Worldbuilding: Mental Drains - The Beast of Ildenwood

Worldbuilding: All About Mental Drains, as featured in The Beast of Ildenwood

By now, if you've been following The Beast of Ildenwood, you will know that one of our main characters, the nameless Wanderer of Realms, is suffering from some particularly bad mental drains (not to be confused with mental blocks, which are also nasty, annoying little things!). In particular, the mental drains the Wanderer has are slowly depleting his Life Force and his Energy on a daily basis. Because we can't see all of his stats, we can't tell how much time he has left, so Lahab has decided to get him some help as soon as possible. And that's how we end up meeting Deletrear, the old but cunning spellcaster who also doubles as the Noble Guardian of the City of Miraya, which is part of the Kingdom of Samat. 

Alright, so what exactly are mental drains, and how are they different from mental blocks?

A mental block is a spell that does not allow access to specific parts of one's mind, be they memories or knowledge or information or what have you. Usually, these blocks will dissolve on their own, and are most often played as tricks (they don't last the week in most cases, and, if the spellcaster is particularly bad at spellcasting, won't even last the day).

A mental drain, on the other hand, is a spell that continuously saps away at one's mental facilities. For example, a mental drain applied to Energy will deplete the victim's Energy levels at a faster rate than usual. A mental drain applied to a skill will have the result of unfortunately taking the victim's level in that skill down a few notches - or more, depending on how long the mental drain remains. 

The Wanderer had both a mental block (leading to amnesia) and a few mental drains (energy, strength, and life force). It's particularly interesting that one of the drains applied to him was draining his life force, because that is an extremely rare feat. Even more perplexing is the fact that most mental drains, like mental blocks, will dissolve on their own after a certain period of time, and those that are more stubborn can be easily dealt with via potions - but the mental drain of the level at which we find in the Wanderer's mind is a malevolent thing, wrapping itself stubbornly onto its target and refusing to be removed. Once again, such a mental drain is quite rare, and only few spellcasters have the power to cast such a strong mental drain. Even fewer a malevolent life force drain. 

Which brings us to our final question: Who cast these drains on the Wanderer, and why?

I can't tell you right now, but the big reveal comes ever closer! In the meantime, enjoy an illustration that I made of a mental drain for fun: 

Happy reading!