Liliana Vess (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deathsmajesty) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2024-05-16 02:19 am
deathsmajesty) wrote in fandomhigh2024-05-16 02:19 am
Entry tags:
Philosophies of Mana, Thursday, Period 2
The students had all been handwavily instructed that they would be meeting in the Danger Shop for every class, though when they entered it today, it was currently set up to mimic a classroom. On the board at the front of the room a five pointed star was inscribed, and at each point was a word: Peace, Freedom, Perfection, Acceptance, and Power. Beneath the star, several questions were written out:
• What do you desire? What is your end goal?
• What means do you use to achieve these ends?
• What do you care about? What do you represent?
• What do you despise? What negatively drives you?
• Why do you like your allies and hate your enemies?
• What is your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
Liliana was leaning against the front of her desk, sipping a cup of tea and watching the class file in. As soon as the bellor whatever rang, she began to speak. "Mana, at least where I am from, is the fundamental building block of magic. It is the magical energy that fuels the spells of magic users and flows along the leylines of any given plane, welling up from various landscapes and natural places of the plane. It is also the sign of the health of a plane. In a plane where mana is healthy, free-flowing, and generally abundant, the lands are generally healthy and clean, the natural world in balance, both with itself and with whatever artificial landscape the sentient peoples have erected there. That does not mean that the most magical planes are some kind of halcyon wilds where signs of civilization are few and the hand of industry rests only lightly on the plane's surface." That was some elf supremacist propaganda and Liliana didn't have time for it. "Ravnica, an ecumenopolis, has thriving mana, for all that its natural spaces make up a very small percentage of the overall plane. Furthermore, a healthy plane has all five types of mana in relatively equal measure. That does not mean that you will have equal access to all types of mana everywhere you go, mind; but spread out over the plane, it should even out. When mana of one color dominates a plane to the detriment or even exclusion of the others, then it does not matter how healthy a plane looks, it is a sign that something is gravely out of balance and there are a host of issues that can come with that. And where there is little or no mana in an area, things die or become emaciated and weak."
Oh, did you think that you would be escaping a lecture because it was introduction week? Hardly. Liliana had seven weeks to get through all of this, she was going to use every damn minute. "As mentioned, there are five colors of mana, each corresponding to a different land type. White mana flows from plains, which includes grasslands, tundras, savannahs, steppes, and things of that nature. Blue mana comes from islands and places of water, the seas, rivers, streams, standing pools and the like. Black mana comes from swamps, bogs, fens, sometimes even sewers - places with a strong emphasis on decay. Red mana is the mana of mountains, of hydrothermal vents, and volcanoes, and green mana comes from forests, jungles, wild groves, orchards, even gardens of sufficient size and diversity. To use magic, a spellcaster taps into a mana leyline, drawing enough mana to empower the spells they are trying to cast, or the artifact they are trying to use. Most spells and many artifacts require a specific color or blend of colors of mana to work, based on the purpose of the spell. A healing spell? Likely white or possibly green mana is required. A spell to kill? Likely black mana. Summoning lightning from the sky or fire from the earth? You're dealing with red mana. And stopping someone from casting a spell at all? That's a blue mana for you. Some spells are very picky, they will require you to use a specific amount of a certain mana color or even only that mana color. Counterspells, for example, requiretwo blue mana alone. Other spells are a little more lenient, so long as one particular color is in the mix, feel free to use mana of whatever other colors you wish. And a third kind of spell is more lenient still. Again, it requires at least a bit of a certain color of mana, but the amount of overall mana that you use is purely up to you - you can use only a little mana for a small effect, or channel everything you've got into it. Where I am from, the only limit to your power is how much mana you have access to, how much you can reliably handle at once, and the spells at your disposal."
Because spell slots were for squares. Yeah, that's right, I said it.
"Theoretically, every magic user is capable of using any color of mana. However, because each spell requires a specific color and you can only learn so many spells over a lifetime, much the same way you can only read so many books or eat so many meals, most magic users specialize in a specific color or two, rendering the other colors fairly meaningless to them. I am a black mana user. If you put me in an are with only white magic around, my usefulness deteriorates rapidly. What good is all that white mana if all my spells require black? Thus, magic users often have a choice - do they go broad, and make sure they have spells that for every color? They have versatility, yes, but most of their spells will be weak and they will run through them very quickly. Or do they go deep, hampering them whenever they are without their chosen color, but within it, they have a vast array of spells at their disposal. Jack of all trades, or master of one?
"However, there is another factor involved with using mana of a specific color. Each color of mana has a philosophy associated with it - what it's good at and what the mana itself wants to be used for. Generally, people are drawn to the philosophies that resonate with their own outlook and desires for their magic. Now, if you only want to dabble in the occasional fireball to huck at an enemy from time to time, you don't have to worry too much about red mana's philosophy. But the further in-depth you go in a color, the more that understanding, even embodying that philosophy will make you a better spellcaster. It's possible that using that much mana will do its fair share of shaping your outlook as well. Consider it like any other type of philosophy. Read enough Kant or Marx and you'll end up thinking in those terms and holding more to those beliefs, regardless of where you started from." It also affected your signature colors, which was handy when you needed to identify what kind of mana someone used at a glance.
"It is, of course, possible to change the type of mana that you identify with. People have awakenings and changes of heart all the time, and circumstances change. As a girl, I was a cleric in a holy healing order that worshipped the progenitor of angels--" Liliana grimaced slightly at that "--and used white mana exclusively. As I got older and began learning necromancy to supplement my healing skills, I began to tap into black mana as well and use black spells. Eventually, I ceased being a healing cleric and embraced necromancy entirely, and here I am, using black mana almost exclusively, with the very occasional dip into red or blue."
Look! She was almost done with the introduction!
"Now, to be very clear, when we're discussing the philosophies of mana, we are talking of the mana itself, not the people who use it. Mana is a force, and so, exists in absolutes, in ways that people, irrational and fickle beings as we are, cannot possibly comprehend. For example, it is in the nature of red mana to burn, but not every red mage is a pyromaniac, driven to light fires at any opportunity. Black mana is highly individualistic, but that doesn't mean that black magic users don't look for companionship and community. The philosophies that we will discuss are the philosophies in their purest forms and examined in a vacuum, which is different than how that philosophy is expressed by the people who ascribe to it."
Have a little nuance, people. As a treat.
"Each of the words listed here is a summation of what its corresponding color of mana ultimately desires. Due to either a similarity to how the mana seeks to achieve those goals or a similarity in what it repudiates, each color has two allied, or complementary colors. Blue mana plays nicely with black and white, green mana plays nicely with red and white. And, as follows, each other has to enemy colors as well. White magic is enemies with black and red, and red mana is enemies with blue and, again, white. The colors that one type of mana is allied with will be enemies of each other, and the enemies of one kind of mana will be allies."
It was a surprisingly elegant system, all things considered. "The questions on the board are questions we will seek to answer every week as we discuss each color in detail. Today, we'll be applying those questions to you, in order to get an idea of what color mana you might be personally drawn to. I'm also interested in hearing your opinions about what desired goal is linked to what color mana, and why you've decided that. And, of course, the required introductions. So. Let's begin."
• What do you desire? What is your end goal?
• What means do you use to achieve these ends?
• What do you care about? What do you represent?
• What do you despise? What negatively drives you?
• Why do you like your allies and hate your enemies?
• What is your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
Liliana was leaning against the front of her desk, sipping a cup of tea and watching the class file in. As soon as the bell
Oh, did you think that you would be escaping a lecture because it was introduction week? Hardly. Liliana had seven weeks to get through all of this, she was going to use every damn minute. "As mentioned, there are five colors of mana, each corresponding to a different land type. White mana flows from plains, which includes grasslands, tundras, savannahs, steppes, and things of that nature. Blue mana comes from islands and places of water, the seas, rivers, streams, standing pools and the like. Black mana comes from swamps, bogs, fens, sometimes even sewers - places with a strong emphasis on decay. Red mana is the mana of mountains, of hydrothermal vents, and volcanoes, and green mana comes from forests, jungles, wild groves, orchards, even gardens of sufficient size and diversity. To use magic, a spellcaster taps into a mana leyline, drawing enough mana to empower the spells they are trying to cast, or the artifact they are trying to use. Most spells and many artifacts require a specific color or blend of colors of mana to work, based on the purpose of the spell. A healing spell? Likely white or possibly green mana is required. A spell to kill? Likely black mana. Summoning lightning from the sky or fire from the earth? You're dealing with red mana. And stopping someone from casting a spell at all? That's a blue mana for you. Some spells are very picky, they will require you to use a specific amount of a certain mana color or even only that mana color. Counterspells, for example, require
Because spell slots were for squares. Yeah, that's right, I said it.
"Theoretically, every magic user is capable of using any color of mana. However, because each spell requires a specific color and you can only learn so many spells over a lifetime, much the same way you can only read so many books or eat so many meals, most magic users specialize in a specific color or two, rendering the other colors fairly meaningless to them. I am a black mana user. If you put me in an are with only white magic around, my usefulness deteriorates rapidly. What good is all that white mana if all my spells require black? Thus, magic users often have a choice - do they go broad, and make sure they have spells that for every color? They have versatility, yes, but most of their spells will be weak and they will run through them very quickly. Or do they go deep, hampering them whenever they are without their chosen color, but within it, they have a vast array of spells at their disposal. Jack of all trades, or master of one?
"However, there is another factor involved with using mana of a specific color. Each color of mana has a philosophy associated with it - what it's good at and what the mana itself wants to be used for. Generally, people are drawn to the philosophies that resonate with their own outlook and desires for their magic. Now, if you only want to dabble in the occasional fireball to huck at an enemy from time to time, you don't have to worry too much about red mana's philosophy. But the further in-depth you go in a color, the more that understanding, even embodying that philosophy will make you a better spellcaster. It's possible that using that much mana will do its fair share of shaping your outlook as well. Consider it like any other type of philosophy. Read enough Kant or Marx and you'll end up thinking in those terms and holding more to those beliefs, regardless of where you started from." It also affected your signature colors, which was handy when you needed to identify what kind of mana someone used at a glance.
"It is, of course, possible to change the type of mana that you identify with. People have awakenings and changes of heart all the time, and circumstances change. As a girl, I was a cleric in a holy healing order that worshipped the progenitor of angels--" Liliana grimaced slightly at that "--and used white mana exclusively. As I got older and began learning necromancy to supplement my healing skills, I began to tap into black mana as well and use black spells. Eventually, I ceased being a healing cleric and embraced necromancy entirely, and here I am, using black mana almost exclusively, with the very occasional dip into red or blue."
Look! She was almost done with the introduction!
"Now, to be very clear, when we're discussing the philosophies of mana, we are talking of the mana itself, not the people who use it. Mana is a force, and so, exists in absolutes, in ways that people, irrational and fickle beings as we are, cannot possibly comprehend. For example, it is in the nature of red mana to burn, but not every red mage is a pyromaniac, driven to light fires at any opportunity. Black mana is highly individualistic, but that doesn't mean that black magic users don't look for companionship and community. The philosophies that we will discuss are the philosophies in their purest forms and examined in a vacuum, which is different than how that philosophy is expressed by the people who ascribe to it."
Have a little nuance, people. As a treat.
"Each of the words listed here is a summation of what its corresponding color of mana ultimately desires. Due to either a similarity to how the mana seeks to achieve those goals or a similarity in what it repudiates, each color has two allied, or complementary colors. Blue mana plays nicely with black and white, green mana plays nicely with red and white. And, as follows, each other has to enemy colors as well. White magic is enemies with black and red, and red mana is enemies with blue and, again, white. The colors that one type of mana is allied with will be enemies of each other, and the enemies of one kind of mana will be allies."
It was a surprisingly elegant system, all things considered. "The questions on the board are questions we will seek to answer every week as we discuss each color in detail. Today, we'll be applying those questions to you, in order to get an idea of what color mana you might be personally drawn to. I'm also interested in hearing your opinions about what desired goal is linked to what color mana, and why you've decided that. And, of course, the required introductions. So. Let's begin."
Page 1 of 3