Whirlwind

Whirlwind was an evocation spell that created a small but powerful tornado that could be directed along the ground or over a body of water. The goddesses Akadi and Aerdrie Faenya granted their own version of this spell.

Effects
The funnel-shaped cyclone picked up dirt, dust, and debris (or whatever it was directed to pass over), and twirled it around at high velocity. Creatures caught by the cyclone were subjected to possible damage from this flying debris and human-sized creatures or smaller could be picked up bodily and held aloft, buffeted fiercely by the raging winds. The caster could cause the whirlwind to eject any creatures it held, but they could be flung from as high as above the surface with unknown speed and trajectory to land in the vicinity.

This spell required continuous concentration by the caster. If the whirlwind moved out of range or the caster became distracted, it moved in a random path for a few minutes before collapsing and dropping its contents.

Components
The early version of this spell required either a handful of dust collected from a zephyr, or a handful of snow from a williwaw as the material component. Later versions of the spell used the caster's holy symbol or divine focus, along with the verbal and somatic components. The wu jen version of this spell required a child's toy, a spinning top.