Happy Cthulhu Halloween Everybody

Happy Halloween!  I went against the poll and on Friday I went to work as a wizard (mainly because Mrs. Prop bought me a wizard hat and I had to wear it).

I'll be taking the kids round trick or treating as a wizard too, AND I'm going to wear the hat as I write my NaNoWriMo novel this month to get me in the mood.

I'll go as a Blues Brother next year after I've shaved, or maybe I'll work out a lot, let my beard grow and go as a Spartan.

Day 17 – Seekretya – Moody Review

1.  Pull out the list of adjectives you wrote down that set the mood for your novel...Read them out loud.

2.  Take out your notes on your speculative element. Read your rules out loud.

3.  Try describing how your speculative element works in your novel. How do you feel when you describe it?

4.  Look at what you decided to name your speculative element. Say the name out loud and decide if you feel the way you want to feel when you read your novel.

5.  Rename and rework your speculative elements and their rules if you need to.

1.  ADJECTIVES: Lush, rich, inviting, homey, difficult, anxious, attainable.  I recently added a few: humble, beautiful, love

glittering, glorious, secret

darkest, most forbidding and foreboding

delightful and magical

unknown and impediments. 

tricky, sneaky and treacherous,

determined

There is absolutely no way this would only take 15 minutes.  I think it would short change the readers of this blog to rehash all of this again.  Rather than going through this again, let me ask you:  what I’ve done so far, does it match the adjectives I’ve listed?  Give me some feedback, please.

Day 16 – Seekretya - More Speculation

 

"Well, today is another day to nail down the rules for how your magic… work[s] in your story."

I boiled the exercise down to three bulleted question and two bulleted instructions:

1.  What are the limits of your speculative element?

2.  What is that cost? If there's no cost, then what's the trade-off?

3.  What keeps it from being used all the time, for everything, or is it used that much after all?

A.  Write down your rules, specifically focusing on what's impossible…

B.  Establish the limits and boundaries of your spec element today.

The first thing of note is I was thinking about who can do magic and I think it would be silly to have repulsor bolts, at least the way I described.  If only Wizards can do magic and everybody else just dabbles then where are the factories making magical instruments of war?  Who runs them?  I would guess that under this system only Wizards could make real magical weapons.  But if they did then those would be tremendously expensive.  That’s fine for a suit of armor or maybe Excalibur, but you would never go throwing them at the enemy as arrows, would you?

I’m going to modify that and keep it in mind as I go through today’s exercise.

1. The limits, simply put are:

a. That there is almost no enchanting of people.  The nature of magic is that it is an energy flow, at times sentient and personified (different Ley lines vary in that respect as well as in respect to how much power they carry).

b. Magic draws its power from another dimension of the multiverse, so it doesn’t tax our normal world’s energy or distort it.  It could draw on the power of that entire universe, but it is limited by the Dragons and how much they can be or that they can channel.  The limits will not be strained or reached in this story.  They will not be a factor.

c. How powerful are Wizards; is another question.  The most powerful Wizards are probably on a par with some of the Dragons themselves.  The limits are the same, but there are some exceedingly rare superstars.  Although there was only one Da Vinci and only one Michael Jordan, and only one Alexander the Great, when you put them all together you get a list, probably similar to the power list of Wizards.  Wizards are not only more powerful than ordinary folks; they are specifically practitioners of magic.  A wizard, in addition to being a type of Ranger of Magic, he is a Wizard.  He’s not a wiz at baking a cake (maybe employing magic in the baking) but an actual Wizard of Magic.

2.  The cost of using magic, for non-Dragons and non-Magic Trees, is study, practice, some inherent skill, dedication and lots of time.  Those are the overall costs.  What I was talking about before with who builds magic weapons can be answered here.  All highly skilled artisans in Seekretya employ some magic in their craft or art.  That little thing a highly skilled electrician in the real world might do.  In the real world we say, “How did you do that?!”  and they may answer, “magic” either because they themselves don’t consciously know how they did it, or they don’t want to tell you.  In Seekretya those situations ARE magic.  Any truly skilled bowyer and a highly trained archer can impart some magic on arrows to give them extra punch.  These arrows could be described as magical, but what they do is hit unnaturally hard.  This is actually how I’m going to use them.  For more magical effects the combatants will use less, disposable weapons.

3.  What keeps it being used for everything all the time?  It’s hard to do correctly and for most applications it isn’t really needed.  You don’t need Da Vinci to paint your house ceiling, but he sure came in handy for the really important jobs.

A.  I think that the rules are all here; my 15 minute alarm has gone off so I don’t have time to recap.

B.  The limits and boundaries?  The only thing I didn’t talk about today is the boundaries.  I have mentioned them time and again; they are the boundaries of Seekretya.  These boundaries do not keep you from crossing into or out of Seekretya except if you get caught in a very specific angle in relation to the Ley lines.  It might be possible to be tangled in them in a airplane if your plane’s ability to fly and the Ley web’s nullifying effect on technology came into an exact balance, the plane may be stuck in mid-air.  Normally though, you could just walk right through.  When you aren’t surrounded by the magic providing Ley lines you can’t do magic (duh) but otherwise that is no barrier.

Day 14 – Seekretya – Education

This will be an easy day.  Education is really not that important in this story.  The different Races and Ethnogroups all school their children differently.  Wizarding is a higher level of education that starts after all other levels of training are done.  

For the humans the Wizards are chosen for their desire and aptitude by the leaders of the community.  A banquet is held in their honor and they leave that night for training in a group.

For the Stoentrols they have a big bonfire and the chosen are taken by Wizards to their surprise, like an OA tapout.

For Dwarfs their choosing and calling out is entirely secret.  One night a person will be there and the next morning they’re gone.

Training for Wizards begins in the end of Summer and takes years.  Wizards are taught in small groups.  As a Wizard learns some things from one instructor he/she is sent on to another.  Wizards tend to stay with one instructor for a year at a time, and travel widely.  Instructors teach 3-4 students, with larger groups formed for large group activity on a bi-monthly basis in general.

There are no universities per se, but there are guild schools.  The social Races all have primary and trade schools.  Magic is not taught at any level other than Wizard training, though there are many groups that have Magic Clubs for amaeturs.

Non-social races all have apprenticeships.  Some have small groups taught in primary school for a few years.  Mentoring is very big for them.

Day 13b - Seekretya - Return of Plot Day

I was very discouraged last night. First, I am finding that I really am having a very hard time carving out time to actually write. I've tried for the last several days to go off and write for at least an hour each day, and it is very difficult. That's not good since it will take an average of two hours a day to get to the 50K required for NaNoWriMo. The other thing is, I'm really not feeling this story. There are detectives that are nagging at my muse, there are adult oriented fantasy characters, and comedy fantasy characters out there in the shadows whispering to my muse. The weather is dark and cold which makes me want to write horror. None of this is really helping me get ready to write this story of Seekretya. I was thinking of throwing in the towel last night.
Then I had well, I really wouldn't call it an epiphany, but it dawned on me and I was heartened this morning on the drive into work. I was trying to bring my mind round to thinking about Seekretya, working in it when I heard Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law." On another station I heard "What Dreams Are Made Of" by Van Hagar. Finally I heard "Holy Diver" by Dio and the screaming guitars hit me.

Glittering armies arrayed in perfect, grim order on the battle field, approaching each other in slow, heavy, deliberate steps, the sun glinting off their swords and helms.

A hero that cannot win, but cannot stop, will not stop. He will overcome all his obstacles, or he won't, but he will keep trying as long as he draws breath, but it may not be enough. He has no fighting skills, little strength, but what he does have is undying love and devotion of the ages. She is so far above him, beyond him, yet she has stooped and captured his heart, and given her own. He must rescue her even though he can't.

A humble, beautiful heroine, as lovely in heart as of face and figure; desperately in love and desperately separated. Determined and undeterable in her desire and efforts to return to the man she loves, whom she doesn't feel she deserves.

A family with a glittering, glorious secret past and hidden future that can only be reached through the darkest, most forbidding and foreboding path.

Seekretya is a bright and glorious place of green fields and colorful mountains, peopled by the most delightful and magical peoples. There are shadowy places, but shadows cannot exist without light. Silence and night are dark and ominous only because they do not divulge their secrets. Seekretya is mysterious and unfathomable, brilliant and wonderful.

Dangers don't have to be evil; they need to be unknown and impediments. They need to be tricky, sneaky and treacherous, but not unrelenting in the end. They may be unsolvable, but they need not be unworkable. Water may be far too deep to ever reach the bottom, but that doesn't mean you can't swim across the top.

It's important that he hero's inner strength be revealed (actually he knew it was there, but you will discover it, he will overcome obstacles not himself). He will not become a great fighter, he will not discover a hidden talent, he will not be the Great Nerd in the end. In the end he will be the determined, loving man that he always was, but he will have gone through hell and high water to get back to and to get back his lady.

Ok, that was all flowery and moody, which is good. I wanted to capture the mood. Now I want to lay out the plot in a more obvious outline.

1. Bad Guy get's a prophecy that a certain person can do something to release the Ley Lines from the tight-knit ball they have been wound in and lay them all across the world again, thus releasing Seekretya (relieving the population pressure and possibly allowing for world domination by evil wizards)

2. Prophecies are exceedingly rare; in fact this one is borne of the wound to the Tree of Wisdom. The Tree is actual a guard against precog because it is inherently flawed and misleading. The future is not set and any prophecy is quite possibly wrong, and almost certainly so when its subjects are aware of it. They can make changes to it. This isn't known by anyone (except maybe the Dragons).

3. BG kidnaps Girl who had just fallen in love with boy (Hero) who things she's totally out of his league

4. Boy finds out and goes after her

5. MEANWHILE BACK ON THE RANCH, Great Aunt has a bush pilot service she's retiring from and Mom wants to visit her with BRother and Sister Brother, Sister, and Dad are moving there so M can take over the business. M, B & S are going first while D ties up some loose ends

6. Secretly GA has a brother who lives in Seekretya as a Wizard, and they family has gone there many times. Possibly M is going to take over from GA, but I'm not sure yet

7. GA, M, B and S go to Seekretya to show the land to BR and S for the first time. M is a swashbuckler.

8. Somehow H figures out that G is in Seekretya, though he doesn't know Seekretya is there or the nature of the place

9. H has to skydive in because the pilot knows the area is treacherous unless you fly a certain height above it. He's never jumped before and he's deathly afraid of heights, but he does it anyway

10. G is trapped and BG tries to get her to do the thing but she escapes. Escape is not easy at all and it goes very slowly

11. H works on getting to G, falls in with Stoentrols as they are about to do battle with the Dwarfs. He's involved in the battle itself.

12. Somewhere along the line the family ends up working with H and/or with G. Maybe the family got separated and some are helping each.

13. They figure out BGs plans and want to stop him, because it could backfire and instead of releasing the Ley Lines it could cause them to collapse and swallow Seekretya like a blackhole never to exist anymore,

14. A great battle line is drawn with huge armies ready to fight on either side.

15. D finally arrives to help with the fight, he's a dead eye shot with anything and a stalwart defender.

16. It's discovered that the prophecy is false and caused by the wound to the Tree of Wisdom. As the Tree is dying there is spreading madness. G and that part of the family that are with her try to get that info out.

17. The war is stopped and the seeds are recovered to be planted so a new Tree of Wisdom can be grown and return peace and stability to Seekretya.

18. G and H are reunited, BG is thwarted.

Cthulhu Text

 /\      /\
(  {;,;}  )
   (__)

Just trying something.

DCLD = Dead Cthulhu Lies Dreaming

CHU = Cthulhu Hates You

TTFE = Ta ta forever
    

Day 13 – Seekretya - Plot Hooks and the Speculative Element

"If you have some idea of your plot by now, get out whatever plot notes you have and write down ten things (minimum) that your speculative element can do to your plot."
This is very difficult since I haven't settled on a plot and the exercises don't really lead you along that development (I just realized that this is world building and doesn't purport to aid in plot development, it isn't story building, I know that's a big, "duh" but I really hadn't realized that until just now).

I think I need to digress at this point and develop at least the rudiments of the plot.

PLOT DAY - Seekretya

I want a girl stolen by someone and taken to Seekretya. Boy works to rescues her while she works to rescue herself and meet him. They are working together, though they don't know it. I don't want a passive female lead, but I don't want her to be The Hero either. Why was the girl stolen? Who is she? What is she? Who wants her? Why do they want her? How is the hero going to get her back? How does he know where she's gone (sidekick?) What skills does he have? What skills does she have? Do they only have to get back together or do they have to do more? Does she want to go back (yes) why?

I also want an old retired bush pilot aunt, niece and grand nieces and nephews (and a friend) discovering/going to Seekretya. Why? I don't know yet. How: fly. When: last summer vacation or winter vacation.

Return of Day 13 - Seekretya - Plot Hooks and Speculative Element

Here are ten things affected by my Speculative element of Magic:

1. How do you do stealth in a magically charged land? Can the Wizards tell your movement? Are the Wizards also chasing the suspected kidnapers? If not actually chasing, then perusing.

2. How did the kidnappers get out of Seekretya? Persuadably they did not use magic to get out or to do the kidnapping. Maybe that's how they got by the Wizards.

3. Did the kidnappers have help outside Seekretya? How much of the outside world do they know? It seems most likely that the kidnappers were either human or had human help.

4. What good would kidnapping do? No one is magically special by birth. Are there prophecies? I'm not thinking there are, but that might explain the kidnapping. I should think of something else though, because precog doesn't feel right for anyone except maybe Dragons.

5. Technology doesn’t work, and the chemicals in firearms are rendered inert in the heavy magical field, so what can the hero do special? Unless he's a martial artist, it's unlikely that he would stand a chance against anyone in a fight. Maybe it's his underdoggedness that wins through, i.e. he takes a beating, but keeps going anyway.

6. No guns? What do they use for weapons? Over the years they've develop some very effective non-lethal weapons. They have Displacer Bolts, fired from crossbows or bows (Displacer Arrows) when they strike someone they teleport them ten yards in a random direction. They also have Repulsor Blades or Swords. When they strike a solid object they teleport that object in the opposite direction ten yards. The only things not so affected are other swords and the scabbards (the quiver of the bolts/arrows)

7. Is distant seeing available? I think yes, with special instruments or in special places.

8. There are no magic animals (talking beavers or fauns etc). I had said that legendary beasts, monsters and magical creatures were forced or went to Seekretya, but I don't see them in this story. Maybe they all died off earlier. Maybe bringing the kidnap victim will bring back the unicorns or something? Maybe the unicorns can gain some power from the Dragons?

9. How does the Heroine escape the magical trap?

10. How lethal are wounds? Can they be healed by magic, I think yes. This makes non-lethal even less lethal. Wouldn't that make wars more palatable? Who would go to war for the Hero? Who would convince them? What act of heroism would compel them?

Day 12 – Seekretya – Speculative Element

From 30 Days of Worldbuilding:

1. "Write down the snippets and images that you already know you want in your story."
2. "Next, ask yourself the hard questions 'What if?' What would that do to them? Would that change my plot?"
2a. "Drill down on the big things and the details, decide what would happen if they work one way vs. another."

What if? The idea here is to flesh out how the elements mentioned affect society.

I'm guessing "speculative element is magic. What I have so far, magic comes from Dragons. Magic is controlled by magic trees, and is driven away by technology like each is a magnet. Magic follows Ley lines and they are a cross between powerlines and forcefields, embodied in Dragons. Anyone can "do" magic and magic can be "put into anything." Magic became stronger as it was collapsed into Seekretya.

Ask yourself the hard what if. I don't know what that means. What if what? What if Ronald Reagan isn't actually dead, but is involved in a life commitment with Elvis, who also isn't dead, but living in a small cottage on the north side of the Confederacy of Liit? Obviously this isn't the kind of what if they're talking about.

When I did this for Heavy Magic I didn't ask what if, but instead did more fleshing out of the magic. I've been getting in such detail in each step that some of the following steps end up just being rehashes of earlier ones.

One thing I'm not really sure about, make that two, how exactly is magic applied; how are spells cast? The second one is, if anyone can do magic, and it's all around and very powerful, why doesn't everyone do magic? If everyone can do magic then what is life like?

I don't think I like the feel of everyone being able to do magic, more like 1 in 10 or 1 in 5 is better. So about one in each house or family. That seems ok. I think "doing" magic is so time consuming and exhausting, studying magic so extensive that each family can only support one magic user, and often whole villages get together and support a few magic users, some or all of which will be Wizards.

Does every magic user need to be a Wizard? No, I don't think so, but the professionals are.

Halloween Choices

I've put up a new poll.  What should I go as for Halloween?

I was originally thinking of going as a wizard to make use of my beard and wizard (walking) staff. This would also allow me to just take off the wizard robe at work and go to meetings.

My second idea was to go as the Wicked Witch of the West.  I would put a basket on my bike and put a stuffed dog in it.  Then I would wear a similar black robe/dress and hat as the wizard.  The downside of this would be I'd have to shave, the witch didn't actually have a bike, and I would have to paint my face green.  But then, Flying Monkeys, 'nuf said.

My third idea was to go as a Blues Brother.  I have the suit and tie, I'm from Chicago, I'm Catholic, I have an harmonica and a briefcase full of blues.  I'd have to get glasses and a hat, a tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes and wait until it's dark out.  Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration don't fail me.

Cthulhu Flash

I wonder if this is what he's looking at:

 Don't you love it when the photo looks like they are actually looking at you, like they are talking directly to you, like they want you?

Day 11 – Seekretya – Focus In

30 Days of Worldbuilding says to choose one of the following:

1. "Write a complete timeline for your setting (last 500 years or so should do) and for your protagonist's life up until the novel opens."
2. "Write a 1-paragraph description of each major political body (churches, governments, kingdoms, factions, economic forces, guilds, etc.) and name them
2a. "write one sentence about how 3 of your groups (the 3 most important groups) feel about all the other groups."
3. "Write a short glossary or lexicon for some common or important words (like rock, bird, horse, king, ford, river, stream, mountain, holding, village, magic, outsider, etc.)"
3a. "Write down five place names and five character names"

And this is supposed to only take 15 minutes? My foot! I suppose if you weren't creating many, many countries and races then you could. Since the idea is to focus in I'm going to do that. I'm going to try to do 3 "days" a day for the rest of this week, so let's get going.

First, I think the story is going to involve Trols and Fae for the most part. I've already given a very detailed history, but it ends at about 1880. I'll focus in the history since then between two groups. We already have place names so I'll skip that, but I will give a paragraph for each of the major groups in the Trol and Fae nations. I'll throw in some Dragon and some human parts too.

The Stoentrols and Dwarfs have been at war for the entire existence of Seekretya, why? Stoentrols live in Akwaland, Dwarfs in Bluudland, with the Dark Empire between them. Why would they war?

The Dwarf arrived first, and claimed the entire southern region of Seekretya. From the Red Clifs to the Bluu Mountains are noted for their stones and gems. The Dwarfs wanted it all, but the Trols soon followed and claimed some of that land as well, and for the very same reason.

The Graettrols led the fight and allowed the Trols to get the better of the situation for a long time, forcing the Dwarfs into the farthest western of the lands. The Stoentrols are actually less violent, much more like gentle giants and removed themselves to as far east as possible to avoid confrontation.

Establishing Bluudland and Akwaland should have ended the problems, but the intervening land was still up for grabs. The Graettrols fell deeper and deeper into internal struggles and a very complex political dance developed over access to the stones and gems of what eventually became the Dark Empire.

At the height of the chaos, just before the Dark Empire was established the Dwarfs decided to make a preemptive strike, they launched an amphibious and a land attack on the southern shore of the land of the Graettrols and into Akwaland. They intended to bargain from the strongest possible position and gain a big chunk of Graettrol lands, maybe even all the way to the Bluu River.

The Stoentrols were outraged. They felt like they had been the most gracious and agreeable of the Trols. They felt completely betrayed that they're peaceful living was treated with attack. It has been said, "Beware the temper of the patient man." That was surely true of the Stoentrols; they drove the Dwarfs out and attacked deep into Bluudland. They took as much plunder and left.

The Stoentrols have never forgiven the Dwarfs, and for their part the Dwarfs have never forgiven the theft of their precious things. The Dwarfs don't see why the Stoentrols don't understand the strategy of the attack and take it to heart so much. They see the Stoentrols as softies that should, "just get over it."

Because the Graettrols now allow both Dwarfs and Stoentrols access to their own mines the two groups often cross paths and fights breakout. The Graettrols don't mind because they are often hired to fight the battle within their land. Quite often some Dwarf group will claim to discover the description of a Great Artifact that they must make a crusade to find, into Akwaland. Sometimes these crusades carry off things the Stoentrols hold sacred and/or dear, and they launch counter crusades of their own.

Also, the best water for beer is in Akwaland, but the Trols don't drink beer.  The Dwarfs take great offense at that, and will raid just to steal water sometimes.

The "feud" has been winding down for years, but just before the story begins the Fifth Dwarf Crusade, or the Crusade of the Fish ended with the Dwarfs recovering a Golden Carp, said to grant wishes. In the process they carried off a great deal of plunder. Also, although it is as yet undiscovered, the Tree of Wisdom received a death wound and the Dwarfs carried off the last of the Seeds of Wisdom.

I've run out of time so I'll have to end here for today. One other thing I wanted to question is, I haven’t, per the exercise, developed any characters yet. How can I write a personal history for a hero that hasn't been developed yet, with what will most likely develop into the plot, which I haven't worked out yet?

NaNo '10 Poll Results

I did get 5 answers to my last poll, what genre should my NaNoWriMo 2010 novel be? One of those answers was mine, so it didn't count as much, but it was also my daughter's answer so I'm going to count it, sort of.
Children's Fantasy won with 3 votes, and the only other vote getter was Comedy Fantasy. Now, I voted for Children's Fantasy, but Spockgirl and MMC voted for Comedy Fantasy and it really got my creative juices flowing (luckily they didn't flow OUT of my body, but just round and round like they're supposed to, so nyah nyah nyah Cthulhu).

I came up with some really terrific ideas (at least I think so) for Comedy Fantasy, but I have a lot of time invested in creating a Children's Fantasy world.

What I'm going to do is try to finish the 30 Days of Worldbuilding for Seekretya. I may get those juices flowing and be able to roll right into NaNovember. If I don't feel any kind of creative dam breaking though, I'll switch over as quickly as I can and go with the new ideas.

The only other consideration is Guya Principal is a Comedy SciFi, and very nearly Fantasy, so do I do another one and be repetitive, or do I do what I have been successful (at least in NaNo terms, not publishing) with already? We'll see.

These are the notes I made for the Comedy Fantasy (they're all over the map, so be warned):

First Idea
• Inspired by MMC
• Comedy Fantasy
• Magic makes you drunk
o Imps exist and can really hold their magic
o Only recently discovered and they don't really know how to use this new technology/resource
o Mostly used in trinkets, but some Wizards are using it very powerfully mostly in teams doing [drinking] magic games
o Wizards must get certified, but the title Wizard is almost synonymous with drunkard
o Most Wizards are rail thin unless they have a very wealthy patron (and they get a very lofty sounding title, usually not related to any official titling body) and are on retainer or are government wizards (officially titled Magic User and Practitioner Licensed and Authorized by Local Governing Body or MUPLALGB [or something actually funny]). All wizards get the official certification of Wizard though (though in different jurisdictions they have other titles making it very confusing and hopefully funny).
o Objects can NOT be enchanted, only people and some more intelligent animals. Devices can be embodied / infested / encased with imps giving them magical power, but the imps often get unruly and have to be controlled by a licensed Wizard.
o Wizards can cast spells themselves and most often use their canes or staffs to hold themselves upright rather than to enhance the actual magic.
o Most often Wizards use magic to talk to / cajole / or coerce imps. The magic makes them drunk and to the outside world, who can't see or hear the imps because they aren't using magic, they seem to be convulsing / wildly dancing / or trying to scratch an infestation of vermin, perhaps squirrels in their pants or lice.

• 1900ish, country other than the US, but in the real world
o Amateur sports and magic are all the rage
o Pro sports and magic are looked down on
o Think of Houdini, Mesmer and such, except this is real
o Gentlemen wear their hair long and in a ponytail called a whip (never called a ponytail, that's what women wear)
o Imps are usually employed (known as imployment) in commercial uses of magic.

• ??? is this in a "Hollow Earth" or just a strange country???

Second Idea
• Also inspired by MMC
• Same as above, but WWII era in an island nation that is in the middle of it all, but magic keeps it all at bay
• Advantage - Nazis

Third Idea
• Wizards as rockstars
• Kind of like the Intel rockstars - they get all the chicks, are adored by all
• Very different than the idea of Wizards as advisers to kings etc. They don't need patrons because they can make a lot of money themselves
• Not every wizard is trying to make it big, some are in it for the artistry, some just for fun
• The nature of magic may have to be very specific. I don't like the idea of wizards "performing" in front of crowds, or doing "real" stage magic

o Maybe or this may be just some - wizards battle in front of crowds
 Battles could be what decides wars
 Battles could be just like gladiators
 This is more sports star than rock star so it has a slightly different feel and may stray from the intended theme. Rock stars NEVER battle. If you battle then someone has to loose

- Magic is mostly potions or enchanting things and it's sort of like IT (I don't like this one too much)
- Magic is used to rescue people and that's why they're so admired (eg. magically divert a rockslide, magically fix a crumbling dyke, magically predicting a volcano)
- Magic is done like software and not in public at all, but word gets around about the most successful wizards

Forth Idea
• The opposite of the above, Wizards are persecuted
• Wizards have been forced into abbeys
• I think I can go two ways with this

o Modern
 The wizard world is inside the moon (maybe) and it's one of those plausible deniability things like UFOs - but more like the Prez secret book in Nat Treas 2
 There is an under sec of an under sec who controls that - like Indian affairs - middle aged woman like the one that runs Warehouse 13
 May be too much like Warehouse 13

o Older
 Not medieval
 In abbeys, but the protag is traveling across the land