Magic Theory and Spell Submissions for Review

As has been already posted, we have learned the world of Daneys, and the country of Retheran in specific, have a very fledgling magical tradition, one whose history barely dates back a single decade. As such, we are in a position in which any knowledge that we share now has a strong chance of becoming a primary basis for their future magical practice.

Since CoRe has no framework to speak of for magical practice, and each of us uses our own individual style, it has been agreed upon that rather than trying to enforce any particular school upon them unilaterally, we might be better served by offering mention of specific capabilities of each of our respective spellcasters. From there, the members of the Mind leadership would be free to choose the fields which they believe would be the most appropriate, and request further delving into those fields.

With this in mind, I would like for all interested crew members to submit a list of the spells that they are both willing and able to share with others. Once we have enough submissions, we can meet to review them and finalize a compiled list for presentation to the Eyes and the Mind.

Some stipulations will be in place. These may be flexible, depending on the individual case. They are as follows:

Combat-specialized magic is to be avoided. This is believed to be the #1 most likely potential disrupting factor in the balance of military power between these nations, particularly for a world with no set rules of prohibition for such matters.

As with our view of technology, spells which would be considered highly advanced to cast could pose a number of issues in instructing, and having something too refined could prevent this world's own development from reaching that state on its own, fostering a lack of desire for fundamental understanding.

All spells offered to Retheran will also be offered to each other nation here in turn. Which spells each country's Mind caste chooses will be up to them. The specifics of these choices will remain private within each country, but each country will be made aware that the others have the same options given.

Ideally, we desire spells that further their own ability to practice magic in a flexible manner without supplanting the role of any given caste. Our goal is to reinforce social harmony, rather than undermining it. Please keep this in mind when submitting your lists.

-Seiya Sumeragi, Blaze of Glory Spiritual Consultant, Paranormal Operations Joint Field Commander

It is useful to reexamine the caste roles prevalent throughout the nations of Daneys, and consider what categories of magic would be the most useful to each.

The Eyes - Nobility and the Ruling Caste
The Mind - Scholars, Researchers, Philosophers, Scientists, Engineers
The Strongarm - Soldiers and Police
The Hand - Farmers, Tradesmen, Merchants, Skilled Construction and Labor
The Foot - Servants and Unskilled Labor, Entertainers (Singing, Dancing, Acting)

There are obviously some categories of spells which would be useful across all five castes, for instance personal defensive spells. There is crossover especially likely between Hand, Foot, and Mind, especially in areas where their roles cross on more technical grounds (construction, for example).

When submitting spells for consideration, be sure to indicate which castes you believe would derive the most benefit from them. Also, as Sumeragi-san has stated, it would be preferable to keep the spell offerings as simple as possible. Try to consider spells which can act as templates for further refinement and development by the nations of Daneys.

- Takamachi Nanoha, Capt., TSAB

This is Colonel Sparda, of LEGION. Magic isn't especially my department, but I've seen what happens when unprepared people get access to certain types of magics, so allow me to recommend not teaching the following either.

Summoning Magic: As useful as it can be, it's just one step away from calling something you can't control.
Teleportation Magic: Again, one wrong step and it could lead to Event Horizon (the movie, not the ...event horizon)
Pactual Magic: Any magic calling on a higher being for success, whether Holy or otherwise. Religious wars aside, once again it's far too easy to mess up one component and ask for help from Asmodeus instead of Ashura.

I would be happy to offer any of my basic spells of white magic. My list includes:

Recovery: Light healing spell, relies on body's natural regeneration.
Sleep: A spell to put someone to sleep. This could have lots of medical uses.
Dicleary: A spell to purge a body of unwelcome effects from spells or toxins.
Chaos String: A spell to create strings of light that can be used to snare things or hold them in place.
Lock: A spell to create a magical lock on a door or chest, immune to physical force. There is an unlocking equivalent, but in light of the stipulations given, I will not list it.

~Genevieve Arinborn Derrison

Genevieve: Until we explain to the natives Germ theory, I would recommend not teaching them Recovery, considering what you've explained about it, to me. Thank you.
-Doctor Seijou Yuzaki.

I could teach the Foot caste my Prestidigitation spell - it's a very simple spell good for entertainers, allowing them to perform, well, magic tricks like summoning little trinkets or creating small firework displays... hm, you can also clean things with it, or color things like if you were using dye... hm. The Hand might find some of that useful too!

Sretzi

Great_Mazinger wrote:Genevieve: Until we explain to the natives Germ theory, I would recommend not teaching them Recovery, considering what you've explained about it, to me. Thank you.
-Doctor Seijou Yuzaki.

Understood. I'll rescind it from the list.

~Genevieve Arinborn Derrison

Can we get some recommendations specific to particular castes?

-- Nanoha

For the moment, I would like the list to remain generalized. It will be left up to the Mind to determine which fields would be the most appropriate, and whether any such fields would be assigned to different castes.

-Seiya Sumeragi

As far as my own contribution, I will focus on working with the Mind on creating the overall magical training program, including how to identify potential candidates, how to test them for skill and mana capacity, and how to involve family in the training program, in the case of younger students.

I was introduced to magic at a young age; on Mid-childa, children with magical ability are educated on the subject beginning with early grade school. I believe we can develop a program that will allow students to be trained without separating them from their families.

--Nanoha