From: Fade
Hi Luna, a few questions for you.
1) I’m a bit curious as to how things are going for Alex as a councilor. As a result of the means of his elevation to the position, does he have the same influence as the others? I imagine that the vast majority of the council members, both junior and senior, amassed a great deal of power and influence to even be able to secure themselves a seat. Given that Alex received his seat almost by accident, and thus very likely began with significantly less influence and connections as the others, has being a councilor actually gotten him any pull? I understand Junior members don’t get a vote on council resolutions, so what actual power to junior council members achieve besides the title itself and the perception of being powerful? If perception is the key, does he suffer in it as a result of the nature of his appointment? Or does he benefit from the mystique of having been chosen by Morden (even more infamous now) and surviving the strike team? (If that is common knowledge, which I assume it is given how significant the blow must have been to Sal Sarque’s power base and reputation.)
2) It seems like Alex doesn’t manage to see all that far into the future in a lot of ways that other Diviners manage too. For example, he didn’t see Lyle coming to try and recruit him way back when everyone was trying to get the Fateweaver, while all the other Diviners seemed to know what was coming. I understand that Alex was somewhat removed from the situation, but that also seems to be the standard mode of operation for Diviners in general. Is Alex better at
close range Divination? Can he pick apart immediate futures better than someone like Helikaon? In my head right now I imagine it somewhat like Anne’s magic. Top notch close-up, but challenged at range.
3) Has Arachne explained what Alex might eventually accomplish with the Dreamstone? I believe there was mention of physically stepping into Elsewhere, but what exactly are the benefits of that? Avoiding confrontation? Traveling physically in the real world, like gating
except to people rather than places? I also recall mention of connecting with items. Could Alex potentially wield something like the Bloodsword without going on a murderous rampage?
Finally, given that Sal Sarque seems to be shaping up as an enemy similar to Levistus, I was curious both as to what his magic type is, and how his name is pronounced. Is it like sal-sar-kay? or Sal-Sark? Thanks for your time!
The last one’s the easiest to answer – its ‘sark’. The first three are harder.
1) He has a lot less influence than the others, as you’ve guessed. The others all bought their way on by having a lot of friends and a lot of pull. Alex didn’t inherit Morden’s networks, so he started pretty much from zero. He’s done a decent job working his way up, but he’s got a long way to go. The mystique thing hadn’t occurred to me, but that might explain why none of them have moved against him openly.
2) Pretty much, yeah. Alex is much more of a combat diviner than someone like Helikaon. He’s really good at short-range divination and he’s really good at sorting through futures quickly. He’s decent at path-walking – that’s the medium-range kind where you see what’ll happen over the next few hours. What he’s not so good at is the long-distance stuff. From a few things I’ve heard I get the impression that it might be a lifestyle/personality thing as much as anything else. To be good at that stuff you have to have to be coming from a very controlling, stable sort of place.
3) I’m not sure. Arachne hasn’t told Alex exactly what it does, so that mostly just leaves guesswork, and the times I’ve asked around, no-one’s been very helpful. Half the people will tell you that it’s supposed to be flat-out impossible, and the other half just give you vague warnings that don’t really explain anything. I get the feeling that they don’t actually know much about it, either, which makes me wonder why there’s so much mystery.
From: Fade
Oh hey, I forgot to add one more in addition to my previous questions. Given that Alex is now theoretically the representative of all the Dark Mages in Britain, has his contact with them increased? Do Dark Mages ever come to him with issues to take to the council? Or do they mostly view the idea as a joke? Has their perception of him changed as a result of his position? As a result of his surviving Sally’s strike team? Has Alex been re-classified as a Dark Mage rather than an Independent? For the light mages, he holds a seat that exists for Dark Mages, which would make him Dark. For Dark Mages, he works for Morden and Richard and helped kill a Crusader strike team, which also makes him pretty Dark. What do you think about what Morden said to Alex about him being already a Dark Mage in all but name? Do you think Alex could reconcile his own personal actions with Dark philosophy? If being a Dark Mage is about doing what you want, which is basically what Alex does, and what he wants to do is generally positive, do you think he could tolerate thinking of himself as a Dark Mage once again?
Wow I’ve really rambled on here, that was way more than one more question.
Sorry if I’m asking too much of your time!
I think a handful have tried coming to him with issues and stuff like that. And I do mean a handful. The rest all think it’s a joke. Even the ones that have come are really cautious about it, probably because they don’t want other Dark mages to see them as the kind of guy who has to run to the Council to solve their problems.
As for the Dark mage/Independent mage thing, god knows. That’s something I’m going to have to figure out one of these days, but that philosophy stuff just annoys me so much that I’d rather throw up my hands and let someone else deal with it.
From: Brian
Dear Lina,
Alex told Chalice that the prevailing theory is that Drakh’s magic type is either Enchanter or Mind mage, because he’s a very good manipulator.
Alex also speculated that he might be a Diviner for similar reasons, but didn’t think it was likely because Drakh had a reputation of having killed a lot of mages by himself.
My question is, why haven’t we seen Life mage discussed as a potential magic type?
A life mage’s ability to read physiological indicators for lying could contribute to Drakh’s manipulation talents.
It could explain why he chooses to hide his magic type and rely on items. He wouldn’t have ranged capabilities and mages are typically twitchy about letting a life mage within arms reach. So, he hides his magic type, to make it more likely that he can get close in combat situations.
Additionaly, Anne says his body showed signs of longevity magic. And, when Drakh was masquerading as Archon he seemed to be able to sense Alex spying on him without seeing him.
All of this seems to point pretty strongly to him being a life mage. Is there anything I’m missing that would suggest Drakh definitely isn’t a life mage?
Yes . . . and no. I mean, everything you’ve said is true, and there’s nothing Richard’s done that proves he isn’t a one. And technically, it could explain everything he’s done. But it would still be really, really odd. For one thing, life mages get serious amounts of attention. You can pass as another type of mage if you’re an enchanter or a diviner or something; it’s a lot harder if you’re a life mage.
For another . . . it’s hard to explain, but from everything I’ve heard, he doesn’t really feel like a life mage. There’s just something distinctive about them. Even the ones that are polar opposites in every way you can think of, like Anne and Vihaela, you can sort of see the ways in which they’re similar. Richard doesn’t have that.
From: Exejpgwmv
If Sonder trapped you in a spell that slowed down time would your curse be slowed as well?
Haven’t tried it, but I’d expect so. My magic doesn’t do anything special as far as time goes.