The problem with magic is... (Solo)

[Nyahna Sasin]

46th of Winter, 511 AV

This was… well, this was the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen. He flinched as the smallest quiver, expecting gravity and logic to catch up, and make the water gush out sensibly. It didn't happen, of course. The water stayed confined within the door, just sitting still like there was a pane of glass between him and the water. Poking his finger in, he confirmed there wasn't.

Still, in all honesty, it wasn't that much weirder than the rest of Alvadas. Pulling the last strands of thread out of his hair and shaking the last few feathers loose, he took a deep breath, and stepped into the water. Inside, he frowned, feeling the gills bloom across his chest. Interesting. Breathing water. Well, he certainly wasn't going to question it.

Awkwardly swimming around, he offered an apologetic grin to the librarian, who simply gave him a look and returned to her book. Staring around, he wondered how he was ever going to be able to find anything. He had never seen a library this large before, underwater or otherwise. Then again, he hadn't seen many libraries.

Well, since he didn't have any particular books in mind, he swam in the direction of the nearest bookshelf. Looking up, Sasin grinned, and pushed himself up off the floor, launching himself towards the ceiling. Grabbing on to the shelves, he treaded water to keep himself at that approximate level, and started browsing.

Grabbing a few books, he drifted down to one of the tables, doing a midwater backflip for fun. He could get used to being in water. Settling down, he picked up the first book on his pile, "Magic and I". What he read fascinated him.

[Nyahna Sasin]

It turned out that her Familiar had outgrown her, constantly bullying her and turning her into its personal slave, until she could take it no more."

The more he read, the more he realized that magic was aided by so very many skills. Some magics were only possible if you could write or draw, hypnotism required one to understand how a person worked, and a silver tongue worked, well, magic on a stubborn familiar.

In this book, at least, it seemed that those who used magic, wizards, used it as their main weapon, defense, and tool. Other skills were just used like sides on a meal; they made the meal that much better, but without the main dish, they were nothing.

In fact, that seemed to be the main cause of over giving, as far as he could tell. Wizards were forced to use magic in desperate situations because they couldn't use other skills as well, and so compensated by using a lot of magic, which, while effective, had the side effect of driving the wizard insane. And that was never good.


If you just take a look at the biographies of all these great wizard, you will find that hardly anyone ever died of ripe old age.

Earlier in the book, Shaik had said that if a wizard didn't have what it took to be great, chances were they would die a horrible death.

Apparently, the horrible death still applied to great wizards. It was like awesome power was a consolation prize or something.

Magic was dangerous. That he had sort of figured out after The Game. But exactly what kind of dangerous, that he hadn't realized. Magic was powerful, but exacted a price on the wizard's body and mind. Or both. Probably both. Sagallius went mad, stole the heart of a god, and, it seemed to Sasin, shattered his soul beyond repair. Kamalia lost control, nearly killing her Kelvic.

It sounded like some sort of divine balance: harness the power of the universe at your own peril. But this one seemed terribly skewed to him. He had no desire for a part of him to just throw another part of him away to ascend to godhood. If he ever ascend to godhood, he wanted his wits so he could enjoy it.

[Nyahna Sasin]

I still remember him as my hero... the way he saved us all, sending that immense pack of hungry dire wolves away in terror with the sheer power of his hypnotic gaze.

But magic was power, one that was hard to counter, and was infinitely useful. There were so very many things one could do with magic, so many doors open, so many opportunities. Hrinn had become a god, and magic had saved his skin before. He could rattle off a dozen situations where magic would have been so very useful.

If you were careful, cautious, and didn't mind a little madness, you could come out ahead, perhaps with your head still attached. If you had the gift for magic, it might be worth the price.


I consider myself lucky. I only lost the use of my left arm and my best friend. If you lack the talent this is near the milder end of the spectrum. Problem is, you don't know if you have the talent until you try.

For a wizard, it was all or nothing. You became great, or you became a raving lunatic. There was no middle ground.


Happy reading, wannabe wizard!

No, that wasn't true, was it? This book was written in a time when a wizard was a rank, and being able to use magic meant you were a wizard. That wasn't how it was anymore. Overgiving was a risk for a full time wizard, but if he was careful…

Sasin had no intention of being a master wizard or any such nonsense. What he wanted was to be able to survive. What he needed was power to get him from one day to the next.

He would never dare to use magic alone to survive, but as a last resort, or a… what was the word? A supplement. He could use magic as a supplement to his normal skills, rather than the other way around.

Sasin would never trust magic fully, but he, well, he needed it now. Magic was power, and when used sparingly, could save his life. And staying alive was something he was very interested in.