Geas: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Code Geass (Anime)|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.

* A very interesting case in ''[[Bleach (Manga)|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.

** It's also in the djinn's best interest to just do what the magician commands and get it over with, lest the magician cast the [[And I Must Scream|Curse of Indefinite Confinement]] or the [[Kill It Withwith Fire|Curse of the Shriveling Fire]], which is exactly as unpleasant, painful, and deadly as it sounds.

* Features into the backstory of Diarmuid in ''[[Fate /Zero]]''. He was bound to serve his lord, but also had a curse on him that caused women to fall instantly in love with him, which is worse than it sounds. The lord's fiancee succumbed to it and placed him under a geas to make him run away with her. They eventually got married with the consent of said lord, but it ends up getting Diarmuid killed and he wants to repent.

* Used in ''[[The Laundry Series]]'' by Charles Stross, which is essentially [[MI 6]] meets [[HPH.P. Lovecraft]]. Figures prominently into the second book, ''The Jennifer Morgue'' where the protagonist is put under a reality-warping geas that essentially transforms him into a [[James Bond|James Bond-esque]] hero (Turns out {{spoiler|this is exactly what the [[Big Bad]] wants, as he plans on dismissing the geas right before the protagonist is about to win, at which point [[Reality Ensues]] and he can kill the protagonist easily}}).

* ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'':

** Parodied in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Sourcery|Sourcery]]'', where everyone else thinks the guy under the geas is talking about geese, leading to much confusion. {{spoiler|And then it turns out a geas really is a kind of bird.}}

** Parodied again in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/A Hat Full of Sky|A Hat Full of Sky]]'' and ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Wintersmith|Wintersmith]]'', where Rob Anybody is put under a geas by his wife, Jeannie, to protect Tiffany Aching. It becomes a [[Running Gag]] that Daft Wullie keeps thinking Rob means an actual goose.

* In the ''[[Lord Darcy (Literature)|Lord Darcy]]'' story "A Case of Identity", Lord Seiger is by nature a conscienceless psychopath; a very extensive geas has been laid upon him never to hurt anyone save at the direct order of his superior in the King's Service. He shows no signs of resenting this, but he clearly enjoys those moments when he's let off the leash.

* Fairies in ''[[Artemis Fowl (Literature)|Artemis Fowl]]'' are under a geas set by their first king, Frond, to never enter a human's dwelling without permission. The idea was that fairies were mischievous and would abuse the humans. Over time, the magic has faded a little, but is still binding. {{spoiler|At least until a certain imp warlock tears it down singlehanded for them between the fifth and sixth books, anyway.}}

* Lancer in ''[[Fate Stay Night (Visual Novel)|Fate/stay night]]'', whose true identity is {{spoiler|[[Celtic Mythology|Cuchulainn himself]] }}, has a geas that if a man from Ulster uses Caladbolg against him, he must lose the fight, {{spoiler|but it never happens}}. The sequel, ''[[Fate Hollow Ataraxia (Visual Novel)|Fate/hollow ataraxia]]'' has Shirou play a trick on him involving his original two geas, though they are never stated outright: Three female friends of his from school offer Lancer a hot dog, an offer he can't refuse and (were it actually dog meat) something that could potentially kill him. This is actually related to how he originally died.

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|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 Gamers Alliance (Roleplay)|The Gamers Alliance]]'', the archdemon [[Four-Star Badass|Malphas]] ends up under a geas when he kisses fellow archdemon [[The Vamp|Nina Heeate's]] enchanted ring, and the geas forces him to serve Nina's every whim. It turns out that Nina was using magic and her female physique to mess with Malphas's mind, which confused Malphas enough to make the geas take effect. Nina doesn't keep Malphas on a tight leash, however, and instead lets him do what he wishes as long as he doesn't stand in her [[The Legions of Hell|horde's]] way. The geas also requires Malphas to keep his mouth shut about the whole endeavour, further ensuring that Nina's part in the whole mess stays out of the limelight.