How exactly do spell vendors/merchants work in-game? A character gives the merchant some money and learns a new spell in trade. Is there some sort of magical bond that takes place between them that allows the knowledge to be shared, like some sort of Vulcan Mind Meld? Or is there an implied passing of time in which training takes place?

Is it as simple as learning a few magic words or hand motions? If so, why so expensive?

I'm willing to chalk this up to a compromise for the sake of gameplay, but I'm looking for other ideas before I settle on that conclusion.

i never know how rpgs that use a pool for magic really work out. i mean the so many oer day and needing things to make the spell work made sense to a degree. in dnd you could absorb the magic off of the scroll and store the spell in your mind. then when you cast it would be used up, why you only got some many spells a day. maby its a play on that.
saying that maby you absorb the runes or something and just put your energy into it. bout the best i can say.

Hm. I always just assumed that the character wrote it down in a spell book of some kind.

I assumed it's the same as using a trainer ingame.

since spell tomes disappear when you use them i assume you soak up the learning like some nerdy sponge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7bBiBy9yo8 only twenty percent cooler.

In the older games I assumed there was actually supposed to be some kind of teaching going on, but due to game mechanics it happened instantly.

In Skyrim, with the magical spell tomes, you basically open the book and all the magic inside it imprints itself on your mind, using the book up. It's a much faster method, if a bit expensive for some tomes.

You're paying for private instrument magick instruction.

Until those dirty Nords made you read books and learn it yourself.

Even then its not a sure fire method, obviously. In fact, without prior training, trying to learn spells on your own with just a book is extraordinarily dangerous, often resulting in the would-be-mages death. There are several incidents in Skyrim that have some poor shlub's charred corpse huddled near a spell book. While those that have at least dabbled in magic before could learn a spell from the contents of a book, it would require prior understanding to what their dealing with. A novice mage probably couldn't even properly use a Destruction spell if he has only taught the skills for Illusion based applications in his studies.

And this is why the people of Tamriel needed the Mages' Guild.

And why they're worse off with that Synod/Whispers debacle. Less saving people from burning to death because of accidents; more politics.

Actually, this is why the Psijics didn't want the Mages Guild to form. The Psijics believed that only the elite and dedicated should be able to learn magic, while Galerion believed that anybody with enough coin to pay for a spell book should be able to learn, with little regard to procedure or safety.

No point wasting effort safeguarding people from their own stupidity when we could be putting that effort towards growing smarter people.

Any ideas on how scrolls would function? Is it just a weak enchantment on a piece of paper?

I'd say they're enchanted so that when the written words/phrases/noises are vocalised by the one holding the paper the enchantment is triggered.

Looking over the notes on Lord of Souls again, there is a bit on where a person used magic while in a life or death situation, despite no prior training. I really wouldn't pay too much heed to it though. It screams "By the power of plot!"

The fact that all characters in TES games start with one or two minor spells sort of supports this, though. The lore explanation the book gave is pretty sound, too - that all mortals have a tiny piece of Aetherius deep inside them left over from Convention, a little piece of their soul that allows magic to flow through them, and sometimes in desperation it can activate. Doesn't seem that far fetched.

No, it certainly doesn't considering anyone has the capability to use magic. My problem is though, that without even a speck of training, could that really manifest itself in some form of defense? Grant it, 'life and death(!)' scenario could be enough of a stimulant to allow something like that to happen, it raises the question would exactly would manifest, since I'm almost certain no proper spell would come to be. Either way, what happened in the book just seems to plotty for me to properly sell it. I'm sure it could happen in a way that could be more believable though.