Rote: Ward/Ban

Just as a mage can sense distant locations, the mage can also defend against such perceptions. A ward prevents sensory intrusion from most varieties of supernatural perception. The mage simply creates a bar against the connections of space that would form with Correspondence Sensing. Such an Effect pits its successes against the successes of any scrying attempt, so a well-built ward can keep out even determined spies while a hasty one just makes scrying a little blurry. The ward's successes subtract from any scrying attempt's successes, but the spy's work of battering down the ward is noticeable unless the spy is also careful enough to rebuild the ward while worming through it.

With the proper conjunctional Spheres, a ward can be set with specific conditions or blockades. A ward with the right Mind magic might let through certain viewers or certain people in a particular state of mind, or who know the right password. Time magic can key a ward so that it's penetrable to viewers in a specific range of time. Matter or Life magic allows wards to be woven directly over such Patterns, and it makes scrying on the objects themselves difficult.

Once the mage can actually pierce or strengthen space (Correspondence 3), a ward can be built as a ban, an actual barrier to passage. The ban might appear as a force field or a set of glowing runes, or it might have no visible manifestation. The Spheres used in the creation of the ban determine what it keeps out. A Matter ban could be keyed to resist intrusion by bullets, iron or radioactive material; a Forces ban might block certain energies; a Life ban can keep out specific creatures or types of creatures; a Spirit ban naturally protects against demons and spirit entities. The ban strengthens space against the creature, combined with the power of the appropriate Pattern Sphere, to hedge it out, though anything not keyed to the ban passes through normally. Thus, a ban against spirits would still let a spirit's spells and thrown weapons through, so be careful! Bans must usually be case over an area, and unless the mage spends a lot of time adding to the duration and conjunctional Effects, they aren't likely to last for too long.

Joshua makes extensive use of Ward and Ban effects. He protects Morgan and himself from Correspondence effects with Wards, and likewise protects their haven from spies and invaders. There were even Warding spells at the Fallen Angels, at one time, before Joshua lost his job there. Since his breakthrough regarding the Correspondence Point theory, he has worked to use this knowledge in the defense of his wife and his friends. His Wards and Bans tend toward the "iron shutter" variety, as he makes a point to periodically check on and strengthen them all. In fact, all of them have alerting spells locked into their structure, allowing for some warning when they're tampered with. No one, living, undead or otherwise, can enter their townhouse at all - unless it is allowed for by the handful of "keys" worked into the warding spells. As for what those might be...that would be telling.