There will be some repeat and overlap of previous answers.
To reaffirm the answer to the first question, its a matter of scale. For countless years, three entire kingdoms of magi plucked aether relentlessly from Hydaelyn to fuel ever more powerful spells to advance their civilizations and ultimately to wage war and decimate others. We are not talking about 100 conjurers casting cure. We are talking hundreds, maybe thousands of White and Black Mages and Scholars performing magicks on the scale of animating entire mountains, opening massive voidgates, or altering a celestial body's course and bringing it down into the planet.
Drawing aether from the land isn't what's taboo. It's true that so much aether was drawn from the world that the elementals had to summon a great flood, but as Mhach was the aggressor-nation, most of the blame was heaped on them for summoning Voidsent towards the end of the War of the Magi. That is what is taboo about Black Magic. On its own, Black Magic has nothing to do with the Void. It is a technique discovered by Shatotto during the 5th Astral Era that allowed the early magi to cast magic using an aether source other than their own anima. This was revolutionary for the time and eventually paved the way for the magicks we know today. It was discovery that marked a zenith in the three magical civilizations of the era. However, the Mhachi desired ever more powerful magicks. Convinced there was no greater power that could be obtained on Hydaelyn, they sought the power of the Void. They made pacts with the Voidsent and pulled them into the physical plane to devour the world's aether.
To the last part of your question, in the new Black Mage quests, there is a Conjurer NPC who sanctions a strict discipline of Black Magic, one that does not attempt to draw power from the Void.
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Thaumaturges and other magical disciplines which use personal anima must be incredibly cautious to not over-exert their energies, just like Sylphie from the Conjurer questline. It can be just as detrimental to a Thaumaturge as it is for a Conjurer. Sylphie was trying to cast advanced healing magic using her small reserves. Similarly, a Thaumaturge must also be wary of casting incredibly powerful magicks that might severely weaken themselves or their own life force. Also, teleporting, which uses personal anima stores, also runs this risk on repeated, successive attempts at teleporting.
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It's not that the aether doesn't replenish with time, but more that Sylphie and her mother travel around the Shroud casting powerful healing magic repeatedly in short spans of time. In the quests, notice how every time Sylphie casts healing, it's AoE. Not only does she cure her intended target, she cures everyone in the area. She's not allowing herself time to replenish her aetherial stores. Hence, why her magic is killing her, and killed her mother.
Hope this helps! ^^
(01-01-2016, 07:59 AM)Valence Wrote: 1) The first one I can find answers at least. Drawing from the environment kills the planet according to the war of magi between White and Black mages. How do conjurers don't kill Hydaelyn? Because they don't do it on the same scale? They do it parsimoniously and respectfully? Or conjury is just not on the same scale of drain as succor and black magic are? Both?
Another thing, I have not played the Black Mage storyline, but I read that they draw their energy from the land, which is totally taboo or something? If I understand correctly then, it again stems from the war that drained the planet to the Umbral Flood? People aware of it don't want the same mistake to happen I suppose, thus the taboo... But! If Padjals are ready to get past that taboo with a respectful and moderate use of succor, then could that mean that a black mage can theoretically do the same as well without killing the planet? Or do they just have to be a whole legion of them for it to start being noticeable?
To reaffirm the answer to the first question, its a matter of scale. For countless years, three entire kingdoms of magi plucked aether relentlessly from Hydaelyn to fuel ever more powerful spells to advance their civilizations and ultimately to wage war and decimate others. We are not talking about 100 conjurers casting cure. We are talking hundreds, maybe thousands of White and Black Mages and Scholars performing magicks on the scale of animating entire mountains, opening massive voidgates, or altering a celestial body's course and bringing it down into the planet.
Drawing aether from the land isn't what's taboo. It's true that so much aether was drawn from the world that the elementals had to summon a great flood, but as Mhach was the aggressor-nation, most of the blame was heaped on them for summoning Voidsent towards the end of the War of the Magi. That is what is taboo about Black Magic. On its own, Black Magic has nothing to do with the Void. It is a technique discovered by Shatotto during the 5th Astral Era that allowed the early magi to cast magic using an aether source other than their own anima. This was revolutionary for the time and eventually paved the way for the magicks we know today. It was discovery that marked a zenith in the three magical civilizations of the era. However, the Mhachi desired ever more powerful magicks. Convinced there was no greater power that could be obtained on Hydaelyn, they sought the power of the Void. They made pacts with the Voidsent and pulled them into the physical plane to devour the world's aether.
Lalai Wrote:The origins of black magic can be traced back many, many years - to the beginning of the Fifth Astral Era, to be precise. There lived at that time in Eorzea a powerful sorceress named Shatotto, who strived to push the destructive power of magic to its very limits. The typical practice of magi is to weave magic using their own aether. The ability to do so is the greatest magical gift, yet at the same time that gift's greatest limit.
Shatotto was able to overcome such inherent limitations by developing a new technique which allowed her to draw upon the aether all around her as the fount of her magic. It was this technique that came to be known as black magic. Following the War of the Magi and the Sixth Umbral Calamity, however, black magic was branded far too great a danger to life, and so its use and even its mere mention were made forbidden. Over time, it came to be forgotten entirely. Or so it was thought...
To the last part of your question, in the new Black Mage quests, there is a Conjurer NPC who sanctions a strict discipline of Black Magic, one that does not attempt to draw power from the Void.
Zhai'a Nelhah Wrote:That being said, I am a conjurer. Were I to witness black magic used with ill intent, I would not hesitate to take action. Even if it were you, Lalai, I would hunt you down without mercy. You'd do well to not forget that my order still considers your black magic forbidden.
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(01-01-2016, 07:59 AM)Valence Wrote: The conjurer class quest specifically introduces a gifted hyur girl that refuses to draw from mother nature because she thinks it hurts it, and prefers doing like her mother and draw from her own reserves. It is clearly stated that it is what killed her eventually because her reserves are finite and there is so much as what they can take out of it. The girl is following the same path and faces the same problem when she tries to Raise.
With that in mind, how do other magic users like thaumathurges do not eventually collapse to death when doing the exact same thing?
Thaumaturges and other magical disciplines which use personal anima must be incredibly cautious to not over-exert their energies, just like Sylphie from the Conjurer questline. It can be just as detrimental to a Thaumaturge as it is for a Conjurer. Sylphie was trying to cast advanced healing magic using her small reserves. Similarly, a Thaumaturge must also be wary of casting incredibly powerful magicks that might severely weaken themselves or their own life force. Also, teleporting, which uses personal anima stores, also runs this risk on repeated, successive attempts at teleporting.
Cocobuki Wrote:That was Cocobusi, our youngest brother. He so dearly wishes to become a thaumaturge like the rest of us, but it simply isn't possible. The poor boy's aetheric levels are pitifully low.
E-Sumi-Yan Wrote:For the art of mending, we draw on the boundless life force of nature and bestow it upon the wounded. Sylphie has never sought to borrow from that bounty. Her power to heal stems from her own life force. The vital energies of mortals are, however, finite... Her mother unwittingly took her own life through the continued use of her healing skills. And Sylphie's aptitude for the art is, if anything, even greater. Thus it is not unexpected that she should reach the limits of her strength at a much earlier age.
Nicia Wrote:Teleportation, on the other hand, comes with a greater price. A great deal of spiritual energy known as "anima" is required to fight the natural flow of the Lifestream and guide one's body and soul to a comparatively weak aetherial beacon. If one's body lacks sufficient anima, teleporting to a location may prove impossible. Luckily for most of us, anima is restored quickly and should not prohibit regular travel.
1.0 Teleportation Lore Wrote:However, being broken down to the aetheric level can take its toll on one's body, and rest is often required after several consecutive jumps, especially as the distance becomes greater. As a precaution, most city-states strongly discourage over-teleporting, as it can lead to irreversible damage...
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(01-01-2016, 09:30 AM)Valence Wrote: But, for 2), if aether replenishes itself as it seems to be the case for thaumathurgy and others, the conjurer class quest specifically shows that it doesn't when they draw only from themselves. That's the main gripe that I have and is bothering me... It just can't make sense if it replenishes.
It's not that the aether doesn't replenish with time, but more that Sylphie and her mother travel around the Shroud casting powerful healing magic repeatedly in short spans of time. In the quests, notice how every time Sylphie casts healing, it's AoE. Not only does she cure her intended target, she cures everyone in the area. She's not allowing herself time to replenish her aetherial stores. Hence, why her magic is killing her, and killed her mother.
Hope this helps! ^^
