Battle (Expansive, Inanimate) [Motion, Distance, Air, Fire]

Nexan has somehow slipped into the role of Battle mage, though there must be some subtle and/or flexible spells in Motion, Distance, Air, Fire.

Between Motion and Distance, there are quite a few travel options too.

• Distance fits with the possibility that Nexan's former persona visited Unaerth, and the distant perception options work with his obsession with mapping Aerth.
• The defensive options of Motion (especially against bullets) could certainly be useful
• Ok, Air includes flight - another travel option (maybe spellcraft synergy with motion?); probably includes Feather Fall (density); the Unseen servant probably comes closest to being an Air elemental
  
• Fire... well fire is fire, you can't play with it, just burn things with it; still a fireball deliberately aimed over people's heads would certainly get some attention, and igniting clothing might subdue or distract attackers long enough to reduce morale
  

Air College; in the Inanimate, Order, Concrete, Expansive Domains. Uses white mana. Limitation: -1 spellcaster level if the caster is under ground or under water. Some of the more powerful air attacks involve lightning. Enchantments include flight, weather prediction and influencing, smoke and fog. The Air College also includes spells to decrease density, change gas composition, or become translucent or invisible.

Fire College; in the Inanimate, Chaos, Concrete, Expansive Domains. Uses red mana. To use Fire magic, the spell-caster cannot be under water. Fire College lethal attacks may ignite flammable objects. The Fire College includes light magic but not illusions. Aside from flash attacks (which give concealment penalties to victims in the area of effect), and suffocation attacks, fire attacks generally cannot be downgraded to be non-lethal. Fire can defend against mundane heat and cold, but is ineffective at defending against other mundane attack forms.

Motion College; In the Inanimate, Chaos, Abstract, Expansive Domains. Uses yellow mana. Attacks are kinetic assaults, either direct by slamming a target around, or indirect by hurling objects at the target. Defenses are force fields. Motion defenses are useful against a wide range of mundane attacks, and are especially effective against bullets. Enchantments involve animating objects, endowing them with temporary lifelike motions, and building conveyances.

Distance College; In the Inanimate, Order, Abstract, Expansive Domains. Uses yellow mana. +1 Spellcaster level for the purpose of calculating range. Distance attacks are always indirect, in that they bolster the effectiveness of other attacks happening in the environment by causing them to be at the right place at the right time. A distance attack can only affect someone who is either being attacked or who has missiles flying nearby. The distance attacks manifest by redirecting stray missiles, magic and blows. If such are not available, there’s little the pure distance mage can do by himself in combat.

Distance is normally used for scrying, teleportation, and providing defenses against the same. It is useful for creating items and environments that distort distances and space, such as goblin boxes and gnome pouches.

Distance is the only College which can actually teleport physical objects without traversing the intervening Aerthly space. Movement could push objects rapidly, Time could let them get there sooner if they are already headed that way, Earth could heave a boulder around. It is suspected that teleported objects move through the Unaerth in that instant of transport.