There's a common stereotype that a wand is an essential tool for magic. In reality, at least in this world, a small, narrow implement is no better a tool for precision than one's finger (and, ultimately, one's mind); indeed, having to conduct energy through a thing that is not part of you before releasing it could cause the energy to become ( Read more... )

An example of the kind of lecture I'd give to first-year magic students. Healing magic is generally among the first kinds of magic taught, though it's actually an ethically difficult subject to teach: what do you practice on? We can't encourage students to harm themselves or others in order to heal them, and those in genuine need of healing should ( Read more... )

Upon commencement of a spell, a faint tingling often begins in the veins, a sense of heat or coolness at the source of the power feeling as if it's spreading outwards through the nervous system, causing prickling along the arms or in the temples. Instinctively, muscles around the forehead or in the arms may contract or relax. As the energy builds ( Read more... )

Magic is a force-- no, less a force; more a skill, of interaction with a force-- that is inherently lifeful. To practice magic one interacts with and directly guides the forces of existence, and being that the ultimate progenitor of the forces of existence, the One Force behind them all, is that which can variously be thought of as Goodness, Love, ( Read more... )

In this world, the word "magic" does, despite its presence as yet being fairly weak here, still refer to a concept that most people hold in their minds though few have ever witnessed directly: the forces of existence placed, in very small part, under direct human control. (If you contemplate the idea for a moment you realise why it must necessarily ( Read more... )

There is a common assumption that with knowledge about the world, with clarity, comes cynicism. Indeed, this is a truth in part, borne out by the practical experiences of many people. However, it is also an assumption based on the idea that those who are cynical know everything there is to know, or that further knowledge would only be of the ( Read more... )

I have mentioned before that to be a Runebearer is not to perceive as ordinary people do. The effects of bearing a True Rune on a person are poorly understood and heavily underestimated; not in terms of their intensity, for their intense moments are usually depicted well enough (if with far too little emphasis on the positive experiences, no less ( Read more... )

I have been thinking some lately about the use of magic in warfare, and the appropriateness of treating magic as a weapon. I have used magic in combat in the past; I could not have done otherwise if we were to fight at all, for with such great power as mine I could not but use it to protect my people. (A regrettable turn of phrase; these people ( Read more... )

I wished to talk a little about the appearance of magic, for those who have never, or rarely, seen it cast; this is not so much apropos of anything, but it may aid in the understanding of magic as a beautiful, rather than fearsome, thing. From casual and distant observation, one might suppose that magic appears as light, a coloured halo or stream ( Read more... )

voice_of_silver asked me if I might write a little on the fact that to bear a True Rune is commonly perceived as a great misfortune. It's a perception that largely comes about from the fact that the majority of well-known Runebearers were young, untrained individuals forced into the situation by dire circumstance; not favourable conditions in the slightest. Bad ( Read more... )