Magitech

[A. E. Lowan]

In the Books of Binding we have a handful of wizard schools of magic that fall under the 'magitech' mantle. We have Mechanomancers who have affinities for machines. These are one of our types of golem builders. Tinkers are normally considered to be wizards of minor ability and often work in family groups. They are capable of inventing complex magical items such as weapons and armor and focus objects. And then we have the newest of the schools, Technomancy. Two words: Spell gif. Often found working in preternatural internet cafes as "pest" control.

With our next couple of series, we're going to explore even further down this road. It's very cool and very exciting!

 

[Prince of Spires]

Often found working in preternatural internet cafes as "pest" control.

Understandable. Gremlins eating your internet connection are the worst...

Tinkers are normally considered to be wizards of minor ability and often work in family groups. They are capable of inventing complex magical items such as weapons and armor and focus objects.

That does feel like a limited list. Don't get me wrong, magical swords are awesome! However, there are so many more items that would be amazing if they had some magical properties. A magical stove that never burns your food. Or the magical walking cane that prevents blisters. Or...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Understandable. Gremlins eating your internet connection are the worst...

That does feel like a limited list. Don't get me wrong, magical swords are awesome! However, there are so many more items that would be amazing if they had some magical properties. A magical stove that never burns your food. Or the magical walking cane that prevents blisters. Or...

Funny you should mention that. You know about Brenna Brauth, Burning Bread, Winter's new salamander-powered toaster. But I didn't talk about Compassion and Kindness, made by the King of the Dwarves, himself. One is hers, Compassion, and Kindness belongs to Cian.

~~~

Winter pulled the door open, putting on a smile to cover her discomfort at the thought… and then her smile lit all by itself when she saw who’d been knocking. “Ásta? It’s so good to see you. Please, come in.”

The dwarven princess beamed up at her and shouldered a large pack. “My father sends his greetings and wishes he could have brought them himself, but you know how it is.” She twitched a shrug and moved past Winter into the foyer.

“Who the hell is knocking?”

Winter made an exasperated noise which caused Ásta to grin. “It’s Ásta! Etienne, don’t make me yell down the hall!”

Ásta chuckled. “Let’s go into that nice kitchen of yours. I come bearing gifts.”

Winter’s brows twitched up, intrigued. “All right, that’s a good idea.” She led the way down the hall and into the spacious kitchen, where Ásta settled her pack on the table and began rummaging around inside.

Etienne watched from the edge of the sliding glass doors, curiosity keeping him from wandering off to his forge. He still had a shop cloth in hand and was wiping soot from his fingers.

Ásta began pulling cloth-wrapped packages from the pack, some small, some fairly large, and she laid them out in a line across the battered table. “Father says he can’t repay you for your kindness and your sacrifice, but he can show his gratitude.” She picked up a cylindrical one about a foot long and held it out to Winter. “There are two of these. The other’s for Cian.”

Winter took the package with a thank you and unwrapped it. It was a heavy canvas case, exquisitely embroidered, and rolled and fastened with a strong snap on its leather strap to protect what it carried. Under her fingers Winter could feel the shape of many long, perhaps metallic, objects. She set the case on the table and unsnapped it, letting it roll open.

Inside was a set of beautiful surgical instruments, wickedly sharp and elegant, almost art deco in design. For all their grace Winter also recognized their practicality. There were no nooks or crannies to hide bacteria in, just smooth, flowing metal.

Ásta grinned broadly. “They’ll never dull, they’ll never break, and they’ll never corrode. And if one disappears, it will soon return to the case. One is named Kindness, the other Compassion.”

~~~

Funny story about Brenna Brauth: One of our betas was just tickled by the idea as asked me if the salamanders had names. I sat on the thought for all of a second and a half before, "Well, they do now!" And then they did.

Focus objects are a little different. They're just a means to an end, and that end is to give wizards the ability to cast more powerful spells more efficiently. They can have two or three, depending on what school of magic they're inclined to practice. They are also to named objects like a turkey is to a dinosaur. Sure, they're related, but we only eat one for dinner.

 

[Prince of Spires]

That's exactly what I was thinking about. Of course magical surgeon's tools make sense. They certainly fit Winter and her world. And it shows that you can do a lot more with sharp objects than just swing them around in a battle

They are also to named objects like a turkey is to a dinosaur. Sure, they're related, but we only eat one for dinner.

To be fair though, the only reason we only eat one of them for dinner is because we can't find the other anymore... And I have eaten crocodile. Though not dinosaurs, they are older even. And they do taste remarkably similar to said turkey...

 

[Chicken317]

The magitech in my places is based on a universal rune system, where different symbols can be put together to form instructions for magic uses. Numerical symbols change different factors. You might need to know some math and geometry to put together some instructions. It can be carved onto staffs, wearable objects, basically anything. Those born with magic can power them and use them to broaden their abilities artificially. Those born without magic can use them too, but they must use portable magic sources like certain crystals to power it. You must have a consciousness to be able to activate magic. More highly advanced civilizations often figure out how to make highly complex rune configurations to do all sorts of stuff. One example is similar to the morphing technology from Animorphs. One individual device is pressed against the skin, it reads the inputted DNA stored in that particular device, then the magic moves biomass around to change your form, and meanwhile any extra mass is stored in the device's built in pocket dimension along with your original DNA. Don't lose it or you might be stuck that way. Its good to have backup devices with your original DNA stored in them at home.