Ask Luna #149

From: Kevin

1. I noticed some questions getting repeatedly asked not “What is Richard’s magic type” question that has been asked so many times, but things about Landis’s rank, the Junior Council, the Downs Stones etc… It doesn’t irritate you too much does it? I don’t think fans aren’t paying attention to your answers, but more of similar minds think alike kind of deal since they seem to be asked around the same time before you have time to answer.

2. Does it bother you that the grammar is not perfect when some questions are asked? I asked several questions that missed some words and other mistakes and I am sorry if this annoys you I try to proofread but mistakes happen.

3. This question has to due with Alex and Richard having, as far as we know their real first names above their mage name. For Alex I don’t think this is because he is following Richard’s example but because for better or worse he wants to be honest about who he is as a person and keeping in touch with his humanity. In Richard’s case I think it has to due with power since most mages view it as taboo to call them by anything but their mage name, with Richard he is setting that aside like he does not care about convention. Is there something to this line of thought or is there another reason why mages have names like this?

1. I do understand why it happens (can’t expect people to read through all the previous answers before asking their question) but it does get REALLY tedious answering the same questions over and over again. Especially when the answer always seems to be either “I don’t know” or “it’s complicated”. I think maybe I’ll just start deleting those ones rather than putting them up here.

2. Oh, it’s not so much the grammar. It’s whether I can understand what the hell you’re saying. The questions that really drive me nuts are the incredibly long rambling ones where I have to read it through three times before I can even understand what they’re trying to ask.

3. I remember Alex saying once that he had the feeling Richard did it as a kind of middle finger to the establishment mages, especially the Light ones. Those kinds of mages make a big deal about their mage names and refuse to answer to anything else. I don’t know why, though.

From: Alexis

1. Do you think Richard not going after Onyx for his provocations is out of respect for Morden? I think Morden said something similar about Alex’s actions so do you think Onyx just hasn’t gone over the line yet and/or is Richard letting Morden take care of his Chosen?

2. Do you still keep up dueling for fun or practice? When you were doing it a lot more do you think you were among the best in the country?

3. Are there any good duelers who do not use elemental magic? Excluding you of course because you are awesome in general but do you know if living and universal mages can be as good as the elemental ones? Do you think Alex could do well if he ever put in the practice?

1. Probably, yeah. Dark mages are really territorial about these things. If anyone’s going to discipline a Chosen, it’s supposed to be their master. Then again, Morden didn’t seem to care when Alex did what he did, so . . .

2. I still practise a bit, but I’ve been doing it less and less since I took over the shop. I keep meaning to do more, but it just seems harder to . . . motivate myself, I guess? Like it feels less important. Not sure why.

I don’t think I was ever the best in the country (there are professional mages who’ve been doing it for years and years) but I managed to win a couple of apprentice tournaments.

3. It’s pretty much dominated by elemental mages. You get a few others, like me, but we’re really outnumbered. It’s actually kind of an advantage.

From: Kurt Von Bosse

Hi Luna.

In an answer in Ask luna #138, you said about Deleo,”What really grinds her gears is that Alex keeps on disobeying Richard without anything happening, while she keeps on doing what she’s told and gets ignored for it.”

I know you also said expecting Deleo to be consistent is a stretch, but just following orders doesn’t sound very consistent with the basic dark mage philosophy. Deleo should either be out on her own, trying to build her own empire or trying to find the secrets that make Richard so dangerous, so she could eventually supplant him.

It seems to me that Richard, and also Morden, only respect power and people who know how to wield it.

Deleo has put herself in a position where she (except when she tries to kill Alex) acts more like one of Richard’s slaves than what Morden would call “A true dark mage.”

Perhaps Richard has a measure of respect for Alex that he simply does not have for Deleo. (Not that Richard wouldn’t try to kill Alex if he thought it would further his plans, but Richard is probably a psychopath so respecting someone and deciding to kill them aren’t mutually exclusive ideas.)

I mean, everything you’re saying there is true, but I think you’re kind of answering your own question. She’s doing it wrong, and that’s why it’s not working.

Unless you’re asking why she acts like that. In which case I’m sure Deleo’s got her own justifications, but I’ve no idea what they are and frankly I don’t really care.

From: Derek

1. Is the Fateweaver an imbued item or a precursor artifact, or are they not mutually exclusive?

2. Does the Fateweaver have mind magic since Abithriax was one? Could another user use mind magic if they used it along with his/her own, and could other magic types be added to the Fateweaver?

3. Is the Fateweaver among the most powerful magical artifacts? Or to put another way, if magical items were in a one-five level of power, one being strongest, five being weakest, it would be a one?

4. Does the Fateweaver shorten a user’s lifespan because of it’s power and/or the sense of invincibility it seems to bring out?

5. Do you know how Morden knew that the Fateweaver was dangerous to use? I thought only you or Alex was aware of that, how could he have figured it out?

1. Yes.

2. No.

3. Probably.

4. Maybe.

5. No.

From: Anton

Mage Vesta,
Can Lightning Mages convert electricity(thunderstorms, batteries, electrical sockets, etc.)into raw magical energy to empower non-elemental spells? For example could they use a storm to empower an imbued item, open a particularly large gate or create a construct? If so can other mages use their given elements to do the same?

They can, yes. A lot of elemental mages have some form of energy control where they take advantage of existing energy, rather than generating it themselves. The problem is that you have to spend just as much time mastering that kind of spell as you do mastering any other kind of spell, so you end up spending just as long learning how to do something that’s only useful occasionally. I think there are certain niches where it’s supposed to be really good, but I’m not an elemental mage so I’m not an expert.

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