There is a wizard who frees a dragon that was sealed within a book for centuries. Every detail of the dragon's body, height, colour, features have been recorded thoroughly by the wizard so that the dragon's restoration to flesh is successful. I'm wondering what kind of magic would you class this as? It wouldn't be necromancy as the dragon wasn't killed, it was imprisoned. Maybe conjuration but it isn't that more to do with spirits and ghosts, and also the dragon is brought back in its true, physical form. It's a toughie! What do you think?
If nothing fits, just make up something. A few ideas off the top of my head but none are completely accurate. Just hope the readers aren't much into etymology: Amanuencery Graphamoncery Librocraft
Now that I think about it, I'd be tempted to make a joke about it, but that explains why I'm not a professional writer: "He's not dead, his entire essence is encoded in that book." "So we don't need a necromancer?" "No" "Then what?" "A bibliographer"
Is the classification of the magic type important to the story? Like, is that going to come up as a plot point or something? Put another way, why are you asking this? Generally, we classify magic as either soft or hard systems. Soft magic systems don't bother to explain how it works in much (if any) detail. It can simply do whatever you think is should be able to do - preferably to further the plot. This keeps magic in your setting mysterious and strange, something that can't be easily rationalized. The downside is that readers can start to view magic as an easy solution to any given problem, lessening tension. Hard magic systems, on the other hand, have clearly defined rules: There are things magic can and can't do, and there are often costs or limitations involved. This allows your readers to understand what magic-wielders in your setting are capable off, making them more accepting of something that has been established to be "possible." The downside of this is that magic loses some of it's mystery and wonder, perhaps even being reduced to another type of science. Beyond that, terms like "conjuration" and "necromancy" are a bit arbitrary. They're usually used for diegetic (in-story) classifications, to add flavor and context. You are the one telling the story. You can decide that conjuration and necromancy are both the same thing, if you feel like it.
If the dragon was imprisoned in the book, it was by a magic spell, correct? So releasing the dragon is simply a spell reversal. I don't think I have ever encountered a special term for reversing a spell, other than "reversal." (Or maybe "release.")
Yes, there are several different magic types in the story, conjuration, necromancy, healing etc. Freeing a dragon from a book is another type of magic and arguably, placing it in the book in the first place is another. I'm going for a hard magic system and I want set up consistent rules for these different magic types. I wouldn't say that it loses mystery and wonder, it just limits what it is possible, which in itself depending on the context can add mystery to it. It's not really a reversal unless it was time travel to undo the imprisoning in the first place. It's a seal that is unbinded, I'm still trying to figure it out if that is the same magic type or not. The unsealing of the dragon could happen a few different ways, that's another thing I'm trying to figure out.
If it's not a reversal, what it is? Everything I find that appears to relate to undoing a spell seems to refer to it as "reversing" the spell. And they all seem to involve candle magic. https://learningwitchcraft.com/reverse-a-spell-2/
I think it depends on the context. I understand what you're saying and how it applies to this situation. If you were to create a block of ice with a spell and then used a fire spell to melt it away, you wouldn't really call that a spell reversal per se, I think it's open to interpretation.
Right, in that case it depends on the rules you have established for the system. For example, does the dragon sealed in the book qualify as being dead, and does resurrecting it require techniques commonly used by necromancers? If necromancy and conjuration are separate fields of magic, there should be a difference in methodology. Or perhaps necromancy is just a type of conjuration, like in Elder Scrolls? This largely comes down to how you have decided magic should function in your setting. Keep in mind, though: Just because there is an established system for categorizing magic, that doesn't mean all magic will be a perfect fit for any given category. There may be some esoteric magic that just can't be easily classified, and perhaps the magicians in your story straight up don't understand how it works.
Hi, If in doubt transmogrification? - The magic of transforming one moggie into another!!! Cheers, Greg.
No, the dragon was never killed, hence why it is a sealed in a book. I mean I suppose you could say it requires like a mix of all types of magic, conjuration, summoning, etc. Only a very powerful wizard can free an imprisoned dragon from a book, your average apprentice has no chance. Necromancy and conjuration are different, necromancy is magic associated with the dead while conjuration is calling and creating objects into being. I'm aware all magic won't fit perfectly, which is why I'm having trouble trying to consistent rules.
This might be a dumb idea but what about Alchemy? Alchemy is when you break down matter and reconstruct it. Couldn't an alchemist gather the necessary materials (sulfur, iron, carbon, nitrogen, etc.) comprising a body and reconstruct it precisely based of the information from the book?
I feel like "unbinding" is the word that most seems to fit here? But I think you could use a number of different words. This terminology is not particularly fixed, the same words are sometimes used slightly differently, and the original definition of many of them can be fairly vague (and often have original, non-magical meanings). It's really your own system. After all, you decide how the spell works, you can decide what it is considered to be in that way.
It's not a conventional kind of summoning where something is created or called upon, but this kind of unbinding to remake an entity does seem to kind of fit the definition of conjuring? Certainly if we go by the general dictionary definition (which I would argue more important, since in a fantasy context the word use is inconsistent).
Restoration magic? What you're talking about is returning (restoring) an imprisoned mythical creature to its original form, right? This is what I would call "restoration" magic.
Perhaps your wizard has mastered science (alchemy) as well as several types of magic and has to combine everything he knows from those various magical and scientific disciplines to reconstitute the dragon. Sort of a magical Dr. Frankenstein.
Maybe this is kinda corny, but could you use some analogy based on reading? When you read a text, perhaps it's a way of freeing the meaning in the text (or in this case, a literal dragon). Maybe something based on "semiotic"? Or "translation" (which literally means "to carry across", after all. Maybe the magic is carrying the dragon across into our world).
I'd say "Holomancy" (magic of the whole)... or "Drakopoeisis" (dragon making)... or "Drakanastasis" (dragon resurrection). My Greek might be wrong on that though.
I'd just call it "magic" and don't get bogged down in the details. Unless the exact definition is important to the story or the world building I would be satisifed that its magic and move on with the story. Possibly to return at a later point.
