Loarna of the Vault

**Info**
History
Relationships

Loarna of the Vault is a minor character in the fifth book of the Mage Errant series. She was described as "the greatest wardcrafter in the world" by the book's narration. She worked at Skyhold as the wardcrafting teacher and inspected the important Skyhold wards. She was killed by Grandyn the Traitor moments after she kills him. She was famously reclusive.

## Appearance

Loarna of the Vault looks like a stereotypical librarian with spectacles and a stick of chalk behind one of her ears.

## Personality

Loarna is very quiet and has immense difficulty with people. She found it difficult to look at people but does like people. She did not share knowledge of her breaking established laws of magic with Kanderon because she didn't realise Kanderon would be interested. She vanishes as soon as she is done with a conversation and she hates crowds. She is obsessed with wards. She tends to flap her hands when excited and she flinches at loud noises and contact. Loarna is very impatient with things outside of her interests. She is not afraid or bothered by killing her enemies but dislikes using asphyxiation with her chalk cloud.

## Abilities

### Affinities

Affinities are the "elemental" types of magic that a mage can use. Affinities cost more mana than cantrips but are significantly stronger. To cast her spells Loarna has to visualise the spellforms and then channel his mana through the mental image. As a general rule, the more specific an affinity the move powerful it is. Loarna has a chalk affinity.

#### Chalk

Loarna has an affinity for chalk. This allows her to control the shape, position and more of chalk. Loarna's mana reservoir is smaller than most first year students.

**Ward Cloud**

Loarna can create a thick, choking cloud of chalk dust. This chalk does not enter her lungs and the chalk cloud makes up thousands of wards, layered over and over. The first ward in the cloud is an attention ward to make enemies ignore Loarna. The second layer of wards registers the type of attacks that enter the cloud. Every layer from then on automatically shifts to block the attack and passes more information about the attack onto the next layer. Each layer has a microscopic amount of mana running through it so attacks will not be instantly stopped. Because the wards give more information to each layer, the wards shift to counter that one specific spell in that one specific scenario that is currently occurring which makes the wards hyper efficient and exceedingly powerful at dealing with any attack. The wards take information including the attack angle, the temperature, the attack's composition, what affinity the attack uses and dozens of other variables. Most spells fail to get through seven layers, around an inch of the cloud. Loarna believed that she was the only wardcrafter in history to ever achieve this - an analytical ward that doesn't require user control and automatically adapts. This ward cloud allows her to block an attack for the fraction of the cost to launch the attack.

**Asphyxiation**

Loarna can asphyxiate people with chalk dust.

**Wind Resistance**

Loarna can prevent her chalk spreading around in the wind.

**Chalk Tendrils**

Loarna can form tiny tendrils and streams of chalk dust.

### Wards

Wards are physically created spellforms in a sequence with trigger conditions that can produce a great number of effects when powered with mana, either from Loarna or from the aether. Wards work by altering the rules for the area they surround like preventing fireballs entering a warded area. Wards can be defensive, offensive and utility based. Wards are off mana efficient but rapidly begin to cost more mana the bigger they get and they can produce effects irrespective of affinities. Like with affinities, wards grow in strength the more specific they are. Loarna is a genius with wards, described as the best wardcrafter on the world of Anastis. Loarna was personally responsible for a huge number of developments in the field of wardcrafting. Loarna was likely the first person to ever create a noncontiguous ward - a ward that doesn't require being touching in the full to work - with the help of a greater shadow mage.

**Destruction Wards**

Loarna can create wards which go on seals and destroy the warded object if the wrong person breaks the seal.

**Flame Wards**

Loarna can make wards that set anything that cross the ward lines on fire.

**Cutting Wards**

Loarna can make wards that cut anything that cross the ward lines.

**Blast Wards**

Loarna can create wards which blast whoever crosses them with force which can launch them around.

**Attention Wards**

Loarna can create attention wards that make things hard to notice. She can use this to hide places or people from observation. These wards push people's attention away from the warded area. Loarna can also use attention wards to attract people to an area or person.

**Recognition Wards**

Loarna can make wards which record people who cross them. This can then be used to target, or avoid targeting, people who cross over these wards.

**Analysis Wards**

Loarna can create wards which identify whatever crosses over. These wards can collect a great number of variables and she uses these for her ward cloud.

**Blocking Wards**

Loarna can create wards that try to block whatever specific variables it has been created to block. This is the other part of her ward cloud, blocking the variables that the analysis wards detect, quickly growing more specific.

**Glare Protection Wards**

Loarna can create wards which protect her eyes from bright light.

**Mana Shunt Wards**

Loarna can add mana shunts into her wards which prevent any sign of glowing and other visible signs of the wards.

**Valve Wards**

Loarna can make valve wards which allow air to leave the warded location but not enter it.

## Magical Items

### Enchanted Daggers

Loarna has a pair of enchanted daggers that fly and move according to her will.

### Storage Tattoo

Loarna has a usually invisible tattoo on her arm made by Kanderon with her planar affinity and some of her wing's aether crystal. The tattoo is usually invisible except when active and it glows the same blue as Kanderon's wings. Loarna's storage space was the size of a large warehouse after several decades of growth. The tattoos are anchors for extra-dimensional spaces. That space acts as a new direction in space and Loarna can take anything from any part of the space. Loarna stores huge amounts of chalk, solid blocks from hundreds of leagues away, sticks of chalk, barrels and buckets full of chalk dust and chalk made from many different type of materials, some better suited for different purposes than others, like a slightly coarser chalk made from tiny fossils which is good for wind wards.

## Senses

**Affinity Senses**

Affinity senses are the most common type of magical sense on Anastis. An affinity sense is an always active sense that causes a mage to sense materials connected to their affinities. These senses apply around the mage and manifest in strange ways. Loarna can sense all chalk around her.

**Ward Sense**

Loarna has a sensory ability for wards which allowed her to feel as her wards were destroyed even without being present. She could also feel as people cross her wards.