(05-10-2015, 08:01 PM)SayonaraRevival Wrote: how are they related to the void, if it is at all, or is that just a comparison? is one relevant, while the other's not?
(05-10-2015, 08:09 PM)Chris Ganale Wrote: Void comes up in the BLM quests. BLM, unlike THM, is intrinsically tied to the void.
This is actually a common misconception. Black Magic, in and of itself, has absolutely nothing to do with the Void. Shatotto, the original inventor of the technique, never had any connection with the Void. Black Magic is very simply a technique which alters the aether source of Thaumaturgy from the caster's aether to the Lifestream's aether. That is all Black Magic is, a technique.
Shatotto wished to perform the greatest feats of magic the world had ever seen, however, she - like the Alchemist Coco brother from the THM quests - was severely limited by her own personal aether reserves, stunting her Thaumaturgy abilities. So after many years of study she discovered a method for using the planet as a fuel source for her magic instead of her own reserves, thereby giving her a seemingly unlimited fuel source for her spells. Using this technique, Shatotto was able to bring down a star.
As Shatotto's Black Magic technique gained popularity across Eorzea, the Magi of the 5th Astral Era began competing against one another for the more impressive magics, the more destructive displays, the most powerful conjurations. The Magi were no longer limited by their own aether reserves, they were only limited by their own imagination. Magi near the end of the Era were able to animate entire mountains, revive men from death, bring down stars, move or level entire cities. So after gaining all of this power, what greater feat could be accomplished? What was more powerful than the world? The answer: the world beyond ours.
This is the time period when Black Mages began experimenting with the Void. The damage to Hydaelyn caused by their spells tore holes in our physical plane of existence, allowing aether-starved beings from the Beyond to stumble into our world. With practice, Black Mages were soon able to open portals on purpose and pull beings from the World Between Worlds into our own. In exchange for aether, these beings promised the Black Mages their powers, their magic, their servitude. And so the Magi of Qarn used these Voidsent in their great War of the Magi against the nations of Amdapor and Nym. With the power of the Voidsent, these two nations suffered grievous loss to the Black Mages. Until eventually the Magi of Eorzea, along with the Voidsent, had drained Hydaelyn completely of Her aether and the Elementals summoned a flood which wiped the taint of the Magi from the world. Those who survived the 6th Umbral calamity forbade further practice of any magic, particularly Black Magic, which was blamed for the War and the devastating toll it took on the world.
This is why, today, many (who are even aware of the existence of Black Magic) relate it to the horrors it drew forth from the Void 1,600 years ago. But, Black Magic is in no way intrinsically tied to the Void as a part of the magic. It was simply a byproduct of the magic that was eventually exploited during a time of war. The magic used by a Black Mage in no way differs from that of a Thaumaturge. Just the mechanics of what fuels the spell is different.
