The only one we’ve met is Lacer. We don’t even know for sure whether the Archmage is one or not! But they’re talked about like they’re…uncommon but not super rare? To the point even of Lacer teaching a class on it?
And yet, given all the events that have been happening, if the coppers/Pendragon Corps/Red Guard/Architects had them, you’d think they’d have been deployed in the various shenanigans that have taken place.
Thoughts, anyone?
There have been some other mentions:
When Siobhan had her meeting with the Architects, one of them free-cast a spell that set off her contingency to destroy the raven.
Oliver also seemed to think it was possible that the air witch they fought outside Knave Knoll could have been a free-caster.
Damien’s mom was a free-caster.
Free-casting “runs in” Siobhan’s family (maybe her mother?)
From this:
Given the number of students in Lacer’s class, it seems like it’s common enough to train the skill. Thaumaturges with partial progress towards free-casting are probably numerous.
It seems very rare, even going from Lacer’s class. Students drop out like flies, even mid semester, and only the most talented students seem to last even in the beginner’s class (where no actual free casting has yet occured). There’s also a sense that free casters dont push the limits of their will when free casting for safety sake. There’s indications that most free casters must have time to develop the will or some other characteristic necessry for free casting aside from the sheer imagination to do it.
That’s accurate. Additionally, most people who are technically free-casters can cast a handful of smaller spells without a spell array, but not the kind of variety or complexity that Thaddeus Lacer displays.
A good number of people die trying to become free-casters, or die after having technically become a free-caster when they make a mistake or try a spell they weren’t ready for yet.
You indicated that in Chapter 20 – Practical Will-based Casting – Azalea Ellis.
From that I hope that Siobhan/Sebastian will free-cast a spell that requires complex magical instruction, at range, within her time at university. Maybe by split-casting, one to create the fired circle, the other to activate that circle at range.
What’s the approximate percentage is in the thaumaturgic population? Less than 5%? Less than 1%?
Within the thaumaturgic population as a whole, it’s significantly less than 1%. Out of those who become Masters, that number is a little higher, but not by much. (I don’t have my population numbers at hand, so I’m forced to be somewhat vague.)
There are quite a few Grandmasters who can free-cast one or two spells, but few are widely proficient with free-casting. When I say “quite a few,” it’s still a small percentage.
So is the difference between a “true” freecaster like Lacer and the “common” freecasters who can cast a handful of easy spells a matter of degree (ie time spent practicing, visual intelligence, willingness to take risks, etc)? Or is there some qualitative difference between those who become true freecasters and the more common, limited ones?
I ask because if it were a matter of degree one would expect a reasonably wide bell curve in freecasting ability among those who try learning it, but instead it seems like we have a vast majority who can’t learn at all, a small minority who learn just a little bit…and then a tiny handful who seem to be able to freecast whatever they want. (I say tiny handful, but so far we’ve only seen one.)
Hey Alex!
It’s partially a matter of degree, but not only that. Let’s dig into it a little deeper.
Trying to hold both the spell array (the Word) and the Will to enforce that spell array in one’s mind, without the ability to split your Will, is obviously quite difficult. Most of the thaumaturgic population never bothers to attempt it, just like most of the current population never bothers to try to get into NASA or compete in the Olympics.
Of those who do try, many find that after years of work they still retain mental blocks that stop them from free-casting. Similar to the mental ruts that we have shown in detaching the output of a spell. Eventually, they give up. These are those you mention who can’t learn at all.
Once you get past those, you may be able to free-cast the simplest of spells. But by that time, you’re likely already an accomplished thaumaturge that has the funds/resources to get potions or artifacts. Those can produce much more powerful and complex effects than what you can do with free-casting, with basically zero effort. They’re small enough to be portable and varied enough to be convenient. Maybe you’re even an artificer or alchemist and can recharge them or make more yourself.
It’s akin to a cross country truck diver using their GPS instead of memorizing the directions to get everywhere or, for people in a mathematics field, using those handy graphing calculators instead of doing the math not just by hand, but in their head. Except that trying to do the math in your head has some chance of killing you, every time.
For most people without Professor Lacer’s talent, free-casting doesn’t just become easy once you’ve figured out the mechanics and gotten past the mental blocks. Each new spell is difficult and it takes quite a lot of proficiency to become “comfortable” as a a general-purpose free-caster.
I imagine that a lot of master or grandmaster level thaumaturges who have kid-level spells under their belt will try for their next spell, almost lose control, maybe get Will-strain, and get frightened off of continuing. All of their effort up until now, their time, and their lives are at stake, for an ability that most people don’t actually need to live happily or to be considered a success.
Finally, a lot of powerful thaumaturges tend to let their fine control slip a bit. Just a bit. Because they’ve got the power to make up for it, it doesn’t matter if they’re 100% efficient. But if you want to be a free-caster, absolute control always matters.
Some baby free-casters continue to learn, and they are around, but they get very much overshadowed by Thaddeus Lacer flaunting his skills everywhere, all the time, like an obnoxious asshole. (I mean, from their POV this guy is too lazy, or too arrogant, to move his own pen. And he goes around free-casting fireballs in the first day of classes, while calling it amateur stuff. So you can’t get much clout among the student body if you show them how you can shoot sparks or make your paperweight float. Especially because actually demonstrating the spell arrays you use is part of how your students learn. Also, is Thaddeus Lacer free-casting a breeze spell on himself to make his coat flap so dramatically whenever he walks? Why doesn’t that asshole just float around on an invisible throne all the time?)
However, several more powerful characters readers are already familiar with do have some minor/limited free-casting ability. Those who have learned anything moderately complex have generally done so within their specific area of interest. I’m not sure if it will ever become relevant to the story, but just in case I won’t mention who they are to avoid spoilers.
We know about at least one who may be better than Lacer.
In Chapter 20 - Practical Will-based Casting - A Practical Guide to Sorcery | Royal Road, Lacer says:
However, with a complex enough, powerful enough spell, there is no reason that one could not shoot a spherical ranged attack that turns a frog into a bird, overcoming the creature’s resistance to magic and maintaining the complex magical instructions and power to do so over distance. The Archmage can do it. The theory is that you are literally shooting the Circle and its Word at the target.
So the legendary Archmage Zard, who we have yet to meet, is also a freecaster. And is likely better at it than Lacer currently is.