Magnitude

Magnitude is a term used to describe the raw power a wizard holds. A higher magnitude denotes a greater talent and mastery over magic, allowing the individual to cast greater spells as well as achieve feats which lesser wizards would require far longer time to carry out, or would be incapable of doing. The Ten Who Were Taken and Shadowmasters are classed in the upper spectrum, whilst Raven and Smoke would be classed at the lower end.

The term is never explained in detail, but One-Eye and Goblin occasionally make reference to it, as does the Lady. For example Goblin in Bleak Seasons states Shadowspinner is "more like two orders really, probably" higher than One-Eye. It should be noted this does not take into account other skills and factors within a wizard's disposal, and frequently in the series lesser wizards were capable of combating seemingly far stronger adversaries. For example, Uncle Doj in She Is The Darkness was even capable of severely injuring Soulcatcher using a combination of his cloaking magic and skill in swordsmanship.

Comparative orders of magnitude

Highest magnitude

• The Dominator is unilaterally regarded to be one of the most powerful sorcerers ever.
• The unnamed, ancient prisoner trapped beneath Father Tree is described by The Lady to be "something as virulent as my husband" and demonstrates immense power, much like the Dominator.
• The Master could not be defeated, killed, or Taken by the Dominator and as such is at a comparable level of magnitude.

Higher magnitude

• The Lady openly states that despite her immense sorcery, she is less powerful than the Dominator.
• (Tobo is stated to perhaps be more powerful than the Lady at the height of her strength. However this might not be a statement about his inherent magnitude, but his overall power including his control over the Unknown Shadows.)

High magnitude

1. Harden was able to utterly freeze three of the Ten—Soulcatcher, Stormbringer, and the Hanged Man—in their tracks, with no time to prepare, and would have killed all three had he not been ambushed by Shapeshifter.
2. The Ten Who Were Taken; Blind Emon
   1. Soulcatcher is considered to be more powerful than the Howler in Bleak Seasons, and, Lady states positively in Dreams of Steel that Catcher was the most powerful of all the Taken.
   2. Shapeshifter defeats Stormbringer but Croaker's educated guess is that he knew her true name. Even so, the combat leaves him completely defenseless.
   3. Stormbringer kills Bonegnasher personally, suggesting she was of a higher magnitude.
   4. Moonbiter and the Faceless Man might be of comparable magnitude because they killed each other.
3. Whisper was a very strong sorcerer, but her power was more derived from her military genius and generalship.
4. The Circle of Eighteen, several members of which could contend against the Taken.
5. The Lady's Taken, other than Whisper who was stronger, seem to be next in magnitude.

Medium-high magnitude

• Moonshadow had spells at his immediate disposal which shook the earth and caused multiple charging elephants to explode into pieces
• Bomanz easily killed individual enemies with a single "word of power" and could send a long-distance "killing sending" to slay targets at considerable distances.
• Longshadow is a significant sorcerer but his power is mostly due to his control over shadows.
• Shadowspinner is, according to Goblin, "more like two orders [of magnitude] really, probably" higher than One-Eye.

Medium magnitude

• Smoke
• N'Gamo: Tom-Tom admits "I'll never be his match".
• Gossamer and Spidersilk

Low magnitude

• One-Eye and Tom-Tom
• Goblin and Silent

Lower magnitude

• Uncle Doj
• The Third

Lowest magnitude

• Raven frequently used a minor sorcery to make his daggers seem to appear from nowhere. He also had supernatural tracking abilities. Despite his low magnitude, he used his talent to great effect, and was able to ambush Raker and the Limper, much more powerful sorcerers. His low magnitude was plenty sufficient to transform him into an unrecognizable monster upon touching the silver spike.
• The Captain had some minimal talent for wizardry, which was revealed when he flew The Lady's flying carpet for a distance only to die after crashing it.