- Turek knelt before Master Sandovas, the instructor who taught students how to defend themselves against the Way. The master was an ageless man with a seamed face and leathery skin. His eyes were cold flecks of granite. "Your studies have gone well, Turek," he said quietly. "You have learned the basics of psychic defense. It is time to practice your lessons."
- Turek nodded, his palms wet with sweat. He had known this was coming; he was one of the older students and it was time to begin his final studies before leaving the academy.
- Sandovas watched him without expression. Suddenly Turek found his attention ripped away from the patio and the master's physical form. being drawn inward. In his mind's eye a glowing sword appeared, poised to strike. "I am the Sword," Sandovas whispered. "I pierce barriers and rend armor."
- Turek swallowed nervously and summoned his defense. "I am the Void," he thought over and over again. "I cannot be found, I cannot be harmed."
- The Sword lunged forward, driving through the heart of the nothingness that cloaked Turek's presence...
Psionic combat is not just a matter of exchanging mind thrusts until a person falls. It's a delicate dance in which the attacker strives to pierce his opponent's defenses. On Athas, this dance has been codified with a set of constructs with which the combatants arm themselves, like gladiators before a match.
The battle occurs in the defender's mindscape, and the various attacks and defenses have tangible forms in this realm. Insinuative attacks seek a point to begin spreading their poison; psychic barrages batter down the victim's defenses with irresistible forces. Psionic combat occurs in a realm of virtual reality; the human mind is incapable of grasping the abstract play of the forces involved and assigns a landscape and symbols to represent the battleground and the weapons used.
The Complete Psionics Handbook[]
The rules for psionic combat in The Complete Psionics Handbook are the accepted rules for the DARK SUN campaign. The use of the material in this chapter is optional.