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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 12, 2019 12:21:21 GMT -5
One of the many jobs performed by the Colormen was the study and research of magic, and its history.
An open-minded faction, they were curious if the public perception against Dark Magic was justified- so they began reading into its history to see why the public hated/feared this particular branch so much.
they started their research into Ordos specifically; what they found was shocking, but surprisingly reasonable. From there, they found all sorts of bits and pieces, all to answer one question- If Dark Magic is not inherently evil, why is it perceived so?
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 12, 2019 12:42:09 GMT -5
Case one: the great fire of 827
Context: prior to the rise of the Colorfolk and “intermingled” factions, there were only eight Magic factions on Ordos- one for each element.
The exact cause is not known; most speculate it was the lightning storm the night before. But what is known is that during a three week period of Summer 827, a forest fire ravaged a little more than half of the Island of Ordos. The eight factions came together to do what they could to fight the fire.
The fire mages scattered and all over Ordos, started a series of small, controlled burns to clear undergrowth and dead plant matter, to slow the fire’s spread before it reached villages and towns
The water mages fought the fire directly, the only mages capable of doing so
The air mages observed the winds, and when they got too strong, cast wind magic in the opposite direction to prevent rampant spreading
The earth mages formed ditches and trenches in the ground, in an attempt to slow the spread
The light mages tended to the injured; many believe their work is why the island’s death count was so low post-fire
The ice mages erected “giant walls of ice” to contain and entrap the fire where they could- a method that proved rather effective in areas with more rocky ground
With the fire and light mages occupied, the lightning mages did something considers brilliant for the time- conjuring “floating balls of lightning” (I.e. stationary ball lightning)- to aid those who were lost within the forest, or to help those fighting the fire get their bearings- the sky was lit up with patterns of these floating balls of lightning; depending on the pattern, they indicated cardinal direction, towns and landmarks, etc
But the dark mages... could do little. Their dark energy blasts couldn’t put out the fire, nor could they form effective trenches to slow the fire (blasts too unpredictable).
The leader of the dark mages eventually had an idea- they would “blast a line through the forest,” believing that if they created a barren stretch of land, the fire wouldn’t be able to spread. Although they did succeed in creating that barren stretch of land, they hadn’t realized where they were, and their blast of dark magic ended up destroying a good chunk of one of the elf clans villages and sacred spots.
Adding insult to injured- a change in the winds caused the fire to start moving away from this “barrier,” effectively rendering the destruction pointless.
When the Blaze was extinguished, the King Of Ordos honored the magic factions for their work in extinguishing the fire. Well, all the factions except the Dark faction anyway.
Their act of recklessness is believed to be the primary catalyst for the distaste in the discipline on Ordos.
That said- most accounts of the fire come from the other seven factions, who portrayed the dark faction as such. Recently, a breakthrough has been achieved in that the diaries of the Head of the dark faction, and his right hand man, were found. They are now being translated in the hope that their side of the story can be more accurately understood
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 18, 2020 16:42:30 GMT -5
Case two: the very nature of Dark magic itself
Dark magic has a tendency to come across as evil, but why? It is understood that Dark Magic involves manipulation of the force known as "the darkness" so it is important to start there. It seems that the Darkness eminates a sort of aura that is interpreted as "malicious evil" to some. And superficially this is rather understandable: the darkness in its purest form has been described as a "living, pulsing cloud of black energy," with many saying that prolonged exposure to said energy left them with "unshakable feelings of dread, agony and despair." Others though, don't report such feelings when exposed to the darkness, so this effect is probably psychological more than anything else.
So if the Darkness isn't straight up "agony and despair," then what is it? No one knows for certain, hence its name The Darkness, for "the light of knowledge cannot seem to penetrate and find the answers it seeks to this unusual force."
Therefore, the reputation must come from how the force is utilized. Indeed, Of the eight magic elements, Dark has been noted for being the only one of the elements for not having a non-combat usage; even lightning magic has some, but limited, non-magic uses. Dark magic is predominantly dark energy blasts of varying strength and intensity, and while effective in combat, explosions seem to have found little use off the battlefield.
That being said, in more recent centuries developments have given hope to practitioners of the discipline. The explosive spells may prove useful in mining and building demolition, and the rise in the development of dark magic blades may show potential usage off the battlefield. Time will only tell
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 18, 2020 16:50:43 GMT -5
Case Three: The Darkness and The Four Taboos
It cannot be stated enough: Dark Magic itself is not inherently evil. However, it is completely possible to utilize the Darkness for things that one would consider evil. In fact, two of the four Taboos are directly tied to dark magic. Mind control is straight up dark magic; the manipulation of an individual to force him to do something against their will is seen as a direct violation of The Founder's Law. Necromancy as well- the darkness is what makes the reanimation of corpses possible.
Given cultural complex views surrounding death, and how sacred the Founder's Law is to almost all mages, it is understandable why there are those who hate dark magic almost exclusively because of Necromancy and Mind Control.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 4, 2021 21:11:55 GMT -5
Case Four: The Popularity of Dark Magic among Evil Mages
It is wrong to say "all dark mages are evil" as this is totally inaccurate. It is, however, accurate to say that "Many dark mages tend to be evil" when it comes to the prevalence of the element among evil mages. The destructive capacity of Dark Magic is much higher compared to other elements, as such evil mages tend to embrace dark magic because it helps them fulfill their end goals and desires. Not to mention, evil mages are the ones most likely to use Mind Control magic, while historically, it was extremely rare for there to be a "good" necromancer, since traditional necromancy is rooted in very evil rituals and practices.
Ordos, in particular, was invaded many times by evil factions that consisted almost entirely of Dark mages. Good dark mages did exist and prove themselves on the side of the Ordosians, but the reputation of the element as a whole was mired by the constant invasions of the Evil Dark Factions. The only saving grace was that the usage of Dark magic was very predictable; so much so that the Colorfolk eventually fought one faction where the enemy faction completely failed to score any victories against the Colorfolk since they had literally "seen everything the element was capable of; and by extension had developed many defenses against it"
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