Frozen Moment Magic

School of magic

Classification	Harmonic-Based School
Root harmonic	The Frozen Moment
Dominant prime energies	Aion, often supported by Terra, Memoria, and Umbra
Core discipline	Stasis, temporal slowing, preservation, delay, and controlled suspension
Spells	33

The Harmonic school of the Frozen Moment, which holds that duration can be weighted, stretched, or arrested without breaking time. See The Schools of Magic.

Philosophy

Frozen Moment Magic draws on the Frozen Moment and is founded on the belief that duration can be weighted, stretched, or arrested without fully breaking time. It values control over pace rather than dramatic reversal.

Its practitioners are conservators, guardians, vault-makers, duellists, and scholars of deterioration. They do not seek to undo events. They seek to hold them, delay them, or preserve them until the right moment.

Example Places of Study

The Stillglass Conservatory: A school of preservation, artefact suspension, and temporal care.
The Vault of Slow Bells: Makers of slowed vaults and time-locked doors, whose work the barrow-robbers curse.
The Winter Cloister: Ascetics who use stasis disciplines for contemplation and endurance.
The Hour-Locked Tower: A war school whose time-adepts are hired by lords and sellsword captains to hold a breach or win a duel.
The Archive of Untarnished Things: Conservators who preserve relics, documents, and bodies, and pay delvers well for what they bring up whole.

Common Spells

Slowfall of Dust · Chill Arrest · Held Breath · Lag Step · Moment Seal · Delay Wound · Winter Coat · Still Edge · Pause Flame · Suspended Drop · Age Quiet · Thickened Second · Anchor Now · Stasis Band · Frozen Threshold · Lasting Bloom · Slow Torrent · Preservation Vault · Arrested Blow · Hourglass Ward · Cold Span · Quiet Decay · Museum Sleep · Frozen Moment · Quickened Pulse · Honeyed Hour · Borrowed Time · Chronal Step · Rewind Wound · Delayed Cast · Stolen Hour · Time Lock · Stopped Clock

Typical Cost/Power Source (every spell): Usually fed by the caster's reserves and a firm hold on the present state of what it works on; long preservation work often relies on prepared containers, vaults, or stable focus objects.

Slowfall of Dust

Purpose/How It Works: Slowfall of Dust drastically slows the settling of drifting matter in a small area.
Notable Exceptions: Strong wind disrupts the effect.
Example Use: Delvers read the tracks in a collapsed tomb before the falling dust buries them.
Casting Methods: Open-palm slowing cast, a breath. Lens focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: A small patch within sight. A few moments, rarely longer.

Chill Arrest

Purpose/How It Works: Chill Arrest pauses rot, melt, spoilage, or similar ongoing change for a short span.
Notable Exceptions: It delays processes rather than curing causes.
Example Use: Hunters keep fresh meat from spoiling until camp is reached.
Casting Methods: Touch and stilling phrase, a few heartbeats. Wrapped preservation seal, a short chant.
Range/Duration: Touch. A short while to most of a day.

Held Breath

Purpose/How It Works: Held Breath extends the usable span of a breath or heartbeat by slowing metabolic urgency.
Notable Exceptions: It cannot save someone already starved of air for too long.
Example Use: Delvers reach the latch of a flooded barrow in one long dive.
Casting Methods: Chest-touch cast, a breath. Self-breath discipline, a heartbeat or two.
Range/Duration: Self or touch. From a few moments to the length of a long dive.

Lag Step

Purpose/How It Works: Lag Step makes a target's movement fractionally late, just enough to spoil timing or balance.
Notable Exceptions: Very fast or highly disciplined targets can compensate.
Example Use: A duellist ruins an enemy lunge by stealing the rhythm from their front foot.
Casting Methods: Point-and-delay cast, a heartbeat. Marked line snare, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: Within a few strides. A few heartbeats.

Moment Seal

Purpose/How It Works: Moment Seal suspends a tiny catch, trigger, or event at the instant before release.
Notable Exceptions: It works best on small, simple things such as locks, latches, and spring traps.
Example Use: A thief freezes a needle trap long enough to remove it safely.
Casting Methods: Pinching seal gesture, a breath. Fine sigil touch, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: Touch or arm's length. A few moments.

Delay Wound

Purpose/How It Works: Delay Wound postpones worsening in an injury by slowing bleeding, swelling, and tissue collapse.
Notable Exceptions: It does not replace healing and can create a false sense of safety.
Example Use: A sellsword with a gut wound lives long enough to reach the bone-setter.
Casting Methods: Hand over wound, a few heartbeats. Bandage seal, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: Touch. A while, sometimes through the day.

Winter Coat

Purpose/How It Works: Winter Coat slows heat loss or gain around a body, bundle, or room-sized space.
Notable Exceptions: It fails under extreme elemental assault.
Example Use: Caravan guards survive a bitter pass with reduced fuel consumption.
Casting Methods: Self-wrap cast, a few heartbeats. Cloak or blanket anchoring, a short chant.
Range/Duration: Self, touch, or a small shelter. A while, sometimes through a cold night.

Still Edge

Purpose/How It Works: Still Edge holds a blade, tool, or instrument at perfect ready-state without tremor or drift.
Notable Exceptions: It steadies readiness, not accuracy or strength by itself.
Example Use: An archer holds the draw steady through a long, shaking wait in ambush.
Casting Methods: Tool touch, a breath. Grip discipline, a heartbeat.
Range/Duration: Self or touched object. A few moments to a short while.

Pause Flame

Purpose/How It Works: Pause Flame reduces a fire almost to stasis without fully extinguishing it.
Notable Exceptions: Large infernos overwhelm the spell.
Example Use: Delvers keep their last lamp from guttering out while they cross a sealed vault.
Casting Methods: Pinch-and-hold cast, a breath. Lantern focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: A small to moderate flame within sight. Moments, or long enough to cross a vault.

Suspended Drop

Purpose/How It Works: Suspended Drop traps a droplet, spark, insect, or similar tiny moving thing in place.
Notable Exceptions: Best on very small targets and short durations.
Example Use: A poisoner's drop is caught mid-fall above the lord's cup.
Casting Methods: Pinpoint focus, a heartbeat. Lens-assisted stilling, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: Close, within clear sight. A few moments.

Age Quiet

Purpose/How It Works: Age Quiet slows visible ageing, weathering, and surface wear on a small subject.
Notable Exceptions: It is preservation, not rejuvenation.
Example Use: A noble keeps a ceremonial banner vibrant through one more generation.
Casting Methods: Surface stroke cast, a few breaths. Case or cabinet rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration: One object or part of a body. Days to years, as the caster's strength allows.

Thickened Second

Purpose/How It Works: Thickened Second makes an instant feel longer to the caster, giving more time to choose and react.
Notable Exceptions: The world does not fully stop; it only feels expanded.
Example Use: A duellist reads a triple attack as though it came in slower beats.
Casting Methods: Reflex cast, quicker than a blink. Prepared focus bead, the instant it is triggered.
Range/Duration: Self. One expanded moment.

Anchor Now

Purpose/How It Works: Anchor Now fixes attention in the present and prevents panic-driven rash action.
Notable Exceptions: It cannot erase fear; it only keeps fear from running ahead of judgement.
Example Use: A commander stabilizes a formation during the first shock of a breach.
Casting Methods: Spoken grounding phrase, a breath. Hand-to-heart discipline, a heartbeat or two.
Range/Duration: Self or touched ally. Through the first shock, a short while at most.

Stasis Band

Purpose/How It Works: Stasis Band holds a limb, object, or wound in delayed motion, reducing worsening and unwanted movement.
Notable Exceptions: Strong force can still break through over time.
Example Use: Healers immobilize a crushed arm before transport.
Casting Methods: Wrap-like gesture, a few heartbeats. Cloth or band focus, a few breaths.
Range/Duration: Touch. Through the carry to the healers, or longer.

Frozen Threshold

Purpose/How It Works: Frozen Threshold preserves a doorway, hatch, or seal against ordinary wear, movement, and degradation.
Notable Exceptions: It does not make the threshold unbreakable.
Example Use: A barrow door stays sealed and untarnished for years, until the delvers come.
Casting Methods: Threshold touch, a few breaths. Doorframe rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration: One threshold. Seasons to years.

Lasting Bloom

Purpose/How It Works: Lasting Bloom keeps a living plant or cut flower fresh beyond its normal span by slowing decline.
Notable Exceptions: It does not replace water or sunlight indefinitely.
Example Use: A fallen hero's garland stays fresh through the long funeral feast.
Casting Methods: Stem touch cast, a few heartbeats. Vase or garden rite, a short chant.
Range/Duration: A single bloom or small arrangement. A day, sometimes several.

Slow Torrent

Purpose/How It Works: Slow Torrent heavily reduces movement through an area by making time feel thick within it.
Notable Exceptions: Extremely fast projectiles may still pass before the field fully takes hold.
Example Use: A retreating party turns a bridge approach into a near-wading pace for pursuers.
Casting Methods: Area cast, a few breaths. Field anchor rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration: A small lane, room, or gate. Moments, or a short while when anchored.

Preservation Vault

Purpose/How It Works: Preservation Vault establishes a chamber of reduced change for relics, bodies, or dangerous delicate materials.
Notable Exceptions: It requires a stable room or container and maintenance.
Example Use: A monastery preserves saintly remains and brittle documents in one sealed crypt room.
Casting Methods: Chamber rite, a long chant. Full vault installation, an hour's ritual.
Range/Duration: One chamber or chest. Many seasons, often years.

Arrested Blow

Purpose/How It Works: Arrested Blow partially halts an incoming strike, arrow, or projectile just enough to spare life or spoil force.
Notable Exceptions: Works best on one attack, not sustained barrage.
Example Use: A bodyguard catches the king's assassin's knife in a drag of slowed time.
Casting Methods: Reflex intercept, faster than thought. Ready stance trigger, a heartbeat.
Range/Duration: Self or nearby ally. One attack.

Hourglass Ward

Purpose/How It Works: Hourglass Ward converts sudden force into drawn-out pressure, stretching impact over more time.
Notable Exceptions: It reduces spikes of damage but may still leave crushing strain.
Example Use: A gate survives a ram strike long enough for braces to be set.
Casting Methods: Defensive ward cast, a few heartbeats. Fixed ward inscription, a minute's careful work.
Range/Duration: Self, object, or doorway. A few breaths, or a little longer when inscribed.

Cold Span

Purpose/How It Works: Cold Span stretches the usable duration of a short ritual, defence, or prepared effect by slowing its rate of expenditure.
Notable Exceptions: It cannot sustain a collapsing spell that lacks energy entirely.
Example Use: A hedge-mage keeps the ward on a besieged hall alive through a second night.
Casting Methods: Link-and-stretch cast, a few breaths. Clock or sandglass focus, a short chant.
Range/Duration: One active effect. Lengthens it by moments or by a night, depending on scale.

Quiet Decay

Purpose/How It Works: Quiet Decay directs wear and ruin into near-standstill, often on fragile sites or objects awaiting repair.
Notable Exceptions: Structural collapse already in motion may only slow, not stop.
Example Use: Temple-keepers stop a painted war-saga from flaking off the wall until scaffolds are raised.
Casting Methods: Surface-wide stilling cast, a few breaths. Preservation net rite, a long chant.
Range/Duration: A small object up to part of a room. From part of a day to a season or more.

Museum Sleep

Purpose/How It Works: Museum Sleep preserves a relic, corpse, or document in suspended condition with stronger stillness than ordinary preservation.
Notable Exceptions: It is energy-hungry and unsuited to regular living use.
Example Use: A dragonbone fragment is kept unchanged until scholars can safely study it.
Casting Methods: Reliquary sleep rite, a long chant. Vault-suspension rite, most of an hour's ritual.
Range/Duration: One relic, corpse, or container. Seasons to generations.

Frozen Moment

Purpose/How It Works: Frozen Moment arrests a narrow scene in near-complete temporal stillness at severe cost.
Notable Exceptions: It affects only a tightly bounded area or event and risks backlash or collapse if overloaded.
Example Use: A master warden freezes a falling gate just long enough for hundreds to flee beneath it.
Casting Methods: Emergency stilling cast, a few breaths. Major prepared rite, a long ritual.
Range/Duration: A very small scene, doorway, or knot of fighters. A few heartbeats, a few breaths at most.

Quickened Pulse

Purpose/How It Works: Quickened Pulse thins the target's experienced time just enough that movement, reaction, and action occur faster than surrounding pace.
Notable Exceptions: It burns stamina badly and often leaves trembling exhaustion once it ends.
Example Use: A duellist closes three strides, parries, and strikes before the crowd fully understands what moved.
Casting Methods: Touch or self cast, a few heartbeats. Chronal sigil trigger, a heartbeat.
Range/Duration: Self or touched ally. A brief burst to a short while.

Honeyed Hour

Purpose/How It Works: Honeyed Hour thickens local time around a target so motion, thought, and reaction lag behind the surrounding world.
Notable Exceptions: Strong will, prior momentum, and anti-time wards reduce its grip.
Example Use: A charging beast seems to push through honey while the archers calmly loose into it.
Casting Methods: Focused cast, a few heartbeats. Marked trap release, the instant it springs once prepared.
Range/Duration: One target or small cluster within sight. A few moments to a short while.

Borrowed Time

Purpose/How It Works: Borrowed Time grants the target a brief extra margin in which they can keep acting despite injury, fatigue, or imminent collapse.
Notable Exceptions: The borrowed margin must be repaid in shock, pain, or delayed failure afterwards.
Example Use: A shield-bearer finishes carrying the wounded out of the breach before his own broken leg remembers it has snapped.
Casting Methods: Touch cast, a few breaths. Emergency battle prayer, a heartbeat.
Range/Duration: Self or touched target. A few moments, or until the struggle at hand is over.

Chronal Step

Purpose/How It Works: Chronal Step advances the caster one short movement ahead of the current second, creating a blink-like displacement without conventional travel.
Notable Exceptions: It is short range, disorienting, and dangerous through solid wards or unstable terrain.
Example Use: A time adept vanishes from one side of the spearwall and appears behind it in the same heartbeat.
Casting Methods: Instant step cast, a heartbeat. Marked-step sigil, almost at once.
Range/Duration: Self. A few strides.

Rewind Wound

Purpose/How It Works: Rewind Wound forces a fresh injury back towards the body's state a few heartbeats earlier before blood loss and shock fully settle.
Notable Exceptions: It works best on very recent harm and cannot restore what has already been fully lost or destroyed.
Example Use: A priest-temporalist closes an arrow puncture before the victim finishes falling.
Casting Methods: Immediate touch cast, a few heartbeats. Bedside rewind rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration: Touch. Instant correction with recovery after.

Delayed Cast

Purpose/How It Works: Delayed Cast stores a prepared spell half a moment outside ordinary sequence, releasing it later on a trigger or chosen beat.
Notable Exceptions: Stored spells drift, leak, or misfire if held too long without a stable trigger.
Example Use: A battlemage walks into the ambush with tomorrow's fire already waiting in his hand.
Casting Methods: Spell-storage cast, a few breaths. Trigger sigil rite, a short chant.
Range/Duration: Self or prepared anchor. From a few moments to a night, depending on the spell held.

Stolen Hour

Purpose/How It Works: Stolen Hour robs effective time from a site or object, causing work, erosion, or motion within it to lag behind the outside world.
Notable Exceptions: Living minds and chaotic environments resist full extraction.
Example Use: Scribes preserve a burning archive room long enough to carry the shelves clear.
Casting Methods: Area cast, a short chant. Tower-clock rite, a long rite.
Range/Duration: A room, workshop, or vault. A short while to half a day.

Time Lock

Purpose/How It Works: Time Lock seals an object, door, wound, or prepared spell into a fixed temporal state that can be opened only by the right trigger or after a set interval.
Notable Exceptions: Heavy disruption and anti-time work can crack the lock. Poorly set intervals are notoriously embarrassing.
Example Use: A dead king's hoard-chest will not open until the seventh dawn after his burial, and his heirs' swords are out long before.
Casting Methods: Locking cast, a few breaths. Interval-setting rite, a short ritual.
Range/Duration: Touch or prepared anchor. From a night to generations, or until the trigger is met.

Stopped Clock

Purpose/How It Works: Stopped Clock grants the caster a brutally brief personal interval in which the surrounding world nearly ceases relative motion.
Notable Exceptions: It is one of the most dangerous common chronal workings and cannot be sustained long without severe backlash.
Example Use: An assassin crosses the chapel, takes the key, and is back behind the pillar before the bell finishes one note.
Casting Methods: Master cast, a few heartbeats. Clock-focus rite, a minute's chant.
Range/Duration: A small field around the caster. A heartbeat or two.

In the Writers’ Guide

The Schools of Magic FoundationsFrozen Moment Magic, The Common Spells
Wildflowers A Bestiary of CaeldonUses and Dangers
Glossary Foundations