Wizardly specialties & changes in specialties

[Em]

... when Nita and Kit first met eachother, they had individual specialties that served them greatly, especially when combined: Nita was very good with any sort of nature thing, Kit with any machinery - and they were never anywhere close to as good at the others specialties. But after that book, any mention of these sepcialties seems to have disappeared. Were they just important for that book? Did their expertise at wizardry grow so much that they didn't really have *specialties* anymore, they were so experienced? Or is there a different reason?

Also, in this 1st book, Nita and Kit had wands. I remember reading a passage (my book is out of reach, so I can't confirm this) saying that wizards sometimes had wands when they first got there wizardry, to help them with their initial Ordeal. Did these wands become useless after that first confrontation with the Lone Power? Are wands common in Ordeals? Are they ever used for more powerful wizardry than Nita's and Kit's (not to say their's wasn't powerful)?

Help...anyone have any ideas?

~Em~

[Em]

... when Nita and Kit first met eachother, they had individual specialties that served them greatly, especially when combined: Nita was very good with any sort of nature thing, Kit with any machinery - and they were never anywhere close to as good at the others specialties. But after that book, any mention of these sepcialties seems to have disappeared. Were they just important for that book? Did their expertise at wizardry grow so much that they didn't really have *specialties* anymore, they were so experienced? Or is there a different reason?

Also, in this 1st book, Nita and Kit had wands. I remember reading a passage (my book is out of reach, so I can't confirm this) saying that wizards sometimes had wands when they first got there wizardry, to help them with their initial Ordeal. Did these wands become useless after that first confrontation with the Lone Power? Are wands common in Ordeals? Are they ever used for more powerful wizardry than Nita's and Kit's (not to say their's wasn't powerful)?

Help...anyone have any ideas?

~Em~

[Hannah :)]

Well, in the extract of "A Wizard Alone" Kit appears to be showing his speciality pretty well. The specialities are mentiond in Deep Wizardry - when Nita heals S'ree, High Wizardry - when Nita is surprised that Kit has been swatting up on her subject of alien life... It's still nentioned here and there, just not the focus really any more. The main focus is their characters, I think.

I think the wands are a help to focus the initial burst of power on their ordeal. They tend to use things to focus power a lot (batteries, old circuits, silver forks for example.) and probably need this more when they first receive their power because they're not as experienced so they can't wield it efficiently at first without something to focus it on.

Hannah [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

http://timeheart.fateback.com

'Felis Catus is your taxonomic nomenclature. An endothermic qaudroped, carniverous by nature.'

[EWizard11]

About the specialties:
In an early interview that I just happened to come across (no, really!!) Diane says that in _Dilemma_, Nita would be specializing more. I think that the mentions of specialties in So You Want... were just mentions of talent, (like some people are good at math, some are better at history). I think to *truly* specialize, you lean toward doing more work in that area. Just a guess.

*Ella*

[Em]

Yeah...I guess I was just a little bit surprised. In SYWTBAW, Diane focused so much on their specialties that I was expecting them to come up more often - they seemed to be the basis of Kit and Nita's development in wizardry - and after that I expected the other books to have some, if very slight, referrals to these talents. But there are very few, a couple here and there, but they are very inconsistent. I think I supposed that if you had *talent* in some areas of wizardry, like if you have talent at English or History, that it be a bigger part of your life than other parts of wizardry.

But now I understand better...thanks.

~Em~

I would reckon a bet that if these specialities were brought up and explicitely mentioned time and again we'd probably get sick of them quickly. And there are examples of them being used later in the series, but I suspect they've changed quite a bit.

Nita does quite well with the whales, as I remember (sorry, read this all last year). In that same book, Kit takes the form of a whale and nearly loses himself in it. It's possible that he is able, through this experience, to gain some more understand of the inner workings of beasts. Furthermore, his close relationship with his pup probably isn't hurting either.

On her side, Nita has to deal with her sister and her computer, which means she has had to develop more coping skills in the technology side of things.

And as an author, I'm sure Duane did not want to limit herself to just having them each good at one thing. Sure in most childrens literature that might be the case, but this is really not average children's lit, at least in my opinion.

[Bryce]

about the wands, in "a wizard alone", Nita has a wand in her "pocket" that she uses for light. I think that the wizards always keep a wand around in case they might need it.

Dai

[Em]

Yeah, I was gonna mention that...but I thought it was a spoiler (not a very big one but whatever) [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img].

~Em~

"But victory's certain. Never think otherwise. There is loss, and there is pain, and in your home frame of reference, they're real enough, not to be devalued. But today the energy's running out of things just a little more slowly...for those who trust their hearts a measure." Diane Duane, A_Wizard's_Dilemma.

[Polly6]

I think the wand thing just dependes on if you want something for a little more power they are only useable for a little while (Kits was used to make a bridge and then fell in to the cannon and nitas 1st one ran out of power)

[A Moonlighting X-Phile]

I didn't think they were actuall wands, as such. If I remember correctly, Nita's was a limb from the rowan in her back yard, peeled and soaked in moonlight, and Kit's was a busted-off antenna from his dad's ancient Edsel. They were more like good-luck charms or spellholders than wands such as most wizards in fiction (such as HP) have...

AML,
A Moonlighting X-Phile
<If all good things must come to an end - than numbers are not our friend!>
<WARNING: I cannot be help responsible for the above, as apparently my cats have learned how to type.>
<'Men will fight bravely and be heroes, but for a last ditch defense against any odds, get a mother.' You should recognize that one!>

http://www.geocities.com/booknightmoon

[Quill]

Not to spoiler anything, but many of the wizards in one of the gatherings in A Wizard Abroad carry wands. I suspect they are a sort of versatile tool, able to do a number of things, but with limited power and/or lifespans (see rowan wand). Perhaps it depends on the wizard's preferences and needs.

(...an eggbeater?...)

Inside every cynic there's an idealist desperately yearning to be let out, and when they are let out they're usually a real pain and cause all sorts of trouble. --Chris Boucher

Now that you got the whole thing on there specitlys thats much less typing on my part.But as for the wands I can't remeber which book it was in the maybe the fifth but, she goes out and talks to the rowen tree and it asks her if she needs another wand but she replys that her replacement is doing fine.

chase604@hotmail.com

umm...i havent read what other people have posted...so this might already be up...so...yea...anyway, in the second book they mention nita and kits specials, but i havent read the other books...so thats pretty much all i can tell ya im bored...guess i'll go read...

[The last tiger]

I have always understood the wands as being both a foces and a sort of repository of some sort of power like in one of the books the wand that was exposed to moonlight is used to give off moonlight and is useless when it has given off all it has in it.Alternitivly a wizard could place some of their power in an object for later use and that could be a wand too.