Lightning Tether

A Trap Essence ability used by Belinda Callahan.

## Effects

### Iron Rank Effects

Conjures an iron rod, from which a tether connects to the nearest enemy within a short-range. If no enemy is in range, it will attach to the first enemy that enters range. The tether deals a negligible amount of ongoing electricity damage that scales upward based on the length of the tether. If the rod is destroyed or removed from its location then a stroke of lightning strikes the nearest enemy before chaining from one enemy to the next until all enemies in the vicinity have been struck. The lightning triggered by the destruction of the rod deals heavy electrical damage and inflicts the [Stunned] condition. Dimensional displacement, such as teleportation, severs the tether, which attaches to the enemy closest to the rod, if in range. Only one lightning tether rod may exist at a time.

### Bronze Rank Effects

Secondary tethers chain from the initial target to a second nearby enemy and from that enemy to a third. Damage to each target is based on the length of each tether to which they are connected.

### Silver Rank Effects

The tether can chain to as many as seven enemies. If tethered enemies are close together, each short tether emits electrical projectile attacks at random non-tethered enemies.

## Afflictions

### Stunned

(affliction, lightning)

Target is incapable of taking physical action for a brief moment.

## Occurrences

### Chapter 534: Strictly Necessary

Belinda uses this ability to great effect against constructs on in the Builder's island city. She uses the ability in combination with Instant Adept, Force Tether, and Pit of the Reaper.

> The rope released from the wall and snaked back into Belinda’s sleeve, tossing her out over the constructs. She tumbled gracefully through the air to perform a superhero landing, right in their midst, both hands landing flat on the flagstone street. She lifted her hands, under each one conjuring a rod, affixed to the ground. One rod was crystal and the other, iron.
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> At the same time, lightning arced from the iron rod in a continuous stream of electricity that jumped from one enemy to the next, connecting them in a chain.
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> Ability: [Lightning Tether] (Trap)
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> Conjuration
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> Cost: Low mana-per-second.
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> Cooldown: None.
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> Current rank: Silver 2 (21%).
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> Effect (iron): Conjures an iron rod, from which a tether connects to the nearest enemy within a short-range. If no enemy is in range, it will attach to the first enemy that enters range. The tether deals a negligible amount of ongoing electricity damage that scales upward based on the length of the tether. If the rod is destroyed or removed from its location then a stroke of lightning strikes the nearest enemy before chaining from one enemy to the next until all enemies in the vicinity have been struck. The lightning triggered by the destruction of the rod deals heavy electrical damage and inflicts the [Stunned] condition. Dimensional displacement, such as teleportation, severs the tether, which attaches to the enemy closest to the rod, if in range. Only one lightning tether rod may exist at a time.
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> Effect (bronze): Secondary tethers chain from the initial target to a second nearby enemy and from that enemy to a third. Damage to each target is based on the length of each tether to which they are connected.
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> Effect (silver): The tether can chain to as many as seven enemies. If tethered enemies are close together, each short tether emits electrical projectile attacks at random non-tethered enemies.
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> [Stunned] (affliction, lightning): Target is incapable of taking physical action for a brief moment.
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> The lightning tethers were all short, being tied to the close-in constructs and immediately started firing electrical projectiles. They inflicted minimal damage on the constructs but appeared to affect their motor functions.
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> …
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> The damage effects of Belinda’s tether rods took effect, the distance from the rods causing massive damage. The lightning rod’s damage continued to be minimal in terms of harming the constructs, but the more the damage grew, the more their functions were impeded.
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### Chapter 679: Humphry's New Normal

During the messenger siege on Yaresh Belinda uses this power via cheap floating disks as seen using a hoop of moon silver threaded with sun gold.

> What Humphrey had been doing amongst the monsters was deploying small discs, looping through the horde and leaving them behind like breadcrumbs. The palm-sized objects were unremarkable, with barely enough magic to float in place. Humphrey had left a trail of them behind, and while a handful were destroyed by the monsters, most were ignored. The orders of their summoners to reach the ground and dig through to the bunker were more important than a few small, unthreatening devices.
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> As Neil healed Humphrey, who was conjuring a fresh set of armour, Belinda’s attention was on the discs. She had crafted them personally with cheap and easy magic, looking for something unremarkable and inexpensive as she wouldn’t be getting them back.
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> Very expensive was the looking glass that allowed her to spy on her discs from a moderate distance and, more importantly, allow her to use her abilities on them. It was a simple device, the range was fairly short and only worked on two of her abilities. Even so, the price for devices that would break the line-of-sight limit that most abilities had was always a costly proposition, and in more ways than one. Such items required an intrinsic link to the user, meaning that if someone hostile got a hold of them, they had grasped a dangerous vulnerability.
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> The looking glass wasn’t actually glass but a hoop of moon silver, threaded with sun gold. The image that appeared as she activated it was an illusion it produced of the closest disc. Extending her power through the hoop, Belinda used her Lightning Tether power. A rod rose up from the disc and an arc of electricity jumped to the nearest monster. The arc stayed in place as another arc jumped from that monster to another, repeating in a chain until seven monsters were linked.
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> The nature of the power was to inflict very little damage close to the rod, little more than a static shock. The further the targets moved from the rod, however, the larger the damage from the lightning arcs linking them together. Further, the arcs would fire off electricity at other nearby enemies. Given that the monsters were hurtling towards the ground at breakneck speed, the damage swiftly became immense. As myriad arcs of electricity crackled and seared through the monsters, from the outside, it looked like a waterfall of lighting.
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> Such a spectacular display quickly drew attention. The monsters avoided the lightning and the rod to which it was tethered, although they were so tightly packed there was only so far they could go. The messengers did not avoid it, recognising it as a threat. One of them acted to put a stop to the ability, shooting a razor-sharp feather from a safe distance. Weaving through the monsters, the feather struck the lightning rod, which immediately detonated in an explosion of electricity and force. Even having given the rod distance, the radius was large enough that many monsters were severely burned. There were no immediate fatalities, but some lost the ability to fly, be it through scorched wings or electrical paralysis.
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> Belinda shifted her looking glass to another disc and called up another rod.
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### Chapter 680: Not Enough Monsters to Fight

This chapter contains a callback to the events of the previous chapter.

> For Humphrey and his team, the fight had reached a new peak of intensity. After Belinda’s wide-scale destruction using her lightning tether, the messengers had sent a storm of summoned monsters to assault Onslow’s tortoiseshell mini-fortress.
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We then learn that this power drew the attention of gold rank messenger commander, Marek Nior Vargas.

> Marek’s attention was drawn to one particular group. They were far from the most effective at slaying monsters, although that trick with the lighting tethers had earned Marek’s approval. He appreciated a power used well over one that was mindlessly strong, and unlike many messengers, could respect a capable enemy. They had already killed a couple of messengers that had gone after them, gaining Marek’s attention. The survivor of that sortie had raved when forbidden from gathering more messengers and attacking again.
> Marek judged that the group was more of a threat to individual messengers than the monster horde. Even after the trick with the lightning, he did no more than send additional monsters to harass them. Clearly they had skill, but without the ability to produce regular attacks on the scale of the lightning, their threat to the operation was limited.
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Belinda continues to use this ability, alongside others, while fighting alongside Clive.

> Clive overcharged his combat rituals, pushing the limits of what even his exceptional weapons could handle. He shot down stragglers while Belinda cleared any that reached Onslow’s shell in fighting shape. She made excellent use of her Force tether and Lighting Tether powers, while also shooting off her staff and wand, interspersing those attacks with attacks she stole from the summons using her Power Thief ability.
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### Chapter 681: The Difference in Conviction

From aboard Onslow's shell, Belinda continues to use her Lightning Tethers and other powers against messengers.

> Belinda didn’t just use her Pit of the Reaper spell, which she had no need to supervise. She used her two tether powers on the top of Onslow’s shell, leaving the enemy with an unpleasant situation. Force Tether dragged enemies towards it, dealing damage to any that resisted. Those that managed to overcome it’s strength suffered the damage of that, along with an unhealthy dose of electricity from the Lightning Tether. Anyone who did escape took increasingly more severe electrical burns, the further they got from the tether rods planted on the shell.
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> Staying on the shell was not a valid option either, as that left them as sitting ducks for the dark tentacles looking to drag them into the pit. The monsters tried destroying the rods anchoring the tethers, which exploded with startling force. That was enough to inflict massive harm, and Belinda immediately created fresh tethers.
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> As for Belinda’s familiars, her lantern had returned to her eyes, allowing Belinda to fire eyebeams at stray monsters between copying Clive’s Wrath of the Magister spell, restoring her detonated tether rods or refreshing the Pit of the Reaper
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