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heroesofvelabri · 9 months ago

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"Blood magic" as it exists in most generic fantasy settings is so boring and stupid. "ohhhh it's so evil because it needs blooood they're sacrificing virgins it's so inherently evilllll" like okay what if the blood is ethically obtained? What's the problem? "ohh but the magic itself is tainted and makes you evil plus they're wearing black robes" yeah and so is every edgy teenage warlock so what

to ME blood magic should be taboo because it's the ultimate dangerous magic. The normal mage has to throw a fuckoff huge fireball costing 100 magic points to kill another mage in a duel and even then 90% of the time the other mage throws up a simple barrier spell and blocks it.

BLOOD MAGIC is dangerous because a blood mage can just cast "scab level 1" for 2 magic points and now you've got a blood clot in your brain and you have a stroke. BOOM you've lost consciousness. A few minutes later? Permanent brain damage or death.

You think you're the shit? Can block any spell? No you can't because level 1 blood mage apprentice over here can give you a stroke from across the battlefield. You never saw it coming. There was no mega laser blast to deflect. The spell cost them 3 magic points because they cast it from 500 feet away. Instant. Silent. Deadly.

Give me blood magic that's taboo because it's the ultimate magic weapon!! Give me mages that need to hunt down blood mages whenever there's a whisper of them because they're so dangerous!

well then you ask, if they're so dangerous can't they kill all the mage hunters with a thought?

And that's where the wards against blood magic come in! Everyone has at least simple ones, and higher level mages will customize theirs to make them harder to get through.

Of course, that starts an arms race so now blood mages have to get through your wards before they can cast Instant Death.

Now, as anyone who's watched lockpicking lawyer knows, any lock can be picked given enough effort. And no mage wants to block themselves off from magic entirely, because then they can't teleport or fly or heal or make their eyes glow. So of course, a blood mage can get through a ward if they try.

BUT. If a blood mage is trying to get through your ward, right, you can feel them doing it! And that gives you a precious few seconds to FUCK YOU MEGA BOLT them. And that levels the playing field, makes it about who can work faster.

THAT'S the level of thought I want to see for blood magic. Not this "ohhh but they're cultists so of course they're evil and their magic is evil" lazy stuff.

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heroesofvelabri · 10 months ago

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Heroes of Velabri

Part X: It Should Have Hurt

Baonn is sitting on one of the tables when Aldora and Deorwine come back downstairs, arms full of books from the newly-discovered library. They set the books down next to him and sit on one of the couches to go through them.

"So, whatcha looking for?" He asks.

"Anything that could help us figure out what's going on here." Aldora says without looking up.

Deorwine makes a noise in agreement, opening a book titled 'The Primordials, The Gwadoù, And The Gods.'

He turns to look at Lawson on the other couch, fiddling with one of the sending stones as he lays with his head in Auden’s lap while he sketches on a piece of paper on the back of a book.

“Nuh-uh, no looking ‘til I’m done” Auden jokingly scolds Lawson, angling the book and paper upward so he can’t see the sketch anymore.

“Aw, c’mon, it looks really good already. I always really like how you draw me.”

“Not a chance, Princey.”

Baonn smiles to himself.

‘I think I’m going to enjoy traveling with these people.’

*******************

A few hours later, Baonn is woken up by the sound of quiet footsteps sneaking past where he was sleeping on one of the couches.

He opens one of his eyes to see Lawson pulling the cowl of a cloak over his head, new mask in hand. He doesn’t seem to realize that he’s awake, and he slips the mask into his bag as he slips out the door.

Baonn grabs his seal-skin cloak from where he was using it as a pillow, checks his bag for the new dagger, and follows him quietly.

He follows him across the castle lawn toward the gate, where Lawson stops and looks around.

Baonn flattens himself against one of the walls.

Apparently seeing nobody, he tentatively sticks his arm through the magic barrier, as if he expected it to stop him from leaving. When it doesn't, he steps through and starts toward the town.

He follows, stopping for just a moment to fish out the handkerchief Deorwine had given him to press to his nose and stem the trickle of blood.

When they reach the edge of the town, he can hear the sound of cheering and laughter from the streets.

He follows Lawson into an alley and sees him climbing a stack of crates against a wall to get on the rooftop of a building.

When Baonn gets to the top of the crates, he sees Lawson pointing a silver dagger at his face.

"I thought I saw a shadow following me, though I had half-convinced myself that it was just the moonlight playing tricks."

"What are you doing here?" Baonn asks.

"I could ask you the same question."

"You first."

"It's Candle Night."

"Candle Night?"

"It's a holiday that celebrates the overthrow of the Bloodstained Queen by her daughter."

He gives him a weird look, so he continues.

"The Bloodstained Queen was one of my Mam's ancestors, the Queen of Kadia. She went through several spouses and many of her citizens before her daughter could take the throne from her.

"We celebrate her daughter, the Dove Queen, with candles and parades." He gestures down to the street, where people holding candles line the sides as a parade passes through the center of them.

"I couldn’t be home to celebrate with my family, so I figured that I would come and watch their celebration."

"Why didn’t you tell anyone?"

"I didn't want to be a bother. But hey, you're here now. Want to celebrate with me? I know you’re not from this kingdom, so you probably don't care, but-"

He produces two candles from his bag and holds one out to him.

"Sure, I'll join you." He takes the candle and whistles a short tune at the wick, producing a small flame, which he offers to Lawson to light the remaining one.

"How'd you do that?"

"It's a trick I learned from a troupe of bards that I snuck off to travel with once." He says, sitting down on the edge of the roof.

He sits down beside him "You traveled with a troupe of bards? For how long?"

"A couple months when I was 15. My moms did not like it."

"Meanwhile, the year I was fifteen, I was the assistant to a baker in Almedra."

"Really? What about Auden, did he work with you?"

"Are you kidding?" He laughs, "Auden can't cook for the life of him! The boy can mend a broken arm in a matter of minutes, but every time he tries to make food it ends up as a lump of coal."

"So, what did he do?"

"The baker's spouse put him to work at the counter out front."

"Sounds boring."

"Yeah, but I don't think he minded too much. How about you? How were your months with the bards?"

"They were fun. I got to see most of Eigira before the lady my moms sent to track me down found us."

"Why didn’t you enchant her to leave so you could keep traveling with them?"

"I didn't learn how to do that until last year when I was made to work in one of our hospitals, otherwise I would have."

"Why was that a skill you learned in a hospital?"

"The healers used it as a way to calm down patients. I just… tweaked it a little bit."

"You have got to teach me how to do some of that sometime."

"Maybe. How much magic do you know right now?"

"I know how to make a fire and put it out."

"Oh, so you're at, like, basic basics. Okay, how about after the parade's over, we go somewhere, and I can teach you some basic stuff."

He looks down at the street in time to see the last performers rounding the corner. While they were talking, the entire parade had passed them by.

"Now," Lawson says, "We would use the candles to help light a bonfire, but we're not from this town, so I don't want to intrude."

He blows the candle out, and gestures for Baonn to do the same before wrapping them up in something and putting them back in his bag.

*******************

A few minutes later, they’re standing alone in one of the fields, where Baonn has Lawson light a small campfire.

"We have to start at the most basic level with the 7 elements: earth, aether, fire, water, wood, void, and sound. All magic can be achieved with at least one of these. You've obviously learned to summon fire, so that's a good start.

"Most people that use magic are better at using a couple different elements. I'm pretty good at sound magic, like the trick with the candle, and water magic. From what I've seen of Auden, I'd wager that he uses mostly aether magic, things like healing and illusions, and maybe the more physical aspects of void, like attack magic.

"From Deorwine’s staff, it's a pretty safe bet that they use wood and earth-based nature magic, things like controlling plants and animals."

"Auden told me about this stuff already. How do you know what kind of elements you're going to be best at using?"

"You've just got to try and see what sticks the best. How long did it take you to learn how to conjure fire?"

"About 10 minutes and a lot of concentration."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Fire usually takes a lot less time than that. It's a pretty responsive element. How about we try water?"

His palm glows white and a swirling ball of water appears.

"How was conjuring fire described to you?" He asks.

"Imagine it and then will it into being."

"Okay, I want you to do the same thing now." He watches Lawson close his eyes, "This time, don't worry about willing it into being at first. Just focus on imagining the water, how it feels, how it looks. You got it?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, now make it real."

As he watches, Lawson’s hand glows a very dim white. A small sphere of water starts to form.

"Hey, good job. You did i-" He cuts off as Lawson opens his eyes, the dim light suddenly brightens, and the white changes to a dark orange color.

The ball of water also changes. First it grows larger, then it hardens into ice and shatters. The shards of ice shoot out of his hand and impale themselves in the ground around them.

Lawson looks terrified. His eyes, tinged with a crazed purple, are wide with fear.

"Baonn? Baonn, what's happening?"

He doesn't answer. He can't answer. He doesn't know what's going on.

The ice shards sprout, but they grow too fast for Baonn to run away. The spires of ice encase them, sealing them off from the outside world, save for a few small holes.

Baonn doesn't understand what's happening. All he knows is that he's scared.

He can see the ice bursting out of the ground, encircling them.

He can see Lawson freaking out, but he can’t do anything. It feels like he's a passenger in his own body. He can't move.

Lawson falls to his knees and the lights from his hands cut out as they meet the dirt.

As the spell ends, so does Baonn’s shock. He kneels in front of Lawson, and he puts his hands on his shoulders, but he can tell from his face that Lawson can barely hear him say his name, like he was listening through water in his ears.

"What was that??" He asks, eventually.

"I have no idea. Are you alright?"

“Yeah, I-I’m fine.” He tries to stand up, but Baonn has to catch him before he slams back into the ground.

“I don’t know that you are. We need to get you out of here.”

Baonn gently helps him sit against the ice, offering his sealskin cloak as a barrier between the cold and his clothing.

He presses his hand against the opposite side of the dome, and a strong vibration resonates through the whole structure.

The ice cracks, but nothing else.

He can hear distant running footsteps from outside the ice, and then the sound of dozens of voices speaking over one another.

From farther away, He can hear a voice shouting over the din of the others.

“Law?! Law, where are you?!” Auden yells.

From closer to them, Deorwine shouts “They’re in the ice!”

"Are you both okay?" Aldora asks.

"I'm fine,“ Baonn says, “but I don't think Lawson is."

"Law, we're gonna get you outta there, okay?" Auden’s voice says, as the dark shadows of vines creep around the ice and start to squeeze.

The cracks lengthen, but the vines aren’t strong enough.

The dome glows a dull orange from the outside, and it slowly starts to melt. The light grows brighter and brighter still until a large enough hole is melted that Auden can come in and pick Lawson up in his arms after he checks him over quickly.

Baonn drapes the cloak over him, and the group of them passes through the concerned crowd.

Some people follow them a few steps away, but they stop when they realize the direction they’re going.

He notices that the protective field of the castle lets them in without issue this time, but he’s too stressed to think too much about it.

Auden lays Lawson on the bed in their room in the inn, and then he shuts the door behind him.

As soon as the door clicks shut, Auden turns on him.

“What happened out there?”

“Auden…” Aldora puts her hand on his arm.

“No! I want to hear what he has to say.”

“Auden. It’s alright.” Deorwine says gently.

“No, it’s not! Lawson could have been seriously hurt.”

“Is he okay?” He asks quietly.

Lawson eases the door open behind Auden, and Baonn can see him wince at the movement.

“It wasn’t his fault.”

Everyone at the end of the hall looks back at him, stunned.

“Law, c’mon, you need to lie down.” Auden starts down the hallway toward him.

“He was just trying to help me learn something new.” He says, “I asked him to.“

“What happened?” Aldora asks.

“It was like what happened the night we left Almedra, like something… happened. Like something was fighting.”

“Fighting?” Baonn asks.

“It felt like my magic was boiling inside me... like when water boils?”

“Like it should have hurt, but it didn’t?”

“Yeah! How did you know?”

“Uh…” He clears his throat nervously, “just a guess.”

Nobody challenges it, but he can tell that Auden was filing it away for later.

#heroes of velabri #actually the story

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