Learning and Knowing

(Another Character related post)

-The following can be found transcribed within Alvaeth's first spell book. It was penned many years after he started his studies, when he first began mastering the fundamentals of magic. This actual Excerpt is taken from book 138 of Alvaeth Elethevorath's personal journals as well as being penned in the last pages of his first personal spellbook.-

-Written in Elven- "My teacher Iomandi expressed an interest in teaching his students about how magic affects each person as an individual. To better understand his students, he presented us with some questions, and had us write our understanding and opinions of each school of magic within the confines of our spellbook. The following is what is directly transcribed into my spell book. He never commented on our actual responses, though I felt as though he were using what he had read to better finish our training, as we are all beginning the final stages of our understanding of magic."

-Written in Draconic-
"The school of Abjuration - Abjuration to me, is the creation and breaking of bonds. As concerned with the normalcy of every day life, it would be similar to that of a relationship. By creating Disharmony within a relationship you build distance, and while creating harmony within a relationship, you create closeness. The same can be said about the inherent strength of abjuration. A properly cast abjuration can build or break a relationship between two objects, creatures, or even forces. Using this philosophy a spell could create a relationship between two objects, such as a door to its frame, sealing it into place. This is a common spell, and most spells within abjuration work within my thoughts on the subject. By creating disharmony in a relationship, one could break the bonds between a creature and an area, thus dismissing a creature from that space. So long as the objects have some interaction, there relationship can be either strengthened or weakened with the powers of abjuration, and even magic itself can be so affected. Abjuration to me is not the stiff and rigid school that many of my fellow students believe it to be, but the subtle means of effecting bonds some do not even realize are in existence."
"The school of Conjuration and Summoning- A complicated and powerful school that covers a myriad different effects. I would say that to me this school represents using that which is already present, or already created. The stories are all written, the characters all penned, and the delicate artwork already put to canvas. The school to me simply takes pieces of this masterwork, and moves them to new locations, pens them in a new story. The objects and creatures are never changed, and never created. They simply are borrowed. I dont say these things to dismiss the great power and potential of Conjuration and Summoning spells, I simply refuse to be one that thinks of this school as a school of creation. It is far from it. Nothing new comes from the school, nothing unforseen, and nothing unheard of. This school takes what has been already created, and puts it in a new place. To put it simply, it would be like taking a person or object from a story, and simply changing the background. The targets in question do not change, though they may effect the events of the new background."
"The school of Divination- A wonderful school that many wizards utilize on a daily basis. In its essence I believe the school of Divination is simply a school of sensation. The school creates the ability to percieve new sensations by creating new senses. Sometimes Divinations simply allow the caster to perceive things the way they were intended to be seen. Unknown languages become understandable, Glyphs reveal there meaning, forces that are normaly unseen can be looked at with perfect clarity. Other times the school can shunt the casters senses around, create new senses, or pick up on the unseen forces constantly swirling around the caster. Regardless, Divination magic allows the caster to perceive things beyond the scope of normal means, and allow wizards to view the world with an array of senses that normal folk would be envious of."
"The school of Enchantment - To regard this as a school of magic is almost hurtful. From what I have witnessed this school does nothing that a well versed poet or a scorned lover could do. Manipulating emotions is not magic, it is socializing, and the need to create a school dedicated to enhancing this act seems vulgar. To be sure, the compulsions used by this school could force someone to do something they would normally not, or to cause ones enemy to leap to the casters defense, or to create emotion where none existed before. Someone well versed at speaking on a social level could do the same. Also, the limitations of this school are astounding. Why create a magic that directly attacks or alters the minds and emotions of the target. Animated constructs, the undead, most fae, even the elves scattered over rimoria are highly resistant and immune to many aspects of this school, not to mention if the subject does not speak the same language as the caster. Simply put, too much time and effort would need to go into making this school even partially useful, and the same amount of time socializing with ones peers could more than likely achieve the same result. Unlike its name, this is an ugly and offensive school of magic and I have no desire to know anymore about it."
"The school of Evocation - Evocation is emotion. It is passion given form. Remarkable words from someone so quiet? I dont believe so. Evocation is expressive, but that does not mean it is impulsive. All of my wants, desires, hopes and dreams can be quantified and turned into a weapon. This weapon can be used to achieve all of my wants, hopes and dreams. Not so much a cycle as it is a catalyst. The most powerful thing about creatures is what drives them, what motivates them, and Evocation magic is like that. It is expression, it is the ability to turn motivation and energy into reality. All of my life I have maintained strict discipline, both on an academic and social level. I use my time of meditation and solitude to look at the world, to look at those around me, and to decide what it is I want to do to help those important to me, to help create some place safe for those around me. The suffering they feel, the pain, despair, hatred. I take these things. I take these emotions and give them form. I turn there feelings and my own into a weapon, and one day hope to create a power so terrible that none would dare stand against me, or those I would protect. Evocation is emotion. And emotion is dangerous. Mastering this school would not only make me powerful as a wizard, it would make me powerful as a person. Discipline. Strict discipline must be maintained if I am to carry my will to some beneficial conclusion."
"The school of Illusion - Illusion is the true school of creation, for it is a school of imagination given form. Any thought or idea within the wizards head can be transcribed as a sensation. Sounds, sights, smells, and any sensation the caster might want to share can be forged with an illusion. These are of course false images, simple fancies given form. But they are enough. If someone sees a fire, it is usually enough for them to run from it, as opposed to checking for its actual warmth, or questioning its very existence. Illusions use the opponents own mind against them, and for this, I admire the school. Not only does the school create the image of something being there, it can also remove the sense of something that is there. Again, this is not real, but it is usually enough. Not being able to see someone makes them hard to interact with, regardless if you have the knowledge they are actually there. I admire the artistry that comes with illusion magic, and even humans who master it tend to look at magic in a different way than most other wizards. It is always refreshing to see this art in use, and I am glad that it has not faded from popularity."
"The school of Necromancy - This is not a school of magic, but is the property of the gods. Tampering with the forces of life and death is never beneficial, never helpful, and never healthy. Perhaps the priests of the gods can handle such a responsability, but no arcanist should ever tamper in this field. Life is not about negative and positive energy, life is about so much more. This school is repulsive, wicked, and those that practice it should be stricken from there professions and cast out. To percieve life as a tool to be used and altered by magic is blasphemous. Though the gods will no doubt deal with them when the time comes, I would be all too eager to aid them in the destruction of these most vile of arcane practitioners."
"The school of Transmutation - This is a simple and powerful school. Transmutation changes one or more crucial parts of a person, object, and even force. It is a school of whim, letting the caster change fate a bit by altering what is already at hand. Falling off of a cliff means nothing if you have the weight of a feather. Softening rock, hardening cloth, mending the broken, or crumbling stone. Transmutation is in many ways a tool for most wizards, but like most tools, can be used to hurt as well as it can be used to aid. Theres not much else to say really. The school seems at sometimes incredibly simple but that does not make it weak, nor ineffective. Masters of this school can perform amazing feats, and can get out of almost any bind."

(Ok. I'll have more soon!)