Elendil the Elf said:
I would think Derek would remember something like that!
When thousands of years old
you reach, remember as much, you will not. That being said, 'twas a joke, youngling.
the origins of the original formal scrolls are unknown
Depends on who you ask, and what you accept as "knowing".
all other formal scrolls are descendants of the originals via copy rituals?
Possibly, but not necessarily, as Polare outlined.
But what about dragons? Being able to cast rituals at will as if it was battle magic, can they create formal scrolls?
"Battle" magic is a term that has sort of lost meaning, so I will dispense with that particular phrase. There is magic, and there are formals.
Some dragons can cast formal magic effects through Dragon Magic more or less at will, much as you or I can cast our spells at will. Derek, being the closest thing to what some people call dragons, cannot (unless he's been keeping secrets).
Similarly, I have witnessed dragons creating brand-new formal scrolls by sheer will, others spending time and considerable resources using ultra-rare and unique objects to craft them, and some I know claim to not be capable.
Can they create permanent formal scrolls?
Your best bet would to find your nearest dragon and simply ask him or her. If they say "No", then it's probably best not to push on the subject.
Even if they couldn't, a dragon mage who could cast "Copy Formal Scroll" as if it was battle magic wouldn't need to be able to create ritual scrolls from scratch.
I don't know the local requirements for dragon magic, and by all appearances it appears to change from plane to plane, in some fashion. In the lands I inhabited before coming to Fortannis, for instance, one needed to be capable of casting four spells of the ninth circle in each existing form of magic, AND capable of casting formals in each school. THEN they needed to be sponsored by a member of the Council of Wyrms. NEXT, they needed to be train to cast Dragon Magic itself, a skill which generally took twice the effort needed to learn to simply read. Once that was done, for each matched rank of formal magic the novitiate knew, they were capable of casting one dragon magic spell from memory.
Now, memorizing a dragon magic spell was also a somewhat involved process, that involved memorizing the contents of a formal magic spell from a formal scroll, a process that generally consumed the scroll itself in the process, regardless of the scroll's temporary or permanent nature.
In addition to the traditional formal magics, the dragon mages of my lands had rituals that only they had access to. These included such spells as "Forge Dragon Warder", which would invoke one chosen person to become the Dragon Mage's Warder, capable of recognizing other Dragon Mages on sight, as well as benefit from special Dragon Mage-only protective and enhancing spells.
In one peculiar land I have travelled to,
all mages were, in fact, "dragon-rank mages". Wizards of the region capable of casting any sort of spell were born with a small mark on their skin in the shape of a dragon of sorts, and were capable of harnessing their
ken, which, roughly translated, means "life essence". Ken replenishes itself with sleep, food, and rest, depending on the health of the wizard, and dragon mages of this region are able to store their essence in gems of varying values, depending on their ranking within the Order.
In a third land that I have travelled to, dragon mages were simply the mortal avatars of the dragons, whom it was believed were responsible for the creation, metamorphisis, and destruction of all existence. While their corporeal selves were as vulnerable as you to physical harm, spiritually they were utterly indestructible. Dragon magic in this realm was simply an extension of their own will. Things occurred because they wished it to be so, and hard-pressed was anyone to be able to outmanuever the dragons' imagination.
How does one become a dragon caster?
Again, it depends, but I believe that the requirements in Fortannis are in some fashion similar to the ones I outlined in my first example above.
Will the soul forge ritual allow you to become a dragon?
I believe you are referring to
Spirit Forge. No, Spirit Forge will allow you to unlearn as many skills you like, and improve, hinder, or maintain the skills that you already know. Some people, after Spirit Forging, find that they know very little, but are capable of learning new skills at a rapid rate.
Or is there some other ritual that will do this?
You might be mistakenly thinking of "Race Change", a formal magic capable of altering one's physical, psychological, and mystical essence to match that of a particular common race. Suffice it to say, no, "dragon" is not one of the listed races to which one may transform. Some philosophers, in fact, have used this particular facet of formal magic to imply that some races, such as Human, Elf, Sarr, Gypsy, and the like are inherently superior to others, such as Goblin, Knoll, or Dragon. I would not bandy about such opinions as my own, however, since I find that Fate and The Powers That Be are fickle in maintaining a coherent sense of permanence to the universe.
And there's probably some powerful factions out there somewhere that have the choicest permanent ritual scrolls, including a permanent "Copy Formal Scroll".
Possibly. I would suggest that rushing to seek them out is a quick path to drawing from the Bag of Life and Death.
Do you know of the owner of any permanent "Copy Formal Scrolls"?
I would suggest that discussing this matter in so unsecure a location as the Dreamscape is foolhardy, and would endanger the lives of not just the people claiming such knowledge, but those near them, and the ones they discuss.
If you had a particularly rare scroll that they didn't have, a wonderful alliance could result.
I know of no quicker way to paint a target on someone's behind, either.
Is it possible to spellcraft a "Copy Formal Scroll"?
No.
So basically, there's production of formal scrolls somewhere, and people like us acquire them through the trickle down effect?
More or less correct.
Can a "Copy Permanent Formal Scroll" make a permanent scroll from a non-permanent scroll?
I have not seen any such scroll, but I would hazard to say "No" with full confidence.
Are there permanent battle magic scrolls?
Again, I am unclear on your meaning. What is a "battle magic"? Light? Flame Bolt? Circle of Power? Obliterate?
I feel like a schoolelf again!
No worries. Next you'll want to know about Shadow Magic, Harmonics, Rune Magic, Tattoo Magic, and Nature Magic.
@~}~~
G
