[Chris_Byler]

I thought the "can't use more gems than your path level" restriction didn't include gems that are part of the cost of the spell and only applied to gems used to raise power/reduce fatigue. This would allow the S7 caster to use the 8 required gems, plus up to 7 more gems for increased power/reduced fatigue (of which there must be at least one "extra" gem, or he wouldn't be powerful enough to cast it at all).

Unfortunately the manual section on "Using magic gems in combat" (p.89) does not address this issue; spells with an inherent gem cost aren't mentioned at all.

Maybe someone could test this: give an S1 and S2 mage 10 pearls each, script them both to cast immediate Returning, see what happens.