Had the sea not been ablaze, Rowan's next words would have made for a vivid chemistry lesson.
But time gave Rowan no chance to ramble. Driven by the east wind, a dragon of flame came roaring toward them.
Once the ice wall in front of the Iron Battleships broke, the blaze would become even harder to control.
Fire, oxygen, combustible material. Three essential conditions.
There was simply no time to teach the three advanced spellcasters about combustible materials and ignition points.
Rowan put it plainly. "If we isolate the oil on the sea from the air, we can definitely bring the fire under control."
For thousands of years, Dalaran had studied the power of magic. Using arcane to create more powerful spells was the guiding principle behind the Magic Kingdom's development of arcane theory.
That environment left most mages with little time to consider the laws of the elements and nature. In that respect, the archmages of Quel'Thalas had done very well.
Rhonin had met Rommath several times. Although the elderly High Elf archmage could not match a genius like Rhonin in researching magical power, he had given Rhonin many insights into the application of magic.
Why did the elements react with arcane? Were bursts of arcane energy and burning flames merely transformations of energy? These questions had brought Rhonin's understanding of magic to a new level.
As Rowan had said today, flames burned not simply because of reactions within the elements themselves, but also because of conditions supplied by their surroundings.
Something in the air gave fire elementals the conditions they needed to grow agitated and expand.
From steam power to mechanical construction, and even his subtle ways of thinking, everything suggested that Rowan possessed a systematic framework of knowledge. Just like the science he so often mentioned.
Brannon