Dying Earth books - magic and monsters in words, Jack Vance's

Spells

Let's analyze this for a moment. Comes from his first Dying Earth book, if I understand which is which. Page 5. 

"the amulet holding Laccodel’s Rune to his wrist. Then he sat down and from a journal chose the spells he would take with him. What dangers he might meet he could not know, so he selected three spells of general application: the Excellent Prismatic Spray, Phandaal’s Mantle of Stealth, and the Spell of the Slow Hour."

Comparing it to D&D, notice -

• the Somebody's XYZ. Named after ppl magic, similar to DnD's Melph's Magic Missile. 
• Excellent Prismatic Spray = Dnd's prismatic spray, a biggie back in the older editions. 
• For the first time ever, I can picture Prismatic Spray as being cool (not just cat pee)
• Instantly the blazing wires of the Excellent Prismatic Spray lashed from all directions at Turjan. Kandive watched the furious rain with a wolfish grin, but his expression changed quickly to consternation. A finger’s breath from Turjan’s skin the fire-darts dissolved into a thousand gray puffs of smoke.
• Mantle of  Stealth = inviz = he faded from the sight of all men.
  
• Spell of the Slow Hour, I'm not sure, but it sounds like DnD's Slow. Gotta keep reading. 

Let's look at when he uses this spell:

"...uttered the Call to the Violent Cloud. All was quiet; then came a whisper of movement swelling to the roar of great winds. A wisp of white appeared and waxed to a pillar of boiling black smoke. A voice deep and harsh issued from -the- turbulence. "At your disturbing power is this instrument come; whence will you go?’’ (((so this was some magical force or person speaking back? We don't know)))

 ‘‘Four Directions, then One,’’ said Turjan. ‘‘Alive must I be brought to Embelyon.”’ (((it is interesting that it seems to almost rhyme, sorta like the show Bewitched, but what if you were going to Timbuktu and you couldn't rhyme it?))) The cloud whirled down; far up and away he was snatched, flung head over heels into incalculable distance. 4 directions was he thrust, then one, and at last a great blow hurled him from the cloud, sprawled him into Embelyon. Turjan gained his feet and tottered a moment, half-dazed. His senses steadied; "

Interesting that he tells it he needs to be alive... scary and dangerous magic, isn't it?  

Techie sidenote: Notepad++ trick to remove carriage returns: But if you have Notepad++ 5.x, you can use the 'extended' search mode and look for \r\n. That does find all your CRLF.

Check this out... reminds me of Absolum:

“When your mission is accomplished, crush this crystal and at once you will find yourself in this room.’’

 

Another spell:

bringing the Omnipotent Sphere about him. = that must be like globe of invulnerability

I need to use this description in dnd (pinions as in feathers... well the end of feathers I think, this was a demon of hell):

Silence of a shocked intensity held an instant; then came an appalling screech, so wild and demoniac that Turjan's brain sang. Mighty pinions buffeted the air, there was a hiss and the scrape of metal. Then, amidst muffled roaring, an icy wind bit Turjan's face. Another hiss—and all was quiet.

Words: sauntered, erudite (opposite of rude in the old sense of unlearned), elucidate (make lucid),  pinion (ends of feathers), 

Names: So he used the X'xxxx form of names. 

• Examples from Dying Earth
• T'sais - the crazy lady
• T'sain - the sane lady
• When did that start?  ?
• How do you pronounce them:
• J'vex would be "juh VEX" apparently. Made that one up. 

Dying Earth Monsters 

Check out Dying Earth monsters like Deodands here: https://boxfullofboxes.blogspot.com/2019/10/dying-earth-monsters-part-ii-deodand.html