He’d like for you to talk about your take on the magic school trope. What do you like or dislike about other books who use that plot device, and what do you think about them in general?
Are there other magic universities on this continent outside of Lenore? If so, will they ever interact with the University of Lenore?
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It was previously stated that the Black Star Sapphire allows for space bending spells so I was wondering if any of the other conduits had specialties. If not I’d also be curious if we’ll ever get out of Gilbratha.
Woooh! Okay, this is a meaty one. 
The magic school trope has been beloved for a very long time, with one of my first introductions being Ursula K. Le Guin’s stories (which again, I read in defiant secrecy for fear of my mother finding out about my vices.)
I think many of us are captivated by the idea that if you were only able to go to magic school (if only you got your Hogwarts letter!) you would be able to perform incredible feats, too.
If you’re a Learner, like I am, it’s the love of learning about physics and chemistry and how to make an instrument croon just so, cranked up to 11.
As a child, when I would sneak my fantasy books, I liked to take notes about the magic, because deep down I felt like if I understood it better maybe it would allow me to control it, too, and it would become just a little real. And, you know, it’s just fun to take notes and learn things. Especially things you’re not supposed to be learning.
Now, I think everyone here will be familiar with Harry Potter. (Which my mother found in my possession twice, and on the second time grounded me for an entire year… FROM READING. Oh the torture.)
My problems with Harry Potter are many, which mostly have to do with Rowling writing a children’s story without thought to what it might become, and then trying to roll with it, etc.
(And to be clear, my problems with Harry Potter are separate from my problems with Rowling herself.)
But it obviously got something right, and I think it’s largely that intrinsic fantasy of being special, combined with a wondrous, fantastical world that hides darkness just under the surface.
As an adult, I still enjoy Harry Potter, but my whole perspective on the story has shifted. Harry Potter is someone who has been deliberately abused, and then in many ways groomed by his supposed saviors.
The abuse, neglect, and putrid dark side of his new magical world are right there for him to see, but in many ways he is blind to them because of Stockholm Syndrome, or them being the lesser evil to the Dursleys. He is desperate.
So I read it as if Harry is an unreliable narrator–an 11 year old boy who is deeply damaged and only gets more damaged as the series goes on. And it’s lovely in its own way, if not what Rowling intended.
Setting aside Harry Potter, there are plenty of magical school stories. My general dislike appears is when there’s nothing about “school” to do with the story, except for a reason to cram pretty hormonal people into forced proximity.
I know not everybody loves learning, has any curiosity about the world, or enjoys wild speculation about the nature of magical phenomena. Those books are for someone. But when the school is just a setting, and nothing more, it leaves me disappointed.
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There are several other magical schools of various size within the known lands, and students from various schools might interact in some ways.
For instance, a cohort sent from Silva Erde to perform in Lenore’s end of term exhibitions.
Or a dueling circuit sent from Lenore around to Osham.
However, they don’t have any strong inter-school cooperation or competitions. It’s been tried over the centuries a few times, and has fallen into and out of style/favor.
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What were your major inspirations? What did you draw from or echo when designing your world, magic system and theme?
Particularly other fiction that inspired you to write this story but irl inspirations work also.
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Hey, Flow!
First question first, I’ll get to your second if I’m fast enough!
Just so we and anyone reading are on the same page, star sapphires are used as components in space-bending spells, but not as a particular aid in casting space-bending spells when using the sapphire as a Conduit.
There are other gems, precious metals, and other magical substances that are used in all kinds of other spells, and which would also be used as a Conduit in a pinch, though.
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In PGTS they call their planet, “Earth” a few times… Is this just coincidence/translation, matching up with the plane of Earth, or is there some other significance to it?
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First post, Welcome Lore!
This is another big one.
My inspirations from this story have come from a ton of places and personal interests, all mashed together and then built into something greater than its initial building blocks, in new directions that come about from the consqeuences of old decisions, etc.
Each building block, each choice, affected the outcome of the support beams around it.
I also sometimes get inspiration for things when I like the concept of a story but am deeply disappointed by the execution. “I would have done it differently! Better!” I think to myself, whether that’s hubris or just personal taste, who knows.
My initial idea for the story had several pieces.
One was that I wanted to write something set in a Victorian England kind of place. I had watched Penny Dreadful and I liked the way the city felt but I didn’t want the occult aspect of it, and I wanted the women to wear pants and suits half the time, and for things to be more magical/gaslamp.
And then, with creating the magic system based around the Circle, the city morphed into something where people have a lot of circular, domed buildings, and towers, and such.
Two was the magic system, which was developed largely because I wanted something that would act like a science while remaining awe-inspiring and mysterious. I wanted power that would not allow my main character to grow too fast, which had been a problem in my first series.
And I also wanted the magic system to have built-in conflict, so it could be used as a solution but also a creator of problems. That lead to the Aberrants. Inspiration for how to implement those was taken from some SCP’s (you can read about them online, google it if you’re not familiar), and also Lord of the Mysteries, which I think was also inspired by the SCPs.
But I didn’t want the Aberrants to be objects, I wanted them to be beings
even if unrecognizable after their break event.
And thirdly, I had an idea for two main characters. A liar and a thief. One a brown-skinned girl from some indigenous culture. One a criminal. Both of them changed a ton while developing everything, and became Siobhan and Oliver.
Professor Lacer was inspired in some ways by Professor Snape, mixed with the tenets of Rationality that Eliezer Yudkowsky talks about on LessWrong and in his book, Rationality: From AI to Zombies. I wanted to write it while I learned it, and share some of these new ways of thinking about thinking that had impacted me so much when I read them.
Each of these structural pieces for the story, when developed, ended up modifying and morphing the other elements, until we have a twisted structure of a story where all of the ideas fit together and support each other, and none would be the same without any of the others.
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Keid, yay!
This is open to interpretation, and I leave it deliberately so.
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No one waiting in line, so here’s your second answer:
I do have plans for ways the story could move outside of Gilbratha.
It’s nothing totally concrete yet, so I can’t promise anything one way or another.
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Is the ring the professor stole from the safe actually S’s or another faux ring?
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This might technically be a spoiler, but it’s small enough that I’ll go ahead and answer. I don’t think anyone’s experience will be ruined by knowing the answer now.
It is, actually, Siobhan’s ring.
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I just want to express sympathy with your answer re: parents that are anti-fantasy book. My parents were never that way, but I had a grandmother who said to me (when I showed her a book of fantasy spells I wrote) “magic is evil, and is forbidden by God. I don’t like this at all.” I was devastated. The way she said it made it sound like all the fantasy books I loved (like Tolkien, CS Lewis, Raymond Feist, ect.) were also evil. It took me years before I actually understood the theology that this comes from before I realized how dumb it was. This discouraged me from writing for years. I am glad you were not so inhibited.
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In 112, Ilma asks S to remind Lacer that he still has some of her books. Has she gotten those back yet?
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I just want to express sympathy with your answer re: parents that are anti-fantasy book. My parents were never that way, but I had a grandmother who said to me (when I showed her a book of fantasy spells I wrote) “magic is evil, and is forbidden by God. I don’t like this at all.” I was devastated. The way she said it made it sound like all the fantasy books I loved (like Tolkien, CS Lewis, Raymond Feist, ect.) were also evil.
I want to express my sympathy (empathy?) with both of you, and anyone else who had this happen. My mom threw away my Harry Potter books and my collection of HP stuff because she went through a pretty extreme phase of “witchcraft is the devil’s creation!” (I mean, it’s obviously not, no matter how you argue it…)
My question, which hopefully contains no spoilers, but that I have been dying to know: how are Erythreans different from regular horses? Intelligence, empathy, etc, of course. Do they have other magical qualities? What in their appearance differs from regular horses? Color? Shimmer (champagne gene)? Conformation? Excessive hair? Weird patterns?
Oh, thanks, JKlarinet. 
I had to put my foot down and give some ultimatums that I was totally willing to folllow through on when my mother accused me of giving my readers demons and colluding with Satan.
But on the bright side, when I was discussing that incident with some author friends, they encouraged me to lean into it. So, someday, I plan to do a giveaway or engagement challenge all based around giving my readers demons.
“Have my books given you demons? If not, would you like some?” And then I’ll give out demon stickers and plushies or something.
It’s amazing the silver linings that can come out of hardship.
And also, resilience is so useful for absolutely all areas of life.
And knowing when to say, “Enough, you can’t treat me like that.”
I hope that you’ve lost that inhibition and are writing now, too?
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How many non-human races exist and what is the status of granted rights to non-majority races in Lenore vs other countries?
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Lol no, he hasn’t. They are temporarily misplaced under a stack of other books in his cottage, somewhere.
If he doesn’t get them back to her by the Summer (fall) break, it’s going to cause strife. She already suspects that he’s trying to “accidentally” add her books to his personal collection.
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Where are the apprentices chosen by the other professors?
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