Inside a magical library...
Tom takes a look at the Simplified Compendium of Energy Manipulation. It is, after all, simplified.
Okay, so energy manipulation is essentially concerned with two things - energy transfer and energy transformation. Energy transfer focuses on just that, transferring energy from one place to another. It can be from anywhere - you can use magic to transfer heat from one room to the next, or use it to transfer heat energy to the next room from the Realm of the Demon of the Sun, very rich in such heat as one might suppose, though this is quite a bit more difficult. You can also transfer other forms of energy, though this is a bit less studied, as heat is simpler to do. In addition, though some know very well how to make lightning and have mastered the processes required, they are few in number and find that such things are less useful than one might imagine. Also, energy manipulation allows one to increase to transfer kinetic energy from one source to another, which can help slow down objects or speed them up, though it is impossible to change their direction without telekinesis.
Energy transformation is a bit easier to explain - it transforms a certain type of energy into another. For instance, a silly meddling knight may be charging at you on his horse at great speed, and he would, as a result of great mass and great velocity, have a good deal of kinetic energy. An energy manipulator could transform this energy into heat energy, both stopping the knight and boiling something important in his body, solving the problem in a very efficient and highly painful fashion, which makes it doubly appealing. Or jump out of the way and transform all his and his horse's heat energy into kinetic energy, then watch the high speed frozen projectile rocket toward its formerly intended destination. All in all, great fun, but many choose standard solutions as creating fire or lightning for their problems. It is the author's opinion that these people are far too concerned with appearances over functionality.
Now, the main problem in energy manipulation is that the foci used for it are invariably difficult to make. Spellbooks are the norm because energy manipulation is difficult to express in a real or symbolic context that isn't like a diagram or something. Certain stones are rather useful for it, but they are quite rare and usually specifically fabricated for a certain purpose, like a heat crystal or a portal stone. These are, naturally, quite expensive for this very reason. Well, that and the fact that they may create portals between dimensions as part of their standard operating procedure in the case of portal stones. So energy manipulation is usually done with a spellbook containing very specific problems such as "transform all of a subject's kinetic energy into heat" or "transfer certain amount of heat from point A to point B".
All in all, energy manipulation is a useful discipline of magic, though it may be a bit difficult to get into at first due to the frequent hardships of obtaining and maintaining a good focus.
After that bit of info, Tom looks around the library for a light source. There seem to be some unused candles arranged in candlesticks around here, though the primary source of light appears to be the sun, considering how it's still the day and all.
In the streets of Emlocke...
Mark takes his old acquaintance with him to the tower back to his room, at which point he begins one of his fun procedures.
[Medicine roll: 4]
Using state-of-the-art methods and tools, Mark adds some snakes to the zombie's back. They seem to function as okay tentacles, so he adds Pyromaniac Weirdo to the mix as well!
What he gets in the end is kind of a centaur-like thing with 6 metallic tentacles sprouting from his side, with Pyromaniac Weirdo's corpse being on the bottom and his head serving as an unthinking, horrible tail.
[Zombie Guy reaction roll: 3]
"Oh dear gods why did you do this, also are you some kind of mage?"
In a bloody square...
Darren, quite familiar with Standard Mage Protocol, proposes an orthodox plan.
"Let's just hole up somewhere then."
"Well, I suppose that's not a bad idea. But where?"
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Topic: Life Begins At Death - Epilogue: We Live And Live Again (Read 562669 times)