text; un: beatrix [1]

[fiendennor]

Do you believe in magic?
If so, what do you know about it?

Comments

voice

[bentbloodline]

Manipulating an element. For example, I am a waterbender, and I can make the water around me move wherever I want it to go.

voice

[fiendennor]

I see. That's fascinating. Is it only water, then? Could you learn how to manipulate other things, too?

voice

[bentbloodline]

I can manipulate ice, steam, and other liquids with a water base, but not other elements. With the exception of one person in the entire world, the Avatar, people either bend one element or none at all.

voice

[fiendennor]

Is it hereditary? What determines your affinity?

voice

[bentbloodline]

It's largely heriditary, but it's also a spiritual connection to the element. A person can have two non-bender parents and still wind up as a bender themselves. Or you can have two bender parents and a child who is a non-bender. In families of mixed heritage, you can have siblings who bend different elements.

voice

[fiendennor]

I see... so there's a genetic aspect to it, I'd imagine. Not guaranteed, but more likely, depending on parental predisposition. That's actually very interesting, thank you. I've never heard of anything like that.

voice

[bentbloodline]

Does magic exist in your world?

voice

[fiendennor]

It does, yes.

I am a practicing witch.

voice

[bentbloodline]

Is it something one is born with in your world, or could anyone willing to put in the time and effort learn it?

[fiendennor]

The latter. Obviously, a child from a magical family has certain structural advances in that they've been around magic for a long time and can learn the basics at a very young age.

But I knew a very fine witch who came from a commoner family.

[bentbloodline]

Commoner? Does that mean that your world's social hierarchy revolves at least partially around who can use magic and who cannot?

[fiendennor]

No, not really. It's simply a term used by those in the magical community to refer to those who cannot, or do not, use magic. [A pause.] Though, now that you do bring it up, I suppose that the term is somewhat... elitist.

[bentbloodline]

It does come across a bit like that, even if that was not the intention. I'm accustomed to the term being used by royalty and nobility to refer to ordinary citizens of more modest means.

[fiendennor]

Yes, that is another use it has where I'm from. [And she's both.]

I won't deny that there are some who look down on those who can't use magic. It can be something of an insular community.

[bentbloodline]

Are there magical families where one of the children opts not to learn it? Or is it generally expected that any child born into a magical family will take it up?

[fiendennor]

It's not unheard of, but it's rather rare, particularly when it comes to older, more established magical households. The older the family, the more likely it is that they have a library of generations of research into whatever facet of magic caught their interest. Some of this research-- and the spells that come from it-- are quite jealously guarded.

Such a family would, understandably, want to ensure that at least one of their children is able to carry on the household legacy.

[bentbloodline]

Ah, I see. Bender children with bender parents are often pushed more.

[Something he's experienced to a rather extreme degree.]

Although I can think of two old bending masters who had non-bender parents. One of them even founded an entirely new bending style, previously thought impossible.

[fiendennor]

Oh? Is that a common thing?

How many styles of bending are there?

[bentbloodline]

Founding a new bending style? It's extremely rare. They're technically just advanced subsets of the original four. In her case, it was metalbending, when bending metal was previously considered impossible for earthbenders.

[fiendennor]

I see. So she didn't so much as invent something from scratch as find a new application of an existing skillset.

Once invented, could all earth benders [she pronounces it as two distinct words] learn this new skill?

[bentbloodline]

They all have the potential, but as far as I understand, it takes far more skill and some simply don't have the aptitude for it.

[fiendennor]

[There's a pause, and then a murmur of understanding.] That's fair, I suppose. Not everyone can be good at everything, after all.