Arlus' Catastrophic Flash

“I was communing with my god, and the both of us decided to work together on something with more firepower than what we had made before. I wasn’t quite as strong then as I am now, so the spell ends up taking a while to charge up. Also, I admit we may have gone a little bit overboard in terms of power.”  - Arlus Licht, being asked about the spells he pioneered in an interview

You grasp the lightning rod with both hands, and clench the chunk of glass in your teeth. When you cast this spell, you begin a lengthy incantation that will be completed at the start of your next turn. This incantation puts you into a slightly trance-like state, and can only be interrupted if you fall unconscious or are made incapable of casting spells before it is completed. Additionally, while in this state you are unable to take reactions or be moved by any means. As you perform the incantation, lightning repeatedly strikes the rod in your hands, and it will glow brighter and brighter. During this time, all lightning damage dealt within 80 feet of you is drawn towards the lightning rod and absorbed, and if it absorbs over 100 lightning damage, the spell’s level will increase by 1 at no cost to the caster.

 At the start of your next turn, you complete the incantation and crush the chunk of glass in your mouth, and the lightning rod becomes a massive, blinding bolt of lightning. Choose a point up to 400 feet away from you. For every 10 feet away, you take 1 point of lightning damage. You take the blinding bolt in your hand and throw it with all your might, sending it tearing through everything in its path. The lightning strikes and devastates everything in a 15-foot wide line ending at the point you chose. Every creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw with disadvantage, taking 12d6 lightning damage on a failed save or half as much on a success. Any creature with eyes that fails this saving throw is blinded for the next minute. Any creature killed by this damage is reduced to cinders. The ground within this line becomes difficult terrain, as the bolt rips across the landscape.

For 30 feet on either side of this line, thunderous force roars outward. Every creature in these areas must make a Constitution saving throw or take 6d6 thunder damage and be deafened for the next minute. Additionally, they must make a Strength saving throw or be blasted back 30 feet and be knocked prone. 

The lightning rod does not return to the caster’s hand, and must be retrieved after casting. The force of the bolt will part any clouds and completely dissipate any fog or gasses in the area.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 8th level or higher, the damage dealt increases by 1d6 and the range increases by 50 feet for each level above 7th. If this spell is cast at 9th level, the range becomes line of sight and the lengthy incantation can be ignored, allowing the casting time to be one action.