Not just long term. If you are not a Planeswalker it is basically instant soul destruction. Or at least irreversible corruption.

Then again I don't see how they could not know that.
Omri honestly believes taking mana from non-mages doesn't hurt their long-term health. I'm not willing to believe they know the dangers of Devoid if making these Devoid spirits is a known, non-banned practice in Magnostadt.
 
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So, clearly Jade is a Goddess of Fate, which is why their anti-Fate measures make her unhappy, so they should increase Devoid production to protect themselves from her influence. :p
That is a possible interpretation of Jade. Especially if her precognition is taken into account.

Really, though, this would depend strongly on their reason for making devoid rukh. We can probably provide safer alternatives for all possible goals they might be doing this for, but we'd need to know those goals first.

I suspect that giving them knowledge of land tapping, if it's actually possible around here (and not prevented by rukh) would be enough. And, depending on how corrupt (some) of their leadership is, we could simply bribe those with immortality.

Also, yeah, frankenvote is best vote, and there's no reason not to use help.

[x] Quick telepathic conference.
-[x] Mostly you and Agneyastra. Include Nanoha, Sidhe, and Mitra so they know what's going on.
-[x] Agneyastra already knows how insanely dangerous Devoid is, but it wouldn't hurt to reiterate and fill in the others.
-[x] Your first instinct: Purge it post-haste. You'll respect Magnostadt's sovereignty and run this through their equivalent of a counter-terrorism or police force, but if they take too long or try to claim to know what they're doing you will take action.
[X] Defer to Yastra on whether we'll let her handle things or wether we'll speak ourselves (with telepathic coaching), and how public or private we'll keep things.
[X] If we're the one speaking: No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
-[X] Ask them what measures they have against total reality collapse they are courting.
--[X] Give lecture on the nature of Devoid mana and its dangers.
---[X] No, you don't know of any such measures yourself besides not using Devoid Mana at all.
---[X] You can use it yourself, more safely than them even, but even you know better.
-[X] Colorless is OK, but they've gone too far out the other side.
-[X] Unless they do, in fact, have such measures that would satisfy both you and Agneyastra 110% (not likely), stopping experimentation with Devoid mana is an absolute requirement for any negotiation
--[X] You are willing to help them create substitutes for whatever it is they use Devoid mana for.
 
Who says the Rukh production would have to be forbidden for unknown reasons? The obvious thing to tell the Magnostadt citizenry is the truth: devoid Rukh production is dangerous, and exposure has potentially fatal long-term health effects. (After all, exposure to Eternity is certainly detrimental to one's health...) The key is to keep the magnitude of the danger secret, not the danger itself.

While you're correct that the vast majority of the public would be on our side if they knew the truth, 'vast majority' simply isn't good enough; all it takes is one person, whether malicious or not, to destroy the world. You don't post nuclear codes online just because most people would dogpile anyone who tries to use them. Likewise, you don't publish what amounts to an "Annihilating Reality, for Dummies" book in a city of mages, no matter how moral most of them may be.
There would be people willing to sacrifice their life for someone or something. Knowing the truth, such sacrifice becomes pointless. The only people making Devoid Rukh would be those wanting to destroy the world.

Also, making Devoid Rukh seems to be a nontrivial action, or else there would be a lot more of them. And the end of the world is not instant (the world is still here), I expect Magnostadt authorities would be able to counteract these people. It's like posting nuclear codes and arresting everyone who tries to enter them.

...We really need a device able to locate Devoid mana.
 
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edit: i have accepted the MAGIC of frankenvote
[x] Quick telepathic conference.
-[x] Mostly you and Agneyastra. Include Nanoha, Sidhe, and Mitra so they know what's going on.
-[x] Agneyastra already knows how insanely dangerous Devoid is, but it wouldn't hurt to reiterate and fill in the others.
-[x] Your first instinct: Purge it post-haste. You'll respect Magnostadt's sovereignty and run this through their equivalent of a counter-terrorism or police force, but if they take too long or try to claim to know what they're doing you will take action.
[X] Defer to Yastra on whether we'll let her handle things or wether we'll speak ourselves (with telepathic coaching), and how public or private we'll keep things.
[X] If we're the one speaking: No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
-[X] Ask them what measures they have against total reality collapse they are courting.
--[X] Give lecture on the nature of Devoid mana and its dangers.
---[X] No, you don't know of any such measures yourself besides not using Devoid Mana at all.
---[X] You can use it yourself, more safely than them even, but even you know better.
-[X] Colorless is OK, but they've gone too far out the other side.
-[X] Unless they do, in fact, have such measures that would satisfy both you and Agneyastra 110% (not likely), stopping experimentation with Devoid mana is an absolute requirement for any negotiation
--[X] You are willing to help them create substitutes for whatever it is they use Devoid mana for.
 
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*Slithers back in, hoping no one noticed my absence*
Yeah, there's a pretty good chance that organization is behind this. I'd recommend being wary of applying such meta knowledge here, though; every plane so far has been majorly AU.

It's a good idea to handle matters discreetly not because of worries about a possible conspiracy, but because there's an entire city worth of mages that know how to create potentially world ending superweapons listening within earshot. I'd rather no one besides the government know just how absurdly dangerous the forces they're playing with are, otherwise some idiot is going to get the bright idea to "call our bluff".
Oh, agreed. Alivaril has planned on exploiting our assumptions before. We shouldn't preemptively burn people in robes with crowns of thorns. Be careful of them, yes, but not murder them immediately. Which, I would think, would be the normal response to someone wearing an accessory that could easily harm them. Seriously, where do they even get those things?
(not really a reply, just some thoughts born from the post)

About Magnostadt's land mana capacity...
Interesting, considering Magnostadt hosts many mages it seema like mages here don't use magic from lands, either by being unable (Jade's theory), existing an internal rule against it or simply by never knowing how or not being thaught how (so those five motes remain a huge resource to the few who know how to call them)

[Tinfoil hat mode=ON]In that case, could it be that Magi can actually call mana from lands? Sure they are "famous for posessing infinite magical power" but thay could be misinformation and embelishment from the point of view of people who consider 1/10 of a mote to be expensive even after years or decades of practice.[Tinfoil hat mode=OFF]
I will point out, again, that he said it was "more expensive than it really needs to be". He implied it's a spell that trades cost for simplicity and ease-of-use. It's a crude, unrefined, lazy sort of spell, and thus not as efficient at it might otherwise be.

Now, it's entirely possible that 1/10th of a mote is expensive to him. It makes sense that other mages work on smaller scales, since they may be sharing the local land and mana sources with several other mages. With enough mages, even a 5 mote land like Magnostadt is going to be giving fractions of a mote. Unless you have an allocation method, of course. But we can't say for sure that he considers that a lot of mana.

If I might digress in my own tinfoil-hatting, I almost wonder if Sidhe'sh high personal mana output is due to the lower mage density on her home plane. Maybe average individual mage power and population size are inversely proportional. Or maybe the only mana mages on Earthland are gods, and Sidhe's a demigod. Who knows.
There would be people willing to sacrifice their life for someone or something. Knowing the truth, such sacrifice becomes pointless. The only people making Devoid Rukh would be those wanting to destroy the world.

Also, making Devoid Rukh seems to be a nontrivial action, or else there would be a lot more of them. And the end of the world is not instant (the world is still here), I expect Magnostadt authorities would be able to counteract these people. It's like posting nuclear codes and arresting everyone who tries to enter them.

...We really need a device able to locate Devoid mana.
Excellent observations. Particularly the one about how difficult making Devoid must be, given the low density. It could be that making Devoid is a possible result of removing the color of Rukh. Similar to how Uranium-235 usually undergoes fission when hit with a neutron, but sometimes just eats the neutron to become Ur-236 instead, maybe Rukh, when hit with whatever spell they use, either splits from it's color, or, more rarely, eats the spell and breaks into Eternity.

[x] Quick telepathic conference.
-[x] Mostly you and Agneyastra. Include Nanoha, Sidhe, and Mitra so they know what's going on.
-[x] Agneyastra already knows how insanely dangerous Devoid is, but it wouldn't hurt to reiterate and fill in the others.
-[x] Your first instinct: Purge it post-haste. You'll respect Magnostadt's sovereignty and run this through their equivalent of a counter-terrorism or police force, but if they take too long or try to claim to know what they're doing you will take action.
[X] Defer to Yastra on whether we'll let her handle things or wether we'll speak ourselves (with telepathic coaching), and how public or private we'll keep things.
[X] If we're the one speaking: No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
-[X] Ask them what measures they have against total reality collapse they are courting.
--[X] Give lecture on the nature of Devoid mana and its dangers.
---[X] No, you don't know of any such measures yourself besides not using Devoid Mana at all.
---[X] You can use it yourself, more safely than them even, but even you know better.
-[X] Colorless is OK, but they've gone too far out the other side.
-[X] Unless they do, in fact, have such measures that would satisfy both you and Agneyastra 110% (not likely), stopping experimentation with Devoid mana is an absolute requirement for any negotiation
--[X] You are willing to help them create substitutes for whatever it is they use Devoid mana for.
 
[X] No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
 
When everyone is seated and while Marina's servants are in the process of bringing in food, you start rifling through your memories and trying to find the perfect one for your illusions.

"Jade, are you about to create a simulation of Eternity?"

You stop what you're doing and shift guiltily.

"Maaaaaybe?"

"Please refrain from doing so. I have yet to determine the laws of Eternity and I suspect trying to make sense of it would give anyone but you a splitting headache. Proposed alternative: Choose the primary solar system or planet of each plane and display that instead."
Potentially useful if anyone challenges us on knowledge - being able to produce an illusion of something so hostile that just its image hurts people is solid evidence that we understand it better than anyone else.
 
[X] No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
[X]If they doubt your knowledge make an illusion of eternity.
 
[X] No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
[X]If they doubt your knowledge make an illusion of eternity.
 
[X] Tell Agneyastra about the Devoid spirits, mention how insanely dangerous it is, and let her handle it. You cannot into diplomacy.
-[X] Colorless is OK, but they've gone too far out the other side.
-[X] Tell her to handle it discreetly, not in front of a public audience; the mere knowledge that Devoid mana can destroy the world is dangerous, if it reaches the wrong ears.
-[X] If Agneyastra believes the warning/ultimatum would have significantly more impact coming from you, do it yourself, but follow her telepathic coaching.

[X]If they doubt your knowledge make an illusion of eternity.

Talking about a new type of magic while half the academy is listening invites imitation, and we do NOT want that.
 
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Now, it's entirely possible that 1/10th of a mote is expensive to him. It makes sense that other mages work on smaller scales, since they may be sharing the local land and mana sources with several other mages. With enough mages, even a 5 mote land like Magnostadt is going to be giving fractions of a mote. Unless you have an allocation method, of course. But we can't say for sure that he considers that a lot of mana.
While it isn't conclusive against that, I find very curious that all of the Magnostadt land mana is unused if they can use it (thus share it) as mana source.



[X] Quick telepathic conference.
-[X] Mostly you and Agneyastra. Include Nanoha, Sidhe, and Mitra so they know what's going on.

-[X] Tell Agneyastra about the Devoid spirits, mention how insanely dangerous it is, and let her handle it. You cannot into diplomacy this, not yet.
-[X] Colorless is OK, but they've gone too far out the other side.
-[X] Tell her to handle it discreetly, not in front of a public audience; the mere knowledge that Devoid mana can destroy the world is dangerous, if it reaches the wrong ears.
-[X] If Agneyastra believes the warning/ultimatum would have significantly more impact coming from you, do it yourself, but follow her telepathic coaching.


I want N+S+M to know this is about Devoid.
 
While it isn't conclusive against that, I find very curious that all of the Magnostadt land mana is unused if they can use it (thus share it) as mana source.
They may tap the smaller environmental sources, the mana that's immediately around them. Or, they tap the highways of mana we noticed. It's been stated that we tap mana somewhat differently to the natives, who seem to usually use more immediately available mana, to the point where us tapping lands on some worlds would interfere with their existing systems.
 
If they could tap lands, why are they tapping civilians?

I'm not sure if five motes worth of mana (Magnostadt's daily production) is that much as far as "magic upkeep costs for a whole city" goes.

Motes are not quantities of magic sufficient to run an entire city. In this quest, a single mote is a large, but still personal unit of magic:

"How much was that mote worth in your own terms? Compared to spells, the average personal source, that sort of thing."

"About a quarter of an average mage's personal daily reserves? The vast majority of our power comes from external sources instead of ourselves, remember. So, while I'm not really in the habit of measuring precise amounts, I believe you could fuel quite a few spells with that much mana."

Jade's potential power as planeswalker stems not from her ability to wield motes worth of magic, but from the fact she can quickly learn any form of magic, and will eventually have access to thousands of motes.
 
Motes are not quantities of magic sufficient to run an entire city. In this quest, a single mote is a large, but still personal unit of magic:



Jade's potential power as planeswalker stems not from her ability to wield motes worth of magic, but from the fact she can quickly learn any form of magic, and will eventually have access to thousands of motes.
Yeah, it's a pretty small amount of mana considering the amount of land we're getting it from - presumably it's therefore sustainable? The real strength is once we're bonded, we can access it forever instantly and with no costs. Every other form of magic I believe involves some cost in getting the power in the moment each time, be it preparation time, effort, concentration or draining personal reserves that have limited growth (if any).
 
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Motes are not quantities of magic sufficient to run an entire city. In this quest, a single mote is a large, but still personal unit of magic:



Jade's potential power as planeswalker stems not from her ability to wield motes worth of magic, but from the fact she can quickly learn any form of magic, and will eventually have access to thousands of motes.
So, from this, we can determine that the average mage would be using one fortieth of their daily personal supply, or...what, 2.5%? on that counterspell. Not that much, but significant, especially for what's essentially a one-shot, purely defensive purpose. You couldn't chuck them around all day, and, in a duel, where you're running offense, defense, and (generally, in local fights) flight? Yeah, I could see that being considered a bit costly. Especially if there are ways to reduce that cost.

Note that this also assumes they're a Blue mage. If there's a conversion factor on them using Blue, that could be an even higher percentage.
Yeah, it's a pretty small amount of mana considering the amount of land we're getting it from - presumably it's therefore sustainable? The real strength is once we're bonded, we can access it forever instantly and with no costs. Every other form of magic I believe involves some cost in getting the power in the moment each time, be it preparation time, effort, concentration or draining personal reserves that have limited growth (if any).
One fourth is actually a lot, though it probably doesn't seem like it. Think about it. For most mages, any spell requiring one mote would be something they can only use four times a day. Seems like a significant amount of mana to me. Especially since, as you say, we don't know if that amount can increase. From what I can tell, most mages just get more efficient in their mana usage with age and experience.

...Geez. Even summoning Astra would wipe most mages out for the day, much less Sidhe or Nanoha. I can certainly see why the amounts of power we tap regularly might seem excessive to normal mages.
 
One fourth is actually a lot, though it probably doesn't seem like it. Think about it. For most mages, any spell requiring one mote would be something they can only use four times a day. Seems like a significant amount of mana to me. Especially since, as you say, we don't know if that amount can increase. From what I can tell, most mages just get more efficient in their mana usage with age and experience.
Sure it's a lot, but we're drawing it from very large tracts of land. Comparatively speaking, we aren't draining nearly as much as might be there.
 
Sure it's a lot, but we're drawing it from very large tracts of land. Comparatively speaking, we aren't draining nearly as much as might be there.
Would you call them... Huge trachts of land? :ogles::V
...Damn. Beat me to it.

And yeah, we're not draining the land fully. I think. I guess maybe we are, and mages just generally produce a lot of mana naturally, more than most lands. Could explain Magnostadt's extreme mana potential.
 
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