Soul Shatter

A successful casting shatters the target's soul, robbing them not only of their Afterlife but their entire existence. Soul Shatter is therefore considered a spell of last resort, although not all who know the spell treat it with such restraint.   While the spell itself is short ranged, the nature of Necromancy means Shatter can be performed at any distance if coupled with Phase Shift, a spell which much be learned prior to Shatter to allow the caster access to their target's soul. Because phasing requires concentration when channeling to fold space, rather than a simple burst to access behind the Veil, it is still recommended that casters be in reasonable proximity of their target for maximum effectiveness.   Skilled practicioners are capable of targeting multiple souls at once, although this requires more Imperium as each new target reduces the overall effectiveness of the spell while increasing the magic required to cast. If any of the intended targets are skilled in Shielding Magic, this divided attention will likely mean the failure of the spell, at least on the Shielded individual, unless the Shield is somehow disabled first.

As with all Asterarcana spells, especially Necromancy, Soul Shatter draws its power from both the caster's Imperium and the magical fields of the universe itself. The spell's effectiveness relies upon the caster's skill and familiarity with the spell, as well as how much of their own Imperium they poured into it, and the state of the necromantic component of their target's current Shielding.

The foundations for Soul Shatter were discovered in ancient Fillimet, and hastily buried within the fabled Golding Library, a vault constructed explicitly to contain advanced magical technologies deemed too threatening to the current authorities.   Many present day histories, particularly among the Sparnelli, hypothesize this library vault was constructed explicitly for the discoveries of Arthur Golding, a brilliant and revolutionary magical researcher whose name was stricken from his discoveries when he was sentenced to death by a government unwilling to accept his discoveries, and subsequently disowned by his Family. While Arthur is better known for his work in tyrellium crystallization, which earned him the moniker "Engineer of Modern Magic," it is largely believed that Soul Shatter was another of his countless catalog of discoveries and innovations.  

Rediscovery

The spell was originally overlooked in the wealth of information uncovered in the aftermath of The War for Enlightenment, and only rediscovered nearly a century later as researchers poured through Arthur Golding's notebooks seeking a defense against the violent and frequent terroristic attacks by the Human Defense League.   Due to the fervor of the League, the spell unfortunately provided little disincentive, even despite the HDL's beliefs on the importance of death and the near-sacred importance of the Afterlife. This, coupled with the severe and permanent nature of Soul Shatter, saw the spell relegated to the sidelines once more.  

Escalation

The rise of the Hydell Order and their vendetta against the Sparnell Confederation saw a renewed interest in the spell, starting with the Order in their effort to prevent Resurrected Sparnelli. The Confederation followed soon after, to combat the Ordained Ascended and as retaliation for the souls of their own people.   The two have been escalating their responses to each other ever since, as the rest of the universe hangs in the balance.