Year Stealing (Reversible)

An evil wu jen can use this spell to steal years from a victim's life and add them to his or her own. If successful, the wu jen becomes 2d6 years younger, and the victim adds the same amount of years to his age (half this if the victim makes a successful saving throw vs. spell). This process is the reality behind the wives' tales that a wu jen could steal a man's life. The wu jen becomes 2d6 years younger, and the victim adds the same amount of years to his age.

Before attempting year stealing, the wu jen gathers blood from the intended victim. This is mixed with the wu jen's own blood and water, then placed in a special glass screen made for this purpose. An unlit black candle is placed on the victim's side of the glass pane and a white candle is lit on the wu jen's side. A unicorn's horn is stuck through the glass pane in the hole left for this reason, as a conduit for the magic.

When the wu jen casts the spell, the glass screen glows with the light of the candle and the light builds in intensity until a flash of white light envelops victim, caster, and apparatus. When the light recedes, the white candle is now streaked with gray and burns with a blue flame. The unicorn's horn has turned to useless dust.

The reverse, year gifting, allows the wu jen to give some of his life force to another, restoring 2d6 years to the recipient, while aging the same amount himself. The positions of the candles are reversed.

Notes: Very rare in oriental settings; otherwise, unknown. This art has been lost for hundreds of years.