From: Sotiris
Hey Luna!That is an awesome Q&A you have going on and thank you for it! To my questions:
1) Are the mages’ lifespans the same as normals’?
2)I have read that fate magic is all but extinct, but let me ask you this: If it did exist, how easy it would be for the other mages to sense it? Would it be possible that a very strong fate mage was manipulating every event without anyone knowing it?
Thanks for your time! Keep up the good work!
1) Yes and no. Physically they’re exactly the same as normals – there’s nothing about their bodies that’s special. But because they’ve got access to life magic, their actual life expectancy tends to be a lot higher. Kind of like the difference between rich and poor.
2) Sounds kind of paranoid. It could be possible, I guess? I mean, the one time I was around it, I couldn’t sense that anything different was happening. But then, a lot of mages can’t sense my magic, either, at least not without knowing what to look for. Maybe with a bit of practice you could sense fate magic too.
From: Cultural Enigma
Hi Luna,
First, congratulations on passing your journeyman’s test! Second, congratulations on the new(ish) relationship with Vari. Keep him in line – he needs a good sparring partner, the hothead. Is his family the same when you visited them At Christmas?
I have two questions (well three of you count my other one up there ^). 1) Has anyone tried a spell to give Hermes a voice? There has to be one somewhere, he seems smart, loyal, and interesting. Since he is willing to fight for & with Alex, it would be wonderful to hear (and I feel like he might be a bit sarcastic) him interact with the group in a verbal way. The dragon speaks. Arachne speaks. Why can’t Hermes?
2) Anne is one of your closest friends, and as you are the foremost expert on the man Alex Veras, would you please PLEASE tell the both of them that it’s ok to be in love with each other. He obviously likes, respects and trusts her. I found myself in disbelief that they were in the run all that time together and never crossed that bridge, mentioned the bridge or acknowledged the giant pink 800 lb bridge in the room. Clearly they are adults, and while Alex is a gentleman how many years have passed that they have been doing this? Please tell Anne that while Alex may know a lot about mages, he’s kind of a dunderhead when it comes to women apparently and that she may have to make the first move because he is too busy plotting future chess maneuvers to pay attention to HER paying attention to him.
And finally, I think you are a great hero to girls everywhere. I love your spirit, your determination, and your will. I see a little bit of you in both of my daughters, strength, stubbornness, intelligence and indomitable spirit.
I wish you well and hope you find employ doing what you love.
Best,
~CE
1) It did actually come up once. The way Anne explained it was that it would be possible, but it’d need fairly major body alteration (foxes don’t have the vocal chords that humans do, and they don’t have the speech-related wiring in their brains, either). She wouldn’t be able to do it, but we could probably find a shifter mage who could. But then the question would be, why? I mean, it’d be cool to talk to Hermes, but we already can, kind of. And it would be a huge, invasive, life-altering operation. I mean, if he was desperate to be able to talk, that would be one thing, but as far as we can tell, he isn’t.
2) Yeah, I know, I know. I’ve been thinking about saying something, but every time I’ve been about to, I’ve changed my mind at the last minute. I mean, let’s face it, pretty much my entire love-life has been some mix of ‘trainwreck’ and ‘nonexistent’. I’m the last person who should be handing out advice. Maybe I’m just seeing stuff that isn’t there. Anne is kind of quiet about that particular subject and if she wanted advice, she’d say something . . . wouldn’t she?
Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I should say something. At least I’d know more.
Oh, and thanks for that last bit. I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in these emails.
From: Eric
Q: What is the difference between light mages and dark mages?
A: One group uses raw power and influence against their enemies and the other follows the one true way.
If the proverbial alien was watching and forming opinions solely based on the actions of, say Levistus and Barryaran, wouldnt he come to the above conclusion?
Could do? Though I’m not exactly sure which would be which.
When Alex first told me about Light and Dark mages, I thought it was good guys versus bad guys. Then after I saw some more, I thought it was bad guys versus bad guys. Nowadays it feels more like establishment versus rebels. The more I see of them, the less I want to label either of them as good or bad, even if it’s sometimes hard not to.