his bones and joints are no longer as flexible His skin wrinkles; his hair grows gray or falls away; and teeth rot or fall out Worst of all, memory becomes faulty or fades and thinking becomes more difficult The wizard has trouble remembering spells and even the names of associates, plans recently made, or goals he has set out to achieve These changes can be masked with clothing or even makeup and hair dyes, while written notes and informed companions and assistants can mitigate failing memory Such provisions cannot turn back the advanced clock—only sorcery’s eventual revocation of the same Regional Afflictions Nothing inspires the hatred of wizards among the general population than the propensity of sorcery to take action against his immediate surroundings Villagers chase known spell casters away with torches and pitchforks, and many would simply kill them outright were it not for widespread belief that doing so brings down even worse curses Many a wizard owes his life to those superstitions; they foster them and make them even more terrifying whenever they can Common folk associate regional afflictions so widely with sorcery that they often ignore or dismiss natural causes Crop failures are always the result of witchcraft, or so Khitan farmers believe Wrongful accusations can send a wizard packing in the face of local anger as easily as anything else Bad Weather: Extreme and inclement weather darkens the region Wastelands become especially hot during the day and frigid cold at night Sandstorms grow in ferocity, stinging and burying everything in their path Land storms may erupt In more temperate areas, dark clouds bring heavy rains or snows, lightning storms, and flash floods Fog rolls in and gloom hangs over the land Hail and tornadoes may appear This makes life all the harder for natives who always suspect sorcery’s wrath in times of harsh weather and seek the ones to blame Withered Crops: Wherever seeds are sown and grains grown, farmers fear strange, unexplained blights Winter wheat fails to emerge from the thawing ground Plants grow sickly, blotched with evil spots or twisted with unnatural growth Grains taste foul or spoil in the cribs When the crops die, there is usually little reserve to live on Famine ensues, and woe to a wizard found nearby Infertility: Livestock no longer reproduce successfully Ewes are stillborn Eggs never hatch Young animals grow weak and die in their mangers Local agriculture suffers terribly as most herders drive their herds or flocks further afield Older farmers “know” all too well that the unexpected deaths of young animals re the 148 first heralds of reckless wizardry They seek, accuse and threaten witches and magical perpetrators, if they don’t drive them away immediately Disease: Cases of pox or plagues rise dramatically An epidemic picks and chooses among the locals, challenging the weak and taking many lives Children and the elderly are most vulnerable Folk test local remedies and employ folk cures Whole villages are quarantined, marked with warning signs enforced at spear point To the simple, diseases always seem of mysterious origin, so many blame the more mysterious witches and spell casters for their ills Infestation: Locusts swarm the fields by the hungry millions Famine follows the ravaging of the crops Only the most tightly sealed granaries can protect the precious seeds Other invaders include mice, rats, termites, rock-worms, mites, spiders, or ravens—anything en masse that might disrupt everyday life, gnaw at the local food supply, and bring filth and sadness Manipulating the Wrath Prepared wizards can turn sorcery’s wrath against their enemies, but personal risks redouble Certainly spell casters take great pains to mitigate the effects of sorcery’s wrath Indeed, entire wizard schools and philosophies revolve around particular means by which to trick it or endure its effects so as to continue in the dark arts Turning sorcery’s angry power against particular others and to the wizard’s advantage is, among spell casters, the truest sport The first step toward such manipulation is absorbing the target into the wizard’s circle of emotional attachments, which can be done either truly or artificially The former is far more difficult, but not impossible It entails the spell caster initiating and fostering a genuine relationship with someone he eventually plans to betray Dark sorcery can sometimes be fooled by the trappings of actual emotional attachment, such as proximity, social and organizational ties, time spent in each other’s presence, and so on Add enough of these trappings together and they might be strong enough for vengeful magic to seek them out as a victim Artificial emotions are sometimes easier to manifest, using simple things such as love potions and amulets A wizard can feign friendship or even love, though such things take time and the application of charisma in ways unfamiliar to him Disingenuous love is everywhere in the courts and palaces of high society, providing easy examples for a caster to emulate or use To help venge-