Of
Practicalities
Some have asked
how I Philibus the Amulet am able to use pen and ink and paper to
record these documents. As an amulet, I have no hands of course! The answer is simple. As I was
a mage and retain that knowledge in my current form, I use magic.
But how can I use
magic with no hands? How would I prepare the material
ingredients and make the somatic gestures that summon the form of the
magical
energy? These questions proved to be less than simple. It was the
foresight
of the one who placed me in this crystalline form that enabled me to
overcome
these difficulties.
In the course of his
studies (I will refer to the one who transferred me as a male only for
the sake of convenience.) he had learned of a race called the
Pharim who occupied various evil places. They had no hands and yet used
magic. After long searching, he found them in the ruins of Myth Dranor.
He studied them and learned many of their secrets over the years. From
a
captured spell book, he learned the means by which they form the
magical energy
using only their thoughts. In this spell book was the spell by which I
can
move small, light objects short distances. This spell is called
"Telekinesis". Using this spell I am able to form the magical energy
inside my mind instead of outside my body and use this energy to act as
if I had a long flexible limb. This limb of energy is created and
continues until all its strength is gone. I can lift a total of about
20 pounds before the spells energy is exhausted. This amounts to being
able to lift a ten pound spell book twice or 200 tenth pound pages.
Although the strength of the limb is almost negligible, it is
sufficient for me to continue my research without much help.
Using this spell as a
guide, he developed a spell that he calls "Automatic Writing". This
spell lasts 2 hours and using a similar limb of energy, I can
use pen, ink and paper to write. I have but to order my thoughts and
pretend
I am speaking them. These imagined spoken words are then written using
the
magical limb. Oddly, the handwriting is not mine, at least not what it
was
when I had my own hands. It looked quite alien to me at first, but I
soon
got used to its supernatural regularity. You can see that there is
nothing
of humanity in the writing. When a person writes, his personality is
apparent
and even his mood is transferred to the page in the variant shapes of
the
letters. My Automatic Writing does not allow for this individuality,
but
is sufficient for carrying the meaning which is sufficient for the day.
I
would someday like to research a spell that would allow for more
control and
give me back my old handwriting.
Galranwyn has been kind
enough to provide me with my own desk. What a luxury! I imposed upon
Natasha to help me in positioning my needs so them may be readily
available. Now, I can do my work using the absolute minimum of energy
The drawers are always
open on my desk as I can not open them easily. The books I use most
often are arraigned against the wall behind the desk so that
they overlap, but their inspection does not require me to lift them.
Over
time these arraignments are so unchanging that I can maintain my
concentration on a book or on someone speaking and use the spells. When
I am interviewing someone, they will admit that it is disconcerting to
talk to a crystal globe while an animated pen scribbles and scratches
away by itself. By now, the members of Local 509 regard this as
commonplace and have stopped noticing it altogether.