First, black magic IS illegal. This is the first thing that you learn during the 50-60 part of it when confronted by a conjurer and Hearer from Gridania (Zaia'a Nalhah), sent specifically to investigate a new cult of black magic wielders and bring them to justice. He washes everyone under the same blanket and is at first rather hostile to the WoL and the black mage NPC trainers (Lalai, etc).
I'm too lazy to look for all the specific references in that quest, they are legion.
If you need further proof, look no further than in the lorebook:Â
I'm also not sure what makes you say that Black Magic is taught at the Ossuary as "an option"? The very beginning of the BLM quests at lvl30 start with Ququruka, the only black magic practitioner that imprisoned himself in shame for what he did to his friends. He's certainly not welcome here. His disciple Lalai, who is a priestess for the order of Nald'Thal, always stays outside of the Ossuary as well.
The only "hope" we see for black magic starting to develop could be at best other people looking for clues, painstakingly slow as it was the case for Ququruka and his beastmen friends (who didn't even have a gem of Shattoto, like all those poor wanabe black mages of the 50-60 quests that burn themselves from the inside). Or maybe the art just starting to spread from Lalai who's just an apprentice... Anyway, the only true, full fledged current black mage is the WoL, and Shattoto, except she... is no more again after her brief appearance for the lvl60-70 quests.
This is not to say that black magic can't be a thing with other people. But you'll have to dabble with a character that only knows bits and sparse clues about the art itself, and is lucky enough to carry a gem of Shattoto not to kill oneself in the process.
As for how hard it is to cast a spell... How hard is it to be a monk and open a chakra? How hard is to be a bard and sing a powerful and moving battle song? I'm afraid we don't have much clues about that except that well... it's a job, it has specific skills that have to be learned and mastered.
Also, keep in mind that black magic seems to have always been centered on the elemental wheel and threatened the elemental balance so much that it caused the 6th Calamity. So in essence it's close to the thaumaturgy of the Coco brothers except in the source of aether used, at least more than the previous art taught by their crooked predecessor that focused on other things (cf 1.0 THM).
I'm too lazy to look for all the specific references in that quest, they are legion.
If you need further proof, look no further than in the lorebook:Â
Page 232 - Black Mage Wrote:It is of small wonder, then, that practitioners of the arcane were mistrusted and reviled in the years following this realm-spanning catastrophe [6th Calamity]. Black Magic itself was branded a forbidden art, its secrets consigned to the darkest depths of history. In any age, however, there always exist those whose hunger for knowledge and power drive them to explore the most lightless abyss. Thus it was that scarcely a century ago, a thaumaturge by the name of Ququruka broke the seals of an ancient tome, and secretly donned the black robes of along-forgotten cabal...
I'm also not sure what makes you say that Black Magic is taught at the Ossuary as "an option"? The very beginning of the BLM quests at lvl30 start with Ququruka, the only black magic practitioner that imprisoned himself in shame for what he did to his friends. He's certainly not welcome here. His disciple Lalai, who is a priestess for the order of Nald'Thal, always stays outside of the Ossuary as well.
The only "hope" we see for black magic starting to develop could be at best other people looking for clues, painstakingly slow as it was the case for Ququruka and his beastmen friends (who didn't even have a gem of Shattoto, like all those poor wanabe black mages of the 50-60 quests that burn themselves from the inside). Or maybe the art just starting to spread from Lalai who's just an apprentice... Anyway, the only true, full fledged current black mage is the WoL, and Shattoto, except she... is no more again after her brief appearance for the lvl60-70 quests.
This is not to say that black magic can't be a thing with other people. But you'll have to dabble with a character that only knows bits and sparse clues about the art itself, and is lucky enough to carry a gem of Shattoto not to kill oneself in the process.
As for how hard it is to cast a spell... How hard is it to be a monk and open a chakra? How hard is to be a bard and sing a powerful and moving battle song? I'm afraid we don't have much clues about that except that well... it's a job, it has specific skills that have to be learned and mastered.
Also, keep in mind that black magic seems to have always been centered on the elemental wheel and threatened the elemental balance so much that it caused the 6th Calamity. So in essence it's close to the thaumaturgy of the Coco brothers except in the source of aether used, at least more than the previous art taught by their crooked predecessor that focused on other things (cf 1.0 THM).
Balmung:Â Suen Shyu
