Vanyel Ashkevron | Elegante CR (continued)magics_pawnDecember 30 2011, 04:15:56 UTC
9. Abilities: Vanyel is a Herald-mage with the unique quality of having every gift available, thanks to the rather painful blasting-open of such channels when he was a teenager. An abridged list of gifts and explanations can be found at the Valdemar Wiki, though this is by no means complete. His most powerful ability is that of Magecraft, or magic, in which he has been extensively tutored and which which he has large amounts of combat(and otherwise) experience. In Valdemar, 'Magic' is split into two opposing and seemingly incompatible regions, that of 'true magic' which is more akin to what you'd think of as magic, and 'mind-magic,' which is more along the lines of psychic powers. As on the Elegante, most of Vanyel's limitations will have to do more with the setting than with he himself. In canon, the main difference between a mage of Vanyel's extreme high power and one who has almost none is a difference in the ability to draw from different outside forces.
For example, an "Apprentice" ranked mage would only be able to draw from and use the magical energy produced by his own body as a byproduct of being alive. A Journeyman might be able to do that and also draw or accept power from an outside source, such as another mage, or an animal. Masters are able to draw from what is called 'leyline' which is a line of naturally-forming magical power that runs like a river through areas with high concentrations of living things, such as forests. A node is what happens when that power collects like a pool before draining away into the aether, but only an Adept can tap into these chaotic and violent blobs of power. Vanyel is just such an Adept, an incredibly powerful and skilled one, albeit not by birth, who can handle nodes farther away and of greater power than anyone that had come five thousand years before him or five thousand since.
But none of that means anything but expertise if there's nothing for him to draw on. Despite all that, and even limited to his own personal power Vanyel is still an incredibly formidable opponent, fully capable of knocking down walls and killing with a thought, which is why it's a good thing he's a Herald. Heralds in general and Vanyel especially simply don't do those kinds of things unless they have no other choice and when someone else's life is on the line as well. Consider him a Paladin- Lawful Good, often beyond tactics and good sense.
Beyond all that, he's a superb horseman, an excellent swordsman, can repair most kinds of tack and saddle, knows how to live off the land in an emergency and is pretty handy in a fistfight. He's a fair cartographer and has a good mind for figures, faces and music, and knows how to arbitrate between parties and play the diplomat, even though he dislikes having to deal with it. He's shown to have fair skills as a spy on at least one occasion but his skillset lies mostly in the areas of diplomacy and of defense.
And speaking of Horses, Yfandes has several abilities horses don't have. For example, she posesses mage-sight, which is a bit like thermal vision, and as a result has truly remarkable night vision. She is herself extremely magical and is therefore capable of almost limitless feats of endurance, or extraordinary feats of speed, but not both at once. She's amazing, but she's still only mortal. In addition, she is, like Vanyel, very telepathic and is fully capable of speaking to people in that way, even though they themselves may have the psychic abilities of a brick.
Beyond that she's got the build of a courser, made for long travel and hard roads. Like any horse she weighs a ton and kicks fully hard enough to flatten a human's skull in addition to being well trained in the ability to fight both in close quarters and against multiple opponents be they on horseback or on foot. She's every inch a professional at her job in the same way that Vanyel is at his, and a large part of her job is to protect his life with her own, and vice versa.
For example, an "Apprentice" ranked mage would only be able to draw from and use the magical energy produced by his own body as a byproduct of being alive. A Journeyman might be able to do that and also draw or accept power from an outside source, such as another mage, or an animal. Masters are able to draw from what is called 'leyline' which is a line of naturally-forming magical power that runs like a river through areas with high concentrations of living things, such as forests. A node is what happens when that power collects like a pool before draining away into the aether, but only an Adept can tap into these chaotic and violent blobs of power. Vanyel is just such an Adept, an incredibly powerful and skilled one, albeit not by birth, who can handle nodes farther away and of greater power than anyone that had come five thousand years before him or five thousand since.
But none of that means anything but expertise if there's nothing for him to draw on. Despite all that, and even limited to his own personal power Vanyel is still an incredibly formidable opponent, fully capable of knocking down walls and killing with a thought, which is why it's a good thing he's a Herald. Heralds in general and Vanyel especially simply don't do those kinds of things unless they have no other choice and when someone else's life is on the line as well. Consider him a Paladin- Lawful Good, often beyond tactics and good sense.
Beyond all that, he's a superb horseman, an excellent swordsman, can repair most kinds of tack and saddle, knows how to live off the land in an emergency and is pretty handy in a fistfight. He's a fair cartographer and has a good mind for figures, faces and music, and knows how to arbitrate between parties and play the diplomat, even though he dislikes having to deal with it. He's shown to have fair skills as a spy on at least one occasion but his skillset lies mostly in the areas of diplomacy and of defense.
And speaking of Horses, Yfandes has several abilities horses don't have. For example, she posesses mage-sight, which is a bit like thermal vision, and as a result has truly remarkable night vision. She is herself extremely magical and is therefore capable of almost limitless feats of endurance, or extraordinary feats of speed, but not both at once. She's amazing, but she's still only mortal. In addition, she is, like Vanyel, very telepathic and is fully capable of speaking to people in that way, even though they themselves may have the psychic abilities of a brick.
Beyond that she's got the build of a courser, made for long travel and hard roads. Like any horse she weighs a ton and kicks fully hard enough to flatten a human's skull in addition to being well trained in the ability to fight both in close quarters and against multiple opponents be they on horseback or on foot. She's every inch a professional at her job in the same way that Vanyel is at his, and a large part of her job is to protect his life with her own, and vice versa.
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