Timestamp - 43rd of Ashan, Arc 722
"Seeing as our last lessons have been rather practical, I thought we could have a more hands off lesson today," Lucius said, sitting back in his own chair around the other side of the room. "Today we're going to talk about wells and their properties. After all, there's little use in ensorcelling if you don't know what effects you can produce."
"Now, first of all, the thing you must understand is that a well typically does not only have one usable property—it can have up to three. There is an active, or offensive power, which can be used by passing ether through the well or the item the well is made into. These are frequently what people think of when they talk about wells having magical effects—shooting out fire or light or sand or wind."
"Then," the professor continued, "there is smog. Smog is, in some ways, the opposite of offensive power. It does not need to be activated—instead it is always present in approximately a five foot radius around a well. Whereas offensive power frequently creates more of the concept the well is imbued with, smog instead smothers its opposites." Praetorum frowned, slightly puzzled, but elected to wait before asking about it. He didn't want to interrupt the professor when he might explain more later.
"Finally, there are latent powers. This is just a blanket name for any ability that doesn't fall under the other two categories. Some wells have special properties—it's the nature of the chaos that is ether." Lucius shrugged at that.
Pulling out a pile of papers, the professor neatened them in front of him. "Now, how many of you have seen or held a well before our last class?" Half the hands went up, Prae's included. "How many of you know what wells you were handling?" Two hands went down. "Right, what wells have you handled?" He pointed at Prae.
"Firestones and a dreamstone," Prae replied. "I've seen nightmare stones before, but never got one."
Lucius nodded thoughtfully. "Let's start with firestones," he said. "Firestones, or imedytes, are a class 1 well—that means they're the easiest to find and safest to use. As beginners, these are the sort of wells you will begin practicing your craft on. Firestone's offensive power is, as you may have guessed, generating flame. This effect has been used for flaming swords, for instance, or staves that shoot flame. Alternatively, I've also seen someone make a portable campfire out of firestone, thought I personally feel that's quite a frivolous use of the craft. But, to each their own," he sighed.
Prae considered this for a moment. Could he perhaps make a portable forge with firestone, he wondered. Something to ask the professor about later.
"Firestone's smog, on the other hand, is to negate its opposite. It can smoother magic related to water, ice or cold—a defier within five feet of a properly ensorcelled firestone could be unable to call upon water entirely. As this is a fairly common well, it has no latent powers or special abilities."
"Now, dreamstone, or emetyte," Lucius continued, "is a class 3 well. Now, while the range goes from class 1 to class 5, do not make the mistake of thinking that a class 3 well requires only a middling ensorcellor. The vast, vast majority of ensorcellors use only class 1 or 2 wells—rare is the person who can safely and consistently use a class 3 well. Class 4 wells require true masters of the craft, and class 5 wells exist mostly in legends."
"Its active power is to cause people to fall asleep, and its smog will put an end to any mind controlling magic within its radius. It has quite an interesting latent power. I've heard tell that a refined dreamstone will allow people to wake up in their dreams. Now, I don't know how useful that is—" there were a few scattered laughs "—but it's quite fascinating all the same."
So, it seemed Lucius was either unfamiliar with dreamwalking, or unwilling to speak of it to this class. Curious, but not really Prae's concern right now, he supposed.
"Now, how about you?" Lucius pointed to the other student who'd put their hand up. "What wells have you encountered?"
"Seeing as our last lessons have been rather practical, I thought we could have a more hands off lesson today," Lucius said, sitting back in his own chair around the other side of the room. "Today we're going to talk about wells and their properties. After all, there's little use in ensorcelling if you don't know what effects you can produce."
"Now, first of all, the thing you must understand is that a well typically does not only have one usable property—it can have up to three. There is an active, or offensive power, which can be used by passing ether through the well or the item the well is made into. These are frequently what people think of when they talk about wells having magical effects—shooting out fire or light or sand or wind."
"Then," the professor continued, "there is smog. Smog is, in some ways, the opposite of offensive power. It does not need to be activated—instead it is always present in approximately a five foot radius around a well. Whereas offensive power frequently creates more of the concept the well is imbued with, smog instead smothers its opposites." Praetorum frowned, slightly puzzled, but elected to wait before asking about it. He didn't want to interrupt the professor when he might explain more later.
"Finally, there are latent powers. This is just a blanket name for any ability that doesn't fall under the other two categories. Some wells have special properties—it's the nature of the chaos that is ether." Lucius shrugged at that.
Pulling out a pile of papers, the professor neatened them in front of him. "Now, how many of you have seen or held a well before our last class?" Half the hands went up, Prae's included. "How many of you know what wells you were handling?" Two hands went down. "Right, what wells have you handled?" He pointed at Prae.
"Firestones and a dreamstone," Prae replied. "I've seen nightmare stones before, but never got one."
Lucius nodded thoughtfully. "Let's start with firestones," he said. "Firestones, or imedytes, are a class 1 well—that means they're the easiest to find and safest to use. As beginners, these are the sort of wells you will begin practicing your craft on. Firestone's offensive power is, as you may have guessed, generating flame. This effect has been used for flaming swords, for instance, or staves that shoot flame. Alternatively, I've also seen someone make a portable campfire out of firestone, thought I personally feel that's quite a frivolous use of the craft. But, to each their own," he sighed.
Prae considered this for a moment. Could he perhaps make a portable forge with firestone, he wondered. Something to ask the professor about later.
"Firestone's smog, on the other hand, is to negate its opposite. It can smoother magic related to water, ice or cold—a defier within five feet of a properly ensorcelled firestone could be unable to call upon water entirely. As this is a fairly common well, it has no latent powers or special abilities."
"Now, dreamstone, or emetyte," Lucius continued, "is a class 3 well. Now, while the range goes from class 1 to class 5, do not make the mistake of thinking that a class 3 well requires only a middling ensorcellor. The vast, vast majority of ensorcellors use only class 1 or 2 wells—rare is the person who can safely and consistently use a class 3 well. Class 4 wells require true masters of the craft, and class 5 wells exist mostly in legends."
"Its active power is to cause people to fall asleep, and its smog will put an end to any mind controlling magic within its radius. It has quite an interesting latent power. I've heard tell that a refined dreamstone will allow people to wake up in their dreams. Now, I don't know how useful that is—" there were a few scattered laughs "—but it's quite fascinating all the same."
So, it seemed Lucius was either unfamiliar with dreamwalking, or unwilling to speak of it to this class. Curious, but not really Prae's concern right now, he supposed.
"Now, how about you?" Lucius pointed to the other student who'd put their hand up. "What wells have you encountered?"