Akkadian Statuette

[Zal Iterr]

I received several questions on Akkadian Statuette, sometimes from anonymous emails which didn't allow me to respond.  I welcome comments and questions on this story.

[Zal Iterr]

One common comment was how quickly Leshada seems to become a 21st century teenager.

He has indeed wondered at all of the changes, but he's also tried very hard to fit in.  As he has inherited Martin's memories, he uses them as his guide for the vast majority of interactions.  Only when Martin's experience falls short, does Leshada use his old methods.

The other answer is that while it would be interesting to document the cultural clash, I wanted to focus this relatively short novel on the external developments, and thus spent less time on describing Leshada's adaptation.

Does that make sense?

[Wilkie]

I understand Leshada's normal healing spells won't work.  Probably because, cancer as we know it was not known "back in the day."  It no doubt existed, but they assumed it was something else.  However, if he looks at the cancer cells as foreign invaders, maybe he could use a  modification of a crop withering spells.  It's just a matter of his using modern knowledge of anatomy and biology to focus his spells.

Wilkie

[Zal Iterr]

Hello, Wilkie. A good idea. Leshada is certainly thinking about
different ways to attack the cancer, including one somewhat similar to
the one you propose.

Alas, although cancer was in fact known in his time, it was also known
that it was hard to heal with magic.
Normal healing spells encourage the tissues to regenerate quickly,
which helps after an injury, or a poisoning, or most infections.
Unfortunately, cancer cells are part of the body (have pretty much the
same DNA), so it makes them reproduce even faster. Leshada's teachers
didn't know about DNA, but they *did* know that normal healing spells
made the tumors grow faster.

In a few cases, tumors could be cut out. The main danger in ancient
times was infection; for which Leshada indeed knows a spell. If the
cancer cells were completely gone, the regular healing spells could
then be used to help the patient recover from surgery. There were also
some other spells that he will be contemplating later.

Alas, while I never specify what kind of cancer Cathy has, it's not
one that can be removed by surgery. But you can be sure that thinking
of ways to beat Cathy's cancer is Leshada's priority.

[Gloria Wentworth]

Hello all... I don"t see why a talent could not use a spell to
identify all the
evil malignant cells in her body. Once the cells were marked it would
be a
simple matter of tranporting them out of her body. Making things
disapear
being stock in trade for your average magician. This does not have to
be very
complicated. Remember the KISS principle.....

> > Wilkie- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Zal Iterr]

Good thinking, Gloria!  In fact, both Wilkie and you are proposing some good ideas -- quite similar to what Leshada is contemplating.

On Wednesday, July 27, 2011 10:11:16 PM UTC-4, Gloria Wentworth wrote:

Hello all...   I don"t see why a talent could not use a spell to
identify all the
evil malignant cells in her body. Once the cells were marked it would
be a
simple matter of tranporting them out of her body. Making things
disapear
being stock in trade for your average magician.  This does not have to
be very
complicated.  Remember the KISS principle.....

[Wilkie]

Then we'll have to wait and see how your muse deals with the matter.  I can see another possible addition to L\M's collection the lost boy's mother.  A very interesting possibility.

--
Member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Kids and Subs

[Zal Iterr]

I think, Leshada, would not have a problem with that in principle -- I hint that he enjoyed a few favors from a mother of a child he healed back in Kazallu.  However, Leshada

a) has two girls about whom he already cares a great deal, and who take a lot of his time, and who would probably not be happy with another woman in their boyfriend's life;

and b) Mrs. Keremough is a happily married woman.

On Friday, July 29, 2011 1:15:03 AM UTC-4, Wilkie wrote:

Then we'll have to wait and see how your muse deals with the matter.  I can see another possible addition to L\M's collection the lost boy's mother.  A very interesting possibility.

On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 2:35 PM, Zal Iterr <zali...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello, Wilkie.  A good idea.  Leshada is certainly thinking about
different ways to attack the cancer, including one somewhat similar to
the one you propose.

Alas, although cancer was in fact known in his time, it was also known
that it was hard to heal with magic.
Normal healing spells encourage the tissues to regenerate quickly,
which helps after an injury, or a poisoning, or most infections.
Unfortunately, cancer cells are part of the body (have pretty much the
same DNA), so it makes them reproduce even faster.  Leshada's teachers
didn't know about DNA, but they *did* know that normal healing spells
made the tumors grow faster.

In a few cases, tumors could be cut out.  The main danger in ancient
times was infection; for which Leshada indeed knows a spell.  If the
cancer cells were completely gone, the regular healing spells could
then be used to help the patient recover from surgery. There were also
some other spells that he will be contemplating later.

Alas, while I never specify what kind of cancer Cathy has, it's not
one that can be removed by surgery.  But you can be sure that thinking
of ways to beat Cathy's cancer is Leshada's priority.

On Jul 27, 4:57 pm, Wilkie <herbert.swa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I understand Leshada's normal healing spells won't work.  Probably because,
> cancer as we know it was not known "back in the day."  It no doubt existed,
> but they assumed it was something else.  However, if he looks at the cancer
> cells as foreign invaders, maybe he could use a  modification of a crop
> withering spells.  It's just a matter of his using modern knowledge of
> anatomy and biology to focus his spells.
> Wilkie

[Wilkie]

Scratch my last, I didn't realize Mr. K was still on the scene.  I thought Mrs. K was widowed or divorced.  Noe, let's see how he keeps the two being two for the long run.

[Wilkie]

You handled the last chapter nicely.  A good balance of old fashioned Babylonian magic and modern medical knowledge.

[Zal Iterr]

On Sunday, July 31, 2011 10:55:26 PM UTC-4, Wilkie wrote:

You handled the last chapter nicely.  A good balance of old fashioned Babylonian magic and modern medical knowledge.

Thank you! 

[Wilkie]

You're welcome.  I knew there was a way to finesse the problem.

[Zal Iterr]

What do you guys think of the latest chapter?  Did I make Cathy and Leshada suffer enough to create suspense?

Or did they get off too easily?

[Zal Iterr]

One of the readers noted that Leshada seemed quite knowledgeable about cancer by the time he attempted to heal Cathy,

and was able to merge the modern understanding of malignant cells, etc. with his study of sorcerous healing in Kazallu.

That's a good point.  I skipped a lot of detail, and some of it probably deserves to be shown.

Basically, just like other knowledge of our era, Leshada made an effort to mine Martin's memories,

and correlate them when possible with his own, older one.

In case of cancer, Martin had a limited knowledge, but enough to point Leshada to research.

And of course he did -- most likely using the Web.  Leshada was highly motivated to learn about cancer,

and to supplement his old studies of healing spells with modern data about cancer.

He would have researched Cathy's variety intensely.

By the time he performed the Spell of Drawing, he had as good a knowledge as any intelligent layman after a couple of months of research.

In fact, very similar to what many loved ones do when their family members are diagnosed with a dangerous disease.

But I did not show much of the research and integration thought on his part -- so let me know if that jarred anybody.

[Wilkie]

Considering the girls' ages and experience or rather their lack of, you hit the right balance

[Zal Iterr]

Thanks!

[Wilkie]

Now, I'm looking forward to the next part of the story.  In some ways this parallels the "Magic Ink" series.

[Zal Iterr]

On Friday, August 5, 2011 11:55:03 PM UTC-4, Wilkie wrote:

Now, I'm looking forward to the next part of the story.  In some ways this parallels the "Magic Ink" series.

Thanks, Wilkie.

I enjoyed the characters, and would like to see more of them, too.  But I need to have a plot clear in my mind before I could write a sequel -- I will give it some thought. 

[Wilkie]

Just be flexible.  It doesn't need to follow immediately after the present tale.  Ask yourself or rather your characters where they will be in three years and go from there.  One thought that crossed my mind is how is his power of divination.  Can your hero pick stocks that will make him money?  Or give him a willow branch and get him in the water witch business.  There are enough of those out and about for him to make money and hide in plain sight.

[Zal Iterr]

Interesting idea.  I suspect that in three years, he would be in college, so any work (such as dowsing for water) would have to be part-time.  I will have to look into it, but it may indeed be relatively unobtrusive, if other people are doing it.

On the other hand, stock-picking has to be handled carefully.  If a college student is successful all the time, it may call unwelcome attention.

[Dimek]

I Like to think it was a well done story. Tho I gotta ask why Martin/
las took so long to tell Pamela his secret.. If he loved her as he
said he did he shoulda told her sooner, granted he told Cathy to save
herlife but he kept it a secret still from Pamela, so much longer and
even for a while it seemed like he was favouring Cathy a bit more
( almost seems he did not trust her which begs if he loved her that
much then why could he not trust her with the secret sooner).. However
all in all a great read and hopefully a sequel maybe a few years down
the road in time for the three.

> > Member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Kids and Subs- Hide quoted text -

[Zal Iterr]

Hi, Dimek!

On Sunday, August 7, 2011 12:40:58 AM UTC-4, Dimek wrote:

I Like to think it was a well done story.

I like to think that as well :-)

 

Tho I gotta ask why Martin/
las took so long to tell Pamela his secret.. If he loved her as he
said he did he shoulda told her sooner, granted he told Cathy to save
herlife but he kept it a secret still from Pamela, so much longer and
even for a while it seemed like he was favouring Cathy a bit more
( almost seems he did not trust her which begs if he loved her that
much then why could he not trust her with the secret sooner)..

Good point, Dimek.  The answer is, to some extent, he didn't trust Pamela.

Trust is often not black or white.  Leshada/Martin (I will call him Martin) is afraid of others finding out about sorcery.

So, even with his girlfriends, whom he loves very much, he is afraid that they might spread his secret.

Not on purpose, but imagine the following scenarios:

During an interesting discussion on history, Pamela says "that's not really how it happened in Mesopotamia" or "no, even though rare, magic is real".

Or, there is some situation where say, a child is ill or badly injured, and she says "hold on, my boyfriend may be able to help".

Or say something about Diego's death being well deserved.

I am simplifying, but the fact of the matter is that he is afraid.  That's why he wants to use the Spell of Silence -- to be able to control this secret.  Particularly until the girls understand just how serious potential exposure might be.

So, with Cathy, he had no choice -- she was dying.  In a way that made it easier -- he was not willing to let her die even if she refused the Spell of Silence.

With Pamela, he wanted to do the same thing, but was afraid that she would react badly to his request to the ritual.  Note, he was thinking about it, but being human, he kept putting it off until a better moment.  Pamela guessing something and confronting him and Cathy in chapter 14, pushed him to do it.  Especially since he figured she was already half-convinced that something very strange was going on, he was able to have her take it seriously and accept the Spell of Silence; and even then he and Cathy had to push her a little.

But note that with all his doubts, Martin avoided lying to his girlfriends.  He kept silent when Pamela asked him if he had anything to do with Cathy's remission.  He also didn't answer when Cathy asked if he saved a child in Kazallu (he did, but didn't want to talk about it).  In short, he has a great deal of trust in his girls, but even so, it's not absolute, and tempered with his fear.

Hope that makes sense. Thanks for a thoughtful question.

 

However
all in all a great read and hopefully a sequel maybe a few years down
the road in time for the three.

[Jens Averbeck]

Hi zaliterr,

just got your E-Mail suggesting to pay a visit to this Forum and Post
my Idea (actually not originally mine) about the "Thickness" of Magic.


A reason why theres only such a "thin" weave of Magic in the World
could be because most People no longer believe in Magic. If you write
a sequel and people start to believe more in Magic so the Magic weave
becomes a bit stronger over time.

As i stated above, the Idea is not my own, got that one from a Movie
Version of Merlin

Greetings from Germany
Jens

[Zal Iterr]

On Monday, August 8, 2011 5:06:27 AM UTC-4, Jens Averbeck wrote:

Hi zaliterr,

A reason why theres only such a "thin" weave of Magic in the World 
could be because most People no longer believe in Magic. If you write
a sequel and people start to believe more in Magic so the Magic weave
becomes a bit stronger over time.

As i stated above, the Idea is not my own, got that one from a Movie
Version of Merlin

Hi, Jens,

an interesting approach.  I will keep it in mind.

My own initial concept -- not really spelled out, was the total amount of magic doesn't change, but it gets less concentrated over time.

That makes it more difficult to use without training and knowing how to do it -- so this was a rationale why in recent history, magic wasn't "rediscovered".  But Leshada/Martin, already knowing how to gather magic, was able to adapt to the more spread-out conditions.

Sort of like the difference between gold, in ancient times, being picked up from the ground in nuggets,

to having to sift sand for "color". 

[Wilkie]

The word to look for is "dowsing."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing

Our hero is smart enough not to get too greedy.  Greed is what gets the authorities on your tail.

[Zal Iterr]

Good point.  Keeping things modest is key.

I know about dowsing.  There is no evidence whatsoever that it works;

but I know some people convinced that it does.  So there must be a market, but it's probably small,

and mostly in smaller, rural farms in ranches in dryer areas.

Not sure how a college student would be able to serve that market.

An occasional thing -- yes, and could be an interesting episode to write about.

A steady income -- I just don't see it.  But a good idea -- I appreciate that.

On Thursday, August 11, 2011 10:58:21 PM UTC-4, Wilkie wrote:

The word to look for is "dowsing."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing

Our hero is smart enough not to get too greedy.  Greed is what gets the authorities on your tail.

On Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 8:03 PM, Zal Iterr <zali...@gmail.com> wrote:

Interesting idea.  I suspect that in three years, he would be in college, so any work (such as dowsing for water) would have to be part-time.  I will have to look into it, but it may indeed be relatively unobtrusive, if other people are doing it.

On the other hand, stock-picking has to be handled carefully.  If a college student is successful all the time, it may call unwelcome attention.

On Saturday, August 6, 2011 10:58:57 PM UTC-4, Wilkie wrote:

Just be flexible.  It doesn't need to follow immediately after the present tale.  Ask yourself or rather your characters where they will be in three years and go from there.  One thought that crossed my mind is how is his power of divination.  Can your hero pick stocks that will make him money?  Or give him a willow branch and get him in the water witch business.  There are enough of those out and about for him to make money and hide in plain sight.

On Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 6:58 AM, Zal Iterr <zal...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Friday, August 5, 2011 11:55:03 PM UTC-4, Wilkie wrote:

Now, I'm looking forward to the next part of the story.  In some ways this parallels the "Magic Ink" series.

Thanks, Wilkie.

I enjoyed the characters, and would like to see more of them, too.  But I need to have a plot clear in my mind before I could write a sequel -- I will give it some thought. 

[Wilkie]

Depends on where you have the story located.  Dowsers operate all over the US.  It's just a matter of developing a reputation for reliability.  If nothing else, he or his girls can win the lottery.

[John Brewer]

I would like to see it explore the relationships between them, and the
reactions of the two girls to this 'new' magic. It would be
interesting if they could also send time researching old texts to fill
in the gaps that Leshada had in his education.

As for gettting money with scrying, how about using Crime Stoppers? If
they picked crimes that gave $10,000 to $50,000 to lead to arrests,
then each of the three could slove one a year and give a good enough
income for them to makeit through college. The tips giving are
supposed to be anonymous. Heck, they could even do it from different
cities in the Northeast and do several each a year without arousing
too much interest. It would also follow in line with the saving of the
lost little boy.

Another way would be to find lost money. It doesn't have to be much,
but there has to be some amount of money lost by people over time.
Maybe a family that kept some hidden for a rainy day by it got
forgotten and people moved or died. There have been stories of people
that find money in old Mason jars when they but a house, money left by
some long forgotten family. Criminals who stash money in a hurry and
forget where it is or get put in jail for long enough to forget the
location. Heck, as much money as there is in drugs, you know that some
of it gets lost. Maybe the local dealer gets killedby a rival and his
'stash' of cash isn't found.

Just a couple of ways that they could make money without drawing a lot
of attention.

[Zal Iterr]

Thanks, I've added those to me "sequel ideas" file.

I need to figure out a central conflict.  I will need to think about it.

In the meantime, I am trying to sketch out another fantasy -- a more traditional one.