First off, wonderful game, I love it. Now, I was wondering about the use of Dormant spells.
First of all, how long to they take to 'release'? Is it the same as the casting time for the spell normally? Also, what is involved in releasing it? Are there circumstances where the person using it has to use either gestures or chanting? Finally, do suggested amount of 'age' an item used for spell storage work for most anything, regardless of the object's resistance to real-life age? For example, a wooden staff would likely decay given enough time, while a gold ring, barring unforseen circumstances, doesn't erode.

Dormant spells take as much time to "trigger" as the mage wants them too. The spells already cast, so all he has to do is set the trigger to work the way he wants it to.

It can be a single word, a simple touch, or it could be a whole set of conditions that have to be met to set the spell off. For example, my mage embedded most of his spells in cheap iron pendants set to go off with a tap or word, rarely took enough time to even take into consideration.

And yes, gold doesn't corrode... making it a wonderful material to embed spells within. :)