Is this normal spell-casting ai behavior ?

[Kristoffer O]

Distance is considered, but also probable results. Holy pyre would not affect knights very much (rather low dmg and high prot), but the militia would be severely hurt.

I'm not sure but the AI measures potential HP dmg of different spells and targets. The knights would yield lower results then the militia.

Targeting closest enemy would make sense. Especially if one target is much closer than the rest.