Sapping Sleep

Sapping Sleep is generally considered to be one of the most devious necromancy spells. While under the effects of this curse, whenever one falls asleep, the caster of the spell starts to slowly absorb the life force of the cursed.    The cursed is granted vivid dreams typically involving them living a fulfilling life or doing a physical activity. However, one of the obvious signs that one is cursed with Sapping Sleep is that these dreams will always dramatically shift to a nightmare with the caster of the curse attempting to murder you. The curse functionally works by stealing the vitality of the cursed both indirectly as they use their mental energy during the peaceful phase of the dream, and then more directly as being killed in the nightmare takes larger amounts of energy. This has a compounding effect, as the brain bounces from serenity to terror, causing it to fall deeper into both. The stolen energy is absorbed by the caster, causing them to become strengthened or even extend their own life.   Casting this curse is a fairly complex ritual, requiring both a part of the cursed to sacrifice - typically a hair or a precious personal item - as well as a strong emotional connection between the cursed and the caster. This connection can be personal (i.e. cursed and a family member, cursed and a friend, etc), or up to a degree of freedom away (friend of a friend, etc). If the spell uses another person as a conduit, that person will experience similar dreams to the cursed, but to a much lesser degree. The conduit may also appear in the dreams of the cursed, which can provide clues of the formation of the curse to the cursed. Additionally, the amount of energy required to both cast and maintain this curse typically requires one to be a relatively powerful mage, further limiting its use.   The only way to break the curse is to sever the personal connection between the cursed and the caster, thereby preventing the transfer of energy. This can be a difficult task depending on the relationship, as family members may be able to continue the connection even with complete estrangement. Some have found that the only way to truely sever the relationship is to kill someone along the chain, which has unfortunately lead to some occurences when someone incorrectly believed they were under the influence of this curse.