From the Journal of Ororadaruma, Jamouran travelling researcher
I arrived in Stormhold Castle in Syliras earlier today, having filled the latest of my research notebooks and looking for a fresh set of ten. I was, unfortunately, the victim of an attempted mugging soon after entering the city. Thankfully the Knights - presumably a human attempt at keeping security - took the unfortunate man into custody. I do hope they will help him in some way, possibly to set up his own business. Social inequality is always such a puzzling thing, and I still cannot grasp the apparently inherent need for some humans to rise above others without basis or reason for such superiority. Of course, the alpha male in any Jamouran family has the natural leadership position, but this is because of his physical and mental strength. I observe at my own risk that the noblemen of human society are often petulant, corrupt, diseased, inbred, or otherwise weaker than the common man. Perhaps this is a sign that humans show respect or at least some reverence to those that are too weak or feeble-minded to take care of themselves? Certainly I have seen signs in recent months that some 'noblemen' among humans are ignorant of such basic living skills as kitchen use. In matter of fact, much of human society is still a puzzle to me, even after a century and more among the people. For example, why are criminals treated with such disdain? One would think that those who wish to deviate form the social norm would be given the resources they need to reestablish productive lives, instead of imprisoning them and removing their ability to function to an even larger degree. I note that this is a trait shared in several nonhuman cultures, though I have yet to make an extensive study of their social structures and thus cannot comment more. |
Though I do not intend this to be any more than a diversion, possibly a hobby in time, the practice of Glyphing is a fascinating art. The glyphs themselves are easy enough to read, and certain patterns in their shape and construction are already apparent. Though Glyphing is not a magical discipline in and of itself - since the Glyphs crumble after one use and are unable to produce magical effects themselves, only modify existing effects - it has several obvious information-gathering applications and military applications. Though this has no doubt been thought of before, I wonder if it is possible to change what is defined as the 'inside' of a Barrier sigil, which is designed to keep magical effects 'within' the sigil. Perhaps a secondary sigil ring on the inner curve of the Barrier would serve to direct the binding force of the ring outwards, away from the curve instead of inward. It would naturally weaken the field and make it less effective, but layering another on top would naturally increase this effectiveness. It would not need to affect the entirety of Mizahar, though doubtless there are mages that could accomplish such a feat, but a few hundred feet around the ring itself would be quite sufficient to prevent any magic from entering the area. Of course, it would be targeted against a specific magical spell, perhaps a long-range fireball or thunderbolt hurled by a rival mage or magi, but if multiple reverse-barriers could be set up quickly and efficiently, or could be set to activate under specific circumstances (perhaps with a trigger glyph keyed to specific spells or with a trigger sigil on a seeing-golem that watches for offensive spells?), it would eliminate the capability of evil magi to wage effective war on their enemies. Assuming a powerful enough Glypher, it is not inconceivable that an entire city or even a whole country could be surrounded by a reverse-Barrier sigil. Or, perhaps, could multiple Trigger sigils be linked together so that one activates an effect and also activates several other sigils, or makes certain sigils dormant? If such a system were compressed into a small enough space and linked to a vocal recording instead of to specific Focus glyphs, or if each Focus glyph activated a specific verbal message, it could simulate complex thought without the blood-sacrifice necessary for Animation rituals. If set up by a master Glypher, it could go so far as simulating the most complex Animation rituals designed to provide intelligence - possibly creating a personality to duplicate that of the famous Supervisors - with none of the sacrifice and in a fraction of the time. The only trade-off is the complex web of connections, conditionals, and counter-conditionals that would need to activate for a truly complex personality (or, for that matter, even a basic conversation, taking into account all logical answers). These pseudo-Animations could, also, operate a reverse-Barrier, and possibly even link to basic Animated mannequins programmed to redraw the sigils upon the destruction of the glyphs. This is still entirely theoretical, and several disciplines seem adapted for this purpose without such a complicated setup (A competent Shielder could easily set up such a barrier without such complicated processes, and Hypnotists can deter close-range assailants with a simple compulsion to go elsewhere if they program an image spell into a Focus glyph), but it bears looking into at a later date. |