Lecture 1: College of Air
The mage Alaconius stood outside of the lecture hall where he was to teach his first class. He was nervous, as he should be, for he remembered his student days and how the students often treated their teachers. Now he was on the other side of it, and an ironic smirk flitted across his face. He probably deserved what he was going to get, as payback for his younger, more ignorant days. He set his shoulders, straightening his back, standing more upright. He tugged his robes, shaking out any wrinkles, and, with a final deep, cleansing breath, strode into the lecture hall.
Like most of the lecture halls on campus, this one was like an ampitheater: a half-bowl like space, with arcs of seats and desks climbing up the side of the bowl. At the bottom was a semicircular space, with a lectern and a pair of large chalkboards behind it. A teacher's wand hung on a hook at the side of the lectern, the standard tool of the teacher that allowed his voice to be heard even in the back of the room.
He walked down the steps, past the rows of seats, mostly filled with chatting students, down to the lectern. He put his folder, filled with pages of notes, on the lectern, and picked the wand off of the hook. He gazed out over the sea of faces, some of which were already starting to pay attention to him, despite him having not even started. He smiled nervously, his mind hoping that the students didn't notice his hesitation, tapped the wand on the lectern to activate the magic, and began the class.
"Today's lecture is about the college of Air Magics, including all of the subcolleges that go with it. Before I begin my lecture, I would like to point out that if there is enough demand for it, I can certainly change my schedule of discussions such that a more popular college may be discussed long before I would have reached it via the order in which the colleges are listed in the spell books and grimoires. It is my intention to allow a visiting Guest mage to discuss the merits of Necromancy. I would however point out, that said guest mage is extremely busy, and will not be available for lectures until his schedule permits. I will inform you as to when Arcandus is available to broach his specialty...."
Purify Air
"Onwards to the Air College. The first spell in the list is Purify Air. As a beginning spell to teach a student how to manipulate mana and air properties, it serves its purpose. However, it is often overlooked in that this spell can be useful in removing odors that currently reside within a room. If you wanted to smoke some substance that is considered to be unhealthy, and you suddenly hear the heavy trod of a teacher known to be unforgiving with regards to smoking tobacco within a dormitory, I am certain you can remove the lingering effects of the exhaled smoke. As per the spell instructions given in the spell books and grimoires, you must get the entire area that contains the odor if you intend to remove all traces of it."Create Air
"Create Air is another one of those spell that is almost primarily used as a prerequisite spell that allows you to handle the more intricate and complex spells of the Air College. The really ingenious mages will find a use for over-pressurization with air in containers or in rooms where you desire to keep odors from entering the room, or poisonous gases for that matter! I have heard one story regarding the use of this spell in that a mage using Breathe Water and empty wine bladders, did use Create Air to fill the bladders up with air, and eventually raise to the surface, a ship containing much treasure. Why he didn't just get the treasure manually, and walk out with it, I don't know - maybe the depth was too great."Shape Air
"Shape Air, is another one of those spells that most people would overlook, but actually has battlefield applications. When used properly, the air stream that is created with this spell can act as a missile barrier against missiles aimed at the caster. Get five or more people with this spell, and it can be a real leveler. Imagine one mage standing on one side of a bridge, with a whole platoon of swordsmen advancing on him. His only objective is to keep the men from coming across the bridge. He spends enough energy to create a Heavy wind, and then waves his hand back and forth, sweeping the bridge. Of course, he could use enough energy to create a heavy blast of wind to insure that few men will succeed in withstanding the effects of his winds, but each mage will have his own standards of how to apply the wind. I have also heard the tale of the mage who ground pepper into tiny particles, and had a helper dump pepper into the wind stream as he applied it against enemies. Another neat use which I witnessed once upon a time, was against undead warriors who were attacking under cover of fog. In addition to the fog being disturbed, the undead could not readily withstand the heavy winds being produced."Air Jet
"Air Jet is a much cheaper and more specific spell than is Shape Air. It's primary purpose is to knock over people within a shorter distance. The uses a trifle more limited, but then again, it's economy with energy cannot be over emphasized."No-Smell
"No-Smell is one spell that is useful on a commercial basis more than for it's tactical applications in magic. Nobles and Wealthy people are often fond of wearing such an item. It makes it difficult for anyone to detect body odors emanating from said individual. On a practical level, thieves like to use this item because it keeps dogs and other olfactory dependent animals from being able to detect the individual. The fact that it keeps individuals from being tracked via scent also makes it popular with those who fear either the law, or just vengeance from an enraged Dragon whose hoard has been successfully pilfered."Body of Air
"Body of Air is another one of those spells generally relished by thieving mages because it allows them to get into a room without generally worrying about physical obstacles - for all it takes to enter is a crack or gap large enough to admit air for them to get in by. As a spell that allows one to bypass much of the standard barriers against corpreal bodies, it has much to be said for it. As the spell description indicates, it has a few limitations where people can be damaged or even killed by carelessness. I understand, one of Roma's most successful thieves was killed one day by a particularly vengeful practioner of magic. The thief had more mundane talents, and really only knew a few spells to aid him in his chosen profession. One day, he decided to hit the same house as what he had hit last month. He had noticed an air shaft leading into the mage's basement that seemed to allow for the thief to enter by, and thus make off with a lot of magic items. Turned out, that he also noticed that the air intake seemed to actually suck in air in a gentle manner, but insistant manner. The thief wandered into the pipe after transforming, and discovered himself in a pipe - with a no mana zone in it! The suction of the air made it impossible for the thief to escape, and he reverted back while in the pipe. A horrible end for any man...."Predict Weather
"Predict Weather is one of the few informational spells that I have yet to pick up. As the title of the spell indicates, it is quite capable of determining in advance what the weather will be. It's usefulness as a spell for combat oriented mages is not all too useful other than to determine if a battle will take place under inclement weather, or fine weather. On a commercial level, this informational spell is useful for farmers, wedding caterers, fishermen, as well as for people who need to know when the first snowfall should close an important pass. While not an overly important spell for most adventurers, it can be useful when you have to camp cross country, and you desire to know if you should protect against windstorms, rainstorms, snowstorms, etc...."Destroy Air
"Destroy Air is another one of those minor spells that can have far reaching consequences for a magical society. In addition to being able to create an unnatural state known as vacuum, it can also be used smother fires. As a means for getting someone's attention, it cannot be rivaled. Also, if it is reasonably quiet, the loud thunderclap is quite capable of startling a person, and possibly, mentally stunning them with the surprise effect. I am not absolutely certain, but there may be some hydraulic applications for using this spell along with a large chamber, and some water, for the vacuum will draw water out of the vessel, and into the vacuum chamber - given the right circumstances...."Breathe Water
"Breathe Water is one of those specialty spells that comes in handy at the right time, but rarely is useful at any other time. However, the ability tobreath water should not be underestimated when traveling by boat. One nice feature about being able to breathe water is that you can bypass any serious attempts to guard a seacoast from intrusion. Who cares if the borders are watched intently if you can breath water, walk past their border to a beach deep within the country, and then wade ashore? Of course, being energy intensive, it doesn't hurt to know the spell at expert levels and better."Walk On Air
"Walk On Air is a defensive nightmare. Walls work as barriers because the person cannot get past the wall unless they can go around it, under it, or above it. Walking on air provides the ability to climb over the wall. Rich people's homes can be broken into without the need of a ladder, fortifications can be ignored as a group of air walking archers "walk" nearby, and shoot downwards at the defenders. As a means of showing off one's power, try looking at people's faces the next time a man walks on thin air, and the people can't see why he is doing it! Another neat application of this spell is that it allows people to walk past impassible terrain such as marshes, bogs, mountains, and other areas where putting one's foot down can be hazardous. "Another neat application of this spell is for defensive purposes. If you can run into the very sky, but your pursuers cannot, then this spell is well worth your time to learn. I knew one mage who constantly, while in the city, would use this spell at the first sign of trouble. Unfortunately, he also failed to realize that by constantly "walking up" as he would put it, he might be giving some jealous husband reason to go about honing his knife as it were. The man I am talking about threw a knife into this mage's leg, causing him to stumble, and thus fall to the ground. That mage lived to tell his story only because the pack he thought had been following him to rob him, were only curious on lookers wanting to see some wonderous magic. As for the jealous husband, it would seem that he and his woman were in the process of practicing the art of bringing more children into the world. He took a vast dislike to having his "practice" interrupted by some scrawny looking creep who took his pleasures by peering into other people's private rooms. Naturally, said mage discontinued the practice of walking at apartment level from that day forward...."Clouds
"Clouds. In case you wonder why I didn't continue saying anything more about Clouds as a spell wonder no more. Other than as a means to learning how to make rain clouds, this spell is one I have a lot of dislike for. Other than as a means for making rain clouds go away, storm clouds go away, making a gloomy day turn brighter - it has no real purpose in life that I can see. Of course, all of the uses I outlined are important to some people, so I suppose I should conquer my dislike of the spell and get on with it."Rain
"Rain is a useful spell on a commercial level. For the energy costs involved, Rain's only real claim to fame is that it allows gardeners and/or farmers to water their crops. In order to bring rain down upon 1 square mile, the energy costs involved are roughly 60 fatigue energy units to cast."Earth To Air
"Earth To Air will be discussed in my Earth college lecture, so I will bypass this spell for now."Stench
"Stench is another one of my favorite spells that can be used creatively. One enjoyable prank that I do at my private academy is that of teaching students not to cast spells unless a supervisor is near. The reason for this rule shall become apparent. I first cast the spell Stench in the near vicinity of the student. As time progresses, I then begin the spell for perfect illusion of a moderate sized Demon. By this time, the poor student is besides himself as the demon begins to appear, and is usually out running, sounding the alarm about casting a spell and getting a backfire. Of course, all of this assumes that I am not visible to my student all the while I am doing this. Another nasty application of this spell is to cast it such that the bulk of the stench winds up inside of a room - with the door locked. Imagine if you will two rooms set in a corridor underground - specifically speaking, an orc stronghold. Next, picture the fact that both doors are across from each other. Now further suppose that both doors open inwards. For your final exercise in imagination, assume what happens when you tie the rope to both doorknobs, and cast stench repeatedly in the room while you stand outside the room. Of course, it does take time to work it's magic, but none the less, it can be useful as a means of gas warfare...."Odor
"Odor is another one of those spells that I find useful, and have every intention of learning once I have the time to spend on learning spells. Used in conjunction with shapeshift wolf, this spell can be quite useful when dealing with hunting animals. Once you have learned what it is to be able to smell scents, you can lay false trails with this spell. Also, you can use this spell to entice animals by laying in the aroma of some food that they like. Of course, you can also use the stench of some really vile animals should your interests lie in that direction. But most of all, this is one of the rare commercial prizes that an enchanter can get his hands upon. Once a mage perfects an odor that women prize, the mage can then create perfume rings. I hear that one mage has agreed to jack up the price on perfume stones so that ladies of gentility can maintain a strangle hold on what they perceive to be privileges of rank - the ability to smell nice. To the best of my knowledge, that mage is still selling perfume stones on a daily basis. I also hear that unscrupulous wine merchants will purchase gemstone inlaid goblets to allow wine buyers and wine lovers to smell the bouquet of the wine before tasting it. Since some mages now suspect that the sense of taste is linked to the sense of smell, it follows that drinking wine from such a goblet will taste better than it really is. Once the person buys the wine, brings it back home, it is too late, and he is stuck with wine that is not what it was advertised to be. "Also, I have heard that this spell is really nasty in that the person who is about to partake of some food, can be convinced that there is poison in his food by virtue of the spell odor being cast near his person."Windstorm
"Windstorm is one of those odd spells that makes you really think hard for ways to use it other than for what it's creator intended. In addition to knocking people and objects over, it's use can be worth looking into for creating really intensely hot forges. Imagine a dwarf who knows this spell well enough to maintain it without any effort. He plops it next to an air chute leading into the heart of his forge. With all that wind upon it, fanning it to hotter temperatures, the Dwarf has his dream come true - a forge that doesn't require any physical effort to maintain."Whirlwind
"Whirlwind is really just a stronger powered version of Windstorm. It's use as a defense/offense is rather potent. Of course, the user of such a spell had better be prepared for the damage that will result from the use of this spell. I have never seen it used by any other mages, and I know of it only by reputation, as wells as from my books."Lightning
"Lightning as a spell disturbs me slightly. Aside from it's damaging ability that is almost on par with other missile type spells, I find it disturbing that this spell makes readily available, that which powers machines in dimensions where technology reigns over magic. With a bit more control, I dare say that electricity could be made in more manageable forms, and thus fuel a technology jump over magic. I would rather see technology bow down before magic, but there are youngsters who practice magic that make no attempt to determine the end results of their actions. It is those mages whom I fear will bring magic and technology into an unholy marriage, and ruin civilization as we know it."Seek Air
"Seek Air is a that almost has no real applications until the society progresses further down the technological ladder. This spell is useful in finding gases that are trapped in the earth. Other than that, there is no reason why a non-technological society would need the spell."Air Vision
"Air Vision is another one of those spells that I have to wonder about. Usually, I can find something good to say about spells in general, even if only to demonstrate certain principles of magic and mastery of more difficult spells later in the college curriculum."
This is one of a series of articles about magic and society. That is, how magic can affect a society, in it's social structures, economics, and development.
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