Records: Rods of Water

## ***The Science of the Arcane***

Rods of Water were a specialized arcane device that could be operated by anybody, including being completely mechically actuated, that conjured *magical* water. This was incredibly useful, but still had rules and restrictions that required educated use.

First, a "rod" was roughly baton-sized, considerably larger than the average magic wand. The reason was form following function: that was the approximate size it took to conjure the water, using a certain methodology, in addition to actually powering the wand to do so.

Second, the wand conjured *magical* water. This was a critical difference: magical water was composed of magic, not of actual matter – though magical water chemically behaved in all aspects as regular water. There were no special or inherent healing properties, and nothing inherently toxic. Still, magical water was, as a rule, not fit for human consumption because the magic that created would fade – and so would the water.

Drinking temporary water could actually save a life, but given that the water would disappear after x-time, with the time based on the power of the conjuration, it could (would and had) result in sudden dehydration – which could be fatal.

### **Uses for Temporary Water**

Still, short-term water could be used for construction, cleaning and extinguishing fires – and for that, it was a godsend.

For the construction industry, mixing 4-8 hour conjured water with cement meant a concrete pour of *any* size or thickness that would completely cure in the amount of time of the conjure duration. For the growing concrete-focused non-CCC construction, this was an amazing development. Even if the construction was to vitrify a slurry into stone, being able to heat a dry portion rather than wet was considerably safer and cleaner.

For cleaning, it meant sanitation without waste water, like using conjured water for toilets or sewer jets, for cleaning dishes, or even most sensitive or delicate items (especially thicker fabrics like mattresses) without fear of water damage. The exception was using water where there would normally be a chemical reaction with water. In that respect, people had to be instructed not to spray conjured water on places that might have electricity, into concentrated acid, onto grease fires (unless it can absolutely and instantly drowned) or other substances that react with water (unless that's what one is trying to do).

For extinguishing fires, it means a massive amount of water could be put of flames without having to carry buckets or tanks of massively heavy liquid to the place that was on fire. As conjured water exactly matched the chemical reactions of mundane water, it meant that that the oxygen was dispaced and the heat carried away and dissipated – then the water disappeared. The fire was out, the location rendered safe, no fire damage, and environment contamination was limited.

## **X-Time Models**

The Rods of Water had been developed by members of the magically-inclined RANP, *not the OM*, and it was reflective to why arcane institutions like Wandstone or the Academy were so critical. In this case, it had been developed in Bordeaux, in private labs associated with the RANP, and was officially released at the recently-opened Academy in Anglet.

The standard household models sold Rods that conjured 30-second water: which was long enough to rise out a mouth, clean a wound, flush a toilet, wash a few dishes or put out most average small household fires. They weren't "cheap" per se, but sold at 1% over cost, they were intended to move and create an impact on daily living.

The first models were about £2, or about half the cost for a knight's war horse (which didn't exactly make these instant household items). With growing economies of scale, the cost soon went down. The rumors, though, were instantly across Europe and the demand was high, especially in the monied households.

### **Increasing *X***

The increase of time for the length the conjured water lasted increased both the amount of magical power needed, the sophistication of the rod... and the resulting expense. 4-6 water, popular with smaller construction, roughly doubled the cost. 3-day water tripled the cost, but was invaluable to get slurries properly mixed and large pours made.

After that, things got rare and *interesting*.

6-month water was considered consumable in an emergency (as was 3-day water if the alternative was death in a desert), but a person would have to flush afterward or risk sudden dehydration. Again, x-time water could be used for emergency survival, but once death was staved off, the process was just beginning – and would then required either constant and regular refresh or natural-water flushing that would be *uncomfortable*.

The nature of the conjuration magic worked akin to a kind of modified logarithmic scale, but it wasn't obvious, hence the odd jumps.

* 30 seconds
* 4-6 hours
* 3-4 days
* 3-weeks
* 6-months
* 5 years
* 100 years
* 1,000 years (?)

At the 100-year mark, that was still theoretical (as it was difficult to test). Likewise for the thousand-year conjures. Following the log-scale, it was possible for a effectively-infinite water (or whatever) to be conjured, where the magic would conceivably [atomic decay] into something else, but that level of conjuration energy was extreme and the means to test it wasn't even theoretical at this point.

## **Alternatives to Conjuration**

There were two possibilites, both realized but rare, that were alternatives to conjuring temporary water. They were both costly, complex, and in some cases, dangerous (as magic tended to be).

### **Summoning Magic**

This imported a material from "elsewhere" – though with the magic, the source point had to be determined and set, and could potentially be destructive based on what was summoned and from where. Magical summoning of water could be set to source from rivers, lakes or the ocean, and the nature of the tap had to be set as well.

The most simple form was a little like opening a portal, potentially under water, which would provide plenty of unpleasant (if not downright angry, nasty) surprises. The device itself became a spigot.

More sophisticated versions had other means, measures and methods. The ever-filling cup of water given by Richard to Anne, for instance, wasn't magical water. It was summoning magic, affixed to geographic spot about five miles south of Atlantis, and set to a ring ten feet under the surface dispersed in a circle 100 feet wide. The actual position floated with the tides themselves, and the magic of the cup not only summoned the water, it filtered it in the process.

The summoning ring was durable ceramic just inside the upper lip and if the the ring ever broke, the summoning spell was broken and dissipated.

### **Creation Magic**

This was complex and could be as dangerous as alchemical transmutation. It was magic that used the fabric of the mundane universe to create new mundane matter. Translating it for a modern audience: *magic condensed Planck-scale energy into baryons in a form of nucleosynthesis*.

There were exactly four people on earth who could even conceive of this kind of magic, and only one who could actualy execute a spell that used the principle: *the Magus*. Not only had he done it, he'd done it in several forms and was looking to expand the process. Some of the methods were diluted to be very safe but very slow, so creation took a great deal of work for very little actual material. Then there were potential spigots where the briefest flash would rip apart the surface of the earth.

Richard was *exceedingly careful there*...