sythyry | Interlude: Invent the Ingenious Incantation!

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Lots of World Tree spells have names of the form Verb the Adjective Noun -- Lift the Dangling Puppy, Save the Severed Head, Stir the Liquid Glass, Forge the Expensive Dagger, and so on.

So, let's invent some spells! Give me a verb, adjective, and noun. At a suitable time, I will alphabetize the three lists, and we will see what spells we have.

[Poll #1571849]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

zeeth_kyrah

Pickled Greens, Rotary Knife, Lock Trick, Scattered Files, Thieving Bag, Tilted Walking, Topsy Turf, Candle Wish, Flying Buttress, Noisome Intruder, Visible Enchantment, Food Stalks, Wandering Gaze

From:

zeeth_kyrah

Now to add a few descriptions.

Pickled Greens is obvious.
Mutoc Herbador, very simple. A basic cooking spell, it does what it says in a few moments. If you include the pickling spices, you get a richer flavor, but otherwise it's a very basic vinegar and salt pickling.

The Rotary Knife is actually an enchantment; the blade is a kris or screw shape, or otherwise designed to do nasty things to its subject while it's twisting. The handle remains still, the blade does all the twisting, at the will of the user.

Lock Trick
This is reversible, in that you can lock or unlock a given lock with a small motion of your own appendage; the spell's complexity is based on the lock's complexity. Another spell called Lock Trick is Illusidor-based and simulates the presence of a lock on anything you like, including holding shut a closeable opening. It is, of course, a more fixed complexity, somewhere around 15 I'd think; and can be forced more or less easily depending on how much cley is put into the spell. It cannot be picked, as it is not a physical lock with an inner mechanism (and cannot accept a key unless it was placed over a hole), though unlocking spells like the first Lock Trick will work.

Scattered Files
Mixes written information within a given container, whether a single letter or a whole file cabinet or storage room. The larger the container, the more difficult the spell. This information stays mixed until a reversed version is cast to undo the mess.

Thieving Bag
Temporarily creates a portal on a container, which operates a third of a minute after the container is closed, teleporting the contents to a fixed location. It is one-way and does not teleport anything which sticks out of the container; it also ceases to operate if the container is damaged, so use a Sir Bag if you're casting this in cloth.

Tilted Walking
This one is just for amusement; it causes the subject to stand and walk at a visibly tilted angle to the ground. Clowns and jugglers might enjoy this, as will children of all ages. Improved Tilted Walking is much more useful, as it allows one to travel along verticals so long as they move at walking speed or slower and remain on their feet; keep a levitation or flying spell handy! The user of the improved version continues to remain tilted at an angle to their walking surface.

Topsy Turf
For when you'd like to grow a lawn or garden in an unusual place, such as the ceiling or the outside of your onion-shaped tower. This spell holds the soil in place, and allows plants to grow out of it as if upright, but perpendicular to the turf.

Candle Wish
I'm not sure what this does. Perhaps it summons a candle, lit or unlit as desired, which would be an ideal beginner's spell. Otherwise, it probably uses a candle to grant some desire... I don't trust that second version very much.

Flying Buttress
Need support on something above the ground, such as a damaged skyship? This doesn't create an architectural flying buttress; instead, it creates an object which supports a weak structure which is not in direct contact with the ground. The structure must be load-bearing, however.

Noisome Intruder
Creoc Illusidor etcetera... For when you need a really obnoxious distraction. Could be noisy, could be smelly, could be ugly; whatever it is, it lurches into view and attracts attention with its disturbing nature. You must be able to see or scry your target area.

Visible Enchantment
Makes the presence of an enchantment very obvious, possibly including visual effects like a glowing light or sparkles. Said enchantment is much easier to scry and analyze for the duration of this spell.

Food Stalks
This doesn't grow stems on your food items; rather, they follow a designated person, staying just out of sight until hunger is mentioned, at which point the stalking food jumps out and presents itself for eating.

Wandering Gaze
Makes someone uncomfortable with what they're seeing, such that they want to look elsewhere; probably Mentoc. Alternatively, may be Illusidor, attempting to attract someone who has previously shown no interest by emitting pheromone scents; the race of one's target must be taken into account, and other members of that race are also likely to experience attraction. Potentially popular as an alternative to love spells.

From:

zeeth_kyrah

You know what? I'd love to play the part of someone who has all these spells... (or most of them, anyway).

From:

vik_thor

»chuckles« I like the two versions of Lock Trick.

From:

shurhaian.livejournal.com

RE: Lock Trick - Locks as we know them don't generally exist on the World Tree, except perhaps for the greatest vaults. Usually, the cost of getting a good lock - especially one made of metal; other materials aren't really very good for that sort of precise yet strong work, but metal is rare and difficult to work - exceeds that of anything it could possibly protect. Most lockboxes are secured with Ruloc Herbador(or whatever material goes into making them) - which has the benefit that they can't be opened by trivial RuHr themselves, since any new spell would need to overcome the existing one. Without that sort of protection, any lock could be picked by a tiny amount of Ruloc.

And if you're going to have magic on there, you might as well cut out the middle man...

From:

zeeth_kyrah

You know, you can cut some very precise and intricate locks out of wood, or any shapable substance (glass comes to mind). Knight it (as with Sir Glass), and then protect it against Ruloc... I'm sure there are Rassimel or perhaps even a Zi Ri or two who engage in this exercise.

While with ubiquitous magic you might not need the lock, the craft of locksmithing (or lockcrafting, as it were) would probably have been invented somewhere along the way, probably by someone who didn't have very good Ruloc and/or wanted a clever mechanism that only someone who knows how it works could open instead of relying on their own ability. (Locks don't have to have keys, some are designed as puzzle boxes and the like -- and surely there are puzzle boxes on the World Tree, yes?)

From:

shurhaian.livejournal.com

Puzzle boxes I can grant! But I still maintain that they wouldn't be very effective protections, unless they were made of something that inherently resists magic but can be fairly readily worked without it.

From:

mmsword.livejournal.com

Saute the Willful Meal
Mu Il Co or Hr 5

A specialized culinary spell, this alters food's taste and texture as if it were cooked, without applying any heat what so ever. It is primarily used in fancy preparations of Enstarba or other fire-proof edibles.

(Range: short, Speed: Build, Duration: P/5 minutes, Resist: n/a)