TURTLE RECALL: The Discworld Companion . . . So Far | Marrowleaf

We’re continuing our stroll through Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion . . . so far today, and it should be clear by now that, for safety’s sake, you need this indispensable guide to lead you through the highways and byways of the extraordinary Discworld – how else will you find out where to get:

~ The best curry in Ankh-Morpork*
~ The truth of the dwarf expression ‘worth his weight in gold’**
~ The real recipe for Strawberry Wobbler***

You know the drill by now: each day we’ll be sharing an entry with you (competition on Friday – I know, I know, but you’ll just have to wait!), to showcase the marvellous nature of this Discworld compendium. Today we shall learn about marrowleaf . . .

Marrowleaf
Wizard and author of the Theory of Thaumic Imponderability. This says that it is impossible to know exactly what any magical spell will do until afterwards, when it will be too late, although the Theory itself takes ninety closely-written pages. [from Soul Music]

Hmm. Bit short, isn’t it? Perhaps we should expand on ‘thaumic’ . . .

Thaum
The basic and traditional unit of magical strength. It has been universally established as the amount of magic needed to create one small white pigeon or three normal-sized billiard balls (a smaller measure for purposes of calculation is the millithaum). A thaumometer is used to measure the density of a magical field. It is a dark blue glass cube, with a dial on the front and a button on the side.

In Unseen University’s High Energy Magic building the thaum has been successfully demonstrated to be made up of resons (lit: ‘thing-ies’) or reality fragments. Current research indicates that each reson is itself made up of a combination of at least five ‘flavours’, known as ‘up’, ‘down’, ‘sideways’, ‘sex appeal’ and ‘peppermint’.

Students at UU have discussed the possibility of the power to be gained from splitting the thaum on an industrial basis, but have been dissuaded by their superiors on the grounds that this would make the place untidy.

 

 

Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion . . . so far by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs was published 8th November, 2012, and is available in hardback and as an eBook.

 

* Klatchian Curry Gardens, corner of God Street & Blood Alley.
P.S. Don’t use the kitchen entrance.

 

** Oh yes, they mean it literally . . .

 

*** The Joye of Snackes by A Lancre Witch