| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 06:49:26
On page 303 of Bury Elminster Deep, the character Vainrence says, "The little tellsong I cast across the passage here is gone. Meaning powerful magic has been cast, very close by."
So...what is a tellsong? Is it like a cantrip? Sort of like the spell equivalent to stringing a small thread across a doorway? Something that will break when walked through but isn't easily seen unless you know to look for it?
I tried a Google search but came up for naught.
Thanks in advance to any scribes who can shed light on the subject. |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 17 Dec 2014 : 16:50:34
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Going with the 'small thread' theory, I think - by the context of what El said - is that it meant to one thing, but something else happened there... which seems to also be part of hat it can do.
So this is what I pictured when I read that: it a tiny 'thread' of magic strung across an aperture, that retains a connection to the caster, so that the caster knows when something has passed the opening. It is also very fragile, so in the presence of strong magic, it simply disintegrates (without notifying the caster). Its like 'alarm', but much simpler - probably an ancient, 'lost' (Elven, Netherse, etc) cantrip that Elminster knows about.
Thus, Elminster expected the tellsong to be there, but it wasn't, which lead him to surmise "strong Magic was cast nearby". This ties into the way magic works in Ed's realms - that it is everywhere, but when you cast it, it draws from 'The Weave', which is the same as saying it is drawn from the surrounding area. Thus, something as small and fragile as a 'tellsong' gets 'sucked into' the magical draw of a strong spell being cast (the spell utilizing all magic in the area for its casting).
Just my best guess, is all.
I'd put a slightly different spin on it, myself, at least on the final bit. I would say, instead, that the casting of a powerful spell caused a localized, temporary disturbance in the Weave -- enough to disrupt/dissipate the tellsong. It's similar to the way a strong wind can affect a spider web, particularly if the web is still being constructed and is thus not fully anchored.
The disruption caused by the casting of the larger spell was only temporary, so the Weave itself quickly bounced back to normal -- but the tellsong was already gone, by that point.
Either approach works equally well, though. It's a matter of preference. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 17 Dec 2014 : 13:26:35
Going with the 'small thread' theory, I think - by the context of what El said - is that it's meant to do one thing, but something else happened there... which seems to also be part of what it can do.
So this is what I pictured when I read that: it a tiny 'thread' of magic strung across an aperture, that retains a connection to the caster, so that the caster knows when something has passed the opening. It is also very fragile, so in the presence of strong magic, it simply disintegrates (without notifying the caster). Its like 'alarm', but much simpler - probably an ancient, 'lost' (Elven, Netherse, etc) cantrip that Elminster knows about.
Thus, Elminster expected the tellsong to be there, but it wasn't, which lead him to surmise "strong Magic was cast nearby". This ties into the way magic works in Ed's realms - that it is everywhere, but when you cast it, it draws from 'The Weave', which is the same as saying it is drawn from the surrounding area. Thus, something as small and fragile as a 'tellsong' gets 'sucked into' the magical draw of a strong spell being cast (the spell utilizing all magic in the area for its casting).
Just my best guess, is all. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 17 Dec 2014 : 12:52:05
I imagine being titled 'Lord Warder' means he's an expert in abjuration magics and uses said expertise to ward important people and locations. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 09 Dec 2014 : 06:57:48
I never posted the answer I got from Ed/THO. Time to remedy that:
quote:
Hi again, all.
Jeremy, Ed and I chatted about BED when I first read it (some time back, now), and here's he sent me about tellsongs:
A tellsong is an alarm spell, triggered under specific conditions (like those governing a magic mouth), that is invisible, and its "alarm" is a chiming tune, audible only to the caster (unless the caster desires otherwise and sets it so during casting), that sounds whenever the caster comes within range.
It either chimes one way, to signal its continued presence and active status, or another way, to tell the caster whatever it was set to detect has happened.
If touched by detection magic or by any powerful unleashed magical effect, the tellsong is instantly and tracelessly destroyed (i.e. the person detecting magic wouldn't detect it, because their attempt to detect it would destroy it).
Meaning, in this particular case, the Lord Warder knows that someone or something destroyed this tellsong of his, without "setting it off." Which in turn usually means a spellcaster of some skills, who was alert for traps or alarms, has been in a tellsong-guarded area.
The name of the spell came from its earliest form, devised long ago, when Myth Drannan casters (usually elves, but this was the [[first]]time of the City of Song open to all races) sang something or magically "recorded" someone else singing something, and used it as the audible alarm part of the spell.
So saith Ed. And there you have it. Ed works all sorts of new magics, and everyday casual names for spells already in the rulebooks, into all of his Realms fiction, and some of it survives the editing ... and gets noticed.
love,
THO
I can't link to the exact response, but I can link to the page from the (2012) scroll it's found in. LINK |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 22:53:02
Aye. Looks like you were on the right track.
I'd wondered if a tellsong would fade away in the presence of detect magic or similar but didn't mention it, so I'm glad that question was answered too. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 19:20:36
I should say that Vainrance is in fact a War Wizard, second in command after Ganrahast, called "Foedoom" by some and Rence by those he knows well, and holds the tile of Lord Warder (whatever that entails) in Cormyr.
I like the idea that a Tellsong might owe its roots to Bard magic or possibly spellsongs. Perhaps this suggests one avenue of magic Vainrence explored in an earlier time? |
| Barastir |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 18:50:20
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I doubt "tellsong" is a typo of "spellsong", which is just an appropriate-seeming term I invented/abused on the spot ...
Well, spellsong is well known and present in some Realms novels, usually related to elves or gypsies on 2e, but maybe related to bards on 3e+.  |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 14:42:02
I doubt "tellsong" is a typo of "spellsong", which is just an appropriate-seeming term I invented/abused on the spot ... much the same way Ed did, methinks. More interesting than simply writing "My little (alarm, detect magic, trigger, cantrip-ward) has been set off. Meaning powerful magic has been cast, within a 10' radius."
For all we know, it's a special spell named Variance's song ward. Or any ordinary 1st level spell applied and adapted to this particular purpose through use of special feats and class skills. Characters in the Realms wouldn't refer to their abilities by the same metagaming nomenclature used in the PHB, at least not when an author like Ed is given an opportunity to make magic mysterious, exotic, unique, and obscure. |
| Bakra |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 14:05:41
quote:
Originally posted by Barastir
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Haven't read it. But the context suggests that the character Variance is a bard or something, simply casting detect magic in the form of a spellsong. Much the same as any "normal" spellcasting, except the verbal or somatic components are set to music.
So, maybe "tellsong" is a typo for "spellsong"?
I don't think it is a typo. It is either as Ayrik suggests or what Jeremy wrote. I lean more towards 'stringing a small thread' theory. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 13:50:14
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Haven't read it. But the context suggests that the character Variance is a bard or something, simply casting detect magic in the form of a spellsong. Much the same as any "normal" spellcasting, except the verbal or somatic components are set to music.
So, maybe "tellsong" is a typo for "spellsong"? |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 12:45:19
Haven't read it. But the context suggests that the character Variance is a bard or something, simply casting detect magic in the form of a spellsong. Much the same as any "normal" spellcasting, except the verbal or somatic components are set to music.
Just Ed's usual Realmsified version of purple prose, methinks, perhaps narrated from Ed's point of view or perhaps from that of his characters. Much like mages might cast wall of force under the name of forcewall, even though there is no difference. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 24 May 2012 : 08:03:52
Methinks this is another little piece of fascinating Ed-lore that would probably be more appropriately answered by the Grand Sage himself.
[In other words, I don't distinctly nor immediately recall any previous 'tellsong' references in the Realmslore. I'd look to Ed instead.] |
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