Mother of Learning:Volume 01 Chapter 022 - Revision history

Drowzycow at 13:49, 7 October 2014

2014-10-07T13:49:23Z

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	The matriarch simply projected a mixture of amusement and satisfaction in response.		The matriarch simply projected a mixture of amusement and satisfaction in response.

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	==Author's Notes and References==		==Author's Notes and References==
	<references />		<references />

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2014-08-03T06:33:48Z

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	During the next several days, while he waited for Taiven to gather her team for the journey into the city's sewers, Zorian got a crash course in combat magic from his friend. Taiven took a surprisingly broad approach to the topic, opting to teach him as many different spells as she could manage instead of having him practice a few until he had a firm hold over them. She claimed that he already had a core of spells he was properly proficient in, and that he needed variety and breadth of possible options more than he needed a new ace in the hole, but she later admitted she was testing him, trying to discover the limits of his shaping skills. Something she didn't end up finding – Zorian's shaping skills were better than hers; every spell she could cast, he could as well.		During the next several days, while he waited for Taiven to gather her team for the journey into the city's sewers, Zorian got a crash course in combat magic from his friend. Taiven took a surprisingly broad approach to the topic, opting to teach him as many different spells as she could manage instead of having him practice a few until he had a firm hold over them. She claimed that he already had a core of spells he was properly proficient in, and that he needed variety and breadth of possible options more than he needed a new ace in the hole, but she later admitted she was testing him, trying to discover the limits of his shaping skills. Something she didn't end up finding – Zorian's shaping skills were better than hers; every spell she could cast, he could as well.

	Not all of the spells she taught him were of the typical offensive sort he expected from her. Some of them, like the 'spider climb' spell that allowed him to cling to sheer walls and other stationary, 'featherfall' that allowed him to survive high falls, or the various comfort spells that blunted temperature extremes and other environmental conditions, could be more properly classified as survival spells. Nonetheless, Taiven insisted that sometimes the environment itself was just as big of a danger to a mage as his living opponents, and that he needed to know these spells if he was going to waltz around the dungeon and similar places.		Not all of the spells she taught him were of the typical offensive sort he expected from her. Some of them, like the 'spider climb' spell that allowed him to cling to sheer walls and other stationary objects, 'featherfall' that allowed him to survive high falls, or the various comfort spells that blunted temperature extremes and other environmental conditions, could be more properly classified as survival spells. Nonetheless, Taiven insisted that sometimes the environment itself was just as big of a danger to a mage as his living opponents, and that he needed to know these spells if he was going to waltz around the dungeon and similar places.

	She was also fairly horrified by his lack of defensive spells. Not just a lack of any defensive barriers more substantive than the basic shield, though she wasn't happy about that either – no, she was talking about wards. Wards were fairly useless once the fight started, since they were slow to cast, and few opponents would give a mage the time needed to cast them during a battle, but Taiven claimed they were absolutely essential for a mage who expected to get into a fight. So long as you weren't ambushed or otherwise surprised, and actually knew you were going to be in a fight soon, you could at least cast some basic wards to improve your spell resistance and counter some of more common spells. And if you actually knew something about your opponent's spell repertoire and specialties? Then you could really ruin their day with a few choice wards. This was the reason why humanity had been steadily encroaching on monster-held territory with every passing year – most magical creatures only had a handful of inborn magical tricks and abilities on their side and once you knew what they were you could devise a perfect counter for them in advance.		She was also fairly horrified by his lack of defensive spells. Not just a lack of any defensive barriers more substantive than the basic shield, though she wasn't happy about that either – no, she was talking about wards. Wards were fairly useless once the fight started, since they were slow to cast, and few opponents would give a mage the time needed to cast them during a battle, but Taiven claimed they were absolutely essential for a mage who expected to get into a fight. So long as you weren't ambushed or otherwise surprised, and actually knew you were going to be in a fight soon, you could at least cast some basic wards to improve your spell resistance and counter some of more common spells. And if you actually knew something about your opponent's spell repertoire and specialties? Then you could really ruin their day with a few choice wards. This was the reason why humanity had been steadily encroaching on monster-held territory with every passing year – most magical creatures only had a handful of inborn magical tricks and abilities on their side and once you knew what they were you could devise a perfect counter for them in advance.

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2014-07-19T03:41:58Z

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Starwarscards: /* Complications */

2014-07-14T22:44:36Z

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Onizuka-gto: Require Wiki formatting

2014-07-12T08:33:32Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 03:41, 19 July 2014
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	It didn't make the feat any less impressive to Taiven, though.		It didn't make the feat any less impressive to Taiven, though.

	"Damn, that was impressive as hell," Taiven said. "How can you do that? I don't think I could do that... Lift a rock off the ground, sure, but diffuse material like soil? That's a pretty advanced exercise. Hmm, if your shaping skills are that good, I guess there are a few more spells I could teach you…"		"Damn, that was impressive as hell," Taiven said. "How can you do that? I don't think ''I'' could do that... Lift a rock off the ground, sure, but diffuse material like soil? That's a pretty advanced exercise. Hmm, if your shaping skills are that good, I guess there are a few more spells I could teach you…"

	Zorian smiled. This had definitely been a good idea.		Zorian smiled. This had definitely been a good idea.
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	"Wait, you're saying that I'll lose the ability to cast finesse-based spells as my mana reserves increase?" asked Zorian in alarm.		"Wait, you're saying that I'll lose the ability to cast finesse-based spells as my mana reserves increase?" asked Zorian in alarm.

	"No, no, I'm talking about your natural mana reserves – your inborn capacity before you start to increase it through regular spellcasting. About magnitude. Most spells, even highly sophisticated ones, are designed for average mages – magnitude 8 to 12, in other words. You're 12, so still comfortably within the intended range. Hell, I've heard of a one particular 15 magnitude mage that became a damn good illusionist, so even if you tip over a little it will hardly matter."		"No, no, I'm talking about your ''natural'' mana reserves – your inborn capacity before you start to increase it through regular spellcasting. About magnitude. Most spells, even highly sophisticated ones, are designed for average mages – magnitude 8 to 12, in other words. You're 12, so still comfortably within the intended range. Hell, I've heard of a one particular 15 magnitude mage that became a damn good illusionist, so even if you tip over a little it will hardly matter."

	Considering Zorian's real magnitude was 8, he apparently had nothing to worry about. Still, it did make him wonder about Zach, who seemed to have magnitude in the low 60-is. How did that kind of monstrous power factor in Taiven's scheme?		Considering Zorian's real magnitude was 8, he apparently had nothing to worry about. Still, it did make him wonder about Zach, who seemed to have magnitude in the low 60-is. How did that kind of monstrous power factor in Taiven's scheme?
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	"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Zorian shrugged. Although as far as he was concerned he didn't really owe any favors to the matriarch for this.		"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Zorian shrugged. Although as far as he was concerned he didn't really owe any favors to the matriarch for this.

	[I only said that for appearances sake,] the matriarch told him telepathically. [It would be weird if we just gave it up for no reason. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, you will repay my generosity by helping me track down your employer so we can wring him for information.]		[I only said that for appearances sake,] the matriarch told him telepathically. [It would be weird if we just gave it up for no reason. Besides, as far as ''I'm'' concerned, you will repay my generosity by helping me track down your employer so we can wring him for information.]

	"Fang of Victory will go and retrieve the bauble," the matriarch said out loud, causing one of the two visible honor guards to suddenly skitter off into the darkness. "I'd ask you to warn your employer against further aggression against us, but it's probably best if you keep quiet about talking to us."		"Fang of Victory will go and retrieve the bauble," the matriarch said out loud, causing one of the two visible honor guards to suddenly skitter off into the darkness. "I'd ask you to warn your employer against further aggression against us, but it's probably best if you keep quiet about talking to us."
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	Still, while the purpose of the device was readily apparent to his divination spells, its method of operation stubbornly remained a mystery. After several unsuccessful attempts to pry the casing open without damaging the device, he finally decided to try something… experimental. He extruded a mana cloud from his hands, the way he did when picking locks, and directed it to trickle into the device's insides through the gaps and misaligned seams. The resulting information was fuzzy, but told him that the insides were filled with brass gears and crystals. They were probably not meant to be pried open. How then…		Still, while the purpose of the device was readily apparent to his divination spells, its method of operation stubbornly remained a mystery. After several unsuccessful attempts to pry the casing open without damaging the device, he finally decided to try something… experimental. He extruded a mana cloud from his hands, the way he did when picking locks, and directed it to trickle into the device's insides through the gaps and misaligned seams. The resulting information was fuzzy, but told him that the insides were filled with brass gears and crystals. They were probably not meant to be pried open. How then…

	Ah, so that was the trick! The hands of the clock weren't just static – they were nothing more than an image painted over a glass cover. Zorian pressed his finger against the glass cover and pushed it into the casing. There was a soft click from the inside, and when Zorian released the pressure the cover immediately flew open, revealing a complicated interface full of dials and sigils. Very complicated interface… he wasn't going to figure this out in the hour or so they had until they reached the client.		Ah, so that was the trick! The hands of the clock weren't just static – they were nothing more than an image painted over a glass cover. Zorian pressed his finger against the glass cover and pushed it into the casing. There was a soft click from the inside, and when Zorian released the pressure the cover immediately flew open, revealing a complicated interface full of dials and sigils. ''Very'' complicated interface… he wasn't going to figure this out in the hour or so they had until they reached the client.

	He was so taking this thing apart to see how it worked in one of the future restarts.		He was so taking this thing apart to see how it worked in one of the future restarts.