Bloodline 206
on December 1, 2017
at 5:21 am
A little late, but worth it! That last panel was tricky to pull off, but I needed something nice to go with all this elaborate text.
And now, I get to dive into some fancy magic backstory…
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A background flashback! Oh how exciting! 😀
Really nice work on the last panel.
Thanks!
That symbol on the sword’s hilt… I just recognized it as the website symbol… I take it that this is a really important detail that we should keep in mind? Possibly a sign of an awakened bloodline?
Huh… I didn’t think readers were considered rare, I assumed they were something on the lines of a sanction spellcasters with training or they were generally healers, kind of like the Cleric in D&D.
Judging by the female caster in our story example from Sil, she looks like a healer based on her insignia, but isn’t a reader – at least not at first. So there are healers that aren’t readers around? This brings up a question that does this mean not all readers can heal?
Since spellcasters I assume can be your standard fireball thrower like Bernin, but has no ability to use healing magic if they become a reader they wouldn’t know how to heal like Sil does. Unless if they do become a reader are they required to learn healing magic or do they just toss in a healer that isn’t a reader in the group to cover that gap up?
Also since caster’s are in a separate class of their own what the general structure of a patrol? As we know of it must at least have a reader, and chronicler. Are the remaining members a mix of standard spellcasters and warriors? So officially in Cormac’s group contains one chronicler, one reader, three warriors, and no spellcasters? I’m not counting Bernin in the group since he is just tagging along and not what I assume officially recognized as a part of the patrol.
I feel as though it has been hinted that readers are more of a spontaneous thing than a trained thing, although I could certainly see the ritual face-paint and more-or-less inclusion as a role in the military as suggesting otherwise. Pages like 131 emit, to me at least, an air of informing people that they are readers rather than granting it as a title.
http://w0lfmare.xepher.net/comic/bloodline-131
By the name “reader” and the skill at detecting magic I would expect that they are considered to “read” magic, which in turn suggests that they are more sensitive to it. Adding that they are considered to be powerful spellcasters, it seems likely that they have a closer affinity to magic in general, and thus are probably augmented in every way. There does seems to be an affinity thing but it has been suggested that both light and nature magic can be used to heal, so there is presumably a lot of overlap in which affinities can be used for a given task, though the specifics likely vary. For example, it could be that death and darkness injuries can leave residues and thus need specific opposed affinities to drive off effectively, or some other effect that is pure affinity-based, or it could be that darkness is more about cutting and death is more about killing. Both could be used to make a gash, but darkness would focus more on a cut that light is suited to closing directly while nature would tend to encourage scabbing and regrowth. Death on the other hand might create a field of dead cells scattered around and nature would be good at regenerating over an area where the light doesn’t shine…
So they are probably stuck in their affinities regardless, but readers are likely much more versatile in addition to their other bonuses. Sil did, afterall, just spontaneously invent some sort of tentacle binding spell to use on Veera, and Veera did mention something about readers and improvisation…
http://w0lfmare.xepher.net/comic/bloodline-160
So I would guess that fire readers could sterilise wounds with some reliability, water readers might be able to stop blood from leaving a body, earth readers might be able to pull dirt out of a wounds and hold it closed using the earth element in the flesh combined with surrounding dirt and dust, while an air reader might be able to perform some sort of life-support or something… Even death could presumably be used against infections and darkness might make temporary splints or clamps… A reader probably senses and controls magic well enough to attempt healing with any affinity, though would likely struggle to do so with anything other than nature and light. while a non-reader could still use magic, but would never be able to pull off anything requiring so much precision and awareness unless their affinity was naturally inclined towards healing whatever it was directed towards.
Of course, all of this is just guessing…
Then there is the issue of demonic policies regarding tennin readers and the killing there of. It could just be that they don’t want a bunch of demon sensors running around. It does beg the question of whether there is more to it though. Are readers also a bloodline phenomena? The spontaneous generation of readers just announced suggests that this is not exclusively the case, and also that killing all of the demon sensors is not an option. But on the other hand, readers have a magical affinity, and at least the dark voice seems to have a magical affinity, perhaps there is a divine influence element to it? Perhaps a reader coming into being implies an expenditure of an element, and their existence increases that element’s influence, so killing readers results in a drain on resources?
I feel like if all elements can heal it might complicate things, such as if someone is burned by some pyromancer, does that mean only water can properly heal those injuries, thus rendering light and nature completely moot to magical burns? Then there would be ice to fire, earth to air, electricity to earth etc. and it’ll just make the healing chart a mess.
Perhaps if other elements can heal they would be very limited. Maybe they can recover minor injuries, and at best stabilize someone temporarily if badly injured, but would require the more specialize light and nature magic to help the victim recover properly.
In page 202 the nurse says: “…most favors light and can’t cast nature spells strong enough…” Though family ties does influence ones affinity, it seems there can be some cross training. This then brings to the question who do most favor light? Does it generally cast a wider net in terms of healing? Or perhaps light can do something nature cannot other then countering dark magic?
I would say the demons targeting readers might have to do with this great war Sil is mentioning. Since having readers meant power it would only be natural that you would target that source of power, and try and cut it off. Or at least weaken it by getting right of as many readers as you can.
If someone is born as a reader are they required in learning how to heal? Heck if someone is born with a reader’s ability are they required to serve in the military/get training?
There’s some good info relating to this in Sil’s character bio.
When a reader is discovered, they’re offered comfortable living for themselves and their families if they move to Medaris to be trained. But it’s just an offer; one that can be refused.
Dang, is that Flint in the 3rd panel?! I don’t think I like seeing him smile like that…