Motif · from book 7
Conscription
The ninth floor's spell for pressing the unaffiliated into an army — service until the end of the floor, a no-healing debuff for those who refuse to fight — which Mind Balance resists, which Carl will not use on a friend ('Never like that'), and which the war mages get in a hell-kissed potion from Krakaren Prime that works on most deities and is likely suicide for a caster of too low a level: Harpocrates at level 250 on the Princess Posse's roster, and a girl who cannot be ordered to understand. Potions of it work only on floors 9, 12, 15, 17 and 18.
First appears: Book 7
Series arc
As of book 8. The ninth floor's spell for pressing the unaffiliated; in book 8 only Lucia's hotlist from when she was conscripted, in a box.
Through book 7
Mind Balance resists it (B7 ch. 4); the orcs' conscripts all die (B7 ch. 39); a potion put away rather than used on a goat — 'Never like that' (B7 ch. 48); a hell-kissed one from Krakaren Prime that works on gods and kills the caster (B7 ch. 69, B7 ch. 71); Carl's duplicate on Lucia, Li Na's original on Harpocrates (B7 ch. 71, B7 ch. 72); a no-healing debuff for those who refuse (B7 ch. 68).
Through book 8
Lucia's hotlist from when she was conscripted turns up in a box (B8 ch. 10).
Where they appear
| Book | Chapters they are in (of the book's) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 7 — This Inevitable Ruin | 19/89 | 1, 4, 23, 27, 35, 39, 48, 58, 62, 67–69, 71–74, 78–79, 82 · the book's own page |
| 8 — A Parade of Horribles | 1/99 | Ch. 10 · the book's own page |
By book
Conscription in book 7 — This Inevitable Ruin
Mind Balance protects against it (ch. 4); the orcs' conscripts all die (ch. 39); Carl puts a potion away rather than use it on a goat (ch. 48). The war mages' hell-kissed version, from Krakaren Prime, works on most deities and is likely suicide for a caster of too low a level (ch. 69, ch. 71); Carl uses a duplicate on a girl — 'Never like this' (ch. 71) — and Li Na uses the original on Harpocrates and lives (ch. 72). Under Orders makes a god a Legionnaire and cannot make a child understand (ch. 72). Selvi and Tuba bleed for refusing to fight (ch. 68).
Conscription in book 8 — A Parade of Horribles
Lucia's hotlist from when she was conscripted turns up in a box (ch. 10).