The Elder Scrolls Online Maps

Reality and Other FalsehoodsMagic and Magicka Lore BookThe Elder Scrolls Online (TESO) Maps

french title Réalité et autres tromperies
german title Realität und andere Unwahrheiten
english text
french text
german text

It is easy to confuse Illusion and Alteration. Both schools of magic attempt to create what is not there. The difference is in the rules of nature. Illusion is not bound by them, while Alteration is. This may seem to indicate that Alteration is the weaker of the two, but this is not true. Alteration creates a reality that is recognized by everyone. Illusion's reality is only in the mind of the caster and the target.

To master Alteration, first accept that reality is a falsehood. There is no such thing. Our reality is a perception of greater forces impressed upon us for their amusement. Some say that these forces are the gods, others that they are something beyond the gods. For the wizard, it doesn't really matter. What matters is the appeal couched in a manner that cannot be denied. It must be insistent without being insulting.

To cast Alteration spells is to convince a greater power that it will be easier to change reality as requested than to leave it alone. Do not assume that these forces are sentient. Our best guess is that they are like wind and water. Persistent but not thoughtful. Just like directing the wind or water, diversions are easier than outright resistance. Express the spell as a subtle change and it is more likely to be successful.

Map of Grahtwood

Grahtwood
Reality and Other Falsehoods

All Magic and Magicka lore books

book's title lore category location
Arcana Restored Magic and Magicka
Guild Memo on Soul Trapping Magic and Magicka
Liminal Bridges Magic and Magicka
Magic from the Sky Magic and Magicka
Manual of Spellcraft Magic and Magicka
On the Detachment of the Sheath Magic and Magicka
Proposal: Schools of Magic Magic and Magicka
Reality and Other Falsehoods Magic and Magicka
The Old Ways Magic and Magicka
Wayshrines of Tamriel Magic and Magicka