A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Defeated? The Big M (aka Big Green Lightbulb, or, if you grant him the sobriquet he prefers, Morningstar) was fooled, conned, bamboozled, but hardly defeated. Mind you, Al managed to pretty much short out Morgenstern's dreaded super-aura for a second or two -- he MIGHT have been vulnerable to an attack by the other Masters if they had acted immediately (Al himself -- or his Sleeve -- being too dazed to follow with another assault).

If you have read some or all of old Al Majius stories, you would know that this has been [s]dragging on[/s] building for some time. There WILL be a story where Morgenstern is finally defeated -- I even know the magical underpinnings for how it will be done. I don't know yet exactly what the cost will be for Our Heroes (but there will be a cost...), or how [s]much longer I can stall[/s] many more steps there will be before the Conlegium and Al think they are ready.

RM
Last edited by Robert_Moriyama on March 03, 2008, 01:54:26 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by kailhofer »

I really do like reading these stories, Robert. I'm always nay-saying and finding fault with them, so I felt I should say it outright: all the Majius stories are fun to read, and I like them. I read this one the moment I saw it in the list.

I was glad to see Al doing an out and out attack on the Big M instead of an escape move. I liked the combat sequence, and I liked the choices of Al's spells. Well thought out.

What were your inspirations for the style of magic combat? Are there plans for Morgie to change tactics at all in the final fight(s)?

What was up with Githros? He seemed a bit... I dunno... distant, not his usual self.

Did you consider keeping the ruse a secret from the audience, too, besides just from Janine? I liked that she couldn't know, don't get me wrong, but I wished that I didn't know. When I looked at it, I knew he was really safe on a sofa somewhere, and that's not nearly as gripping. Know what I mean? Using a Star Trek example, if in the original series episode Amok Time, where Kirk & Spock have to fight each other to the death on Vulcan, if we knew that Bones drugged Kirk so that he'd look dead ahead of time, Spock's apparent killing of his friend isn't nearly as dramatic to watch.

Anyhow, it was still a good story.

Nate
Last edited by kailhofer on March 03, 2008, 10:58:26 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

I really do like reading these stories, Robert. I'm always nay-saying and finding fault with them, so I felt I should say it outright: all the Majius stories are fun to read, and I like them. I read this one the moment I saw it in the list.

I was glad to see Al doing an out and out attack on the Big M instead of an escape move. I liked the combat sequence, and I liked the choices of Al's spells. Well thought out.

What were your inspirations for the style of magic combat? Are there plans for Morgie to change tactics at all in the final fight(s)?
Morgenstern has mainly relied on the turn-up-the-wattage-and-fry-them tactic, but has used more directed attacks before (when he injured Magister Blackstone, and obviously when he carved messages demanding that Al be turned over to him in parking lots, mountainsides, etc.). In this case, he extended his aura into tentacle-like appendages to try to squeeze Al out of his protective shell, and concentrated it into a focused ball of energy he could toss like a firebomb ...

Al's tactics could be viewed as Spartan shield wall combined with ninja smokescreen followed by [s]Jedi lightsaber[/s] a samurai-style attack... All the spells used (or variants) have appeared in previous stories (the fortress spell in "A Matter of F.A.C.T." (I think), the sword spell in "A Matter of Time", the shadow spell in "Dark Matters", the mist spell in "Matters of State"), except for the Sleeve trick.

I think we can expect more sophisticated tactics from Morgenstern in the final battle (when he will be facing Al and a number of Al's friends and allies).
What was up with Githros? He seemed a bit... I dunno... distant, not his usual self.
Since Al's empowerment allowed Githros to spend most of his time at sizes from XXL to Humongous, he has often served as Al's "muscle". When physical force is appropriate, Githros steps in (and, when necessary, steps on the bad guy). He still knows a lot more about obscure magical spells than Al (or even most of the Magisters), but Al's own repertoire is sufficient for most purposes, so his role as advisor / librarian has diminished. In this story, his strength was irrelevant, and his knowledge of magic unnecessary -- he mostly had to keep his mouth shut so Janine and Billy would react appropriately to Al's apparent demise.

Did you consider keeping the ruse a secret from the audience, too, besides just from Janine? I liked that she couldn't know, don't get me wrong, but I wished that I didn't know. When I looked at it, I knew he was really safe on a sofa somewhere, and that's not nearly as gripping. Know what I mean? Using a Star Trek example, if in the original series episode Amok Time, where Kirk & Spock have to fight each other to the death on Vulcan, if we knew that Bones drugged Kirk so that he'd look dead ahead of time, Spock's apparent killing of his friend isn't nearly as dramatic to watch.
Um, no ... The early reveal to the reader just sort of happened when I was working out the mechanics of the spell for myself.

I think if I had kept it a secret from the readers, I would have had to do an after-the-fact infodump to explain things. (As it is, Githros explains things to Janine and Billy offstage. The readers learn about the Sleeve trick when Al does, so they don't need to be "told" later.) There was the suggestion that Al suffered pain and shock from the Sleeve's injuries and eventual incineration, so it wasn't as risk-free as it might have been. (It seems likely that this was the first time a Sleeve had deliberately been set up to be destroyed -- I mean, presumably, the things aren't easy to make!)

RM
Last edited by Robert_Moriyama on March 04, 2008, 02:25:08 AM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Visit http://www.pathcom.com/~bmoriyam/Materia%20Magica.htm for a primer on Al's world and most of the recurring characters, plus synopses and links to the first 10(!) stories in the series (from the first story, "A Matter of Life and Undeath" up to "A Matter of Urgency").

Stories that have appeared since the last time that there website was updated are as follows:

http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/shorts/ ... tters.html

http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/shorts/ ... Honor.html

http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/shorts/ ... Money.html

http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/shorts/ ... Pride.html

http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/shorts/ ... Trust.html

and, of course, this month's story.

(Even I'm not sure this list is complete ...)

RM
Last edited by Robert_Moriyama on March 04, 2008, 02:57:12 AM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by kailhofer »

Morgenstern has mainly relied on the turn-up-the-wattage-and-fry-them tactic, but has used more directed attacks before (when he injured Magister Blackstone, and obviously when he carved messages demanding that Al be turned over to him in parking lots, mountainsides, etc.). In this case, he extended his aura into tentacle-like appendages to try to squeeze Al out of his protective shell, and concentrated it into a focused ball of energy he could toss like a firebomb ...

Al's tactics could be viewed as Spartan shield wall combined with ninja smokescreen followed by [s]Jedi lightsaber[/s] a samurai-style attack... All the spells used (or variants) have appeared in previous stories (the fortress spell in "A Matter of F.A.C.T." (I think), the sword spell in "A Matter of Time", the shadow spell in "Dark Matters", the mist spell in "Matters of State"), except for the Sleeve trick.

I think we can expect more sophisticated tactics from Morgenstern in the final battle (when he will be facing Al and a number of Al's friends and allies).
Well, before you "pen" that, are you interested in seeing a different tack on magic combat? It might not work for you, but I have a lot of magic combat from an unpublished novel & start of a second that I could send you a few bits of. Since you say you're not really basing the battle on any literary precedent (i.e., Gandalf vs Saruman), maybe some kind of comparison could be of assistance. No big deal, just a thought.
Since Al's empowerment allowed Githros to spend most of his time at sizes from XXL to Humongous, he has often served as Al's "muscle". When physical force is appropriate, Githros steps in (and, when necessary, steps on the bad guy). He still knows a lot more about obscure magical spells than Al (or even most of the Magisters), but Al's own repertoire is sufficient for most purposes, so his role as advisor / librarian has diminished. In this story, his strength was irrelevant, and his knowledge of magic unnecessary -- he mostly had to keep his mouth shut so Janine and Billy would react appropriately to Al's apparent demise.
Huh. I never once thought of him of a librarian/adviser. He always reminded me of Caramon from the early Dragonlance books. Fun-loving, good for heavy lifting... and kind of along for the ride. That, and as the "moral center". Strange to say that about shape-changing demon that fits in Al's ear and is supposedly responsible for many evil deeds, but that's how I saw him.

Nate
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Hmmm. An interesting series. Al seems to be gaining all sorts of allies; the lion-men with their thornwood for extra wand power, the vampires with their mastery of their own form of magic (I wonder it the Countess throws a darkness spell, whether that would survive Morgenstern's wrath more successfully than Al's darkness spell?)...
Al's darkness spell IS a Wallachian (vampire) magic spell, which depends on a less disciplined form of magical energy (The Wild) shared by vampires and lycanthropes. Shadows, shapeshifting (the mist spell and Al's physical transformation at the end of this story), etc., are part of Wallachian magic. Morgenstern's magic (and Al's fortress and sword spells, among others) are based on Kabbalistic / Hermetic traditions. We haven't seen any Druidic (Celtic) or Voudoun / Santeria (African-based) techniques in the series ... Lamia might be able to cast a stronger shadow spell due to her greater experience and closer connection to Wild magical energy, but she would likely use the same spell.
I've come up with at least three ways that Morgenstern could possibly be defeated (although of course I'm not sure if they'd all work, or if, in fact, any of them would) with Al's current friends and resources; and only one of them involves the production of more mana drains.

No, wait, four ways. Two of which involve Prufrock's world's magic-draining ability. Although the fourth way is merely a variant of the second.
I will not say how Morgenstern will be defeated in the end, but the clues are there in previous stories ... and no, it will not involve mana sinks / drains or Prufrock himself.
Oh - and in this latest story, how did Al know that Morgenstein wouldn't celebrate Al's final defeat by killing off his remaining family?
In my view, Morgenstern is a coward and a bully (the two things often (if not always) go together), but he thinks of himself as noble, no matter how heinous his actions (killing a school full of innocent children!). Hence leaving Janine and Billy and Githros alive allows him to feel that he is being generous (although his real motive is probably to allow them more time to suffer). Given that all three have thwarted or at least attempted to thwart his plans before, he would likely attack them at a later date...

RM
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Yes, granted... but how did Al know that? He was putting his wife in substantially more danger than he was in. (He might have suspected that would be the case... but I don't see him as too likely to risk Janine's life on a mere suspicion.)
He had two earlier incidents as a guide to Morgenstern's character and behavior: Morgenstern's sparing of Magister Blackstone's life after defeating him at the Conlegium Magistris; and Morgenstern's sparing of Al, Janine, and Billy after Al first hit him with the mana drain spheres. In both cases, it could be argued that Morgenstern was weakened and fearful that he might be defeated if he stayed too long -- but Al would feel safe in assuming that Morgenstern's ego would not allow him to admit that to himself.

Al and the senior Magisters have studied Morgenstern and would know that he sees himself as superior, not bound by bargains with lesser beings, but magnanimous in victory. They would know that he would see sparing the rest of the Majius Magical Services crew as an act of generousity when he is at his strongest ...

(Also, there may have been a contingent of Magisters standing by to protect or apport (teleport) Janine, Billy, and Githros to safety if necessary, even if it wasn't mentioned in the story.)

We saw evidence that Al's use of the Sleeve as a stand-in for the duel wasn't entirely without risk -- if Morgenstern had chosen to torture Al instead of killing him quickly, Al might have been unable to disengage from the Sleeve and would have suffered all the pain and trauma as if it was his real body taking damage.

RM
Last edited by Robert_Moriyama on March 05, 2008, 01:47:43 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Any more questions? ...Bueller? ...Bueller?

Whew! I was beginning to feel like I was defending a doctoral thesis (not that I would know, having only a lowly baccalaureate (which has nothing to do with baccarat or L'Oreal hair products, strangely enough).)

But it's nice to know that people care enough to pick a nit or two ... or three ... or a googleplex (which has nothing to do with multi-screen movie theaters operated by Google).

RM
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

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Well, before you "pen" that, are you interested in seeing a different tack on magic combat? It might not work for you, but I have a lot of magic combat from an unpublished novel & start of a second that I could send you a few bits of. Since you say you're not really basing the battle on any literary precedent (i.e., Gandalf vs Saruman), maybe some kind of comparison could be of assistance. No big deal, just a thought.
Sure, why not? As I mention in one of these posts, there are 'schools' of magic that have not appeared at all in the series. Maybe one of the Magisters who hasn't been mentioned before, or even one called in from another College, could use some novel (to Al, and (they would hope) to Morgenstern) spells in The Big Brawl.
Huh. I never once thought of him (Githros) as a librarian/adviser. He always reminded me of Caramon from the early Dragonlance books. Fun-loving, good for heavy lifting... and kind of along for the ride. That, and as the "moral center". Strange to say that about shape-changing demon that fits in Al's ear and is supposedly responsible for many evil deeds, but that's how I saw him.

Nate
Githros really only fulfilled that function (magical reference librarian) in the first couple of stories, before Al acquired the Morgenstern Grimoires and began discussing tactics and technical issues with the Conlegium Magistris on a regular basis. After that, he was more Al's Brute Force option (sometimes concealed, sometimes out in the open for intimidation purposes) and general pain in the -- er -- ear. But even now, Githros knows about obscure stuff that Al hasn't heard of before (Sleeves, for example)...

RM
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Re: A Matter of Form By Robert Moriyama

Post by kailhofer »

Hey, just FYI, but the links on your Materia Magica don't work unless you change the "www2" to "www", probably from the Aphelion makeover.

I was looking because I was trying to remember if Morgenstern was alive or dead. Because if alive, perhaps he should be attacked with dead things or maybe just have Janine shoot him with a mana sink-tipped bow and arrow. If dead, try things that make him alive. That would make him vulnerable, in theory.

On Morgie's side, he was a necromancer, right? Then what he does in the fight should be consistent with the art of necromancy. If the 'big green lightbulb' glow doesn't work, he'd have to attack with what he knows, logically.

Anyhow, just thoughts... Good luck!

Nate
Last edited by kailhofer on March 08, 2008, 11:30:24 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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