I've finally gotten around to reading the City of Brass adventure in Tales of Power. It's very cool and I want to congratulate all the authors. People worried about spoilers probably shouldn't read further, as I'm about to question some of the magic described therein in nit-picky detail.
One thing I was a little surprised at is the big deal being made of how exceptional the Djinn Bottles in the adventure are, and how big a hermetic breakthrough it would be to duplicate them. As far as I can figure it out, the unique characteristics of the bottles are twofold:
The ability to connect a genius loci to it's home anchor, remotely.
and
The ability to affect Daimons living in the Magic Realm
The first point I'm not sure about, but it seems like some variation on the Intangible Tunnel would work. I don't see anything beyond Hermetic limits here, though arguably some new Vim guidelines might be needed.
The second point got me thinking about Daimons. We know they can't be "bound", but the bottle enchantment doesn't really seem like a binding per se, as the Daimon is not in any way trapped within the bottle. Rather, the enchantment seems to be more along the lines of a long lasting control spell, which is not prohibited as far as I know.
But how to target the Daimon, and not just some temporary Aspect? After all, Daimons live in the Magic Realm and as per RoP:M pg.28, "the only Arcane Connections between the mundane world and the Magic Realm are vestiges and boundaries".
But wait, the same book says on pg.102 "An Aspect is a constant Arcane Connection of indefinite duration which is in constant mental contact with its Daimon". Hmm... apparently there ARE some ACs to the Magic Realm after all. Presumably a magus holding hands with an Aspect could cast an Arcane-ranged spell on its Daimon.
Then I reflected on Daimons in general. Again as per RoP:M, all Daimons have a True Name which "is an Arcane Connection of indefinite duration". Moreover, "The physical location of a genius loci is an Arcane Connection to that spirit, regardless of whether it is a Daimon or Airy Spirit" (pg.110). This idea of there being no ACs to the Magic Realm isn't holding up and I have trouble reconciling this information with the rules on the Magic Realm. There seem to be quite a few options for targeting a Daimon without
breaking Hermetic Limits. That's not even considering the option of creating the enchantment within the City of Brass itself, where the actual Daimon is.
Thoughts?