zachovat

Spell of the Day

Zachovat is a second level necromancy spell with a range of touch, a duration of ten days, and a material requirement of a pinch of salt.

Zachovat stops the rate of decay of once-living things for the duration of the spell. You may be surprised to hear that a spell from the necromancy class would be used to stop decay since they more often than not cause it. But, a closer examination of the process reveals the truth. Zachovat focuses dark energy to render cellular proteins unable to be consumed by bacteria, thus preventing overall rot.

Zachovat was discovered in 1878 in Bohemia, which is now the Czech Republic. It was used to prepare bodies for funerals and to keep butchered meats preserved. Studies in 1990 found that the altered cellular proteins had a 72% chance of becoming cancerous. The food industry immediately ceased using the spell, and over the next decade it was phased out of the mortuary industry. Unfortunately, millions of buried bodies have entered the groundwater, which has affected the water cycle. As a result, the harmful agent content in precipitation can range from 110 to 1380 micrograms per liter. The carbon in the zachovat-affected molecule bonds with nitrogen groups in plant and animal tissue, which causes dysfuntion in proteins and DNA. Further study is needed into the long term effects.

A side note, Séta Után (sh-ay-tah oo-tan), a spell used to reanimate recently deceased animals, will not work on a creature if zachovat has previously been cast.