Philosophies of Mana (Extended Edition), Thursday Per 3

[deathsmajesty]

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 bell or 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 had longer to get through this class than previous, but she'd also added a lot more material, so she was still fairly pressed for time. 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, requires two 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 area with only green magic around, my usefulness deteriorates rapidly. What good is all that green 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 or 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. Could you imagine, a green mana mage dressing in all blue? preposterous. No one would ever!

"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." Was that a disdainful sniff? Maybe. "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. So, while black mana is allied with blue and red, blue and red are enemy colors. Black's enemy colors are white and green, white and green are allies. However, just because certain mana colors are enemies, that doesn't mean you can't use both. Again, I was using black and white together as a girl; in university, I belonged to Witherbloom, which uses black and green mana, and Izzet, a guild on the plane of Ravnica, uses blue and red. All color combinations are possible."

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 also any questions you have thus far. And, of course, the required introductions. So. Let's begin."

Comments

Sign In #1

[deathsmajesty]

In classic WUBRG fashion: White, Blue, Black, Red, or Green

Re: Sign In #1

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jonathan Sims

So damn blue, damn it.

Re: Sign In #1

[sairis]

Sairis

Unsurprisingly black.

Listen to the Lecture

[deathsmajesty]

This is also an excellent time to ask questions! Questions about specific colors will have to wait till their special week, but if you wanted to dive into the underlying theories of the magic system in general nerds this would be the time to do it!

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[sairis]

Sairis was frowning intensely as he absorbed all of this.

"How does the power of magic itself have a philosophy?" he asked. "It doesn't actually have thoughts, does it? Or is it more like different vibrations that work better used certain ways?"

He was absolutely going to be that student that asked everything, yes.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[deathsmajesty]

Excellent. Those were enjoyable students.

"More of the latter," Liliana explained. "There are just certain types of spells that the different types of mana are more suited for and the ways that kind of magic affects people and societies. That being said most, if not all, planes have a Worldsoul. And that Worldsoul does have thoughts and the ability to communicate, and so can articulate more about what the mana 'wants' to be used for, even if that wanting is more metaphorical than actual. But when you talk to multiple Worldsouls and they all answer pretty much the same way about what each mana is like, you start to realize that mana has specific properties about what it's good for and what it's bad for. From there, you get mana philosophies--though ideologies would also be appropriate."

Debate Some Concepts

[deathsmajesty]

What word do you think corresponds to which mana color? Why? Feel free to debate answers among yourselves as well!

Furthermore, if you had to guess, what general vibe would you ascribe to each of the colors? Before learning anything more, what do you think white mana's philosophy is all about? How do you think blue mana functions?

Liliana is fascinated to know what assumptions you're walking in with.

If you've already taken this course before (excellent taste), what do you think the benefits of working with paired enemy concepts might be? The difficulties?

Re: Debate Some Concepts

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Er. Well, I'm going to refrain from 'guessing' which words go with each, since I already know," Jon said. "But I'm very curious how working with, say, red and blue together goes. Fire and water...I wonder if there are steam spells."

Re: Debate Some Concepts

[deathsmajesty]

"I believe there are a few, but they're mostly the purview of red mana, actually," Liliana said. "But, imagine the devastation when one combines water and lightning, which is also red.

"While blue and red differ dramatically, they do have some overlap, though they're approached from different directions. Red and blue both like instants and sorceries fast and easy spells, so they generally find synergy there. Also they both enjoy using magic that tricks or stymies their opponent, even though blue does it more to show off how clever it is, while red does it because a consternated enemy is funny." She takes a moment to think. "Together, they're the Eureka moment in the lab, where one's passion has combined with one's dedication and focus. Does that make sense, darling? And, if yes, then can you tell me why storms are particularly red and blue? Outside of the rain and the lightning, I mean."

Re: Debate Some Concepts

[sairis]

"Since you've said that black is individualistic, I'm going to guess it goes with freedom," Sairis said. "If red is heat and fire, possibly power? And if white is healing, I'm guessing...hm. Peace, maybe?" That left blue and green. "Blue would be..." Well, water wasn't exactly perfect, "acceptance? Leaving green to be perfection."

He hated guessing, especially when he couldn't see how green was perfection, either, but there. He'd guessed.

Re: Debate Some Concepts

[deathsmajesty]

"Would you like to know the answers, darling?" Liliana asked. "Or at least how many you got correct? Or would you prefer to simply note your answers and learn which were right or wrong when we get to each mana's lecture?"

Introductions. If We Must

[deathsmajesty]

"I'd like your name, any information about yourself that you feel will likely be relevant to the class that you feel like sharing, why you decided to take this class in the first place, and any experience with magic that you have. How does your magic work? Is it similar to this system of paying mana to create magical spell effects, or different?"

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Jonathan Sims." He nodded to the class. "I...well, I took the earlier version of this class and I mostly enjoyed it. My...well, I wouldn't really call it magic, but my...my powers, I suppose, don't really work anything like this, but I still like learning things."

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[deathsmajesty]

"Mostly?" Liliana asked, a light tease.

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[sairis]

"Sairis." He gave a little wave to the class and a polite bow to Liliana. "I didn't decide to take any class, because I wasn't planning to be here. I've been learning magic since I was young. Mine doesn't work like this, though, or at least not mostly. Life does generate magic, though, and you need to use that power to build charms and cast spells. But I can set things on fire as easily as raise them from the dead."

His heart was beating a bit faster as he admitted that last part, but it wasn't as though his horse hadn't given it all away already.

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[deathsmajesty]

"I did not talk about this in my last version of this class and I don't intend to talk about it much this version, either, but the same is true for us, as well. Sacrifice is an important part of black mana particularly, though any color can do the same. But whether you're offering up your own health or sacrificing another creature, blood and death are an excellent way to reduce the amount of mana a spell might cost."

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[stringstothesoul]

"Erasmus Boone," Erasmus said. "You already know some of how magic works in my world, which is...not like this. Although I guess in some broad ways it's similar. Different species are better at different kinds of magic. My power comes from within me, not from the environment, but warlocks and witches work with the magic of the world. In different ways," he added quickly, lest his father all the way over in California somehow sense that he had been compared to witches.

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[deathsmajesty]

Oh noooo, then he might have to come to the island to protest, woooooooe...though, then, of course, he'd have to stay for dinner, which Liliana would be happy to invite him to and then--

Sorry, darling, what were you saying again?

"Are you not able to harvest energy from the dead or the dying?" she asked, since that seemed like a fairly common necromancer trait. "How do you regain or increase your personal stores of power?"

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[gospel_of_oblivion]

"Illyana Rasputin, sorcerer of the mildly demonic variety, though of a different style of magic than the mana color wheel," Yana said dryly. "--but it is of a compatible mindset."

"Recently I had a dead man in front of me being unmade from existence, and since my own healing talents are limited, I took what you have taught about White mana, and I reached for spells within my repertoire that would be considered 'Order' or 'Perfection' to bolster what I was about to do."

"I stopped his unmaking, restarted his heart, and then dropped him off the remains of a building to live with his bad life decisions."

And probably layered a few curses in there, for fun justice!

...sorry she'd missed so much class, Mistress Vess, but at least she'd been doing practical applications!

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[deathsmajesty]

Even if Liliana were the type to care about absences, that answer would have just made up for all of them.

"Well done, Illyana darling," Liliana said, giving her favorite student a bright smile. "Cleverness under pressure, experimentation with concepts based on logical deductions and assumptions from what you have learned, and shoring up your own weaknesses by thinking outside your normal paradigms. Exceptional."

Should Liliana maybe be worried about what Illyana hadd done to this guy and why? Enh, maybe? But, as it was, she certainly didn't see why that merited concern!

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[stykera]

"I'm Stark, I'm a Stykera. Attuned to the dying and meant to help souls cross over to The Other Side."

Not a serial killer!

"I don't consider it magic. I don't have magic. I just have an ability to help others transition, and to ease their pain at times."

It looked a lot like magic from the outside.

"The energy is me. Part of me. And using too much leaves me feeling drained. It doesn't come from outside me. It's just me."

Re: Introductions. If We Must

[deathsmajesty]

"Why isn't it magic, Stark darling?" Liliana asked, suddenly grateful Ignis had not chosen to sign up for this class. "It certainly sounds esoteric."

Talk to Liliana

[deathsmajesty]

Why wouldn't you want to?

OOC

[deathsmajesty]

And then there's colorless mana, which is different than "generic mana" to the point where it has its own special symbol and everything!

Re: OOC

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Void...Gorger.

*backs away quickly*