Speaking of demon conjuring, she hoped Master Hortwell was all right. Everyone knew by now that he had been the one to go out and conjure the demon, but he’d never returned. No one knew what happened to him, and Lenamare wouldn’t risk any wizards capable of teleporting out to try and find him. They had shifted the wards at the prearranged times for him to reenter, but he never had. She knew the masters were quite worried about it.
Oh well, no use thinking too much on it, it really wasn’t worth it; she was powerless to do anything. All she could hope, as she slowly changed into her nightgown, was that if worst came to worst, she might be able to smuggle of few of the children out, before Exador had his way with them all.
“Come on son, time for your bed now,” the soldier patted the boy on the head. While starting his nightly round about the top of the wall, Herchlion, one of Lenamare’s men at arms ran across the small boy, leaning between two merlons, arms folded on the stone, with his head resting on his arms and gazing intently down at the battlefield where the C.o.D had made the giant hole in the earth.
“Up with you now,” Herchlion said again as the boy was slow to move. The child slowly pulled back and gazed up at him with a slightly disappointed frown, as if the boy knew Herchlion was all too right, but yet hating to have to leave. “Come lad, it’s too late for you to see anything tonight. If there’s no fighting, mayhaps you can come back another time.” Herchlion smiled knowingly down on the boy. He knew what it was to gaze out on a battle field, dreaming of the glory. As a lad, he himself had been much the same way. Staring in awe at any soldiers he saw, wishing that he too could fight beside them.
The boy got up slowly and made his way hesitantly to the top of the stairs. He hated to go back to the “Nursery” as he called it. However, the guard was correct, he certainly couldn’t see anything anymore. The glowing of the wards lit up the courtyard and the small perimeter outside the wall; however, since it was dark outside of the dome, the glow of the dome prevented him from seeing out. He could no longer see where the demon had fought its battle. If only he’d been allowed to see it. But no, kids weren’t allowed on the battlements during action. So he’d had to rely on second hand reports of the mighty exploits of the demon. He’d hurried up there as soon as the soldiers would let him, hoping to catch a glimpse of where the demon had cast the Cloud of Disintegration on the enemy; he’d seen it, but barely. The fading sunlight and the distortion of the wards had made it unclear, but there was no mistaking a heavy battleground and the troughs dug by the demons. Maybe next time, he thought, maybe then I’ll get to see him in action.
Wizardry
Wizardry is the science of mana manipulation.
Wizards are scientists and engineers who have codified the complex relationship between Animus and Mana into a set of rules for consistent and uniform behavior. The Laws of Wizardry are in essence, the language of “Magic.” At least magic as it is viewed by the layman. Language in all forms, including written in the form of Runes, spoken Invocations and action in the form of Gestures are powerful tools to focus and concentrate the mind and thus manipulate the forces of nature. Further, certain material objects and constructs have natural or man-made affinities to natural forces that helps in channeling these forces. Taken all together, Runes, Invocations, Gestures and Catalysts are tools that allow Wizards to control the very world in which the live.
Wizards “cast” spells, which are actually complex formulas for the manipulation of the elemental forces of nature through the application of both Animus and Mana. As discussed in the section on Mana, there is significant interplay between Mana and the elemental forces. Properly trained, a mage can utilize his own Animus to accumulate, contain and manipulate Mana in order to control elemental forces.
There are 7 “Schools of Wizardry”, each of which is affiliated with some type or element of magic. Despite the name, the Schools of Wizardry are a classification system and are not particularly related to “Wizard School” although most Wizard Schools specialize in only a few “Schools of Wizardry.” Every wizard has a specific specialization, which allows him/her to cast spells of the same element/type with greater ease. The Schools of Wizardry and their elemental affiliation is as follows:
Sorcerer: Element of Water. Sorcery is the magic of information and scrying from a distance. Sorcery also deals with any spells using water and liquids.
Enchanter: Element of Air. Enchantment is the magic of illusions and charms, of beguiling the mind. Enchanters also specialize in any spells involving air and gases.
Thaumaturgist: Element of Earth. Thaumaturgist deal with spells of a physical and earthly nature, healing, mending and spells dealing with the ground and earth itself.
Pyromancer: Element of Fire. Pyromancy is the magic of fire, light and energy. Usually spells of a destructive nature, pyromancers channel fire and light.
Conjuror: Element of Spirit. Spirit is animus, the element of life. Conjurers deal with spells that summon beings both magical and mundane. They also use spells that directly affect the spirit or soul of a living creature. While conjurors conjure animals and spirits, they are most known/feared for conjuring demons.
Runic Wizardry: Runic wizards are not associated with any particular element, but rather they work through runes and symbols inscribed upon things to channel the forces of the elements, thus they are neutral in their ability with respect to all elemental spells, but by channeling these spells through runes they may gain great benefits.
Necromancy: Necromancy is the only exception to the rule allowing a wizard to specialize in only one element. Necromancy is a hybridization (some say abomination) of Conjury and Thaumaturgy. It combines Earth Magic and Spirit Magic to do vile and unspeakable things, such as animate the dead, control and converse with undead creatures and even occasionally do what only priests can do, bring the dead back to life (this is only done rarely, since it usually is contradictory to the nature of the Necromancer, unless he/she intends to try and enslave the one brought back).
Chapter 25
“I wish it didn’t have to be you,” Jehenna said to Lenamare as they finished supervising the loading of her wagon.
“So do I, but as we’ve already discussed, no one here is competent enough to do what needs to be done. Only I possess the skill and the willpower necessary to cast and maintain the powerful illusions needed to fool Exador into thinking that we’re all still here. Not to mention, only I have the speed to activate the self-destruct spells and still teleport away to an unknown location. You are wearing the finder ring,” Lenamare stated archly, rather than asking.
“Of course, right here on my left hand,” she said holding up the indicated hand.
“Good, with that I’ll be able to home in on you exactly, wherever you are, and can so join you when my task is done.” Jehenna simply smiled and nodded in acquiescence. “You also have the type four’s ring?” She held up her right hand. “Good. Now, most importantly the book?”
With that Jehenna turned slightly and picked up a small leather bound gold embossed book from the small wooden table beside her. “Here, of course,” she said smiling deviously. “I shall place it directly under my seat in the wagon, where absolutely nothing can happen to it.”