Geas: Difference between revisions

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Also spelled alternately as geis <ref> Geas is a Scottish Gaelic word pronounced as "gas" in English, and its plural is Geasa. Geis is the Irish equivalent, is pronounced "gesh", and its plural is geisi.</ref>, a '''''geas''''' is a form of magical compulsion or curse that originates in Celtic mythology. Those under a geas are required to fulfill certain conditions or are otherwise changed. One of the most famous is that of Cuchulainn, who was under numerous geasi such as that he must never eat the meat of a dog or refuse food offered by a woman. When an old hag offered him dog meat, he was forced to break one geas or the other, which eventually led to his death.

Also spelled alternately as geis,<ref>Geas is a Scottish Gaelic word pronounced as "gas" in English, and its plural is Geasa. Geis is the Irish equivalent, is pronounced "gesh", and its plural is geisi.</ref> a '''''geas''''' is a form of magical compulsion or curse that originates in Celtic mythology. Those under a geas are required to fulfill certain conditions or are otherwise changed. One of the most famous is that of Cuchulainn, who was under numerous geasi such as that he must never eat the meat of a dog or refuse food offered by a woman. When an old hag offered him dog meat, he was forced to break one geas or the other, which eventually led to his death.

A geas usually takes the form of either a command or a prohibition: "You shall do this," or "You shall not do this." In practical terms, the geas may be prophetic, bringing about its own fulfillment either through manipulation of cosmic events or by simply instilling into the subject a compulsion which he cannot resist. If the geas can be broken, doing so will bring about the death of the subject, either directly or by cosmic retribution.

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== [[Anime]] ==

* In ''[[Code Geass]]'' (the title of which this trope inspired), Lelouch has the ability to place a person he makes eye contact with under a geas, as they have to do whatever he tells them to do once Lelouch's "Geass" power kicks in (though it only works once per person). The "Geass" powers in this series often work more like a psychic power or ability (such as making people fall in love or mind reading), which makes the majority of those powers unrelated to this trope. Only Lelouch appears to have the ability to lay a proper geas on people.

** The [[Expanded Universe]] introduces more characters with the same type of power as Lelouch. Rai, protagonist of the [[Visual Novel]] ''Lost Colors'', has a version based off of hearing rather than eye contact, while the [[Nintendo DS]] RPG's [[Big Bad~~|Big Bads~~]] [[Terminator Twosome|Castor and Pollux]] have "The Bless", which works on the same person more than once.

** The [[Expanded Universe]] introduces more characters with the same type of power as Lelouch. Rai, protagonist of the [[Visual Novel]] ''Lost Colors'', has a version based off of hearing rather than eye contact, while the [[Nintendo DS]] RPG's [[Big Bad]]s [[Terminator Twosome|Castor and Pollux]] have "The Bless", which works on the same person more than once.

* A very interesting case in ''[[Bleach]]'' is Giriko and his Time Tells No Lies ability. Essentially, it's a contract he envokes on himself or on others, with the spirit of his watch. It can take multiple forms; increased strength, the power to kill by line of sight, and so on. The catch is that no party involved can violate this contract, or they'll be ~~incinerated--the~~ part that makes it a Geas. Wonder what ever happened to {{spoiler|Giriko's eye?}} Sadly, Giriko doesn't see much action.

* A very interesting case in ''[[Bleach]]'' is Giriko and his Time Tells No Lies ability. Essentially, it's a contract he envokes on himself or on others, with the spirit of his watch. It can take multiple forms; increased strength, the power to kill by line of sight, and so on. The catch is that no party involved can violate this contract, or they'll be incinerated—the part that makes it a Geas. Wonder what ever happened to {{spoiler|Giriko's eye?}} Sadly, Giriko doesn't see much action.

** In more of a direct mind control example, Zommari the 7th Espada can hit you with a spell from any one of his 50-something eyes, controlling whatever he hits. If he hits your head, he gets your whole body.

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== [[Web Comics]] ==

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', Belkar is put under a spell which prevents him from dealing lethal damage (a D&D rules term, basically meaning any damage that isn't the kind you'd use in a sport ~~fight -- and~~ Belkar never bothers with sublethal damage when he can get away with lethal) to any living thing within the bounds of a settlement. He also cannot travel more than a mile from Roy, on pain of suffering from a sickening curse. The curse is eventually {{spoiler|invoked when Belkar stabs the Oracle, [[Crazy Prepared|who had established a village around his tower for exactly that purpose]], and then removed by a cleric who needed Belkar to protect him from an invading horde of goons}}.

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', Belkar is put under a spell which prevents him from dealing lethal damage (a D&D rules term, basically meaning any damage that isn't the kind you'd use in a sport fight—and Belkar never bothers with sublethal damage when he can get away with lethal) to any living thing within the bounds of a settlement. He also cannot travel more than a mile from Roy, on pain of suffering from a sickening curse. The curse is eventually {{spoiler|invoked when Belkar stabs the Oracle, [[Crazy Prepared|who had established a village around his tower for exactly that purpose]], and then removed by a cleric who needed Belkar to protect him from an invading horde of goons}}.

== [[Web Original]] ==

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== [[Western Animation]] ==

* An unusual example in ''[[Gargoyles]]''; Demona once placed Goliath under a spell compelling him to obey the spoken orders of whoever held the spellbook that was the source of the spell. In a rare bit of [[Genre Savvy]], she then tore out the pages containing the spells and destroyed them, so that no one could undo the spell. After the rest of the Gargoyles defeated Demona, Eliza found a way around it; holding the spellbook, she commanded Goliath never to behave in a way that went against his nature. So essentially, for the rest of the show's run, Goliath was under a ~~geas--to~~ be himself.

* An unusual example in ''[[Gargoyles]]''; Demona once placed Goliath under a spell compelling him to obey the spoken orders of whoever held the spellbook that was the source of the spell. In a rare bit of [[Genre Savvy]], she then tore out the pages containing the spells and destroyed them, so that no one could undo the spell. After the rest of the Gargoyles defeated Demona, Eliza found a way around it; holding the spellbook, she commanded Goliath never to behave in a way that went against his nature. So essentially, for the rest of the show's run, Goliath was under a geas—to be himself.