The age at which a wizard is offered the Oath

[Fox]

The only thing I remember on Out of Ambit is 'Dont click here,' where it was a link to another web site. DD had to prove she had a web site i think, but that was a search engine of sorts I think! Cant remember any other article! I do try and get on there as much as I can

Your all right by the way, I still stick by my thought that believing is half the battle when it comes to magic etc. It is hard to belive there in all the things in the universe with out a answer like 'god created it', without that answer you have to think and ponder and wonder about things. I gave up on that years ago. Now, I try and think of things I see and experiance. But it is easyer for children to dis-miss a god I think than a adult. I never belived so it was easy for me to leave my dads religion but I think my dad could never leave as the faith is too deeply bound to him, so in a way thats why children are given the oath early. so that the faith is not so deeply imbound that they wont except another answer. god i babble!!
Fox

[David Stubee]

hey guys fill me in on what I missed!

[Gigo]

David Stubee, there is a thing called: reading. *is beaten back by hard stares from you-know-who* Fine, fine, I'll go easy.

*dramatic voice* Welcome to Young Wizards Forums! *echo*

Basically, this topic is about (as you've probably guessed by the title) The age at which a wizard is offered the Oath.

I agree with Fox, that believing is half the battle. But, hey, once you believe and you see that it's real, the battle's over!

You know that they say that it's easier to learn things when you're a child than when you're an adult? Children are more accepting. Adults who are atheists might go along a little easier than adult Christians. Atheists might go: oh, okay. It's different, but okay. Or atheists might refuse and block it out, saying it's a hallucination and that there is no God, Powers that Be, etc.

Adults who have been Christians all their life might (horror of horrors) think that the Powers that Be are a mirage from the Devil! Of course, they could see it as another form of God. There are good sides and bad sides to everything.

Reason: Children believe easier. People have also said that the horomone-thingys (...) have something to do with the wizard power levels.

Uh-oh. I gotta go to school. See ya!

[Peter Murray]

Gigo said:
Adults who have been Christians all their life might (horror of horrors) think that the Powers that Be are a mirage from the Devil!

Oops. This is the SYWTBAW topic - the rest is a spoiler for later books, up to WH.
<span class="ev_code_white">True. That was about the first reaction of Nita's parents, while Dairine's reaction was more like "I want some too!". We didn't see how Kit's family reacted, but Helena still seems to half-believe he got wizardry from the Devil; the others have relaxed about it. (To the point where Carmela has a head-start on being the oldest person we've seen who is likely to take the Oath.)</span>
Highlight the above to read it, if you've read those books, or don't mind spoilers.

[The Vogon Poet]

Somewhere in SYWTBAW, it said that the younger you are, the less firm your grasp of the impossible is. This makes younger wizards more powerful. For some reason unknown as of yet, the Powers That be don't want to give the Oath to too many very young wizards. Why?

[kaiba4ever]

From what the Seniors have been exclaiming, it seems as if with each generation the wizards get younger and younger. Why? I think this is because every day the world is getting closer and closer to entropy (Just look ahead in W@W, the Seniors have even lost their powers! CHAOS IS TAKING OVER!!) The reason that the Powers have been giving the Oath to older wizards until now, seems to just be common sense. The older you are, the more experience and logic you have. Sure, the younger wizards are stronger, but strength of power isn't everything. The Powers have been getting more desperate, so the average age for the Oath has lowered.

If the Powers only offered people the Oath because they would make very POWERFUL wizards, the wizardly cummunity wouldn't be as strong as a whole. What is power without a plan to execute it? A young wizard with TOO much power might mess up or overdo him/herself in a spell and ruin everything! Lack of experience, can also lead a very young wizard into dangerous situations that even their brute power won't save them from.

Differing ages for being offered the Oath is best. That way, there's strong wizards AND experienced ones. Each wizard can specialize in a specific area, instead of just being "strong." It seems like the Powers just used common sense in this case.

[bluecrow628]

i wholehartedly agree with kaiba4ever. but i can understand why dariene got wizardry when she was so young. she was like a prodigiy.

[Peter Murray]

Originally posted by kaiba4ever:
From what the Seniors have been exclaiming, it seems as if with each generation the wizards get younger and younger.

While the reason for a mixture of ages would make some sense, I don't see anything in the books to suggest wizards are getting younger. We know how old Nita, Kit, <span class="ev_code_WHITE">Dairine and Darryl</span> were when they were offered the Oath. (Spoilers for wizards' names in later books.)

What we don't know is how old Tom, Carl or any of the other older wizards were when they were offered the Oath. Tom and Carl may have been about the same age as Nita and Kit were when they took their Oaths. The only example we have of an older wizard is in the Concordance, and it specifically says he was unusually late in starting his Ordeal.

[Dragon Writer]

I think it may need to be given young because of the ordeal. I mean, if you first go on ordeal when your older, and your not that powerful, how are you going to take on the LP? i mean, seniors can do it if necessary becuase they have experiance, but if your first becoming a wizard, you wouldn't even have that!

[Countryfan1394]

It's all about age when you'regiven the oath. Like Dairnie she was given the oath at 11. If I was given the oath today I would be more powerful than she was.

[Dragon Writer]

oh, and theirs also the fact that it's harder for an adult to accept magic then a kid. I mean, when your young, you can still accept the idea of magic. it may take some recconsiling, but you can do it. chances are, when your young, deep down, you already believe in magic, or at least hope that it's true and this is just a reafirming of your beliefs. but when you get older, alot of people loose that, become convinced give up the hope, and when that happens it's alot harder to convince them that magic could be real, so they couldn't really become wizards.

[Fox]

I agree Young Reader, Just recently because i was ill and spent so much time in bed I started lossing that ... faith/feeling/beifief/wish etc that magic was real in some sense. I've always believed that that something extra exisitied in the universe but recently I've started to feel silly and at a loss, I think i might be a little depressed or down and i'm finiding it hard to belive as i did.
Fox

[Dragon Writer]

yeah...It's hard to hold on to the belief in magic...I do it by writing fantasy. it's hard to be a fantasy writer without at least hoping that the world you are putting to paper may exists. THen again, i'm only fourteen, so it's not that difficult.

[Countryfan1394]

<span class="ev_code_GREEN">to me when you lose faith in something it's hard to get it back</span> but ...till you have to start beviling in something when your young... plus it would be cool if THAT THE POWERS THAT BE (DD) made a 8 year old a wizard for the 8th book W@W. and to yr I write alot becaus eI have half of my first book done!

[A F]