From: Apollo
Hi Luna. Sorry about these extra questions. I know you hate separate questions so I’ll try to keep them short. If you don’t have the time leave these questions till later
Are mages naturally mentally unstable or does magic (or mage society) lead to mental problems? Journeymen and Apprentices unless they are dark mages rarely have these problems while most senior mages seem to be little unhinged. Even Alex has some trust issues but thats understandable.
Now that’s a creepy thought. I’ve never made that connection but it would be really, really scary if it was true, given how much power the older mages have.
Sorry if I word this badly. Lets call what a mage can do, magical potential. Does power (I have more possible powers/ a bigger fireball than you power) and skill factor into magical potential? Here are some examples: You have a very powerful curse but little skill when it comes to controlling it (at least compared to what chance mages can do). But it gives you powerful protection. Alex is a weak mage but for that is very experienced and skilled at divination. He hasn’t got as much protection as you but has far greater utility. Anne is a very powerful and skilled life mage. She has the potential to turn into one of the worlds nastiest mages being able to survive bullets and take life.
I . . . think so? Power helps, skill helps. Though I’m starting to think that being smart ends up mattering more than either.
Last short question. When mages make a team do they normally try to find an ally who works well in conjunction with their power (Fire and Air, Water and Earth, etc) or do they just pick the best mage for the job?
Again thanks for the time and effort.
I think they usually pick the ones they know best and trust the most. Mages don’t worry about picking the right magic type, they worry that if they let someone get close to them then that someone is going to put a knife in their back (figuratively for Light mages, literally for Dark ones).
From: Elana
Dear Luna,
Has anyone thought of putting together one of those online personality quizzes that tell you what type of mage you would be?
Looks like! A quick Google search turned this up. Haven’t tried it personally!
From: Nepene
Heya Luna. I’ve enjoyed your previous answers and had more questions.
1. What other worlds do you know about? I mean other ones that people can access magically that aren’t bubbles or shadow worlds. I’m curious where a certain Dark Mage may have gone visiting and what you and Verus will be facing.
If you mean real other worlds, as in parallel universes, I think there was supposed to be one a long time ago called Alata. It was a mirror world that could be reached with gate magic, but something happened and the connection got cut off. I think it ties in with some of the big wars from back then. Since then it’s been bubbles and shadow realms only as far as world-to-world travel goes.
Would it be possible for you to use your sway to get a encyclopedia entry or several on them? Elsewhere, wherever the Gate Rune went to, wherever the precursors got their magic, where magic creatures come from, whatever the magic academia knows about. I’m very curious about them.
Hope you’re not expecting all those at once. I’ll see what I can do, but I’ve got a few other things on the list first.
From: Gordon
Hi, Luna. So I have a question. Might be considered a few questions actually. It sounds like it’s very unusual for an adept to become an apprentice to a full mage. Are there any adepts in the apprentice program with you? Have any taken the journeyman tests and actually succeeded? I’m also kind of curious how the tests would even apply to an adept, since they’re probably geared towards mages. You still won’t be have the abilities of a full mage when you graduate, so what exactly would change in he grand scale of things? Ok, that was definitely more than one question…
In a way it kind of is just one question. It’s a big question, though, especially for me.
Officially, the Light apprentice program is for mages. As in, only mages. Thing is, though, the difference between mages and adepts isn’t as clear-cut as a lot of mages make it out to be. An adept’s supposed to only be able to use magic in one way – but what if you figure out how to make that do a lot of different things? Mages have tried to come up with lots of definitions, but they always end up either cutting out people they don’t want to cut out or letting in ones they don’t want to let in. So the way it works in practice tends to be that if you can keep up, you can stick around.
So it’s hard to be sure if there are other adepts in the program with me, because the last thing they’re going to do is SAY they’re adepts. They’re just going to say they’re mages who specialise. There are a few who I’m pretty sure are in the same boat as I am, but it’s something you’re careful about saying out loud.
As for the journeyman tests . . . that’s a whole other problem. I’ll worry about it when it comes.
From: Gordon
Hi, Luna. It’s me again. I know that you’re a busy gal, so I’ll try to keep this short.
1) Does magic usage differ from region to region? Are there different “traditions” of magic in Europe, Africa and Asia? For instance, the idea of there being different elements is very common in Europe and Asia, but I have a harder time seeing it from an African stand point. I wonder if the type of culture that a person grows up in influences how magic develops.
More or less. I’m not sure if basic magical abilities are any different, but the way they’re developed and the spells that get used change a lot from one place to another. Chinese mages use a different element set to British and American ones, and South American mages use a weird mix of elements and something else.
2) It sounds like Alex have a bit of a soft spot for how sensitives and adepts are treated mage society. Is it likely that he’ll start trying to help more of them or even take them under his wing, the way that he sort of did with you?
He already does, kind of. It’s what he uses the shop for. A lot of the time when sensitives and adepts drop by, they aren’t really looking to buy stuff, they’re looking for advice.
He hasn’t shown any signs of taking any others on as apprentices, though, which I’m glad about. Kind of selfish, I guess, but I wouldn’t like him to split his time between training me and someone else.