Ryvic Darkveil / Erpheronian / Raw (wild) water mage\Wandering Altruist

[Ryvic Darkveil]

Ryvic Darkveil


Profile

Tribe
Human, Erpheronian
Title
Haunted Altruist

Occupation
Raw Water Mage/Wandering Altruist

Born
12th of Molten Ice, 1644 a.S.
(02/12/44)
28 years old in 1672 a.S.
Gender
Male
Hair Colour
Dark eophran brown
Eye Colour
Silvery sou'cald blue

Height
1 Ped, 2 Fores, 1 Palmspan.
Weight
1 Pygge, 2 Hebs, 7 Mut.


Summary

   In appearance, an paradoxically reclusive do-gooder. In soul, a haunted wreck of a man who fears his own heart and remarkable Gifts.

   Were he to offer his services to the Santhran and train, he could become a force of great power; routing armies, reversing droughts, and becoming a sage renowned throughout the land. But this would come at a risk, albeit small, of unleashing such horrific pain and terror that he has chosen to lock his Gift within, constantly tortured by its screaming for release.

   The conscience which drives him to this suffering does not stop there, however. It demands he reach down into the grimy, afflicted lives of others and offer them one crippled hand of aid, while the other searches for a way to kill the proverbial beast within.

Physical Appearance

   From his features – roughened by the stresses of travel and his past – and his once-bright uderza blue eyes – faded to a silvery sou'cald hue – Ryvic appears a few years older than he is. His scraggly, dark eophran hair adds to the impression, measuring just over a palmspan in length on average. In fact, the only aspect of his appearance that truly belies his relative youth is the thickness and full colour of his untidy locks.

   Ryvic's rough past has left him believing that the only emotion he has to show is guilt and remorse. As a result he makes an effort to keep his feelings off of his face, at least in public. In private he may rest his façade, revealing his true, melancholic, mood. Likewise, his manner often appears mechanical, but will relax to a sort of listlessness when away from prying eyes.

   Ryvic is of average height, possesses a common hair colour, and has a well formed, yet unremarkable face. Combined with his persistent effort to maintain an inert front, Ryvic goes without notice in most human crowds.

Clothing

   Ryvic wears a utilitarian yealm linen tunic and pants, and covers those with a detailed leather cloak made by his mother. A sturdy leather belt girds his waist from under the cloak, serving both to keep his pants up and keep his knife at the ready. His feet are kept in sturdy wool socks and well worn leather boots. Ryvic is far less sensitive to the cold than most, but his cloak is outfitted with clasps for sealing out extreme weather.

   He rarely wears anything on his head, and in fact owns no such articles as he isn't bothered by rain or snow in his hair. His hip is invariably decked with his knife; a somewhat exotic piece about a fore and a half long. He regards it as a personal sort of relic, sacred only to him.

   If you got a good enough look at Ryvic, the one discrepancy in his simple appearance is a fine silver chain around his neck. This cord suspends a brilliant sapphire pendant, out of sight beneath the cloth of his tunic. The pendant is a token of his mother, the one piece of her jewellery he has kept.

Personality

   Ryvic's personality has been greatly affected by the latest decade of his life. As a child he trusted his father Khalron, loved his mother Katrýn, and was overall quite stable. The damage was started with Khalron's betrayal and murder of Katrýn.

   The emotional and mental injuries from that event were then worsened and compounded by later events, such as accidentally killing the friend he had found in his horse just days afterwards. Later, his fatherly mentor Althaniar died in an accident that Ryvic unintentionally triggered. A couple of years later a second trainer and mentor, Rushik Baldas, was killed in a fire magic accident that Ryvic inadvertently worsened and later blamed himself for.

   Ryvic is now emotionally afraid to form close relationships, harassed as he is by guilt and sorrow. He has sworn to redeem himself by doing good, though, and may go entirely against his nature to offer aid to one in need, even if he must keep himself emotionally distant.

Strengths

Intuition

   Because of his magical abilities, Ryvic is alerted to dangerous near-future events by feelings of terror, which he can only rarely interpret well.

Raw (Wild) Magic

   Ryvic has the incredibly rare gift of being a Raw Mage. He is able to control the element of water with virtually no conscious effort. However, it does sap his energy immensely. Ryvic has sworn never to use his magic, as he blames it for everything bad that has happened in his life. He therefore avoids the triggers of his magic he has identified – notably battle – religiously.

Cold Tolerance

   The final benefit of his magic is his incredible tolerance for the cold. It's not particularly surprising, as cold is a property of the water element, but it is nonetheless impressive to see him relaxing in a frigid pond while others are huddled, shivering around a fire.

Healing skill

   Ryvic was taught a small array of healing skills by his mother, and with his inclination towards helping others, he has intentionally expanded his repertoire. From properly cleaning wounds to setting a simple fracture or vanquishing minor infections with a handmade salve, he's at the very least willing to give it his best shot. He's not good at finding the proper herbs in the woods, though, so be sure to ask where the ingredients came from for any tinctures and remedies before use.

Knife Skills

   Ryvic is trained in the use of a knife; specifically, his father's old kukri. This doesn't include any sort of skill with a sword.

Semi-Literacy

   Ryvic's mother taught him to read and write passably in Tharian. He has also learned a small amount of written Styrash and Thergerim.

Weaknesses

Fears

   Ryvic fears getting attached to others, which can make them think he is antisocial. But given his commitment to doing good things, the sum impression is that he is quite odd.

Fear of Magic

   Ryvic religiously avoids using his magic, due to everyone he ever cared about being killed by it – directly or otherwise. This effectively nullifies the active aspect of his magic, and in some cases makes it a weakness as he will run from a fight at practically any cost. He doesn't mind other people's magic; rather, he respects them for their ability to control it.

Regrets

   Ryvic is plagued by the memories of the deaths he blames on himself. He will often become lost in thought or seek out a source of water to wash away his memories. It's a wonder he isn't a drunkard.

Intuition

   Ryvic's intuition is often helpful, but sometimes it causes him needless fear and insomnia. The main cause of this is potentially dangerous situations. A major offender in this respect is fire, and Ryvic will sometimes put out flames at random, earning himself a bit of a reputation.

Magic

Overview

   To put it simply, Ryvic is Gifted. He, on the other hand, would say he is Cursed. Being Gifted means he has innate magical ability – ability he never learned to consciously control it. Over time it has become a part of him, wholly infused with his Car'all in a way few mages experience. There are several consequences of this, and none are fully beneficial.

   As do all the Gifted, Ryvic uses Raw Magic (also, technically, called Wild Magic), which cannot be learned. Raw Magic runs mainly on emotional passion, rather than conscious will, and those who can use it are not always lucky enough to go to Ximax and learn to control it. In Ryvic's case, he was initially led to give up what little control he did have.

Intuition

   Probably the most used effect of Ryvic's Gifting is a “sixth sense” of intuition. True to form as a symbol of time, water has evidently given Ryvic some amount of magical foresight. Rivers are often used to illustrate the flow of time, making this ability comparable to feeling the ripples of a pebble being skipped downstream.

   Whether this ability comes from Seyella herself or is simply an innate effect of Ryvic's car'all is unknown. In fact it could be argued that both are true. Ryvic himself believes it is simply another accursed aspect of his uncontrolled destructive potential. His view is understandable as the only way this intuition has alerted him of danger is to strike him with fear. Historically, Ryvic has only been forewarned of imminent events, like the placement of a warrior's next blow, and not threats like an enemy army's movements, but larger-scale prophecy isn't necessarily impossible.

Spells

   Those times that Ryvic has been caught in a fight, control of himself has been transferred from his conscious mind to his magically augmented reflexes. These are apparently very impatient, quickly increasing the extremity of spells during a battle – even to the point where Ryvic could kill himself through overexertion. His magic will essentially shape itself to the battle at hand, but there are patterns that could be effectively labelled as spells, for the sake of order.

Knife Based

   Ryvic was trained by Rushik to couple magic to his knife fighting. When he is in battle, Ryvic reflexively draws a stream of water from his flask or a larger body of water along his knife's blade by using water's property of coalescence. This stream of water is commonly frozen into various shapes by increasing its property of coldness. These spells are, overall, the easiest and least taxing, due to Ryvic's knife being a strong magical focus for him.
   One oft-appearing spell ices Ryvic's knife and the weapon of another together, giving him an advantage at relatively small taxation of energy.
   A second form extends the knife, transforming it into a frighteningly sharp but brittle blade. Since the blade is made so sharp and is formed in mere blinks – both very difficult feats – there is a considerable amount of energy used in performing this spell.
   Another pattern is a ball of ice. Usually formed after the knife has been stabbed into someone,  a mace-like sphere of spikes is formed, snaking through and mulching various vital organs. This spell is in the grey area between affecting a neutral car'all and that of the target, meaning it takes a formidable investment of energy and may require a full day to recover from.

Water Body Based

   If there is a body of water nearby – especially a river, as it is already moving – Ryvic is given a significant advantage. If his targets are in said water, that advantage is  increased.
   Arguably the simplest spell in this category is just freezing something to the ground or other inanimate object. For example, freezing someone's boots to a riverbed. This spell can vary widely in intensity; from a coating less than a grain thick and useful only as a tripping hazard, to palmspans thick that will potentially hold for hours. This spell is similar in costliness to icing weapons together.
   A more sapping possibility is that of forming a shield of ice. It requires moving water above its parent body – against water's natural tendencies – and freezing it simultaneously, which puts it on the more taxing side of the scale.
   An intensively difficult spell, and not overly useful, raises a fog out of the water. It can be helpful in concealing Ryvic from his enemies, when but compared to the high amount of energy it requires it becomes a very bad investment indeed. Unfortunately, Ryvic's reflexes aren't very good at budgeting, meaning that this spell shows up more than is ideal.

Projectiles

   Using Water Magic to launch projectiles is possible, despite its difficulty. If an amount of water is frozen into a suitable shape it can be launched in the same fashion as squeezing an icicle between one's fingers. The “squeezing” is provided by increasing the property of coalescence in the water at a point in the missile. This effect is easier to accomplish provided the water source is moving, allowing the mage to simply redirect some of that momentum. No spell of this type is easy for a Water Mage, whether by complexity or energy required, but some are certainly easier than others.
   First is a spell that may seem to fit just as well in the Knife Spell category. If Ryvic swings his knife speedily, the trickle of water coursing along it can be launched at a good speed. The drops of water can then be frozen into more painful shapes mid-flight. This spell is of similar difficulty to that of forming a blade of ice, but there are multiple targets (the water drops), and they are moving. In the end, this is a highly taxing spell.
   Ryvic may also launch icy darts from a body of water or his water flask. To do this he must coerce the water to move with a complicated series of coalescence points, releases, and temporary freezings. These darts range in size from frosty thorns to lethal crystal spears, and due to the purely magical procedure for launching them, they are difficult produce.

Endgame

   These attacks are extreme enough to leave Ryvic utterly spent and on death's very doorstep. Many possibilities would in fact leave him a depleted corpse. Ryvic has only used a spell like this on one occasions before.
   These spells are most likely to be cast when Ryvic is seriously wounded or hopelessly outnumbered. Both situations would cause his mind to go haywire and unleash a sort of last-ditch attack. Such massive spells as these are usually a combination of other spells all taken to an extreme. They are random and unguided, affecting a sizeable area around Ryvic.
   On the more occasion one of these spells was cast, Ryvic cooled the area around him. Simple as it may sound, it was extreme enough to freeze the river he was standing in for a several ped radius, along with the man and horse in that area. Both of these were living car'allia, meaning they fought hard to keep control of their ounia. Not surprisingly, the exertion left Ryvic unconscious for several days – and bedridden for a while after that.

History

Prelude
Khalron

   Ryvic Darkveil's father, Khalron, was trained in the Red Tower at Ximax up to level six, graduating at age 37. He stayed on to continue studying, but shortly rebelled against his teachers. He stole quite a few scrolls containing a variety of information – from powerful fire spells to teaching materials for various elements. He then ran away to the northeast at age 39.

   He travelled east across the Heath of Jernais, and crossed the Vandrina River to head north along the eastern edge of the Thaelon. Nearing the northeast corner of the forest, he found a place that seemed ideal to study magic; calm, peaceful meadows right next to the mystical Ó'phyría.

   Unfortunately, there was a farm already there. He ordered the farmers, in the name of “progress”, to leave. They resisted, and he subsequently destroyed the farm and its inhabitants. He regretted having to kill them, but considered it a necessary sacrifice. Since he had to cover it up anyway, he decided to use some of the stolen spells to encourage the nearby forest to expand rapidly. Despite these efforts, witch, related to the farming family, found him and cast a curse on him. This spell would give him bouts of insanity, interrupting his research and causing the deaths of unfortunate peasants.

   Unaffected by such things, Khalron's grove was both beautiful and bountiful. It wasn't long before a couple families of settlers stumbled across it and formed a small community nearby. Due to Khalron's unsociable nature, a few of the settlers disappeared in the forest over the years, and the grove gained a reputation for being haunted.

   There he lived out years of his lonely, twisted life in the shadowy forest he had created, spending his time practising his magic and experimenting.

Katrýn

   Ryvic's mother, Katrýn, grew up in Voldar. She became an herbwoman at the age of 25, and soon left with a wagon train that settled near Khalron's grove. Once there, she opened an apothecary to sell her various tinctures and remedies. She remained single, but became friends with most of her neighbours, as she was the closest thing to a doctor they had. She heard the stories about the terrors of the forest, as did they all, but when she was 32, she began hearing rumours of a rare herb in the forest. By the time she was 36, she was unable to resist the opportunity. She ventured into the forest, despite the protests of her closest friend, Brossia.

Childhood
Ryvic

   On the way in, Katrýn travelled without incident, and actually managed to find the plant she was searching for. On the way back, however, she took a different path and stumbled across Khalron's abode.

   Suddenly curious, she went nearer to the dwelling along a well-worn path. Khalron happened to see her, and snuck up behind the attractive intruder. Not until he was nearly upon her did Katrýn hear his footsteps behind her. She spun around, and Khalron, suddenly taken by his insanity, grabbed her. He cast a seducing spell on her and raped her, a crime which resulted in Ryvic's conception.

   When it was over, Khalron came to his senses and the seducing spell ceased. When he released her, she fled back to the hamlet, not knowing of the spell or realizing she was a victim rather than a culprit.  She told the whole story to her friend Brossia, who in turn told it to the village elder, who then summoned her the next day. He recited to her the well-known tradition, that she was now honour-bound to marry the man. She did not protest, and went back to the forest to tell the vile mage what had to happen.

   Khalron didn't desire to marry her, but figured it wasn't worth the hassle of exterminating another cluster of angry peasants. They were married in the shortest possible ceremony, and moved to his dwelling. None of the settlers saw Katrýn again.


   Nine months later, on 7 Turning Star, 1644 a.S., Katrýn gave birth. Khalron didn't care about the child, so Katrýn named him after his grandfather - Ryvic. She gave him the surname Darkveil, because her life had been overrun with despair.

   Once his son was born, the insane spells ceased for Khalron and he remained sane, though he kept his notion of justice that made paramount the progress of knowledge above all else.

Corruption

   From early on, Ryvic showed talent in magic. His father saw this, and decided to make use of the boy; after all, you can always use a lab rat.

   His father taught him some of the basic magic lore while he was a child, to prepare him for his later "training". At the age of 12, he was taught the process of his first spell - Quell Flame. But, when Ryvic tried it, instead of hiding fire influence, he unintentionally gathered water ounia to the flame, dousing it.

   Khalron then guessed, and through subsequent tests confirmed, that Ryvic was Gifted. He didn't know what level of power Ryvic was capable of, but he quickly forgot about all his planned experiments in the wake of this fascinating opportunity. He gave Ryvic all the teaching scrolls he had stolen from Ximax that were on Water Magic and had him read them to learn what he could. Ryvic learned quickly, soon gaining a small amount of skill in magic. On this foundation, Khalron conducted experiments - experiments that were hidden as normal lessons. Ryvic had no way of knowing what his father was doing, and went along with everything, eager to please.

   Yet Ryvic's heart was not stolen by the conscienceless man, for during the evenings and sometimes late into the night, Katrýn would teach him what she knew of the good world. She showed Ryvic many of her practical skills, the use of herbs, reading and writing, and a few scraps of other languages. But most importantly, Katrýn taught Ryvic that the only thing worth doing is good, and the only thing worth thinking of is others. Though at times he appeared to forget, this foundation was all that stayed solid through his tumultuous life, and he came to value it highly.

Betrayal

   After almost nine years of this so-called training, as Ryvic was nearing his 21st birthday, Khalron felt he had learned all he could from his test subject. He thus sent Ryvic on a suicidal quest for the Eu'reóll, or Tree of Life, fabled to be guarded by immortal light elves. Of course Ryvic had no clue of his father's intentions, and he had heard none of the stories of the danger inherent in such an undertaking, so he willingly went along with it. Shortly after Ryvic departed, Khalron had another insane spell – the first in over twenty years. He went into a wild rage, lighting parts of their house on fire and murdering Katrýn.

   As the fires started, Ryvic was hit with a pang of terror and panic. He suddenly knew that something was wrong in the direction of his home, and began to run back with inexplicable desperation. He reached hearing distance just in time to hear his mother's last screams pierce the serenity of the forest. Startled by the noise, and he tripped and hit his head on a rock, rendering him unconscious for a half hour.

   When he awoke, he quickly recalled the unnerving scream and ran into the house. He began yelling for Katrýn as he shoved his way through the still-smouldering doors, shortly ending up in Khalron's forbidden chambers.

   After a quick scan of the room he spotted his father's spellbook. He cracked it open and skimmed the first couple pages. It turned out to be more of a record of experiments than anything else, a fact he was enlightened to by the following:
“The young male is developing quite nicely, thanks in part to the female's efforts. If only that old coot Althaniar could see me now.”

   Realizing that his father thought of Katrýn and Ryvic as artefacts for the spiting of an “Althaniar,” Ryvic was enraged. Not to mention that he had probably just killed Katrýn, as  well. Now wanting revenge, Ryvic picked up from a desk the dagger his father used as a focus for casting, shoving it in his belt.

   Ryvic searched the rest of the house, but his father was gone – possibly carrying out some wicked deed or gathering supplies from the forest. He found his mother's body and gave her a short funeral before setting out - still bent on revenge - to look for his father. He took with him the knife, some of his mother's jewellery, and some basic supplies and set out to the east, the direction his father most often went.

   He made good time, reaching the farthest he had ever been from home in a day and a half; normally a three-day journey. He pressed on for three days little rest before reaching the edge of the forest on the fourth nightfall. From there, it was less than a stral to what he would soon discover was his mother's village. He wanted to return to the forest and resume his search, but had enough sense to get a little rest; he went to the village and fell asleep in a doorstep.

   When the villagers found him there in the morning, they recognized the symbol of Katrýn's apothecary on the shoulder of his cloak. Ryvic was shortly introduced to some in the village, after which the village elder told about the life of Ryvic's mother: before moving to the settlement, her life there, and finally the story which led her to disappear into the forest, married to the strange “sorcerer,” as they all called him.

   After getting some rest, Ryvic devised a simple plan: he needed more complete training in magic, and so he would set out for Ximax. Ryvic guessed that the Althaniar in Khalron's journal was an old teacher in magic, which meant the Magical Academy was a likely place to find some answers. Ryvic related his plan to the elder, who gave him directions to Ximax. He then purchased a horse and some other supplies and departed – less than a week after his mother died.

Learning
The River

   Ryvic took much the same path Khalron had taken when he first journeyed to the Thaelon, following the Vandrina River south until it turned to the east. Ryvic then had to ford the river, but as he began to cross it he felt a sudden terror. Recalling the similar event that happened when his mother died, Ryvic tried to suppress the fear and look for what might be causing it. He continued on, and was most of the way across when an arrow splashed into the nearby water. He reined in his horse out of shock, and suddenly there were at least five unpleasant-looking men standing on the shore. Ryvic quickly checked behind him; on the other, farther, side of the river were another few bandits. One on the shore ahead spoke up, “hand over yer valyubles if ye value yer scalp.”

   Ryvic was too afraid to speak, scared stiff, in fact.

   “Well, well, well! Looks like he be frozen b' fear! All righty boys, let's relieve th' poor fool o' his gold.” The apparent leader of the bandits motioned to his men, and three of them came up close to Ryvic's horse. One of the bandits threw Ryvic off into the river, then turned and began searching the saddlebags for booty.

   “Hey look, boss, it's a purty lil' necklus!” He held up a beautiful sapphire pendant, the favourite of Ryvic's mother, dangling from a fine silver chain. “Oughtta fetch a few sans at th' market."

   He then shoved the jewel into his pocket and resumed his rummaging, but stopped, gasping, as the water suddenly became frigid. From behind, Ryvic ordered, "Give it back."

   Ryvic was standing up now, slightly obscured by a foggy aura. A thin trickle of water was falling from the knife he held in his right hand; all too steady to be drip from its recent immersion. He held the knife out towards the highwayman threateningly. "Now."

   The rummager quickly retreated to where his two comrades were standing and drew his rusty old cavalry sabre. He looked to his allies to confirm they had weapons drawn as well. "Drop yer pigstikker afore we gut ya!"

   Ryvic just stared at the men for several blinks, and as he did so ice began to form around their feet, securing them to the riverbed. They didn't notice anything beyond the staring match, and when Ryvic charged them, they were disoriented by the immobility of their feet. The rummager dropped his sabre in his attempt to break free, but only succeeded as Ryvic's blade bit into his neck, nearly removing his head. The two flanking tried to swing at him, but they were unaccustomed to their lack of leverage and just barely hit Ryvic's leather shirt as he came through, one of them slightly cutting his back. Ryvic landed off-balance a few peds from the men and fell into the water. By the time he was back to his feet, they were free and running towards him. The drip from the knife suddenly increased to a stream, and a thick, unnatural mist shot out of the water, obscuring the assailants.

   By now, the bandits on shore began to see that Ryvic was a threat, and as such two of them drew their bows and took aim. Ryvic, starting to look pale, felt another jolt of panic, and  realized the danger just in time to dodge the volley from the novice archers. Ryvic started to run towards his horse, but first had to deal with the pair of brigands just reaching him at full-tilt. He swung the knife up to parry the first man's strike, and then stepped around him to the man behind. Ryvic swung at the rear man's descending blow, and a surge of water replaced the stream coming off the knife. As steel struck steel, the water froze, locking the blades together. Ryvic spun backwards around the man, twisting his sword arm behind him. Ryvic now had a perfect backstabbing opportunity, which was quickly taken.

   The ice melted rapidly, and Ryvic resumed his flight towards his horse, with the front bandit just half a step behind. The man swung at Ryvic, but he was too far behind, and threw himself off balance, increasing Ryvic's lead. Of a sudden, another arrow zipped into the scene, striking Ryvic in his left arm. Ryvic felt like his arm had burst into flames – all the more unpleasant for a water mage. He tripped and landed curled in a ball, muscles spasming. The frosty aura around Ryvic's body suddenly spread and intensified, enveloping at least a five ped radius. The haze grew thicker for several blinks, and then swiftly faded. In the aftermath, a portion of the river was frozen solid, as were the bandit and horse nearby. The only thing unaffected was the balled mage settled at the centre of the freeze.

   Ryvic succumbed to unconsciousness blinks later, and his last sight before blackness took over was the troupe of bandits, retreating from the scene of a hold-up gone awry.

Ximax

   A couple days after the skirmish, Ryvic woke up in a caravanner's wagon, The driver of which had found him in the river. Ryvic mostly slept for the next couple days as well, slowly recovering from pure exertion and the arrow wound. The caravan soon stopped at the City of Jernais for a couple days, where Ryvic gave them some payment for the ride and parted ways with them, for the caravan was headed for Carmalad.

   Ryvic soon found another caravan, this one headed in the correct direction. The journey from then was uneventful, and in short notice Ryvic was faced by one of the gates into Ximax, the City of Magic.

   After a short stop at a tavern for directions, Ryvic went to the the Academy, located just outside the city. Being this close to hopefully finding some answers, he began running. He rushed through the gardens, the main gate, and started to head for the first landmark he saw - the Xeuá Tower – but slowed at the sight of the other eleven towers. Walking up to a green-garbed student, who was staring at him oddly, he panted, "I need to speak with Althaniar. where can he be found?"

   "Uhh, Althaniar? I think there's a Fire Mage by that name. You could check the Fire Tower, I guess." The bewildered student pointed to the only red tower on the premises.

   “Thank you,” said Ryvic, resuming a jog.

   Upon reaching the tower, he asked a red-robed student the same question, and learned that Althaniar was currently teaching a class. Ryvic obtained directions to the classroom, ran up a few floors to the room, and barged in to the session.

   There were torches lining the walls, and multiple larger fires throughout the room. The students had been practising various spells on the flames, and they were unnaturally lively – all of which was extremely unnerving for Ryvic. Every face in the room was staring at him, and there was silence for several blinks. The quiet was broken by the old man at the front of the class asking simply, "do you need something?"

   "Althaniar?" Ryvic queried.

   "That would be me."

   "Might I speak with you?"

   "Might it wait until the class is finished?"

   "Where should I wait?"

   "Right back there should do fine," replied Althaniar, pointing to a chair against the back wall.

   Ryvic obliged readily enough, but spent the next hour in utter terror. Flames danced and played, occasionally flying around the room or flashing brighter than they had a right to. Ryvic may have even vomited, though he couldn't remember.

   Once the ordeal was finally through, he told Althaniar all he knew about his past. After he was finished, Althaniar told his part of the story, of Khalron's bright future, the argument they got into about the purpose of magic, and finally Khalron's rebellion and disappearance.

   Althaniar wanted to help, but he knew he couldn't teach Ryvic much personally, being a Fire Mage. Being fairly senior among the Ximaxian Mages, Althaniar called together several of his fellows to determine what could be done. Ryvic was tested for a short while, and they discovered for themselves the amount of control Ryvic had over his magic. Despite being highly talented and powerful, Ryvic needed abnormal training. This was something which none had time to perform and Ryvic lacked the funds to purchase. After some discussion, they were unable to find a solution, and were forced to disperse to various duties.

   For the next couple months, Ryvic attended some elementary classes in Water Magic at Althaniar's expense, who thought it his personal responsibility to make amends for his strayed student's actions. Ryvic struggled greatly in these classes and learned nothing. Althaniar eventually cancelled the classes, and Ryvic simply hung around the Academy, trying to make sense of his world. He would often find a creek or pond and simply sit in its water, purely engrossed in the element.

Tragedy

   At this time, things changed. Some of Althaniar's students went wild and damaged various parts of the Academy. Althaniar was framed for inciting them to violence and was forced to resign as a teacher at the Academy. He was nearing one-hundred years of life when he left, taking Ryvic with him, to buy a small cottage outside the city. There he attempted to help the young mage come to peace and gain control of his magic. Their only real improvement was in Ryvic's control over his temper, aided by reversing some of Khalron's spells.

   This relative peace didn't last very long, however. Within a couple years Ryvic accidentally killed Althaniar, who was quite frail, in a training accident. It wasn't his fault, but Ryvic blamed himself for the death of the man who had been like a father to him.

   One of Althaniar's old friends, Rushik Baldas, had left the Ximaxian Academy to experiment with incorporating magic into traditional fighting skills. After a few years he had decided to start up a school where he would teach this are to other mages. Althaniar left most of his few possessions to Ryvic, having no close relatives to inherit it, and solely because it had been one of Althaniar's Last Wishes, Ryvic used the money he received for their sale to pay his tuition at Rushik's school.

   After a short time, Ryvic was able to stop mourning long enough to take advantage of his environment. He determined to learn how to use his knife to control his abilities, because all they had done at that point was cause pain and death for those he loved. This wish was not fulfilled, however. Some other students at the school accidentally set fire to the compound. Almost everyone evacuated safely, but Ryvic didn't see Rushik. In a desperate attempt to save him, Ryvic tried to put out the fire. In doing so, he accidentally blocked the doors with ice and trapped Rushik in the inferno, where he died.

Resolution
Revenge

   Ryvic was at the point of despair. He gave up on gaining control of his magic and decided it was time to face his father. He took his possessions, bought another horse, and rode as fast as he could for his old home. In a few weeks of hard riding, he reached the old grove and subsequently, the house of his childhood

   Ryvic barged his way into the old building, and found his father back at his magical research, as if the ten years of training his son had never happened.

   Ryvic had been practising what he had to say throughout his journey, but now that all fell apart. “Khalron.”

   “Ah, Ryvic. I thought you had run away for good. What brings you back?”

   Ryvic hadn't been fully prepared to meet his father, and with this casual greeting it was all he could manage to not smite the man where he stood. “You know why I'm here! You killed my mother and cursed me with power I can't control. I have to kill you to avenge my mother's death, but first you must remove the cursed spells you cast on me!”

   “Why would I ever do that? You are my greatest achievement, a glorious rebuttal of Althaniar and his outdated philosophy!”

   “Althaniar is dead! I went to him for answers – for training. He did what he could to help me, but ended up being killed by your 'achievement.'”

   “Is that so? About proves my point, doesn't it? Althaniar was a powerful mage, so you must have had even greater power to kill him.”

   “Althaniar's blood is on your hands, not mine. And you have no idea what power you have forced into me!”

   “Oh, I know quite well what power you have.”

   “Don't be so sure of yourself, old man.” Ryvic's temper fell over the tipping point. He drew his knife and began a charge in one fluid motion. Khalron, now grinning somewhat maliciously, closed his eyes for a long blink, opening them with a fireball in his hand.

   Ryvic's intuition served him well, and he threw up a wall of ice precisely where the fireball was aimed. That taken care of, he spun around full circle, a deadly blade of ice tripling the length of the steel one in his hand. Khalron was not without reflexes of his own, and unleashed a searing inferno that turned the ice to steam before the blade could strike. The older man then fled outside, where he would have the advantage of the sunlight on the clear day.

   Ryvic blindly chased his father, who had another nice fireball ready for Ryvic as he exited the house. Ryvic mostly dodged the blast, but part of his left side and leg were burned. The injury threw Ryvic into a fury, and he launched a powerful wave of water at Khalron. Fortunately for Ryvic there was a creek nearby, or else he would have had to take the water from nearby plants; a much more demanding task.

   The wave squarely struck Khalron, and he was blasted against a tree. A large amount of the water froze, immobilizing all but his head. For a minute, they had a battle of wills, with Ryvic fighting to keep the ice solid and Khalron attempting to melt it. Khalron was soon exhausted and gave up, now at Ryvic's mercy.

   “You have even bested me! What did I tell you?”

   “Free me from your vile curse!”

   “Now, now, son, I can't do that. You see, when I first came here I had to kill some worthless peasants to clear the land. I didn't exactly enjoy it, but it was necessary, you see. Then some witch comes along, claiming I murdered her family, and casts a curse on me. That curse is what plagues you now. Sad, but true.”

   “But you said I was your greatest achievement. Now you claim it was all this witches fault!”

   “Not at all! She keeps you from controlling the gift that I gave you. You see, we have to kill her to be free of the curse! I couldn't defeat her when I tried before, but now you are strong enough that we can fight her together – and win!”

   “I don't care if killing some witch will let me control my curse, I want you to take it away!”

   “No, son. I will not.”

   With a yell of fury, Ryvic caused the ice encasing Khalron's neck to close sharply, decapitating the old mage swiftly and cleanly.

End

   After recovering from his rage, Ryvic realized what he had done. He had murdered his father – the only person that knew anything about his abilities. Ryvic swore then to avoid using his magic at any and all costs, and to make up for his crimes, imagined and otherwise.

   He now wanders the land, trying to find a way to be free of his “curse” and at the same time make some contribution to the world to make up for his wrongs. At a given time, he may be trying any tactic at his disposal, from following rumours of witch sightings to trying to piece together an ancient riddle.

Possessions

Weapons

   Other than his magic, Ryvic's only weapon is Khalron's old casting knife. It has served as a magic focus for both Khalron and Ryvic. Ryvic has kept the knife because, while it does represent what he has sworn to avoid, it offers him the only real control he has over his magic. It is also a good all-around camp tool.

Goods

   Bedroll – A wool blanket, and a thin taenish-feather pillow hardly worthy of mention.
   Clothing – A linen tunic and pair of pants, as well as leather cloak, belt, and boots.
   Food – A simple supply of bread, jerky, and the occasional dried fruit.
   Tack and feed – The saddle, reins, and supply of oats needed for a horse.
   Writing supplies – A pen, ink and a scroll or two. Kept in Hiin's saddlebags.
   Valuables – Katrýn's sapphire pendant and an average of 50 sans
   Wound kit – Some bandages and herbal remedies learned from Katrýn.
   Tinderbox – A flint, steel, and tinder. Completely unused!

Familiars

Hiin

   Hiin (Thergerim for “fast”), as Ryvic calls him, is a mixed-breed grey horse purchased from a merchant in Ximax. All things considered, he isn't an especially talented beast. But he gets the job done and has served as Ryvic's companion for almost a year.

   At around fifteen hands high, Hiin is a bit on the small side, but makes up for it with his lean, muscular form. He has no trouble carrying Ryvic around most of the time, provided he is well fed and rested.

[Ryvic Darkveil]

Comments Welcome

[Alýr (Rayne)]

Hey Ryvic!

I know this is still a work in progress, but I'll take a look over what you have, particularly in the realm of magic. You've been struggling to define what Ryvic's magic is. You've got this strange Styrash-Thergerim construction which probably isn't the best to use. You use terms like Overmind and Undermind, whose definitions I'm not quite sure of. I've been thinking a lot about this style of magic and realized that we actually do have something that I think defines this type of magic: Raw Magic.

Xarl never really defined raw magic with any sort of definiteness, and I don't think he had any idea of what it would eventually become, but as with most of Xarl's inchoate, frustratingly half-baked ideas, it can be changed and borrowed and turned into something useful (Wittgenstein would be proud, I'm sure).

Regardless, Raw Magic as I interpret it is very much this kind of magic that lacks a steady 'mediator', being tied to emotion. Clerical magic has the "God" or belief as a mediator, and Ximax has a philosophico-scientific system to serve as mediator, roughly. But Raw Magic is something more fundamental than that: it implies a more direct connection to spell casting, mediated, if anything, by emotion. We might say this is the way magically-gifted children experience magic before they are trained.

Raw magic is extraordinarily powerful. Normally such things wouldn't be allowed; I'm still not sure how I feel about allowing you to wield such powerful magic.  It's pretty potent stuff.

The curse isn't actually part of Ryvic's magical ability, is it? Rather, it is more fuel to the fire: if Ryvic's Raw Magical ability is controlled/mediated through his emotions, than it would make sense that a curse which amplified emotions also amplified his abilities. The curse to Ryvic's raw magic is a bit like the Ximax Orb to any mage: it makes it more powerful--in some cases, to the point of annihilation of the caster.

Let me know your thoughts on this--and don't forget to add "insomnia" to your weaknesses: as anyone who's ever had it can attest, it definitely weakens you.

With regards to history: I can buy the forest growing quickly; harder to buy is that an entire village would spring up within one lifetime. Villages take a long time to develop. Perhaps Ryvic's father killed the family and grew the forest, but the village was already there? The sudden growth of a forest would no doubt lead to the villagers believing the woods to be haunted.

[Ryvic Darkveil]

You've got this strange Styrash-Thergerim construction which probably isn't the best to use.

Oops, I thought I took all of those out.

You use terms like Overmind and Undermind, whose definitions I'm not quite sure of.

Oops again. They were supposed to be defined as Conscious and Subconscious, respectively. It was more to give it a Santharian feel than anything else.

Xarl... Wittgenstein

Should I know who they are? 'Cuz I don't.

The curse isn't actually part of Ryvic's magical ability, is it? Rather, it is more fuel to the fire: if Ryvic's Raw Magical ability is controlled/mediated through his emotions, than it would make sense that a curse which amplified emotions also amplified his abilities. The curse to Ryvic's raw magic is a bit like the Ximax Orb to any mage: it makes it more powerful--in some cases, to the point of annihilation of the caster.

It's not really part of his magical ability (neither is the intuition), but I felt they needed to be placed with magic, as they are all related.
The curse does strengthen his magic, but less than the increase in energy loss. I think this whole explanation will improve as i get closer to being done and give the CD more thorough examinations. It's hard to remember which stuff I wrote and what I just thought about

Let me know your thoughts on this--and don't forget to add "insomnia" to your weaknesses: as anyone who's ever had it can attest, it definitely weakens you.

I'll add insomnia, just forgot and didn't get around to it yet.

With regards to history: I can buy the forest growing quickly; harder to buy is that an entire village would spring up within one lifetime. Villages take a long time to develop. Perhaps Ryvic's father killed the family and grew the forest, but the village was already there? The sudden growth of a forest would no doubt lead to the villagers believing the woods to be haunted.

The hauntedness isn't really a requirement, but I figured that would be how people would respond. I can add your changes.

I've been thinking a lot about this style of magic and realized that we actually do have something that I think defines this type of magic: Raw Magic.

Regardless, Raw Magic as I interpret it is very much this kind of magic that lacks a steady 'mediator', being tied to emotion. Clerical magic has the "God" or belief as a mediator, and Ximax has a philosophico-scientific system to serve as mediator, roughly. But Raw Magic is something more fundamental than that: it implies a more direct connection to spell casting, mediated, if anything, by emotion. We might say this is the way magically-gifted children experience magic before they are trained.

Raw magic is extraordinarily powerful. Normally such things wouldn't be allowed; I'm still not sure how I feel about allowing you to wield such powerful magic.   It's pretty potent stuff.

I hope we don't take ten pages discussing this...  


Hrmph. I forgot about Raw magic. I was viewing Ximaxian at one end and Clerical at the other, but this changes everything.
Back to the drawing board! First, lets define our goals.

Magic: Needs to be used involuntarily/without concentrating on it. Preferably used with some kind of normal fighting. Also has an impact on personality. The longer it is used, the more it harms Ryvic, in one way or another.

Personality: In a word, conflicted. In two words, really conflicted. In three words... never mind. He's messed up somehow.


All the explanations and other things were meat on the above bones. As it turns out, most of the meat was rotten. Let's try to find some good stuff.

Explanation #1 - Ryvic's dad taught him some weird magic system that is completely incompatible with Caelereth as we know it. His father also had a vaguely defined curse that was partially passed down to Ryvic.
Crossed out because it doesn't work.

Explanation #2 - Ryvic's father was a slightly sadistic scientist who taught Ryvic what is apparently Raw Magic. His father had a curse that would drive him mad at times, and some of this emotional instability was passed down to Ryvic.
This one is probably too powerful.

Explanation #3 - Ryvic's father made him "possessed" by some magical monster thing. When Ryvic gets into his 'moods' (fighting, for example), the monster thing starts expressing itself more and more, and if a fight went on too long, Ryvic would 'turn into' it. Perhaps physically, spiritually, something.
My newest idea. Eerily similar to Irid's wolf problem, but it's got a mediator-thing, right?


I tried to stay as general as possible. I kind of can't write anything until I know what's possible, so thanks for all the time and effort!

[Deklitch Hardin]

Hi Ryvic,

Nice work you are doing here.

Xarl was a developer from years ago who did earlier work on Ximax and Magic and a few other things. That's about all i know of him. Wittgenstein ... sorry, I can't help youw ith that one.

I'm sure that Alyr enjoys having someone to discuss these issues with her ... and if you are so inclined, and haven't already joined over there, why not consider joining the development side? I'm sure Alyr would appreciate someone else over there who can talk about magic and develop it with herself and Mina and Aos. (the latter two are both current developers who research at least part of the time in magic).

Dek

[Ryvic Darkveil]

I do hope to help out with development. Maybe once my schedule opens up more, or once I get my CD done. Right now I'm a bit busy.

[Alýr (Rayne)]

Should I know who they are? 'Cuz I don't.

Eep! Sorry. Xarl was an old member for years and years ago. He was perhaps magic's first real developer. Young, clever, egotistical (most of us magic developers are), and nonchalant, he sort of developed things in a mess, and the rest of us have been sweeping up the pieces every since. He was a very bright kid, though.

Wittgenstein was a philosopher who talked about the development of ideas and language. More esoteric than I intended. My apologies!

The curse does strengthen his magic, but less than the increase in energy loss. I think this whole explanation will improve as i get closer to being done and give the CD more thorough examinations. It's hard to remember which stuff I wrote and what I just thought about

No worries! I'll expect a lot of the loose threads to get connected as your CD develops.

The hauntedness isn't really a requirement, but I figured that would be how people would respond. I can add your changes.

Oh, but a haunting makes it so much more exciting!

I hope we don't take ten pages discussing this... 

Me, too!

Hrmph. I forgot about Raw magic. I was viewing Ximaxian at one end and Clerical at the other, but this changes everything.

It's a bit more complex than that, I think. Perhaps it might be better to imagine a Cartesian coordinate system?

Back to the drawing board! First, lets define our goals.

I like the way you think. 

Magic: Needs to be used involuntarily/without concentrating on it. Preferably used with some kind of normal fighting. Also has an impact on personality. The longer it is used, the more it harms Ryvic, in one way or another.

Personality: In a word, conflicted. In two words, really conflicted. In three words... never mind. He's messed up somehow.

I think Raw magic can achieve those two goals.

Explanation #2 - Ryvic's father was a slightly sadistic scientist who taught Ryvic what is apparently Raw Magic. His father had a curse that would drive him mad at times, and some of this emotional instability was passed down to Ryvic.
This one is probably too powerful.

You can't actually 'teach' Raw Magic. It's the magic you cast when you have no cognitive system. It is basically "methodless" magic. Ryvic's father was taught magic in the Ximaxian 'method', so to speak. That system is in his brain, and likely, he cannot conceive of magic without it. Raw magic is when your brain has no system. Magic comes from pure emotion, those times when, nuerologically speaking, your frontal cortex is overwhelmed by your amygdala--your judgement in control, by your emotions.

Because of the nature of Raw Magic, it may develop early on, but is likely to peak around puberty and probably taper off, becoming less strong as the risk and judgement part of the brain develop. If Ryvic's father could find a way to either 1) keep this part of the brain from developing or 2) give Ryvic's emotions ways of overcoming it, then Ryvic would maintain an ability with Raw magic.

Regardless of how Ryvic's father does this, Ryvic will have to be a bit conflicted/damaged, having one voice that speaks emotion and another that speaks judgement and risk.

My newest idea. Eerily similar to Irid's wolf problem, but it's got a mediator-thing, right?

You seem to have read a lot of people's CDs! It's a great way to get ideas. Are you sure, though, that you're a new member and haven't been to Santharia before? 

I tried to stay as general as possible. I kind of can't write anything until I know what's possible, so thanks for all the time and effort!

Sorry for all the back-and-forth. Hopefully we've got it about straight.

[Ryvic Darkveil]

Wittgenstein was a philosopher who talked about the development of ideas and language. More esoteric than I intended. My apologies!

I never understand the references in 'Poets Corner' either. I don't think the issue is on your side .

It's a bit more complex than that, I think. Perhaps it might be better to imagine a Cartesian coordinate system?

I did say was. Now I'm kinda lost.

You can't actually 'teach' Raw Magic. It's the magic you cast when you have no cognitive system. It is basically "methodless" magic. Ryvic's father was taught magic in the Ximaxian 'method', so to speak. That system is in his brain, and likely, he cannot conceive of magic without it. Raw magic is when your brain has no system. Magic comes from pure emotion, those times when, nuerologically speaking, your frontal cortex is overwhelmed by your amygdala--your judgement in control, by your emotions.

Because of the nature of Raw Magic, it may develop early on, but is likely to peak around puberty and probably taper off, becoming less strong as the risk and judgement part of the brain develop. If Ryvic's father could find a way to either 1) keep this part of the brain from developing or 2) give Ryvic's emotions ways of overcoming it, then Ryvic would maintain an ability with Raw magic.

Regardless of how Ryvic's father does this, Ryvic will have to be a bit conflicted/damaged, having one voice that speaks emotion and another that speaks judgement and risk.

Interesting. I'm sure it could work, but if it's too powerful... I kind of like the idea of him being possessed by a beastie, too.

You seem to have read a lot of people's CDs! It's a great way to get ideas. Are you sure, though, that you're a new member and haven't been to Santharia before? 

I'm new, I promise.
I think I've only read Rayne, Irid, and Emrah all the way through. I also read through AAIB. Rather than reading a book, I'll read something on here, usually.

Did you have any thoughts on Explanation #3, other than thinking I'm an imposter?

[Alýr (Rayne)]

I never understand the references in 'Poets Corner' either. I don't think the issue is on your side.

Poetry was my first love, so there's a reason for my varied references there. The references to poets fills me with delight--they are the beautiful voices singing in my head. The philosophers, though... well, they're more the arrogant voices whining in my ear.

I did say was. Now I'm kinda lost.

Ah, perhaps I'm thinking in too many directions. Let's just say that Raw magic would be at the very end of the scale, purely subconscious.

Interesting. I'm sure it could work, but if it's too powerful... I kind of like the idea of him being possessed by a beastie, too. I'm new, I promise.
I think I've only read Rayne, Irid, and Emrah all the way through. I also read through AAIB. Rather than reading a book, I'll read something on here, usually.

Did you have any thoughts on Explanation #3, other than thinking I'm an imposter? 

My mind kind of wanders in two directions with the idea--though the directions may lead to the same place. The first is that such a beast would probably come from the Netherworld. This is sort of thing would be like what we discussed with the forest, where the fabric of reality is weak--the difference being that the weakened fabric is in or near an individual.

The second direction is toward the Ak'váth'rhím Elves and a demon known as Shin'shee. It is a demon that calls young Ak'váth'rhím Elves who have magical ability to teach them water magic in its lair. Or something along those lines. So there may be a thread of a connection there, but it may be rough to connect, since I don't know if there's only one shin'shee demon, or if many exist out there (i.e. in the netherworld), or the intricacies of its relationship with the Ak'váth'rhím.

[Ryvic Darkveil]

   Please keep in mind that when I put words like 'possess' in quotes, that's because it's the best I can think of, not because I think it an accurate descriptor of the situation. When I said possess, I was meaning more like "life-force splice".

My mind kind of wanders in two directions with the idea--though the directions may lead to the same place. The first is that such a beast would probably come from the Netherworld. This is sort of thing would be like what we discussed with the forest, where the fabric of reality is weak--the difference being that the weakened fabric is in or near an individual.

The second direction is toward the Ak'váth'rhím Elves and a demon known as Shin'shee. It is a demon that calls young Ak'váth'rhím Elves who have magical ability to teach them water magic in its lair. Or something along those lines. So there may be a thread of a connection there, but it may be rough to connect, since I don't know if there's only one shin'shee demon, or if many exist out there (i.e. in the netherworld), or the intricacies of its relationship with the Ak'váth'rhím.

   Couldn't it be a beast not yet in the compendium? An entry would probably need to be written on it, but that doesn't mean I can't make something up...

   The idea here would be that Khalron, instead of using some cross-philosophy training program, has a theory in place for quickening training. He would splice some "magical creature's life force" with the students, and thus give them the creature's power.
   The natural downside here would be that the creature now tries to control the student; when magic is used, the balance of power starts to shift to the creature, and after a time of constant magic use, it gains full control. Not to say that they would look physically different, it would be a mental thing.
This wouldn't be that much different on the surface from what I had planned. A quick comparison:

Similarities:
1. Over the course of a battle, Ryvic would grow more powerful, but the repercussions would grow worse. Same as the previous "theory."

2. He would still be tired after magic-use, though perhaps more mentally than physically.

3. The beast could have a strong sense of intuition, replacing the previous explanation for that.

4. The fight between his soul and the beast's could easily create the conflict (and insomnia through nightmares) that the other explanation did, and perhaps better.

Differences:
5. The actual spells would probably look entirely different, being more creature-looking; things like claws and such.

6. Ryvic could be younger, closer to 20ish.

7. I would need a new explanation for the knife training, or to just drop it; I could have him learn primal fighting skills or something at the same time as the magic.

8. No need for a separate curse.

9. Ryvic would probably know how to make his magic "go" - not that he consciously controls each oun, or that a spell can't slip out in anger.


That's all I can think of at the moment. The entire history would be fundamentally different in this case, so I'm going to hold off on writing until we get this sorted out.

[Alýr (Rayne)]

Couldn't it be a beast not yet in the compendium? An entry would probably need to be written on it, but that doesn't mean I can't make something up...

Well, we're limited by what we know--namely, that there's only one and that it is fairly active in its relations with the Ak'váth'rhím tribe.

   The idea here would be that Khalron, instead of using some cross-philosophy training program, has a theory in place for quickening training. He would splice some "magical creature's life force" with the students, and thus give them the creature's power.
   The natural downside here would be that the creature now tries to control the student; when magic is used, the balance of power starts to shift to the creature, and after a time of constant magic use, it gains full control. Not to say that they would look physically different, it would be a mental thing.

You're getting into really powerful magic here. First, a fire mage--even if he were an archmage--wouldn't be able to splice a car'all. It would be a challenge even for Xeua mages. Second, you are really talking about a drastic change to Ryvic, not only in terms of his personality and character, but his appearance, too. Keep in mind that car'all are both physical and spiritual--ounia have both physical and spiritual properties. Santharians (theoretically) don't live in a mind-body dichotomy the way people do in real life; the two are inextricably bound.

Third, power doesn't really come from life force, but from will. And you can't splice wills. No one can control the will of another. Unlike the emotions and body, which are made up of discrete things (ounia and xeua) which can be controlled and manipulated, the will is outside anyone's control. Not even Chosen can control the will of another. It is the untouchable part of each individual.

I would recommend sticking with Raw Magic rather than trying to bring in demonic aid. Demons can get pretty messy, and it's hard to get everything to work the way you'd want.

[Ryvic Darkveil]

Okay, Dropping that idea.
If we decide to call it Raw Magic, I have to make some big changes anyway. Should I continue as I was, and we can fix it once I'm done?

[Alýr (Rayne)]

What do you need to know about Raw Magic to feel comfortable writing this CD? Or do you feel comfortable enough with Raw Magic to write into Ryvic's history how his father abstained from teaching him Ximaxian magical systems and instead focused on helping him overcome the restrictions imposed by Ryvic's judgment?

Let me know what information you need. If you're not sure, maybe try writing on it and see where you get stuck and we can go from there.  Whatever works for you!

[Ryvic Darkveil]

I put up the next subheader, which I had pretty much done.

Quote from: Alýr (Rayne) on Yesterday at 02:52:05 AM

Ah, perhaps I'm thinking in too many directions. Let's just say that Raw magic would be at the very end of the scale, purely subconscious.
If this is taken literally, I'm not sure that what I had was even close to it.
There were some spells controlled by emotion, others triggered during combat.
He was supposed to be very close with water. Giving him powers of intuition, as well as making him need lots of water and little food. And perhaps making him vulnerable to fire.

I think that's the simple version of what's in the CD right now. How do I explain that with Raw Magic? If I don't have to change a lot of things, I'd rather not.

Edit: Wouldn't it also make him emotional and immature? He was only supposed to be emotional during battle, and he was supposed to be of normal maturity.

[Alýr (Rayne)]

Eep! Modified rather than replied. Hopefully I haven't done too much damage. Clearly I cannot be trusted as a Moderator. 

There were some spells controlled by emotion, others triggered during combat.

If his emotions get sparked during combat (i.e. he gets angry or somehow emboldened), then Raw Magic would pertain to both.

He was supposed to be very close with water. Giving him powers of intuition, as well as making him need lots of water and little food. And perhaps making him vulnerable to fire.

All individuals who have an inclination towards magic have some Raw Magic at first. Usually this manifests in inclinations toward certain elements--in this case, water. (You'll remember from my CD that my character could sense children who had magical affinity, and for a time found them and brought them to the Academy, and helped place them in their respective school. Alyr could probably sense the spells Ryvic cast and, when she found him, would take him to Ximax to learn under the Water School. Of course, this didn't happen, but hopefully this weaves things into context a little).

I think that's the simple version of what's in the CD right now. How do I explain that with Raw Magic? If I don't have to change a lot of things, I'd rather not.

I understand. Hopefully the above explanations help.

Edit: Wouldn't it also make him emotional and immature? He was only supposed to be emotional during battle, and he was supposed to be of normal maturity.

Not necessarily. Your character may be emotionally unstable and may have difficulty in keeping his emotions in check, but he probably won't go about bursting into tears (unless he's sculpted into that sort of character). When his emotions reach a certain height, his judgment can't keep them in check, and he lashes out magically.

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