6 ответов в этой теме

[Bayonet Hipshot]

There appears to be something fascinating going on with Rift Magic.

 

On the surface, Rift Magic grants its user battlefield control and a whole host of benefits by weakening them.

 

If your Inquisitor chooses to become a Rift Mage, talking to Cole yields are series of interesting dialogue regarding magic and mages in the party. Here are a few select quotes:-

 

"The Fade sticks to Mages. little figments, flitting, floating free, then forced into shapes. fire, ice, lightning."

 

"You’re different. it shines on you, shimmering, sharp. you made magic from the rifts."

 

"You use the fade itself. you make it charged but not changed, channeled enchantments. it’s strong and pure. and loud. you ripple like water when the stone is dropped."

 

"Vivienne is crisp and cool. the fade dances, darts, lashed and leashed."

 

"Solas is the same, but quieter. The Fade is his friend. He doesn't need to look to know where it goes."

 

"Dorian pulls at pieces, pushing them to bodies. i like him better when it’s just fire."

 

"The Venatori are dark and hard and cracked and old. They pull the Fade with blood and pain and ancient lying whispers."

 

"Yes. It's different, but familiar. It reminds me of me."

 

As we now know, Solas is an Ancient Elf. Magic for him works and functions somewhat differently compared to those who were born in a post-Veil world.

 

From the dialogue with Cole, we see that by using Rift Magic, we are somewhat different from conventional mages like Dorian and Vivienne but more similar to a mage like Solas.

 

Does this mean that learning and using Rift Magic makes the post-Veil caster be more like their pre-Veil counterparts ? Does it make them more Ancient Elfy (Sera is going to Greatly Disapprove this lol) ? Or does it make them more spirit-esque somehow ?

 

The rift we were examining did not react well to her last investigation. We believed ourselves prepared for demonic manifestation. We were not prepared for how the energies we expected would be encountered. Well-versed in the forces that magic can produce, my senior was surprised by an alteration, a deviance. That which previously had to be coaxed is now a flood that must be staunched. The same amount in different intensity, quick to expose fault in the way it is accessed. She drew too much, expecting resistance. There was none, and her form suffered the brunt. Tread carefully in studies of new matters, for I cannot unsee the end of her.

 

Could this explain why Your Trainer was so addled and her Mage Collective research colleagues died in the first place ? They decided to learn pre-Veil Ancient Elven Spirit-esque magic without proper preparation and paid the price for it ? Is that why Your Trainer says "So that the price is not paid twice" ?

 

I am interested to hear your thoughts & comments. Also, to the post-Veil conventional magic Knight Enchanters and Necromancers, don't be jealous.

[Gold Dragon]

An Interesting Theory, to be sure.

 

Solas even makes a coment that seems to point to this (It took me many years...)

[Xerrai]

I wouldn't neccesarily say I believe in the theory bit it is a possibility. The main thing that seemed to characterize pre-veil people to post-veil people is thier relationship with the fade. But ultimately, magic is magic. All that your character really discovered was different approach to it. But a different approach may indeed be all that is needed to redefine the nature of it.

But I do have a few conversations with Cole and a codex entry from the Fade that may add to this discussion...

 

Cole: Dorian is like you, Vivienne.

Vivienne: I think not

Cole: The Veil sings around both of you. It whispers through you and makes you both brighter.

Vivienne: The same could be said of any mage. Beyond that, I have little in common with a noble from Tevinter.

Cole: No. For most mages, it's a tool. A toil. You make it you.

​Vivienne: Nonsense, as usual

 

Then there is a codex that you can find in the Fade during Here Lies the Abyss. It was written by a Magister Callistus that attempted to harvest the fade (essentially) before he realized that he could not harness a dream. Once he "humbled" himself, and allowed the fade to be his teacher, the fade/spirits showed him 'frozen moments' from memories and dreams alike. Thy also kept "darker things" (demons?) at bay. It ended with this line. "To know the Fade, one cannot seek to master it. The Fade is the master, the teacher. We are merely apprentices."

 

Rift magic was dangerous to the ones who first discovered it precisely because it was difficult for them to harness. Draw too much and it ruins, draw to little and it will need to be coaxed from its innaction. Maybe there is a connection?

[vertigomez]

...Did anyone else do the Transformers theme in their head?

[Melyanna]

...Did anyone else do the Transformers theme in their head?

 

I do now... and it's not going to go away. ARGH.

EDIT - to keep this more on topic.

 

Rift magic has always seemed oddly specific to me, due to the fact that it is closely related to the rifts appearing in Thedas, so your theory might be correct, though this would make a human mage similar to an acient elf in a way, no?

[Dai Grepher]

I don't believe in a pre-veil world, but I'm sure there were non-veil regions. I think Rift Magic is in essence Fade Magic. Normally the Fade's energies must be drawn out by the mage's mana. With a Rift Mage, the Veil opens and unleashes a great flow of energy. If that energy is not suppressed by the mage, then it will overwhelm the mage, similar to how too much lyrium will harm a mage.

Your Trainer may have been exposed to more Fade energy than she should have been, but not enough to kill her.

Perhaps this is partly why Solas thinks this world will die. He thinks mages will be flooded with Fade energy and die from it, or at least become severely brain damaged by it. Meaning, when they attempt to use magic, they will try to draw the energy and be overwhelmed by it.

As for the specialization itself, I don't think it makes you more like Solas other than the fact you share the same spec and abilities. But I do think it gives you better insight into the Fade and how it works. That's why I think Rift Mage is the better spec to go with.

[Sah291]

...Did anyone else do the Transformers theme in their head?

Mages in disguise.

Yes, I think it probably makes them a little bit more like a pre Veil mage might be. Solas talks about the ancient elves having a subtle beauty to their magic, and spells that would take years, etc.

The different schools of magic are mostly based on differet elements right...well, the fade is like an element too then, one that is continuous, which Cole says is like water. But instead of just taking pieces and shaping and manipulating bits, Cole compares it to like dropping a stone in rippling water. Solas is more subtle and quiet about it, and the Inquisitor is apparently really loud... probably due to the Anchor. But it's the same principle: a single point of action causes far reaching (rippling) consequences, that flow outward, causing a series of events to unfold over time. They are not directly changing or forcing the fade into a specific isolated shape, but charging it and setting it in motion, as Cole says. Basically, looking at a spell as a continuous chain of cause and effect and not just random or isolated events. Intuitively following the ripples and knowing where it will end up without looking, like Cole suggest Solas can do, is the art of rift magic, I would guess... that's what I take his hints to mean.

Why did the trainer go insane and why did some die? Probably because it's so much power/energy to handle? They were expecting the fade to need to be pulled and coaxed to be shaped, but there was little or no grounding or resistance from the Veil at the rifts. The energy came in all at once like a flood and overwhelmed them. It's a different paradigm of how mages are used to using magic? Maybe she had to change her perception of reality to learn it? Being in close proximity to an area of the fade with no veil and using that power, etc. Just speculations.

In hypnosis, an 'anchor' is a keyword or sensory cue that links the subject to a certain memory, emotional state, idea, or specific response. An anchor can, for example, quickly bring a person out of an altered state of mind- such as hypnosis, trance, meditation, ecstacy, etc. So think like Iron Bull's safe word. Or invoking a name of power (like "Jesus" or the name of an archangel) during a bad nightmare, etc.

So think, the implications for a rift mage without an anchor, or even Solas without his orb...would be pretty dangerous. Solas is adrift, without the orb, and maybe can't see or perform magic as well without it. Hence the desperation for Mythal's power. Or.. who knows...