@Rosver
Not sure the book is trying to make that point on concentration.
Spells require concentration to cast, yes, just like a priest doing a ritual. Once it's been cast, what happens depends on the spell and how it's designed.
Some spells go off, boom, like a fireball, once the wizard launches the fireball from his/her hands it's in flight and going and he/she can go onto the next thing as it arcs through the air towards its target.
Some like wards keep going until they run out of energy and they wizard can run around inside safe from outside interference.
Various wizard links and bindings are set, and pretty much stay in place drawing mana automatically from both ends to get what little power they need. Lenamare doesn't have to think about the link to Tom.
Magic items don't require "thinking" per se. Or at least not most of them. They do their thing. You do have to point them, and some like carpets need to be directed. But if you don't "direct" a carpet to go somewhere it will just sit there at the height to which you drove it. Unless a big wind comes up and flips you over. In which case you probably do want to be paying attention to keep it from flipping over. Think of a canoe and a wave.
Now, that being said...some magic items do require concentration. Things like a wizard's wand or staff. Now to be clear: There are magic wands and staffs that are "prestocked" with spells, and can be used by about anyone that knows the triggering mechanism (word, motion, thought, etc).
However what we call a "Wizard's Staff" or a "Wizard's Wand" is much more like Harry Potter in that it's a focusing device. The wizard can focus and channel mana and spells through it. This makes it easier/faster/maybe less mana than doing the spell the normal way.
I have a section on Magic Items and Wizard's Staves and wands. I need to clean it up and post it. I haven't seen it since 1995...but it's gotta be around somewhere.
Now some wizard spells do require much more interaction and concentration. Scrying spells in particular, some levitation and flying spells etc.
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As to your "craft argument" the armor and sword are made by craftsmen as well, and to get good quality magic armor and weapons, you need to integrate the enchantment with the creation. I.e. you can't just magic up any old sword, at least no better than I can magic up a plain mirror.
yes, I can use a mirror as a focal point for a scrying spell, and it's better than say a bowl of water, etc....however: That's a case where I have to really concentrate to make the mirror see things. A premade magic mirror doesn't require much work.
Similar I can cast a "sharpness" spell on a normal sword and for the duration of the spell it will be extra sharp and deadly, but that's for the duration of the spell. When I "craft" a magic sword and weave the magic in it, I am making it permanently magical.
Now, as a part of making magical swords, yes--special smiths use special super heated magical furnaces that can melt metals beyond that of a normal furnace. So the magical smiths use "magic item" tools to create their devices the same way a magical jeweler/glass maker makes a magic mirror
Actually, I think it will help a lot if I can dust off that magic item creation treatise and post it in the Library.
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As to Hortwell? No, he expected his wards to protect him indefinitely against Zargoffelstan, they always had in the past. He always uses the same wards to keep his demon in.
The thing is, some long time back, he'd gotten the wards he used for Z wrong, Zargoffelstan didn't escape, challenge or anything and so he just kept doing it wrong from that point on. Z could have escaped at any point on numerous previous occasions. He just didn't because he likes Hortwell, as he basically explains in the book.
The very explicit purpose of this is to get Hortwell to start rethinking his opinion on the nature of demons. We'll get back to this in Book 2.
In terms of "nothing of real value to Jenn" I think you are reading that overly literally. Jenn is not someone who is possession oriented, unlike many others in the book. To her, having "value" means true sentimental value. Not monetary value. Her attitude is that simple possessions, no matter the cost can be replaced. Keepsakes and things she holds dear, like her diary/gifts from friends and family, etc, and the people she cares about, that's what has value for her.
She is not literally saying the things are cheap/disposable, she is saying that they are replaceable. She can't replace her diary etc.
if she was possession oriented, she probably wouldn't be focusing on Thaumaturgy...it's can provide steady work, and a good living, but nothing like the flashier fields of study (Combat Magic e.g. Pyromancy etc, Sorcery/Scrying/Seeing tend to generate more money)
@Jonnyboi
Essentially. Wizardry is codified Animagic. They are studying ways to prepackage effects, channeling magic if you will and make it work more reliably and easier. Wizards can accomplish things far more complex than Animages. However it is structured, so within their limits and Animage is much more flexible and creative. Wizardry is more like engineering, Animagic is Art.
Q1
Quote:Modern Wizardry is like tech people today?
I'm actually talking about magic items produced by wizards as being the true machinery, with operators.
Spells are really recipes with ingredients that focus, channel and direct the magic. The material components use elemental affiliations to assist the spells, or provide power/attributes, look at how Jenn breaks the rock in order to strengthen the bonds of her spell. The gestures and words direct and "trigger" the magic.
The Laws of Symmetry, Contagion, Synchronicity, the 3 Fold Law etc all play a part in this, as per most standard magical thinking on Earth.
Q2
Yes.
As a rule, usually...that's the big point there are more wizards today then there ever were animages, the Laws of Wizardry and the accumulated knowledge and the academic system, the "standardization" all make it far more accessible.
I'm not sure I'd say sheer numbers, at least not alone. There were a lot of factors, not the least of which was internal fighting, discord, corruption, huge egos, and the rise of Wizardry allowing them to be outflanked. Wizards didn't have to be as powerful as an animage to go one on one, add in more and better magic items....
Q3
Actually, that's probably true. Although not super clear cut.
Wizardry is not as fast as animagic and if you aren't prepared for what gets thrown at you, you could get hurt. (so defensiveness is preparation)
This is why, in fact there is this thing I keep calling Combat Magic, and Combat Mages. It's not a separate discipline. It's a style of doing magic, optimized for combat situations. You study what works best in a hurry, the heat of battle You learn rules, very much like chess. If someone does this, you counter with that.
If someone throws something at you that you don't have a counter for, or that you have to revert to other, less combat optimized spells you can get your butt kicked.
Combat Magic is about knowing your opponent and being prepared for what they are likely to bring at you. It's all in the preparation, having the right tools, components, spells memorized (reading out of a spell book during battle is a problem)
{and when I say spells memorized: I
do not mean like in D&D you don't forget spells after you cast them. The more you cast them, the better you remember them--I only mean you remember what components you need, what gestures to make and when and what order and what words--do you remember the recipe and have the ingredients?}
So it's all about who is fighting who.
There are a number of downsides to doing animagic. You really have to be creative on your feet, and you have to be powerful and have lots of mana because spells are optimized to use less mana and get energy from components. An animage is basically fueling things from their own reserves, or maybe what they can draw from others or from mana pools they have on them.
And then they have to know what to do/how to work the animus, mana and matter. So practice is key, experimentation is key, finding what works best for you. How to focus, what the best techniques are.
So long story short: it's situational.
Theoretically you are right, practically eh...not so clear cut when the battle is spontaneous.
However, if you are able to get defenses setup in advance (e.g. Lenamare's Pentacles? then you are pretty golden as a wizard) {of course those are patented by Lenamare--so if you haven't paid your licensing fees then you will have to do many more smaller defenses and hope you cover all the bases}
The clear example is Tom vs Fiernon and his superior on board the Oorstemothian ship. They had all the advantages of wizardry, Tom had lots of imagination, creativity, mana and anger...(strong emotions can be very effective with animagic--detrimental in wizardry)
FYI in case it wasn't clear, Fiernon, the first of the two super verbose Oorstemothian's was the junior wizard on the ship that Tom sunk. he was the glowing light that Tom saw underwater, below the sinking boat.
Wylan, who is on this forum, is a senior agent that was sent in after Fiernon's distress call/report.