Request

Request was a common spell used by shugenja in Kara-Tur. The spell was very rare outside Kara-Tur.

Effects
Shugenja used this spell to ask a spirit for a deed or service. The shugenja had to know the identity of the spirit before casting and be in the area in which the spirit was known to live. The request had to be within the capabilities of the spirit, or else the spell failed. The spirit was not compelled to honor the request. During casting, the shugenja was required to verbalize the request very carefully, as the spirit often took a request literally, ignoring intent. A shugenja also had to be cautious, as casting this spell often annoyed spirits, who would then take any opportunity to bring harm to the shugenja by twisting the intent of the request.

This spell was very demanding on the shugenja, leaving them mentally and physically exhausted, and any spell memorized before casting was forgotten. The shugenja had to rest for up to a week before being able to memorize spells once more. As a result, this spell was cast only when absolutely needed.

Components
In addition to verbal and somatic components, the spell required a material component, an offering to the spirit. This offering had to be seen as valuable to the spirit, such as a work of art, and cost between 5 and 100 ch'ien.