deep thinks on magical development
Feb. 19th, 2023 03:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marycatelliI was pondering the world I was making and realized that since wizards make things that will generate monsters long after the wizard is gone. . .
This will, on top of giving me an excuse to throw in a fight whenever, have a deep thematic resonance with the main plot, as there are definitely those who envy it. When the thing makes a monster, it's monstrous. When a wizard makes a knight, there's no telling whether he's made a good knight, and whether that means a dutiful one or one who throw off all traces to purposes either good or evil. (Doubly awkward when your own knights denounce you as grinding the faces of the poor.)
Plus I gotta name it. "Monster maker" is so obviously a plebian and a vulgar term -- good enough only for peasants.
Meanwhile, I was pondering how knights and wizards are incompatible because of focus issues: a wizard who can focus on all sorts of things and produce all sorts of effects can not do so on one thing with sufficient intensity to qualify as a knight. But, while poking at that, I wondered, since knights have powers suitable to their personality, whether a suitable wizard is really suitable for a knight.
All right, an adequate wizard could probably be an adequate knight, lacking the fierceness of passion that makes a person study intensively or burn with fire. But a passionate wizard would hit on the problem that you can't be a knight of knowledge, it's not among the things that spellcraft can do.
This will, on top of giving me an excuse to throw in a fight whenever, have a deep thematic resonance with the main plot, as there are definitely those who envy it. When the thing makes a monster, it's monstrous. When a wizard makes a knight, there's no telling whether he's made a good knight, and whether that means a dutiful one or one who throw off all traces to purposes either good or evil. (Doubly awkward when your own knights denounce you as grinding the faces of the poor.)
Plus I gotta name it. "Monster maker" is so obviously a plebian and a vulgar term -- good enough only for peasants.
Meanwhile, I was pondering how knights and wizards are incompatible because of focus issues: a wizard who can focus on all sorts of things and produce all sorts of effects can not do so on one thing with sufficient intensity to qualify as a knight. But, while poking at that, I wondered, since knights have powers suitable to their personality, whether a suitable wizard is really suitable for a knight.
All right, an adequate wizard could probably be an adequate knight, lacking the fierceness of passion that makes a person study intensively or burn with fire. But a passionate wizard would hit on the problem that you can't be a knight of knowledge, it's not among the things that spellcraft can do.