Magic and Mystical: Interviews

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

Nothing felt quite so good as to have a project on its way. If this one features slightly less graphical and arbitrary annihilation of all sense and reason to the universe so that his will and desires may stand paramount in all creation, it's no less important or relevant for all that.

Aibghalien has set aside a few of what appear to be practice areas for interviews and assessments, hoping these are large enough to use for any demonstrations necessary. If not, the courtyard outside allows plenty of space for particularly pyrotechnical displays.

[OOC: Those willing to help interview may start their own threads for people to comment on (but Abby would like to get your own lists!) If your character would have come, but you aren't able to thread it out for any reason, just put the information in the Handwaved thread for later compilation.]

Comments

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

"So smaller scale conjurations," he repeated, as the quill continued to scratch out words in the floating book. "But for example, a wall of stone would be less possible?"

[theboywhodied]

"Definitely. I can give it a try, but we usually have multiple wizards casting bigger enchantments like that."

He waved the wand, forming the picture in his mind, just as he had with other conjurations in class. His magic started to shape...something, but after a moment it became clear that such a massive wall was not going to happen alone. Finally, he produced the largest chunk he could, a square brick that came up to about his knee.

Cedric looked up awkwardly, tentatively taking a drink from the tray. "It's easier to create a personal shield than to build a wall if the purpose was to protect ourselves. For example---"

After a moments' break, he performed an old enchantment on the orb that he'd learned from Quidditch practice---enchanting a softer, lighter ball to behave as a Bludger does for training purposes. It immediately began attacking Cedric, whacking him again and again until he flicked the wand again. "Protego!"

The orb bounced away from him, careening into the wall.

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

"Substantial and diverse control of objects and forces on a small scale," he thought out loud. "Decreasing as scale and scope increase. Interesting. That last demonstration seems to lead into battlefield magics, though?"

Hopefully some that could be demonstrated without targets, since he had no ability to conjure here.

[theboywhodied]

"Yes," Cedric began, picking a point on the far wall as his target. "An Impediment Jinx, for example, will stop an object from moving. Impedimenta!"

As he called out the word and targeted the bouncing ball, it stopped where it was in mid-air. "The other dueling spells need a target. A Disarming Charm will remove whatever the opponent has in their hand. In our case it was usually a wand, but it will work on other objects. A Stunning Spell is stronger and will knock the opponent unconscious, and a Reductor Curse will blast an object into pieces. Obviously I can't demonstrate most of them here, but I used them just before my world was destroyed."

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

"So you don't have combat spells specifically related to manipulation of elements," he said. "And I assume that, again, your spells are generally individually-focused?"

[theboywhodied]

"I do, actually," Cedric replied, "but they're minimal. The fire spell I showed you earlier can be expanded into larger attacks, though I obviously didn't want to burn the building down. I also use water and ice."

He drew his wand again and pointed at an opposite wall. "Aguamenti!" A rough jet of water appeared, rebounding against the wall and soaking him thoroughly---oops. It wasn't meant to be that strong. A few steps back later, he called "Glacius!" and the air around the water chilled, forming it into ice.

"Yes, dueling's generally one on one, but there are ways to attack and defend multiple people at once. It simply takes more effort."

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

"Would you mind demonstrating? Given the circumstances we find ourselves in, large-scale attack and defense tends to be the most relevant variety, after all."

He spoke a couple of words and made a pass, in an instant conjuring what appeared to be a small group of orcs. It was only illusion, but good luck finding any evidence of that.

[theboywhodied]

"Not at all." Cedric took a deep breath, bracing himself for combat. He'd been trained to blast his way through small threats, but this was different.

He instinctively stepped back, weaving a quick charm over himself before beginning. A wave of his wand sent a stream of sharp arrows as his first attack. If that didn't work, he had a slash of flame to help move things along, which he cast right after.

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

Conjuring arrows? That had interesting implications, the first of which is that working with a more martial combatant was rare or unknown on their world. The orcish army reacted appropriately for a moment, clutching at injuries or shielding themselves from the flame, before he dismissed the illusion with a wave of his hand.

"Interesting. I think I've learned a great deal. Is there anything else you'd like to demonstrate, or any questions or such that you'd like to ask?"

[theboywhodied]

That was it? Cedric stepped over to the side slightly awkwardly. Was he allowed to eat now?

"Just one, sir. Do I pass?"

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

He felt like he had covered this before... but then, he had a history of being unclear. Probably his own fault.

"Having some sort of ability applicable to the department is the only criterion for joining, and you certainly have that. You're more than welcome to join."