Shrinking

Shrinking is one of the important mechanisms of the Shrinking Woods. In such conflictual region, it is the main way to neutralise somebody without hurting them. Shrinking can be used to flee, defend oneself, rob, capture, or sometimes just for entertainment.

Multiple factors make Witches the social class using shrinking magic the most. First, most witches possess shrinking powers, always leaving them the option to reduce someone's size to get rid of both threats and boredom. Then witches are brought to confrontation more often than the other classes, since the regular knights or witches assaults and the lack of manufactured products make the woods a conflictual place to live. Witches shrink others both because they need to and because they can. However most witches also have weaknesses that can get them shrunk without magical items.

In contrast, Knights and Villagers neither have nor need shrinking powers as long as they remain inside Caerville. Outside in the woods though, Knights have to keep up with Witches shrinking powers somehow. Therefore to complete their common soldier equipment, Knights struggle to find magical items and totem witches, to shrink Witches before they do or to grow themselves back after they get shrunk.

In Caerville, being dropped into a shrinking pit can also be a judicial sentence. It is systematically done for jail sentences to make the prisoners less cumbersome.