The first chapter of Lowborn is in the queue at Lit. I was planning on Sunday, but got too nervous about it hitting on the weekend *laugh*
Still calculating the submission date for Ch. 02, though I’m leaning toward having it come out at the beginning of the following week.
It will go in the queue at SOL either when it posts at Lit, or on Thursday.
On another note: I have almost 2k words written on SOTM 19 🙂
So a few things came to mind after I finished reading what you’d already posted for SOTM (for the 2nd time), but I forgot to post them until now — a couple weeks later, sadly. Anyways, my questions (feel free to not answer if you feel it’s a spoiler):
In regards to Marlena’s illusions (and the potential of when she finally learns the Permanency spell)–
-Can her illusions, as strengthened by her already considerable skill, as well as her charm, be used to create armor and weapons which could be used in actual battle for extended periods of time? (Against those who don’t know they’re illusions.)
-Could she make some type of illusion wall/defenses which are actually tough enough to stand up to repeated attacks? (Again, same conditions.)
-Could she use illusions to affect someone’s senses in a negative manner, then use Permanency to make that effect last indefinitely? (Such as making someone temporarily blind by tricking their eyes into seeing only darkness, then making that spell permanent?)
-Would Marlena be able to use elemental phantasms which cause physical damage, such as an illusion of a deluge of water which causes ‘drowning’? Or illusion fire which burns? (etc.)
-Out of curiosity, are there any True Runes which deal with illusions?
My other questions, not specific to Marlena:
-I know at some point the creator of the True Rune table which Danica learned from was alluded to (I think it was a god of magic?). I assume then that this is an artifact of great power which Danica would be unable to recreate to teach her fellow Sisters?
-I know that Danica (and now Zoraster), have both applied True Runes to their bodies as a form of protective structure. However, they were both limited in the space they could use by the size of their own bodies, as well as the minimum size for each True Rune they added. Along this line of thinking, I came up with the following question:
–Could a very large number of True Runes be applied to a similarly very large object, (ex: a large, 5×5 foot, square stone block), which is then, (using a spell Danica originally used for her toys), shrunken down to minimize its size and weight? Or is the useable amount of power/magical protection dependent solely upon the material used, instead of upon the size? (I remember you mentioning that certain materials were better than others, but I wanted to know if size also plays a role, meaning that larger objects made of the same material can hold more magic.)
And now that I’ve actually asked my questions, I can finally delete them from my phone’s to-do list. (I really need to learn to stop procrastinating.)
The next chapter actually explores some of the limits of Marlena’s illusion ability. It’s pretty close, but it’s not perfect. She could indeed create armor, weapons, and fortifications, but she requires at least a little concentration to maintain any of her illusions, and the solidity of them. So, if she were to fall asleep, those objects would lose their solidity.
Her illusions can also be broken, as demonstrated in the battle with Mache. This was actually an elemental creature, and it was fully capable of causing the effects in question.
The true runes are of such a different form of power from the Art that it is nearly impossible to mix them on the same device. A shrinking enchantment probably wouldn’t take on a rune-carved device, and such an enchantment on a device would probably be nullified by carving runes on it.
There are runes which could duplicate the shrinking effect, however.
Of the known runes, the surface area of the human body and the average ability to tattoo the runes in a small size are sufficient to encompass the vast majority of effects one might wish to utilize, so going bigger isn’t really going to make much of a difference, anyway.
There’s nothing stopping Danica from teaching anyone else the runes. The problem is that it’s an intensive study, and would take years for her students to be come even slightly adept. She was taught instantly by her encounter with the rune table, gaining knowledge that she’s still unlocking when the need arises.
I was just typing this in her bio on the upcoming “characters” section of “My Worlds” when the email alerting me to a new comment came in LMAO
I’ll probably go back and incorporate some of this into the Danica’s World Info Magical Glossary as well. I wrote that EONS ago, and it’s due for an update before I launch the “My Worlds” section.
Whew! This one would have been so much easier on the forum, where I could break up quotes *laugh*
It would appear that I have impeccable timing. TY for the answers. I’ll be honest; I was expect at least one case of “Spoilers, I can’t answer it”, so I’m actually glad I managed to avoid that.
The difference between True Runes and Art is interesting though, so now I have another question.
Given that in nearly every single fantasy world with magic that I’ve ever encountered, there is always a ‘branching structure’ of how the magic developed, where — if at all — do True Runes and the Art converge in their origins?
I suppose what I’m asking is “is there a third form of magic which effectively predates both and shares characteristics of both of them in a combined manner”.
If I had to guess at their origins, my money would be on whatever Danica did in the room in Zoraster’s desert outpost when she manipulated the strings/weave of reality to keep the room at a constant temperature. I’m probably also totally wrong, so that’s why I don’t gamble.
The only common origin is the gods — the overgods who existed before any of the current pantheons.
And something else, but that does get into spoilers *laugh*
Here’s a bit from the Magic Glossary on rune magic:
None who utilize it know as much, but the runes are corrupt and simplistic representations of the language of the first gods. These mysterious and vastly powerful forces are responsible for bringing whole universes into being, including the gods worshipped by men.
These “Overgods” rarely take any interest in the affairs of mortals. They rarely even take interest in the affairs of Immortals. They simply are. They create and destroy, guided only by their whim. The “True Runes” as they are known do not tap the creation force used by the “Overgods” but instead tap the power in their creations.
Some True Runes which truly harnessed the power of creation were discovered in ancient times, but have since been lost. This is most likely an act of the gods, who did not want this power falling into the hands of mortals.
Rune Magic was the first magic given to mortals by the gods of the world. It was easier than trying to explain to the simple and single-minded people of ages gone past than the form of magic known as the “Art”. A mortal could carve a rune on his club and make it stronger. It would resist breaking and strike harder when he hit his enemy with it.
Carved or etched runes maintain their power near indefinitely. Combinations of runes can bring into being effects of nearly any sort. Most rune magic is of the type used to generate force through a mundane physical object. The club that hits harder, and runes to guard a home against fire are good examples of this.
More intelligent mortals learned to speak the runes and trace them with their hands in the air or with their dancing feet. These were the first wizards. They were much feared and respected by the primitive people, as were the first clerics to rise up. Magic was a very uncommon thing in the dark misty realm of the past.
In time, the gods began to gift certain extraordinary mortals with the knowledge of the Art. It does not require as much preparation as carving runes does, and is quicker than the tracing and speaking of the runes. Over time, most turned from Rune Magic to the Art, which was more difficult to learn, but quicker and easier to utilize.
Rune magic slowly faded over the centuries, though some cultures continued to utilize it, and still use it to limited degrees even in the modern world. Some few wizards – Darkniciad for example – have taken great pains to study the scattered knowledge of the Rune Magic and begin to revive it in the modern world.
Oh, and as to Spell Weaving, it manipulates the naturally occurring magic in the world. Everything that generates energy also generates magical potential. The blowing of the wind, the crashing of waves against the shore, etc.
It’s the same energy used by the Art, but harnessed in a different way.
Rune magic goes one step up the ladder, drawing upon the potential energy inherent in all of creation, even before it’s released.
Holy shit that was extensive. And you actually have a Magic Glossary for this? Just how prepared ARE you?!
O_O
Gods above, I’d give a decade off my life to be this prepared for writing. (The last decade, not a good one.)
*laugh* You have to remember that many of my characters and my world were all taking shape over 20 years ago in the PnP world, and I was the DM. I had to nail down the rules and everything else to run the game.
I’ve adapted a lot of things to make them work in the written word, but the core of it has been around for forever and a day.
Once I get around to adding a few more characters to the database, cleaning up some more maps, and finishing the miscellaneous page, the “My Worlds” section will go live. The “Danica Info” part of that page will have the magic glossary, deities and religions ( not a complete listing, but several featured in the stories thusfar ), and earth parallels documents up for reading.
20 years.
Well that explains a lot.
You’ve been building this world longer than I’ve been alive.
(Which means you probably have an eidetic memory, or damn near close to it.)
Hell, I can’t remember when it’s my own birthday half the time, and I take vacation that week every year :p
My characters are more important to me than that, I guess. *laugh*
A lot of these stories are already long written. They just need framed into a proper story, rather than a recounting of gameplay. The exceptions are Danica and Sisters of the Mists, although I’ve used elements of gaming sessions in scenes there as well.