Edward Hillsbury's Spells
By Kit NavarroThis is a funny quirky spell, authored by Duke Edward Hillsbury of Fenswick, father of the late Duchess Margaret Hillsbury, who is allegedly Princess Dolores' mother. The spell is named "Edward's Untranslatable Writings" but it also known as "The Reason Why Princess Dolores Still Knows Nothing About The Radiance" spell.
Edward's Untranslatable Writings
(Alteration, Abjuration)
3rd-Level Spell
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Area of Effect: 1 non-magical written text
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
This stronger version of the confuse languages spell is only known
to Duke Edward Hillsbury of Fenswick, and to his daughter, Duchess
Margaret Hillsbury. Duke Edward crafted this spell during his years
in the Great School of magic to protect his private writings (ie
personal journals, secret messages, research into the Radiance,
etc.) from prying eyes. Edward was not exactly popular among the
students in the Great School, coming from a small dominion of
shepherds and potato farmers and from a cultural minority alien to
Mystara and with a long-standing enmity with the Kaelic of Klantyre
and the Sylaire of Nouvelle Averoigne.
When this spell is cast on a non-magical written text, the text can never be translated and must be read in the original language. Any form of magic used to translate the text, short of a limited wish, such as spells like read language and comprehend languages, or magic items like a helm of reading or a helm of comprehending languages and reading magic, does not work. A detect magic spell will reveal an abjuration spell at work. Dispel magic cannot remove this enchantment, but an anti-magic shell does temporarily (although it still does not translate the words). A limited wish or wish can dispel this spell.
Needless to say, this spell is very useful in Glantri, where so many languages and dialects are being used. It is particularly useful to Duke Edward, whose native language is Fenswick, an old language from Laterre, quite unknown to Glantrians, more so to the rest of Mystara. It is only spoken by the shepherds and potato farmers of Fenswick, most of whom are illiterate! (If ever they do read or write, it's usually in Thyatian Common.)
There is one flaw to the spell though, that neither Duke Edward nor Duchess Margaret ever noticed, despite their extensive use. The spell has a 50% chance of first translating the written text into Fenswick, before rendering it untranslatable, and therefore, utterly incomprehensible to a non-Fenswick reader!
The material components of this spell are a hot
cup of tea, a lump of sugar, and a freshly-baked scone, which are
consumed in the casting.