Some who have been enlightened by the power of St Malkion are able top stretch their spirits further, though this is tiring - something like lowly jongleurs who crawl through small openings like snakes, since they have learn to stretch and contort their bodies.
Incidentally, primitive witches and warlocks who see wizardry performed can see the spirit of the wizard contort and stretch. Due to their superstitious minds, they see all spirits as "things" who to them are very similar to mundane matters, and not as the streams and fields of energy they really are. They thus see this long-range wizardry as the wizard transforming into a monster, just like a child might be frightened by the tricks of a market jongleur. This has been cited by these ignorant barbarians as a sign that the practice of wizardry harms the soul of the worker, which of course is utter nonsense.
Some magicks cannot be performed unless both body and spirit are touching. The reasons vary according to the spell in question."
> This kind of questions leads me to ask "What is a spell?" I'm not looking
> for the answers given in RQIII, GoG or others, but some basic gloranthan
> magic theory.
"A spell can be two things, really. First, there is an actual magical
technique, like the speeding of healing or the conjuration of fire.
That is a skill, just like blacksmithing or playing the lute.
Then there is a formula you use to produce a certain effect. Such a formula may include several such techniques. Though the general process may be repeated, it will never be exactly the same twice.
This is due to the imperfection of the human mind compared to that of the enormous complexity of the Universe, which only the Invisible God can understand (since He is perfect in all ways). Thus you will not be able to adjust exactly to all the small factors involved like the stars and their location, the geomantic factors, your own state of health, etc. As a wizard grows more skilled, he will come closer to the perfection of God, and be able to more rigidly control his magic. By calling on the saints, whose minds have touch Eternity and dwell within Solace, a wizard may reach something like perfection in this manner.
Think of such a formula as a wagon, built by the techniques of blacksmithing, joinery and wainwrighting. Or as a certain musical item, consisting of a melodi played on a lute, a variant of the melodi played on a harp, and the song of a singer. All wagons are about the same, but the exact efficency and form depends on the model used. And though the wainwright may make a hundred wagons of the same model, none of the will be exactly similar to another, due to differences in the wood, how tired the workers are,etc.
Of course, working wizardry is a far more noble occupation that building wagons or singing worldly tunes, but the similarity is there."
Erik Sieurin
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #23
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
Powered by hypermail