The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
[CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
AcornArmy:
I haven't seen the WoJ talking about Harry's skill at evocation, so I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet that a statement like that would need to be qualified with, "for his age" or "of his generation." I can see Harry being considered very good at evocation for someone of his age, but not for, say, a wizard who's 150 years old and has been a Warden for 100 years of that time. It seems like any Warden who's 150 years old or so is going to be way better at evocation than Harry is, just by dent of skill gained through an extra 100 years of experience.
Casterbridge:
Well Carlos was said and shown to be much more skilled at evocation, less powerful but still more talented.
Grant it Harry has and most likely will continue to improve his skill, so in the end he would probably get the upper hand as he already has the larger power base.
TheCuriousFan:
--- Quote ---Harry has come a long way since the first book in the series.
--- End quote ---
That's not book 1, that's a quote from book 8.
--- Quote ---The Why seems obvious, and maybe I've missed something, but I don't see what's so special about the Who.
--- End quote ---
Really, what ritual was used that required Chichen Itza? what did they do to piss the Reds off that much? Who were the targets?
And this is all just a piece of irrelevant background information I'm asking about.
Aesir:
--- Quote from: AcornArmy on November 16, 2012, 04:44:22 PM ---I haven't seen the WoJ talking about Harry's skill at evocation, so I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet that a statement like that would need to be qualified with, "for his age" or "of his generation." I can see Harry being considered very good at evocation for someone of his age, but not for, say, a wizard who's 150 years old and has been a Warden for 100 years of that time. It seems like any Warden who's 150 years old or so is going to be way better at evocation than Harry is, just by dent of skill gained through an extra 100 years of experience.
--- End quote ---
Yep, we've had several comparisons of Harry with other wizards both in books and in Q&A's. He has a huge amount of raw power, and in the time span between Proven Guilty and Cold Days, due to his growing skill, he's gotten a lot more efficient at using that power. That's still only 20 years of hard practice, Luccio (in her original body) and most of the senior council members have had over 200. And Morgan wasn't quite as old as all of them, but still considerably older than Harry, and considered by Harry to be "one of the best evocators in the world". Do we know Morgan's age?
--- Quote from: Casterbridge on November 16, 2012, 05:01:01 PM ---Well Carlos was said and shown to be much more skilled at evocation, less powerful but still more talented.
--- End quote ---
I recall Carlos being way more skilled at water magic, but his skill advantage in evocation wasn't necessarily large enough to make up for Harry's greater raw power. I kind of had the feeling that the difference between Carlos and Harry is very similar to the difference between Elaine and Harry. Carlos and Elaine both have less raw power, so they had to make up for it by developing skill more quickly. That doesn't mean Harry isn't a match for them, he just didn't need to develop the same amount of fine skill since he had so much more firepower at his disposal. His top priority was controlling that firepower so he didn't accidentally kill all his friends and level entire buildings, not in making the most out of a pea shooter. Therefore he isn't so good at little evocations that take a lot of pinpoint control, although he is getting better at them as the series progresses. It's big evocations that involve massive destruction and take down entire buildings that he's a natural at. :P
Aesir:
--- Quote from: TheCuriousFan on November 16, 2012, 05:06:26 PM ---That's not book 1, that's a quote from book 8.
--- End quote ---
Interesting, and that's rather similar to the wording used in book 1. I suspect the distinction, based on previous descriptions by Jim, is a matter of context. Harry has a bigger, fatter supply of magic power available to him than most other wizards do. So his #1 issue is controlling all that power so he doesn't accidentally blow himself or those around him up. That's why historically he's been highly dependent on his staff and blasting rod to help him focus and maintain control of his evocations. For most other wizards, accidentally taking out a building is less of an issue. So controlling their magical power comes more easily than it does to Harry, and this leads to them having an advantage at complex little magics that don't take much power, but a great deal of focus and control. So they have a head-start in the efficiency race, and in a lot of ways find it easier going, at least at first, to improve their skill at complex evocations, and to work without foci.
On the other hand, most wizards don't spend a lot of time saving the world. So when a Ramp comes charging at them, they may freeze, panic, cast an inappropriate evocation, or simply screw up the right evocation. Harry has none of those issues. He's had lots of practice at emergency evocations. Furthermore, Harry's fine control has gotten significantly better in the last few books, and his spells have grown more flexible, so for a mage of his age, he likely is a good evocator, especially at big spells, even if there are other evocators, his age or even younger, that are better at intricate little spells. So I suppose it depends on how the word "evocator" is used. If we use evocator as a synonym for combat mage, than he's a damn good one for his age. He can throw big, destructive evocations that most other mages couldn't dream of pulling off. Yet if we use evocator as a synonym for someone able to quickly cast a complicated spell that they made up on the spot, then he's not very good at it. It's all relative.
--- Quote ---Really, what ritual was used that required Chichen Itza? what did they do to piss the Reds off that much? Who were the targets?
And this is all just a piece of irrelevant background information I'm asking about.
--- End quote ---
I read that passage in Changes a bit differently. It wasn't that they used the very same ritual when Cortes came through, but that the Reds haven't used the location since Cortes conquered the Aztecs. Do we know what supernatural group Cortes was associated with that the Ramps weren't able to stop his conquest?
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