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Old 01-09-2004, 01:01 AM   #12
Lyta_Underhill
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: an uncounted length of steps--floating between air molecules
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Sting

Quote:
The magic of Gandalf (and that of the Elves) is not tricks and spells one can learn (like in Harry Potter) but an inherent power.
Of course, there is also a subtlety that must be learned in the Harry Potter universe in order to properly use a spell. The spells are also thrown about much more freely in that realm. I don't notice Dumbledore using outright spells as much as the others, though... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

The thing I like about the magic of Middle Earth is that it is so subtle, not explained in terms of the will made instantly manifest, but of the working of an art with the backing of wisdom. The magic of the Elves especially, strikes me more as Art or Nature than what most think of as 'magic.' This brings the idea of a 'spell' out of the realm of the mechanical D & D sense into the sphere of the sublime. The very fact that you can't often catch Gandalf at his 'magic' is a testament to the fact that he is not out of place, not working against the natural flow (as a more obvious magic user would). He is a pure tool of the Good, a steward, as he calls himself.

I can't really add anything to the rather comprehensive list of Legolas above. Very nice! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Cheers!
Lyta
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“…she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea.”
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