Magic Talk with Yuan, Episode 2

[cloakand_danger]

Who: Yuan Ka-Fai and anyone
Broadcast: Video
Action: The library on the Iskaulit
When: Now

[The video feed opens up to Yuan in the library. He's once again poised to take notes as he addresses the camera.]

A while ago, I asked about magic in other people's worlds, specifically about elves and their connection to it, or where magic originates from if not elves. Today I'd like to ask instead specifically about healing magic.

In my world, healing magic is a little different from regular elemental spells, although most healing spells also incorporate one of the eight elements. Very few 'casters have the aptitude to learn it - I'm not one of them, so there are a lot of gaps in my understanding - and as such, those who do are sought after for their skills. I'd like to hear about healing magic in your worlds as well: is it associated with a particular element or type of magic? Can any spellcaster learn to heal, or is it restricted to certain people? What, if any, are its limitations or drawbacks?

Comments

[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan's dealt with a lot of traumatized half-elves in his time, one way or another; he knows how to recognize the signs of someone trying to put together the right words, the right angle to approach something unpleasant. There's a watchful patience in his gaze, but his tone is neutral as he responds:]

For the most part. There are certain factors that make it more potent when used on people who are...geared to fight. But it works even on those who aren't. Mind you, since the ability to cast magic at all is an indication of having elven blood, those who practice healing artes can face the same discrimination as other half-elves...but it turns out humans are more willing to tolerate someone who can be useful to them than someone whose best affinity is for setting them on fire.

[lord_wizard]

[His mouth quirks in a sardonic twist of a smile]

Yes, I can very much see how that would be the case. But the fact remains that they are at least allowed to practice and it is a skill that some are willing to pay for the use of?

[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan nods.]

It's hard to see how the ability to mend wounds wouldn't be a valued one. [He's still being patient, but you're getting a somewhat pointed quizzical look now, Felix.]

[lord_wizard]

[He's been working himself up the approach and this question certainly makes for the right one. He doesn't quite flinch, but something certainly tightens in his face.

He opened up the discussion, though, and he won't back down.]

I see you've cut me off at the intellectual pass. [He flashes a somewhat rueful smile at Yuan.]

The fact of the matter is that all the schools of magic have different views on the subject. I have traveled to places where it is practiced openly, but in Mélusine, where I learned, healing magic...is heresy.

[cloakand_danger]

[That rueful smile gets just a trace of warmth in return:] You did seem to be implying it was different from what you were used to.

Heresy. I admit that's something I hadn't even considered. [Now it's Yuan who seems hesitant, picking his words carefully. It's not as if he's ever inclined to show any respect for anyone's religion, but he doesn't really want to offend Felix. At least not to the point that it would damage their ability to work together.] Do you know the...reasoning behind that?

[lord_wizard]

[Luckily he's unlikely to be terribly offended. He might be Cabaline by way of training but he'd strayed far from that path in one way or another other the years and it was officially true as of his exile.

Felix nods.] Yes...

[He presses his lips together for a moment, searching for a way to begin]

I suppose you'd have to go back to about two hundred years before my time, just before the Cabaline school was founded. Marathat as whole was governed by a monarchy that by all accounts was riddled by corruption and decadence, and in Mélusine wizards practiced as they wished, often capturing annemer in bindings as servants or for political leverage. I admit I don't have much of a mind for history. Were my brother here he could likely tell you more than you ever wanted to know...

The short of it is that after the Wizard's Coup, when the Cabal took power, they created a system that did away with any kind of magic that could be abused, but they did so in the broadest strokes possible. They disavowed any magic used directly on another person, and did away with as much of the knowledge that made that magic possible as they could. Regrettably, this made healing magic fall side by side with things such as blood magic.

[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan listens patiently to this. There's a lot of names in there that he doesn't recognize, and he's not sure he understands all of the political entities involved, but the description of the end result seems fairly clear.]

Sounds like they had good intentions, but at the same time, to me that seems like an oversight that could have been corrected, rather than allowing people to perish for the sake of dogma. ...But your magic works very differently from mine; maybe there are complexities I'm not understanding.

[lord_wizard]

[His expression turns slightly wry]

One could argue magic in my world functions on dogma, but that's maybe the subject for a deeper discussion on theory. I cannot say I understand all the reasons the Cabal did what they did...they were necromancers too, you know...and they made of their own art a heresy as well. I understand their reasons, but I don't necessarily agree. And it certainly didn't eradicate the practice entirely.

[cloakand_danger]

...And so you wind up with healers operating underground, and presumably charging whatever they can get away with? [You can always count on Yuan to understand the nuances of the gap between what's allowed and what's possible.]

[lord_wizard]

[The small smile he gets in return shows that he does indeed appreciate Yuan's often accurate insights on these matters]

Precisely. Nature witches, as those particularly keen on healing magic call themselves, do in fact operate in the Lower City. Any wizards born in the city who don't get training as Cabalines must get training somewhere, and it's either them or the necromancers.

[cloakand_danger]

Necromancers. [He is making a very uncomfortable expression right now.]

What does one have to do to get training as a Cabaline?

[lord_wizard]

[That expression of unease gets an echo of sympathy from Felix and nothing else by way of acknoweldgment. That's another thorny subject.]

Historically it's through the master-apprentice arrangement. One must find, and possibly pay, to train under another wizard. Finding tutelage is easy enough for the gentry, but it's generally a matter of luck and possibly persistence for anyone else.

[The inequality of this arrangement is only one that really occurred to him to be bothered by until recent years, and there is a shade of bitterness to his matter of fact explanation. Marathat's practices in magical learning as whole are even more stark after seeing how places like Corambis do it. In any case, Felix privately hopes Yuan will latch onto the modifier and assume that Felix was in the former group.]

[cloakand_danger]

[To Yuan's mind, Felix is a fop, but the decent kind, the kind Yuan can work with: his thought is mostly that there's no point in pushing too hard on a system neither of them can change from here.]

Nothing strange about money keeping its own in power, unfortunately. Out of curiosity, what would happen to someone who had the ability to use magic, but was never trained to do so?

[lord_wizard]

[His reaction is a dissatisfied frown]

Destruction, ultimately. It almost never happens because once a child's magic manifests it comes with the need to channel it somewhere, consciously or otherwise. Some of them end up attempting unguided magic that ends up killing them. If they manage not to do that...they'll find training one way or another. I have never heard of, in any discipline, a successful untrained wizard.

[cloakand_danger]

Find a way or let the power kill you, is it? [Yuan shakes his head.] ...It's strange to think about. It's not as if a half-elf can't lose control of their magic - corner a frightened child at a certain age and you're liable to lose an eyebrow or two no matter if they meant to cast or not - but it isn't inevitable like that. Caster training helps by teaching focus and modeling how actual spells should be shaped, so the energy doesn't just fizzle out when gathered: it would be very difficult to start out without some kind of guidance, but not impossible, and once someone knows a few spells it's simple enough for them to practice and make progress on their own.

[lord_wizard]

In part I would say the same is true for us. It's the first bit of learning that's the most important. Even a little makes them much safer. But...if a young wizard is determined enough to try without that guidance...it's easy to let something go wrong because there is no one true way to use magic.

[cloakand_danger]

And I think that must be the place our worlds differ the most strongly. [Yuan nods.] Mana knows the shapes that spells take. 'Knows' might be the wrong word, but...just like crystals have the same number of sides no matter where you find them, if you gather enough fire mana into one place and nudge it into...alignment? [Once again he's falling short when trying to describe to others a sense they don't have] ...it will form a fireball spell, without specific intention on the part of the caster. If they keep it from coalescing and gather more, they can coax it into other shapes, perhaps even discover a new shape that they weren't aware it could take. But the shape of the spell is ultimately determined by the type and quantity of the mana used to cast it, not the caster's intent or understanding.

Based on the things you've described that are possible for spellcasters in your world... [he shakes his head] ...from that alone, I can guess that your magic doesn't work in the way I'm familiar with.