Questions about the world of FW

[Zarkin]

Most of them are concerning the magic of Fey Winds. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Are mages (anyone capable of casting magic) rare? And how are they viewed within society?

2. What was the war with the fey about?

3. What triggers Larina's stone of possession?

4. What is the exact nature of Nigel's curse? I assumed it was some sort of compulsion but it could work in a number of ways.

5. Who are the Kaderrians?

6. Why is the group searching for magics left behind by the Sylphe?

7. If Sid's curse is linked to the medallion around his neck, couldn't he just take it off to end it?

[nicoleC]

I'm going to try and avoid walls of text, but it's not looking good T_T

1. Are mages (anyone capable of casting magic) rare? And how are they viewed within society? Humans who learn magic in the official schools are called Thaumaturges, and they practice a system called the Rule. It's basically the "language" of magic coded into a bunch of symbols and syllables, but it's not perfect. Anyone can technically learn magic, but the schools are remote and expensive, the study is incredibly long and dangerous, and the popular consensus is that you have to be at least a little bit stark raving mad to even want to try. They're regarded with curiosity most of the time and generally accepted in society if they're not too eccentric.

The other kind of magic user is the real rarity. They're the ones (like Kit) who can instinctively use magic without study, formula or even understanding how they do it. It's mostly known as "The Song", and usually the only ones who can use it are the Fey, spirits, elementals, magical beasts... They don't use spells but interact directly with the currents of magic, but no one knows exactly what are the extents of what they can and can't do, or if their gifts are stable or ticking time bombs. If folks know they exist, they're usually regarded with suspicion.

2. What was the war with the fey about? There were a couple of wars actually. The first is mostly forgotten, but involved human settlers and the native fey races who were there first. That one ended well, with humans and fey sharing the land. The latest war was the most devastating. What happened was a group of powerful sorcerers turned the Nation of Kaderria against the other kingdoms and started a big bloody fight that lasted a long time. Eventually the sorcerers turned on each other, and after a big chunk of Greymoors was totally devasted, the other kingdoms came together and put the whole thing to rest.

3. What triggers Larina's stone of possession? It doesn't appear to be one thing in particular. Larina suspects it happens at random if there's a wandering spirit in the vicinity, especially if she's distressed, distracted or hurt. But she doesn't know for certain.

[nicoleC]

4. What is the exact nature of Nigel's curse? It isn't known, and so far, if he knows what it is, he hasn't said so, beyond the fact that he feels he must follow Kit around.

5. Who are the Kaderrians? Kaderria is one of the Seven Kingdoms. Before the last war, there was a huge thaumaturgical academy there, and the country had some of the most powerful magic users, not to mention the most formidable army of the continent. The academy was destroyed after Kaderria's defeat and it's said that the Fey themselves stripped the magic from the very earth of the country. Nowadays everybody gets along, but Kaderrians remain the least popular of the citizens of the Kingdoms, especially in Greymoors.

6. Why is the group searching for magics left behind by the Sylphe? Because of the rumors and legends that sprung up after her disappearance. Supposedly one of her relics can break even the most binding curses... Not to mention that any Sylphe-swag is going to be either nicely useful or worth a pretty penny.

7. If Sid's curse is linked to the medallion around his neck, couldn't he just take it off to end it? He just can't take it off. Or rather, he can take it off, lock in a box and throw the box into the sea, and the instant he turns around, the medallion will be right back where it usually is, much to his chagrin!

And that.....was a giant block of text! Apologies for the TL;DR! I might still change "Thaumaturge" for "Mage"...I haven't decided yet XD
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[kittyjimjams]

"The Rule" and "The Song" - that is a lovely bit of mythologising. VERY COOL.

[Shrike]

Thaumaturge is way cooler than plain old Mage. If you're concerned about the length, you could slang-ify it for everyday use, like call them 'Turges or something. The upper-class well brought up characters would probably call them by their full name, but the linguistically lazy common folk would probably shorten it on their own.

[Doom]

I agree. I also like the sound of 'Thaumies', and, of course, 'Them magic buggers'

[Zarkin]

Thanks for the answers. "Them magic buggers" is an excellent term. By the way, exactly what do the fey races consist of?

[sharontherose]

Thaums up for those answers! hehehehe

[nicoleC]

Kitty: Thanks!

Shrike and Doom: Those are excellent ideas! I really like 'Turges and "them magic buggers"! XD

Sharon: Thanks for the thaums up... and the pun idea!

Zarkin: There isn't really a catalogue of them or anything, so almost any mythological creature goes! The most well known are the elves, dwarves, gnomes etc, since they've moved towards coexisting with humans rather than living completely separate from them. (That said, those races still live in near-total isolation, but their paths still cross now and then.) Dragons (sentient or no) count, as do fairies, hobgoblins, selkie, redcaps, trolls.... you get the idea XD

[Zarkin]

I just wasn't sure what you meant by fey, as it isn't always used as a category under which common fantasy mortal races fall under. I'm a D&D nerd, so correct me if my understanding of casters like Kit and thaumaturges is wrong. Thaumaturge is the D&D wizard, whose magic is the result of careful study. Kit is more like the D&D warlock, who doesn't actually cast magic spells per say, but is innately able to manifest magical powers because of some unique inherent connection to magic. I also had a WoW warlock, which is quite different from both thaumaturges and spontaneous casters in a thematic sense.
On an unrelated note, good luck with getting to 70. I didn't really enjoy lvl 70 nearly as much as lower levels. 70 raids take way too much time and farming is boring. I sucked at pvp as well. If you're not fond of those you might not enjoy 70.
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In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. - (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)

You live and learn. At any rate, you live. You also panic.

I've got Occam's Razor and I know how to use it.

[nicoleC]

Yeah, Thaumaturge is pretty much the equivalent of a wizard. There's one small difference, and that's the fact that in D&D three different wizards can cast the same spell, and it will have pretty much the same effect whereas three thaumaturges will cast the same spell and the effect will be a bit different from person to person since the Rule is like a language, and no 2 people speak in exactly the same way. As for warlocks...I can't remember them well enough to say, but your description sounds about right. Is it possible that there are also "sorcerers" in D&D that work pretty much the same way? A caster like Kit can learn more, but she'll learn by experimenting and randomly discovering rather than studying and understanding a bunch of symbols. (incidentally, someone like Kit is incapable of learning the "traditional" way)

As for WoW, I'm not too worried, since I always play with my boyfriend and two of my good pals. We've been levelling together since lvl 1 (and hitting all the instances with only the 4 of us). I don't know if we're going to go raiding or anything, and I haven't done much pvp yet, but what I've seen looked like fun! (I might suck at it, and since I don't have any raid gear I'll get my aardvark handed back to me either way!) The 4 of us will probably have our hands full trying to do the heroics once we hit 70 anyway! XD
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[Nauris]

A pun idea: Traumaturges...

What is Kit? Fey? Or something else?

[Nauris]

LOL! She's a cursed fox! %)
But still, what is she?

[nicoleC]

She is a cursed fox for starters, that's true. But she's neither a human nor technically a fey (unless she was a magical fox to begin with, and she doesn't know).... so basically she can't be classified! Alchemists in FW have a bunch of corny sayings about things being more than the sum of their parts, and that certainly applies to Kit! Most of the time, if you combine a fox and a failed spell, you won't get something that can think and talk.

(Nigel would have something to say about the "thinking" part, but there's no arguing that Kit can talk )
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[Nauris]

Kit is more than the sum of her parts. Probably the most satisfying answer I could think of.
Questions, questions...
What is Kit's motivation for seeking Sylphe's "artifacts"? Breaking her curse? Thought of her turning in to a fox makes me sad . Helping Larina get rid of Possession gem (is it worth something in gold )? Getting Nigel off her tail/out of her "thoughts"? Or "those shiny thingies" that can be spent on "those tasty/pretty thingies"?
Wat is Zeph's curse and story?

I'll take "You'll see in the comic" as an answer.