What does the Manual look like?

[hsa9574]

papercrane-
I don't really think ronan memorized his book, it is just sent into his mind whenever he needs the information

I can think of nothing right now

[papercrane]

Well...
'"Have you got your manual?"
'He looked at her. "Manual?"
'"You know. Your wizards's manual, where you get the spells and ancillary data."
'"You get them out of a book?"
'Nita was confused. "Where else would you get them?"
'Ronan looked at her as if she were very dim indeed. "The way we always have--the way the druids and bards did it for two, three thousand years, maybe more. We do it by memory!"'
--A Wizard Abroad, pages 104-105

He does go on to say that he knows spells to bring up the more complicated ones, but he knows all the basic stuff by heart.

I am what I am
I'm super fortified hundred proof girl with a band
and I'm a velveteen rabbit made of steel with a plan...
I'll save the planet change the world
I'll make a one girl stand
--Superchic[k], 'Real'

[PK]

In addition to the memorized parts, it is also true that the "Knowledge" Ronan refers to (a little after that point) is mentioned later on as "making it plain" to Nita that Ronan was Lugh's (or at least the Defender's) descendant and current, um, habitat.

The way the cats do it is, if I recall correctly, also partly memory and partly being directly instructed/advised or consulting with one of the Powers -- Hrauf, the Whisperer, who I believe was said to be called also the Knowledge or the Silence in other contexts where the Manual wasn't provided in book form. (She seems to be pretty flexible about communication. What was that line, "Sometimes She Whispers, sometimes She sends me e-mail, sometimes She does both and I don't know which to look at first..." And it's in that same section that we have the reference to plans to put the Book of Night with Moon "which in book form could be as small as a paperback or as large as a stack of telephone books" and of which all manuals are excerpts online...)

Darryl in A Wizard Alone calls his manual the Silence. And it returns Nita's greeting with "I am errantry."

Whale-wizards in Deep Wizardry are said to get their spells from the Sea, and Kit is fed words directly from the Sea when he's brought into the Song as an impromptu substitute and hasn't studied it much. ("The Sea" is referred to as a Power in its own right, although the oceans as a whole and local waters all seem to have personalities of their own that the Sea is separate from -- can't look up the quote right now though.)

And... that's all the relevant references I can think of, so I shall stop rambling.

Though I think everyone ends up memorizing at least some of it. Nita and Kit in SYW refer to whether they've studied the right things; they don't read off everything....

[Birdhead]

Have I ever told you it's INCREDIBLE the amount of effort you put into this stuff? You should write a FAQ. my Truly Obsessed Best Friend does that with one series of books she love. She co-admins this massive site writng HUGE numbers of FAQs it's so unfunny...
*grins* of course we love her anyway.
T

Tuibird in Aotearoa
Conservationist, Scientist, and proud of both!
Chocolate lover extraordinaire...
Ahahahaha, ahahahahaha, ahahahaha...
My mission: Bringing Maori to the world!
Spelling Freak and Typo Queen

[Agent M]

Papercrane- But what does he use to memorize it?

*Agent~M*

EVERYONE MUST READ CITY OF THE BEASTS!!!!! (I sound crazy but I don't care)
"Thank you Jack" "Your welcome" "No not you, we named the monkey Jack" -Pirates of the Caribbean
Look closely at your next subway token. And speak to strangers.- SYWTBAW 20th Ed.
"Do what the night tells you, and read the fine print before you sign!"- DW, Picchu
I lost my marbles, PLEASE HELP ME FIND THEM!!!!!!!

[papercrane]

I think it's like bards and storytellers used to do, only more accurate...obviously. Because while you may tweak a story or song to make it sound better, you can't tweak a spell. How else could he have learned it but by word of mouth?

I am what I am
I'm super fortified hundred proof girl with a band
and I'm a velveteen rabbit made of steel with a plan...
I'll save the planet change the world
I'll make a one girl stand
--Superchic[k], 'Real'

[FireWitch]

Then how does he find out that he's a wizard? All the "traditional" wizards seem to "find" a manual, but you can't just find a memory like that. You'd think you were crazy. Does a welcome committee come to your house and fill you in or something?

Hillary Wan Kenobi
The first-ever Jedi Ewok

Loyal reader of Harry Potter and Young Wizards books

[Quill]

A very good question, FireWitch...which in turn leads me to wonder about cultural differences. How are wizards in cultures other than the North American one we've seen offered the Choice? Esp. those where far fewer people read, let alone have access to books? In the case of Ireland, perhaps a people so steeped in legend and the magic of the island are more accepting of "voices in the head" or somesuch than might be our New York State heroes.

Murmurings

[Birdhead]

Well, that would be what i would suspect Ronan had- a "voice in his head," similar to Arhu. "She spoke to me... She said.." was what he said, I believe- and he was pretty much Atheist. Inasmuch s cat can be atheist. Certainly heretic, anyway; the voice seems to be one that inspires belief, I guess.
T

Tuibird in Aotearoa
Conservationist, Scientist, and proud of both!
Chocolate lover extraordinaire...
Ahahahaha, ahahahahaha, ahahahaha...
My mission: Bringing Maori to the world!
Spelling Freak and Typo Queen