Construction Base

The Construction Base is a circle of magic used in the process of building. It serves two particular purposes, aiding in supply transport and fortification. With supply transport, it either serves to lighten building materials to ease in transport, or moves them directly. With fortification, it is a several year long process which eventually allows structures to be more physically strong. Such magic is most often found in the Elven Nations, particularly when it comes to important structures or the homes of nobility and royalty.

Though historically construction has involved the application of onerous amounts of mundane strength and endurance, except in the case of the nobility or royalty, the increase in the availability of magical training over the last thousand years has resulted in additional mages concentrating on the field of construction. Thus, this is a key application of magic that will likely continue to grow in coming centuries, and the effects of this are not entirely known.

The use of magic in construction concentrates itself in two places. First, much of construction involves the transportation and erection of heavy pieces of material. Though rare, magical support in this area tends to provide either a temporary lightening of such pieces to allow them to be transported more easily by hand, or actual magical support in transportation. The latter can be riskier, as an unskilled mage may end up doing damage to the construction materials through mishandling or magical mishap, but generally provides a larger reduction in required manpower, and thus cost savings. In the Dwarven realms, a large increase in magical tunneling efforts has sprung up recently as well, due to several new tunneling spells which are much more reliable than previous ones, causing far fewer cave-ins and much better longevity. In some circles, such efforts are met with a healthy distrust, however.

Second, after construction is complete, magical reinforcement of the structure can be applied. Traditionally, this type of magic took several years and was reserved for the most vital structures, such as the city walls and palaces of the Nations. In the late 4900s, a new spell was developed which produces a poor facsimile of the traditional reinforcement, but with a fraction of the time investment. This has proved very popular with wealthy merchants and others who cannot obtain a true reinforcing from royal mages, but wish their houses and storefronts additional protection from inclement weather or hostile forces. While such services are still out of reach for the vast majority of citizens and not offered outside the Nations and other large cities, the rate of increase is such that home reinforcements may be affordable to common elves within the next several centuries.