text; un: beatrix [1]

[fiendennor]

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

Comments

[fiendennor]

Then, would an act of justice leave a mark that helped you, and a great injustice do the opposite?

Does your sense of justice ever conflict with mortal law?

[whatisright]

i like lingering in spaces where justice is performed
but injustice does not necessarily hurt me
it only causes damage if the injustice cannot be righted or avenged
i like following laws but sometimes the law is not just
the law is created and applied by mortals and mortals are flawed
unjust laws must be fought
laws must reflect morality
not the other way around

[fiendennor]

That's somewhat relieving. Law and justice may not always be the same thing, after all. Do you intervene in the human world to help ensure justice comes to pass?

[whatisright]

at times
when in the fade i usually work in dreams memories and with souls of the dead
sometimes mages will summon my power from the mortal realm
or mortals will ask me for guidance in dreams
or look to me to inspire the strength to do what they know they must
at places the veil is occasionally thin enough for me to exert my will through it while in the fade
i only recently gained the ability to directly intervene in the mortal realm
without the damaged veil or using a mortal as a conduit that is

[fiendennor]

I see. I imagine they find that very helpful. Do humans know you exist? As a distinct entity, I mean-- do they pray to a "Spirit of Justice"?

[whatisright]

they know i exist
at least those who choose to learn about spirits
mortals used to pray to us as gods
some still do but others fear us
and they believe us all to be demons
the common non-mage is likely to only know what the chantry or qun preaches
and their understanding of my kind is flawed

[fiendennor]

And "chantry" and "qun" are religious orders? Not magical ones? Are religion and magic heavily entwined in your world, I imagine?

[whatisright]

they are so to speak yes
religion and magic used to be entwined
they still are for many people
but the chantry and qun seem more concerned with suppressing magic than living with it

[fiendennor]

Why?
Why not teach and harness it?

[whatisright]

they fear it
only mages can perform magic
that gives mages a natural advantage
mages are also vulnerable to demonic possession
a possessed untrained or simply malicious mage can do much harm to themselves and others
so instead of teaching mages how to guard themselves from inexperience and possession and leaving them be
they try to control mages
either with chains or templars or tranquility
and then they only allow mages out when they are at war
and require magic for violence
there are places where mages are freer
but they have their own problems with corruption

[fiendennor]

So, if I'm getting this straight: The mages draw their power from the Fade, which is where spirits and demons live. This is a vulnerability, because it gives the demons potential points of access to the physical realm. To prevent this, non-mages try to control magic and the mages themselves, only using them as weapons or tools? That seems like... quite the problem.

[whatisright]

that is the gist yes
it is over now due to the storm
but terrible injustices were committed because of this
luckily it seems neither the chantry nor the qun can recreate their systems here

[fiendennor]

What is the difference between them? Or rather, what *was* the difference, I suppose. Or were they just two factions vying for control?

[whatisright]

i am not certain of the particulars
the chantry believed the world was created by the maker and andraste was his bride
the qun was a tightly controlled way of life that believed it was the only path to morality
they both believed they must rein over all of thedas
therefore there was always tension even in peace