The Pub Discussion Board

Freezing always distorts the water's shape, as water expands when it freezes.* 

However, no, it is not possible to use aquamandy to freeze water.  That is not "controlling" water, it's changing it.  You'll recall during David's Citizenship Exam, Joy used aquamandy to make the bridge, but David was the one who froze it solid, using a spell.

Eric Storm

* Okay, technically, it's possible to make ice that is even more dense than water, so contracts like everything else when it gets cold.  However, doing this in the context of the story would require a magical spell at least as difficult as what David was doing to try to pull off.

"Pyromandy" and "thermomandy" are not the same thing.

Pyromandy controls fire, not heat.  The two terms are not synonymous, so no, pyromandy could not do what you suggest.  And, once again, making water into ice changes its shape, so would not be desirable under these circumstances.

David pioneered the technique he uses in this scene... don't know why anyone would think he wouldn't make use of it.

Eric Storm

The quickest way for fire to be extinguished is to remove its oxygen source.  So, most likely the magical energy simply surrounds the fuel source with an impermeable barrier that doesn't let in oxygen.

No, I'm not about to write a "Woodward Academy Technical Manual" to explain how magic works.  Go ask Michael Okuda.



Eric Storm

I'll add these to the post above, but for those who might have already read that one, I've just added:

Northern Callamandia Criminal Management Facility
Barnard Hill Penitentiary
Chatsaw Training Center (mentioned in the next chapter)

Nagyara Falls (as if anyone didn't know where that was...)

town of Littany (in the next chapter)

Eric Storm

I hadn't thought of that one.  I'll see if I can figure out exactly where it is.    (Northeast of Travaysal somewhere... hehehe)

EDIT: Okay, done.  NEXT! 


Eric Storm

I really can't... they occur inside of cities.  I've mentioned travel gates in Gorumshead, Bolmont, Senesty, Nagyara, Cormatsen, Winding River, and two that I haven't given exact locations for in Dugerra, but exist in Houma, LA, and the fictitious Eureka, IL.

Since my cities are nothing more than dots on the map, I can't really "zoom in" to them and add more details.

Eric Storm

Actually, if you zoom in, the schools and the cities are, in fact, located in different locations.  Woodward Academy is about 2 miles from Gorumshead, and Madchen Hall is about 5 miles from Erle.

And I wouldn't expect that anyone would use it "a lot".  The person who could have gotten the most use out of it is me... but only if I'd been able to create it 7 books ago.

Eric Storm

Since I have no - repeat NO - plot ideas for a continuation after book 8, I'm pretty sure there will not be 7 more books.

Eric Storm

Name once that David has ever sought out a leadership role.  And David would never, ever be convinced that he can make "the most difference" as a politician.  He loathes bureaucracy, and that's pretty much what politics thrives on.

Oh, and the king is an elected position, elected for life.  So either David is automatically disqualified (as he has already lost his life), or he would be elected "in perpetuity", as his current life-status would never change.

Eric Storm

You made my point for me when you said, "He volunteered (once asked)..." (emphasis added).  He did not, in fact, volunteer.  He agreed to do it when asked.  In the case of DIRT, he did so because he felt a duty to the school and the dean.  He accepted captaincy, once again, only when he was asked to.  He joined the Rimohrs as an intern... NOT a leadership role.

I asked you to name once that David had sought out a leadership position.  He has accepted them, when asked to fill that role.  He has never sought them out.  It's not even a false modesty wherein he hints around or backstabs people, waiting to be asked.  He usually is genuinely surprised that he is being asked to fill the role.  David is ultimately a person seeking to help others, not to boss people around.

And that desire to help others would keep him well out of politics and any large bureaucracy, where helping others doesn't even seem to be one of the primary goals of the operation.  As frustrated as he already is with the Rimohrs, I can see him putting his fist through some intransigent bureaucrat's face after having to deal with their passive-aggressive bullshit for a week or two.

David has already acceded to the fact that he might be Rimohr Commissioner "one day", some thirty or forty years after the end of the book series.  It is pretty much inevitable that if you do your job well, and you remain in the post, you will be promoted.  That's just reality.  Rimohr Commissioner isn't an elected job, like many police commissioners, but a career position.  Thus, given that David could conceivably remain in the agency for a thousand years (Not saying he's going to, just saying it's possible), sooner or later, he would end up as Commissioner.

Also, do be aware that a great deal of the leeway David is being given is because of the upcoming war with the weres.  The agency will have to run somewhat differently in an active combat zone, and David's way of doing things is a little more closely aligned with that 'sharper' enforcement style.  When peace once again descends on Callamandia (whenever that might happen...), it is quite possible that his methods will once again be seen as too harsh.

Eric Storm

I agree with Centaur, for the most part. I think David will end up being a consultant or some such to many many different people and organizations; Woodward, the king, The Potions Guild, the Peg Guild, the Rimohrs and he will probably pick up more as he goes on. He will be like one of these millionaires who live the life of a playboy most of the time but sits on a half dozen corporate boards and charity boards and such. I don't see David wanting to keep a full-time job of any kind. I think he would get bored or frustrated and storm out. By only going in when they NEED his help, that won't happen. Otherwise, he'll be at home, working on his potions and spanking Olissa.

I would not say that David is not able to hold a job, it might be more of: Is the job able to hold David?

Currently there does not seem to be an existing job that will fit him long term. He is a natural leader, if he wants to or not. He will follow and uphold rules, but only if he thinks they are reasonable. He definitely is no pencil pusher. He needs diversity. David might end up as an adventurer with permanent ties to Woodward, the Rimohrs and the King, helping them and spending time with them frequently, but also travelling the world and discovering its secrets.

You like making my point for me, don't you, Barbarian?


One would consider a "career" in a field to last about 30 years.  Given the expanded lifespan of wizards, let's extend that even to 60 years.

But it wouldn't matter if you extended it to 1000 years.  David could still have an enormous number of careers in his lifetime.

Yes, it would be completely unreasonable for David to have just one job for all eternity.  After a few hundred years, there would be nothing in that job that he had not seen before, and it would become a dreadfully dull task, just drudgery.

Even exploring and such would eventually lose their luster.  Imagine this:  David is the world's finest explorer.  He can visit the bottom of the Marianas Trench without a submarine.  (He needs no air, and magic would surely protect him from the pressure).  But after doing that sort of thing for a few hundred years, it, too, would become very dull.

So, the question isn't "would David have just one job for his whole life?" The answer to that is quite obviously no.  No one would.  The question is actually, "Would David hold a career for similar lengths of time as normal wizards?"  The answer to that, I say, is, "sure, if it's a job he wants to do."

Eric Storm

PS:  I can very conclusively say there would never be a "Doctor David Stroud".  He would not wish to tie his hands in that fashion, when he can use healing magic which is faster, more likely to work, and has no nasty side effects.