Merzost (Ravkan for "abomination" and "magic") is an alternate form of the Small Science. It is the power of creation, of life over death; a corruption of "the making at the heart of the world." It requires the sacrifice of something essential from the person attempting it, and consequently the act of performing merzost drains vitality from the person. The power can be unwieldy in the extreme, and is likely to produce unexpected or unintended results to a devastating degree.
Only three Grisha are known to have used merzost:
- Ilya Morozova, who created three amplifiers using merzost.
- The Darkling, who created the volcra, the Shadow Fold and nichevo'ya with merzost. He also infects Nikolai Lantsov with merzost.
- Alina Starkov, whose connection to the Darkling through Morozova's collar allowed her to use the Darkling's power to create and command her own nichevo'ya. Her use of merzost turns her hair white.
Etymology[]
Merzost means "abomination" in Russian.[1]