LIGHTNOVELONLINE Great Archives (Edicts of Annihilation)
Edicts of Annihilation.
Edicts of Annihilation are extremely powerful spells, most created after the Dawn of Flames, due to the Edict of the God of Fire's interdiction on technological super-weapons. A few of the more powerful ones however were created during the Time of the Gods, sometimes by the Divines themselves.
1st Edict of Annihilation : Shatterstar.
The first edict is also the most powerful. Shatterstar is incredibly dangerous, in the way that it is a merger between conventional physics and magic, exploiting each to it's maximum destructive potential without violating the [REDACTED]. Shatterstar is, at it's core, a matter conversion spells : it takes a certain amount of mass of the target, depending on the power fed to it, and turns it into antimatter by 'flipping it'. It is brutal, efficient, and shockingly powerful. The ensuing detonation from the matter-antimatter annihilation has technically no upper limits, although in practice no being has gathered enough mana to make a detonation greater than 50 gigatons.
3rd Edict of Annihilation : The Incantation of Xhanet.
The 3rd edict is also widely attributed as the beginning of necromancy. Originally intended as a mass resurrection spell, the complex ritual went wrong and pooled the mortal remains and part of the essence of the fallen into a single creature : a Golem of Xhanet. This abomination would then proceed to rampage through the area. It has since then be refined, with the ritual creating several more controllable, vaguely humanoid flesh golems. The spell is widely considered extremely revulsive, and it's usage has been banned world wide, however in times of crisis some nations still resort to it.
6th Edict of Annihilation : Shattersky.
The 6th edict is one of the most cost-effective edicts ever developed. Once again, it is a merger between conventional physics and mana manipulation, and was not actually a weapon to begin with. It was created by archmage Océane Aubétoile, an extradimensional that sought to replicate the fusion reactors of Earth using magic. Shattersky was the result of her research on the 'sparkplug' laser mechanism the EFSN used to light fusion reactors, and it worked....too well. The name comes from the fact that the first test's detonation was so great that it 'shattered the sky'. Her research was confiscated by the Orlov Empire, and she herself was lucky to escape with her life, mostly thanks to the patronage of the Elder Wyrm Eldron The Wise, who even the Orlov Empire dared not challenge.
The Orlov Empire's council of magic then scaled up the spell, and took it from a yield of approximately a kiloton to several megatons. However, since they had none of Océane's genius or understanding of fusion, they were unable to scale it past that point, and their attempts ended...badly. The Empire tried to kidnap Océane or entice her back, but were unable to, as she now lived in the Western Marches, and the vampire lords were then at the height of their power, and foiled them easily.
9th Edict of Annihilation : Blood Moon.
The 9th edict's history is dark, and muddled. Originally made to massively improve the armies of the Western Marches vampire lords, Blood Moon is essentially an extremely overpowered enhancement spell. However it currently has...undesirable secondary effects. The spell relies on a short-lived dimensional tesseract to spread its area of effect, but this tesseract can be affected by the Blight, resulting in a brief, but extremely violent Blight Incursion.
Ever since, Blood Moon has been considered the single most hazardous edict to wield, and has only been used in the most extreme of circumstances.
16th Edict of Annihilation : Midnight.
The 16th edict is very rarely used, due to it's prohibitive mana cost, but no one can deny it's power. The edict essentially creates a beam of pure, exotic energy, and fires it from the sky at the target. No one knows exactly how the beam is formed, with some speculating that it somehow concentrates cosmic radiation, while others consider it as a flashy, overpowered power beam. Nevertheless, the beam of energy thus created rivals the broadside of Old World capital ships, and is one of the few spells capable of truly threatening a Iso Dimensional shield.
18th Edict of Annihilation : Shatterearth.
The 18th edict is...controversial. While others have been seen as valid, if frowned upon, weapons of last resort, Shatterearth is seen by many as little more than a weapon of terror at best. Shatterearth is, at it's most basic principle, an earthquake spell scaled beyond reason. Due to that, it is extremely effective at destroying cities and civilian works, but usually useless at damaging military installations.
Since it has been used mainly as a tool of terror by the Orlov Empire, to crush rebellious province and destroy their homes to enslave their people, the reputation of the edict has been tainted, and remain so to this day.
30th Edict of Annihilation : Extinction.
The 30th edict is among the most powerful, despite it's late coming. It was created by the Eris Empire at the height of it's conquests, and deployed in numerous wars since. Extinction is particular in the sense that it can be casted by an archmage with little to no preparation, and no need for a lengthy, easy to disrupt ritual. It essentially creates a plasma shockwave whose sole goal is to clear out vast amounts of infantry off the field of battle, to clear the way for the Empire's mechanized units and war machines.