Scrying

[Doughal]

I don't have any of my books with me, but was thinking about Scrying and wondered what the maximum distance normally would be that a skilled deryni could scry.  What about with a group of highly skilled practitioners working together using a shiral crystal?  What if they were scrying over water such that there were no mountains or rock in the way? 

[DesertRose]

I would imagine it would depend on at least a couple of factors.

1.  Do they know specifically what/whom they're trying to see?
2.  How powerful and well-trained is/are the practitioner(s)?

Also, I would think that, say, the Camberian Council scrying from the council's meeting chamber with its great big shiral could do a better job than say, Alaric Morgan and Duncan McLain trying to scry with Dhugal's hair ribbon (which fortunately worked, IIRC, but it was a long shot and they knew it), given that the Council generally is comprised of the best-trained and most powerful Deryni in Gwynedd and surrounds, and Morgan and Duncan haven't a proper set of training between the two of them (at least in canon so far they don't).

If you can make it to Sunday chat, this would be a question I think KK might be willing to contemplate and answer.

[Doughal]

This would be in the year 921, so at the height of the backlash after the restoration.  The practitioners would be trained Gabriellites and Michaelines, and other highly educated deryni trained before all the knowledge of Camber's time was lost.  Their target would be looking for land when scrying across the ocean.

[DesertRose]

Hmm.

I should think that might be difficult to do, but given practitioners of that caliber, they might just manage to be able to get some idea of where they might find land, although maybe not able to obtain a detailed survey of said land.

But that's just my theory, so don't take it as writ in stone. 

[Doughal]

That was pretty much in line with what I was thinking.  Just a vague feeling that land was in a certain direction would be enough, any more that than that and it would lessen the dramatic tension anyway.  Not that I'm promising to write anything mind you... just thinking about a story. 

[DesertRose]

That was pretty much in line with what I was thinking.  Just a vague feeling that land was in a certain direction would be enough, any more that than that and it would lessen the dramatic tension anyway.  Not that I'm promising to write anything mind you... just thinking about a story. 

In any case, I'd ask KK if you can squeak in some chat time on Sunday evening.  Or if you like, I can ask her for you, and it will appear in the chat transcript.

I'm a fanfiction enabler, not a nag!