Elcenia Spoilers

[Alicorn]

The number read used in Binaaralav's curriculum uses Leraal numerals. It's a series of one-trick spells; nothing complicated is going on.

Dragons acquire written language (including written Draconic) a little later but in the same way as spoken language.

Gestures are only sort of discovered. Fey wizards use a different set of gestures (most importantly, they have four arms) and use base eight.

I'll correct the number of gestures.

[DanielH]

At around the time the resistance developed the mass sending spell, nobody had worked out the human gestures for 600. However, naturally occurring CC (with familiar) goes up to at least 545 (Narax’s). If fey gestures are in base 8, do those gestures only go up to 511 (octal 777, 8³ - 1), or will fey have an initial advantage if/when knowledge of CC trading goes public (because they’ll be able to go up to at least 1023 (octal 1777, 2 × 8³ - 1)?

Do different gesture sets actually have different spells associated with them, or could somebody cast a human-tradition spell with the other gestures without first reinventing it? Either way, could fey (if they chose to learn them) use human or merfolk gestures? If not, would this be an anatomical problem (too few fingers, joints don’t work the same way, etc.) or some other kind? If so, could be useful for amputees, or if one or two of their hands were full, or if the fey gestures don’t go as high as the maximum CC does.

Similarly, since humans and merfolk can use each others’ gestures, how many of either group bother? I’d expect most wizards wouldn’t, but some would (out of curiosity, or because they find the other set easier, or one of them discovers gestures for higher CCs than the other).

Mistakes with wizardry are dangerous; can gestures be discovered less dangerously somehow? What about new sets invented, since I’d imagine other sets than the standard three are possible.

[Alicorn]

This wrinkle had not occurred to me; I'm going to say that fey gestures go up to 511 at this time.

You cannot mix and match spells and pulls; they won't get recognized as spells-that-exist. Fey don't have enough fingers, but merfolk and terrestrial humanoids can learn each other's spells if they want. Some of them do, but there's generally no reason to except for intellectual curiosity.

There are currently no non-dangerous ways to research further gestures (in the existing or a new tradition). This is why Elcenia has had sapients on it for so long yet has only had modern quality wizardry for a shortish time.

[cbhacking]

Is this the kind of dangerous that can be handled by just having the researcher lifelinked, or more like the kind that should be performed on the moon (and lifelinked) in case of disaster?

[DanielH]

In either case, it’s been said in canon that if you mess up wizardry only the caster is in danger. I don’t know if a lifelink would help, though: would it be an instantaneous problem that, if it didn’t kill you right away, caused no lasting damage (and thus a lifelink would be incredibly valuable for), or would it keep causing problems until healed (how?) or the lifelink was let go (even the Joker Shren would need to let it go at some point for being too painful).

[Kappa]

"even the Joker Shren would need to let it go at some point for being too painful"

I don't think so. Letting go of a lifelink is a very easy action, but it's still an action; the shrenbomb joker could pretty easily hold on way past the point of being able to take actions at all.

[Alicorn]

I have yet to rule on the interactions between lifelink and botched casting.

Holding on to the lifelink is an action, or at least requires will.

[Kappa]

Hmm. That isn't the impression I got from the descriptions in the books, but okay. (It seemed like all you had to do to avoid dropping it was not do anything to it.)

[Bluelantern]

The impression I got was something similar to holding a hot object. Something that you flinch away from, but can ultimately do.

I wonder hot it rates in the wishcoing scale.

[Alicorn]

Holding a hot object is a good analogy (except with no analogue of, say, the muscles in your hand eventually burning away).