Stormwind Circle Mage Tome: Abjuration

This chapter of the Stormwind Circle Mage Tome provides a definition of Abjuration and a listing of its related spells.

Acknowledgements: Archmage Ansirem Runeweaver, Professor of Arcane Arts.

Archmage Hraglof Firebane, Professor of Arcane Arts.

What is Abjuration?
Abjuration is the study of protective magic and one of the most important schools for a young mage to study.

An abjurer is one who would specialize in wielding magic and its use in creating defensive spells. The more common of these are the shields and the wards created to protect a caster or it's chosen target, examples being frost armor, arcane armor, a mana shield, or a fire ward. The most powerful abjurative spells can create magical dome shields around entire cities!

Wards
Practitioners of the arcane arts are often ambitious, and we frequently find ourselves in situations where magic may slip just slightly beyond our control. It is for this reason that the ward spells exist. Ward spells are quick, potent incantations to protect the caster or others against a form of elemental damage - damage which is often caused by the caster attempting one of the other schools of magic. This is why studying abjuration early is so imperative.

Mana Shield
The most generalized abjuration spell is the mana shield, a spell that transmutes raw mana into a solid barrier that protects the caster from both physical and magical attacks. Properly executed, this spell can protect the mage against even the most formidable of attacks - but the mana shield is very difficult for a novice to master. It often takes a mage months of practice to even conjure a simple mana shield, and thus, more basic alternatives exist.

Elemental Armor
A series of elemental armor spells were invented to fortify battle mages' apparel into magical armor. These spells require far less raw energy to cast then a mana shield and are more easily maintained over time, but lack the raw potency of the mana shield. Rather than stopping an attack completely, a frost armor spell might simply decrease the effectiveness of the assault. The more advanced armor spells grant other benefits - for example, the flame armor spell burns enemies who strike you!

Elemental Wall
By channeling the arcane energies one would use to create a mana shield, an experienced abjurer can create a solid wall to block an enterance or shield his allies.

The war mages of Dalaran perfected this art. By combining the channeling power of several of their abjurers, they were able to develop a nearly impenetrable dome of arcane energy around Dalaran city as it was being reconstructed.