  • Hold in mind an image of a wisp of fog with blue eyes enveloping the person being examined
  • Simultaneously, repeat silently a certain rhyme (not given) exactly nine times
  • On the ninth repetition, imagine the fog surrounding the target

Doing so once will put the target under the first stage of the Truth Spell, while repeating the spell will elevate it to the second stage. Only Heralds with a strong Gift can impose the second stage.

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