Earth magic:
PROS: barriers, earthquakes, Tunnels, sandtraps
CONS: Entirely new school, barriers may be vulnerable to cannons, less useful offensively.
I thought of a way we could beat them in the artillery game. It'll take a few steps to get there, but if it succeeds, we might outrange them. I'm thinking
coilguns. I mean, you basically just attach lightning wands to a series of copper coils, make a spell that activates them sequentially, and boom, done. Admittedly, it may not be quite that easy. Which is why we would start with an innocuous invention:
al-Maghnat's Wonderous Northfinder: The eccentric al-Maghnat usually lurks in his lab some distance from the capital, situated in a field scorched black by constant lightning strikes. His mysterious works involve miles of copper wire, hundreds of lightning wands, and several charred apprentices per year. And now, he has something to show for his efforts. A simple device, not even slightly explosive, it consists of a small dish with an iron needle mounted in it, in such a manner that it may spin freely. The magical part is that the needle
always points north. This is because the iron has been, ah, 'Maghnatised', through a mysterious process.
Considered a curiosity by some, the value of this 'Northfinder' was quickly recognised by our sailors, who realised that this would let them navigate far more easily, even when out of sight of the coast. Already they are drawing up plans to use these devices to outflank Arstotzkan navies, who will never expect an attack to come from the open ocean. We may even be able to circumvent their navy entirely, and attack ports as far north as Arstotzka itself!
HEY. Vote for an Emblem, you guys.