284 ◾ Game Magic
An oand comment by Maester Luwin reveals that the Maesters can
apply for a Valyrian steel link in their chain to indicate study of magic and
the occult, but only one in one hundred Maesters have done this. Maester
Luwin believes that magic has passed away along with dragons, and that
consequently each Maester who studies the “higher mysteries” fails to cast
spells (Clash of Kings 441). Luwin poetically sums up the rarity of magic in
Clash of Kings when he explains:
Perhaps magic was once a mighty force in the world, but no longer.
What little that remains is no more than the wisp of smoke that
lingers in the air aer a great re has burned out, and even that is
fading. Valyria was the last ember, and Valyria is gone. ...