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Wonderful pc and a whole era of the server. To be remembered forevermore.
I loved the journal.

[Arcane Mechanics: Foundational Considerations in Field Theory and Energy Elevation]

As per today's discussion, here is my cleaned up thoughts on what I meant by a potential energy theory of "arcane energy":

Arcane Mechanics: Foundational Considerations in Field Theory and Energy Elevation
A compiled argument for reconsidering the baseline principles
 Clockhand, C.


On the Use and Misuse of the Term "Arcane Energy"

The phrase "arcane energy" is broadly misused – applied to essence, force, intent, and fuel alike. It lacks any defined boundary.
It appears most frequently as a placeholder term - a linguistic convenience, not a unit of measure, nor a defined state.
This notes proposes that two dominant - but incompatible - models lie beneath this confusion. One is legacy - simple, intuitive, widely accepted, and functional in limited contexts. The other is theoretical: abstracted from physical principles and barely tested, but, perhaps, more explanatory.



I. The Resource Model

The resource model is foundational in nearly all arcane curricula. It proposes that a caster draws power from some stored or surrounding fount, and spends it to produce effect.
This model treats arcane energy similar to a finite fluid - measurable, exhaustible, and replenishable through rest, ritual, or proximity to sources. Spells are "costed", magic items are "charged", recovery is "refueling."
It explains certain observed features:

Caster exhaustion after numerous spells. But why we haven't found am ore efficient way if we are surrounded by limitless energy?

Wands, scrolls, and potions functioning as consumable reserves. A common example, but not exclusive to the resource model.

Anti-magic zones as null-spaces where the "supply" is inaccessible. Flawed vision on said phenomena. Where woudl energy go? It can't disappear. It is not misplaced either, such would cause increase in fount surrounding such a zone. Which would cause oversaturated wild-magic zones in close vicinity of anti-magic zone.

This model is simple, coherent, and technically sufficient. But it may be incorrect.



II. Persistent Failures of Substitution and Storage

If arcane energy were truly a consumable resource - like heat, light, or electricity - it should be storable, measurable, and most importantly: transferable.
Attempts have been made for centuries to create devices or conduits that would allow a non-caster to perform unlimited spell effects simply by "feeding" energy into an enchanted system. These attempts either fail outright, or require impractically rare materials, unstable constructs, or irreversible attunement.
Spell sequencers function once or a limited number of times, then collapse, impossibly expensive and difficult to produce. Or function steadily, but outrageously impossibly expensive and difficult to produce.

Wands are capable of only predetermined outcomes and cannot be conventionally recharged.

Fuel sources allow the tapping (or elevation in proposed framework) part of the process, but require complex machinery or enchantment to be fed into.

No generalized system for "arcane battery" creation has been discovered. If energy is a resource, this failure is inexplicable.



III. Proposed Alternative: Arcane Elevation Model

Let us suppose arcane energy is not a stored quantity, but a state.
The ambient world is filled with inert arcane presence - a weak, evenly distributed field incapable of action. This field is analogous to gravitational potential energy: it is only usable once elevated to a higher state and realized into kinetic energy.
Spellcasting, then, is not the drawing of fuel - but the application of effort to raise a local portion of this field to a usable tension - a threshold sufficient to produce structured effect. The caster forces the ambient condition upward, compresses it into a shape, and then releases it.
This model offers natural explanations for:

Why complex spells take more effort and not just more energy.

How wild-magic fields exist, as well effects of increased chaos - oversaturated zones where elevated state is achieved naturally and spontaneously.

How anti-magic fields suppress even the beginning of casting by flattening the gradient needed to elevate.

This would also explain why substitution (magic cookies) was never achieved. Because elevation is not storage. One does not trap a wound spring in a bucket. We fail to store "raw" arcane energy because there is no stable low-state that can be held like oil in a jar. Elevation must be maintained, not merely captured.
This also reframes caster limitation: a wizard can only elevate a limited number of field instances per day because doing so is an act of work - mental, physical, and possibly neurological.


IV. Conclusion

I believe the resource model is not wrong - but it is incomplete, and likely misapplied in foundational theory.
Arcane energy may not be a fluid to gather and spend. I suspect it is tension, raised by effort and shaped through geometry.

Maybe we do not need bigger buckets? Maybe we just need better winding keys.

Perhaps a potion, or contraption, that enables a shout for a limited time

I think this would be fair if a sum based on part of the total furniture cost within the property, would've dropped on person's sublime bank deposit when they lose their property.

Think of it as repo scribes returning the excess of realized assets.

Losing property always sucks, but this could partly soften the blow, or make it easier to recover.
From the rp and setting point of view I do not see why this shouldn't be a thing.

I hope this is technically possible. Would make a great QoL feature.

I must also add that same apllies to the black market archeological store - items lacking an aspect.

Ritz,

I will be brief where I should be descriptive - too tired from endless work.
I wish to place a large order. Maybe even book a restaurant. You see, it is my Birthday on Tammuz 18, so I wish to host an open party. Everyone is invited. I will foor the bill.

Cogsworth Clockhand
Vizier, Clockmaker

Dia,

Your message is received with some measure of relief. I had assumed the worst, then slightly better, then a range of possibilities statistically diminishing in likelihood.

Your absence from the battlefield is entirely forgivable. I have found it a poor environment for both coffee and intellectual work... Your return shall be timely, and your promised brew, provided it meets the standards you now threaten to set, will be most welcome.

Rest, then return.

Cogsworth Clockhand
Still Intact, Marginally Soot-Stained, Clockmaker

Knowing The Orb was an experience so enlightening, so lifechanging. I was there during events that have resulted in the Orb coming into our world. Followong the Orb's journey was ever entertaining.
The Orb will be missed, and it's carrier as well...

All I could say was already said better than I ever could. Artillery system - blew my mind. Kusatma - blew my mind. Locations and music - blew my mind.
Thank you for a wonderful time!

Warning in advance, I might be unavailable from 20 to 29 of april. Maybe I will be of limited availability, but unlikely - depends on available hardware and connection.

He certainly brought flavor and drive to Rossa. I will miss these times.

I will miss Robert. He was the good kind of a weirdo.

Jamileh,

They are available and they work.

Cogs

To Miss Dia Arcmantle,

Your letter has been read, noted, and - after a moment's consideration - accepted. Talent to arcane or not, I will find it easier to work with a person acquainted with magocratic tradition.

Effective immediately, you are hereby retained as Executive Assistant under the auspices of Cogs Industries. Your duties shall encompass administrative assistance (including correspondence), workshop coordination, project supervision, and the occasional retrieval of documents from high shelves. A full outline of responsibilities might not be constant, as it is interesting times we live in.

Perhaps it is time, as you suggest by implication, to expand operations more formally. One pair of hands, no matter how dexterous, can only tighten so many bolts. Of course, I have my orphans, and gnomes, but there is a potential for more. Hiring personnel was an inevitability I have long postponed - your initiative makes the first such engagement rather timely.

There is something I am missing... Uniforms - yes, a clear symbol of distinction. I suppose we should work out something suitably austere and recognizable. Brass trim, perhaps... Something that says 'Innovation. Industry. Ingenuity.'

Your ideas regarding the brewing engine are noted, and merit further development. I had a similar idea in regard of recreation of the caliphal coffee method... I anticipate your further proposals, once you have surveyed available local materials.

Welcome to the endeavor.

    Cogsworth Clockhand
    Clockmaker
    Exectutive, Cogs Industries
    Professor of Arcane Engineering

To Attendant Raizu al-Chahi
Emporium of Glamour, Ephia's Well


Esteemed Attendant,

Permit me first to extend my compliments - both as a client and as a fellow artisan - on the continued excellence and inventive boldness of the Emporium's latest seasonal displays. It is always a rare pleasure to see true artistry triumph over mere trend, and rarer still to see craftsmanship so consistently honored amidst silk and sequins.

I write today not in critique, but commission. A final addition is required to complete a particular ensemble of mine - one that has served both on runway and rostrum. The hat is of course immaculate, the suit exact. Yet, I find myself missing that most dignified companion of the modern gentleman, something to tie the image: a walking cane.

This shall not be a mere prop nor gaudy affectation. I require a piece that serves as both statement and instrument. Specifically: a cane of rich mahogany and brass construction, elegant in form yet built to the internal specifications of a wizard's staff - arcane channels, inlays for conductive attunement, a core that can bear enchantments without structural fatigue.

I believe such a piece falls squarely within the capabilities of Angelica Illydo's ateliers, whose works I hold in singular regard. Should this request fit within her current commissions, I would be most grateful for an estimate of cost, timeframe, and availability.

I am, as always, at the Emporium's disposal should measurements or consultation be required.


In precision and polish,
Cogsworth Clockhand
Clockmaker, Proprietor; Occasional Dabbler in Appliqué