Novahex r'tyrl'gnaedir

Novahex r'tyrl'gnaedir is a devastating, highly advanced grim dream spell, used as a lethal trap or war magic during the Myriad. It creates a massive, fiery explosion capable of instantly destroying an area the size of a small town. When imbued into a maeren'tarr artifact, it is colloquially called a "blink bomb."

R'tyrl'gnaedir is pronounced rih-TEE-ril-ig-NAY-deer. It is derived from ancient Elder, roughly meaning "joining time and soul."

Novahex r'tyrl'gnaedir is one of several novahex spells -- a class of dream spells that cause magical effects to radiate indiscriminately outward from a central point (i.e., explosions).

R'tyrl'gnaedir causes an object's (or person's) physical flesh to briefly disconnect from its maeren soul. Due to the random nature of the River of Ages, this disconnect causes the soul and flesh to follow different courses on the River, even if only for a moment. Reality quickly self-corrects, forcing the flesh and soul to reconnect. This reconnection, however, triggers a massive, violent, uncontrolled release of heat and energy from the River of Ages -- in other words, a fiery explosion. The greater the distance between the flesh and soul, the more powerful the explosion.

Because this spell is so dangerous, it was typically not cast by ziraduun directly. Rather, it was imbued into maeren'tarr artifacts which could be triggered from far away or used as traps. These are sometimes called novahex'tarr. A disconnect of less than a second is sufficient to cause a lethal explosion at close range, hence the name "blink bomb." (the spell happens in less than the blink of an eye)

There are many easier, less dangerous, and more precise ways to magically cast a fiery explosion, without meddling with the unpredictable River of Ages. Thus, novahex r'tyrl'gnaedir was extremely uncommon and disfavored, even among war mages, during the Myriad. It was only used by grim dreamers whose defects or limited aspects made alternative spells impossible.

In Book 1, Mikoa unintentionally triggers a novahex r'tyrl'gnaedir when her soul reconnects with her body at the Snow Anchor. The explosion flattens most of the town.