Thoughts on the nature of Magic and the Ascended Immortals [SPOILERS]

Dark Mage Ascended

New Member
Joined
12/09/2018
Messages
57
Magic is my main weapon in EK. I'm a max level Arcanist and Master of Earth Elementals. So needless is to say, it's only to my benefit to understand how magic works.
The main issue on my mind regarding magic is the Ark of Lothasan and its technological marvels. The conversation with the Oracle makes it clear the Muud'Ari are a purely technological civilization, and an interstellar empire, with no knowledge of magic. In fact, it was magic and its influence that caused the Ark to crash during the colonization attempt. Magic is a force that is unique to the planet EK takes place in, an anomaly, so to say. The Oracle was right to claim Magic contradicts several scientific theorems and laws of nature, the ones the Muud used to build their high tech equipment.
But that leaves us with one problem: the Muud'Ari equipment is magically enchanted. I use a Plexifiber Robe I found on the Ark, which gives a great amount of mana. If the Muud don't know anything about magic, how could these clothes be magical?

As for the second topic, I'd like to share my thoughts on Tol and the Three. By this point, having completed the Dead God quest and The Abyss Gazed Back, I believe beyond a reasonable doubt Tol, Nivaria, Thelume and Arbenos are the people who inspired the Oppalan Frontier. The names don't match, so I assume the characters are inspired by them, and so the book may not be an exact report of their adventures, or perhaps they all changed their names upon ascending. The story Tol gave us, and what we find in the ruins of Inori also support this. The Three betrayed Tol, because they refused to share his dream of a timeless civilization, where both living and dead had their place. The Three give power to Clerics to fight the undead, because the undead are the remnants of their former companion's lifetime work, which they see as abominations that must be destroyed.
And what Tol said makes perfect sense if you leave your Humanity aside and think like a God for a second. He says 2 of his companions "went insane and tried to destroy themselves". Which is...sort of true: Nivaria and Arbenos.
Nivaria fell in love with Xoladan the Just, a mortal, and when he inevitably died, she was so heartbroken she took refuge in the Nivar Lake. What even is love to an immortal being?!
Arbenos willingly put himself in harm's way to save mortals from destruction at the hand of the Witches. What God would sacrifice his own well being for petty mortals?
In the eyes of a God like Tol, who's lived for millenia, these actions are completely irrational. Compassion, Honor, those are entirely human in nature. It is only natural for a God to look at them and think they've lost their mind.
One thing I've learned from this, though: the Three cannot be trusted. They are but humans with godly powers. It is only a matter of time before their human nature burns Ilmara to ash...
 

p4ran0id

Staff member
Moderator
Joined
27/01/2017
Messages
2,063
Dark Mage Ascended":31brrhiz said:
Magic is my main weapon in EK. I'm a max level Arcanist and Master of Earth Elementals. So needless is to say, it's only to my benefit to understand how magic works.
The main issue on my mind regarding magic is the Ark of Lothasan and its technological marvels. The conversation with the Oracle makes it clear the Muud'Ari are a purely technological civilization, and an interstellar empire, with no knowledge of magic. In fact, it was magic and its influence that caused the Ark to crash during the colonization attempt. Magic is a force that is unique to the planet EK takes place in, an anomaly, so to say. The Oracle was right to claim Magic contradicts several scientific theorems and laws of nature, the ones the Muud used to build their high tech equipment.
But that leaves us with one problem: the Muud'Ari equipment is magically enchanted. I use a Plexifiber Robe I found on the Ark, which gives a great amount of mana. If the Muud don't know anything about magic, how could these clothes be magical?

What if it's the same? Let's say, Mana is a kind of a power or energy.
The Muud'Ari used it with their technical devices, but the humans developed a natural way to use it. The weapons for example uses an energy cell to give additional magic damage. So maybe it's the same thing, the one use tech to control that energy the other can use it with their body ;)

Maybe the robe is made of mediclorian and Muud'Ari could only use them by tech, but humanity became Jedi :lol: (just a theory)

Edit:
Arthur C. Clarke:
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic
 

Dark Mage Ascended

New Member
Joined
12/09/2018
Messages
57
Well, that would sort of make sense. Hmmm...
The Oracle says humans were genetically designed not to be telepathic, so telepathy is a thing among the Muud'Ari. I'm thinking maybe magic could work a force for genetic mutation, allowing humans to wield it and use it.
But that still doesn't explain why or how the Muud equipment is magically enchanted.
 

p4ran0id

Staff member
Moderator
Joined
27/01/2017
Messages
2,063
Because they use the same force, but they only can control it with tech
 

Dark Mage Ascended

New Member
Joined
12/09/2018
Messages
57
I see what you mean. Even my Intellect 6 + 2 mage doesn't understand the Ark is not magical in nature until the Oracle comes along.
Still, according to what the Oracle says, magic does not exist outside of the EK planet. Which explains why the Muud didn't understand it. So I can't really believe it's the same thing used differently by the different races.
 

Argarath

New Member
Joined
21/06/2018
Messages
87
What if items like the robe, the ring of star Traveller etc are made of certain alloy that can absorb magic. Anywhere else the alloy would just be Normal but upon entering EK, absorb and hold the mana, allowing a Magic User to draw from it.
This could also explain the crash. The spaceship would also use this alloy for many different components and upon arriving, absorb so much magic in the air, affecting the system somehow causing the crash
 

DavidBVal

Developer
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
28/02/2015
Messages
7,427
The reason why Muud gear counts as "magic" and adds mana is because it contains a power source, likely for technological purposes, but a mage can tap on that energy for powering spells. Very much like Thuramiam mages use those batteries you can find on golems; they are not magic items in themselves, but magic can feed from it and be enhanced from it.
 

Lolerescut

New Member
Joined
24/04/2018
Messages
149
For the mudaari the answer is simple they made armor for magical powers since they have learned magic from the people of the exiled the "impiri" or humans which have learned it from varannari when we first arrived to the exiled so since they adapted to our magic its only normal to nake items to increase their capability take a note that our characters are also mudarii so is tremedan which was an archmage according to story line

so my theory about it that mudaari are the humans who first lived in the "pre horrors invasion earth" and tried to escape but one of them went nuts and betrayed them messing with the oracle and destroying the ship forbthe sake of the people or so he thought since when you look through the scope during adeons side quest you see a now day modern building" as the character describes it at least" and the forsakeb were confused about it since horrors leak out when opening the portal could be because the other side of the portal is on the main land


As for the three
Tol was betrayed by his servents as far as i remember reading scriptures and stuff
you also notice that they all sound like humans it is because they are humans after all thats what demi god means
In new anthur the quest is about the betreyal of the three cult by one of the clerics after reading a certain book i thibk it was the oplan frontier when you hand it to the guy who gave you the quest and went to nivoria and talked to the npc near the vision donation thing for xp if you chose your answers carefully you will learn about the book and that they have burnt it fearing of the truth that comes from it to be leaked to the others who follow the three and have doubts like the "crazy betrayor"
Now my other theory involving the three would be according to info you get on the ark once you pass the portal to the other side you gain immortality and increase in strength and it comes with insanity as a side effect now this could mean that tol and the others i dont remember their names might have been the first who passed the portal and gained power and became "mad with power" and tremedan the archmage found out about it a way or another and made the ship to crash land where the portal sent the three the exiled kingdoms and manipulated the oracle so that when others investigate about the crash land they would reach to a dead end since they lack the knowledge about magic after all tremedan was a well known archmage after crash landing
 

Lolerescut

New Member
Joined
24/04/2018
Messages
149
DavidBVal":35oewz2u said:
The reason why Muud gear counts as "magic" and adds mana is because it contains a power source, likely for technological purposes, but a mage can tap on that energy for powering spells. Very much like Thuramiam mages use those batteries you can find on golems; they are not magic items in themselves, but magic can feed from it and be enhanced from it.
I swear i started writing before your comment but got busy thanks for ruining my theories tho :lol: :cry:
 

BattleLord

Staff member
Loreseeker
Joined
02/12/2017
Messages
640
Lolerescut":n5lp40h9 said:
Tol was betrayed by his servents as far as i remember reading scriptures and stuff

Not exactly true. Tol was indeed betrayed by his servants, but that was after the whole thing with the Three. His servants betrayed him by not waking him up because they were scared he wouldn't be happy by seeing how they had acted while he was gone.
 

Top