(02-01-2016, 10:50 AM)GhostlyMaiden Wrote: I have Void questions~
1) What do we know about the void?
2) I can't remember: Black Mages essentially learn from the void, yes?
3) How can you become voidtouched?
4) Is it possible to go into the Void and come out alive?Â
If these questions would be better off in it's own thread for further discussion, I will happily make a thread.
Merc here's covered most of the key points.
One thing I'd add, regarding your second question, is that those who oppose Black Magic (e.g., select Hearers of the Fane, some adventurers) are likely to believe that Black Magic is intimately connected to the Void, and that anyone using or even researching Black Magic is just one spell away from summoning Diabolos. That's because of all the evidence of Mhach's naughtiness during the Fifth Astral Era, which our characters are even now still cleaning up. However, this belief is, of course, not true.
Summoning and binding voidsent is something one can do with proper magic, and binding voidsent can provide a quick route to considerable power (as demonstrated by Mhach), but nothing inherent in the practice requires involving the Void at all, as explained in the Sounsyy links. It seems the case is more that Black Magic lends itself easily to being used to call things from the void, and that Black Mages very generally speaking are highly motivated by power for power's sake. Combine those two characteristics together and you have disaster with a capital D (for Diabolos 
). The WoL and their mentors during the BLM quest lines show that Black Magic can be used safely and responsibly without ripping the world apart.As a more general point to consider, Eorzeans know precious little about the Void and its denizens. In fact, "voidsent" is sort of a catch-all term for anything in the taxonomy of beasts that naturalists can't readily comprehend. Bombs, for instance, are considered voidsent, but they don't come out of void portals or appear to consume aether in the way, say, that a succubus does; they're actually crafted by kobolds in bomb furnaces using magic (Pharos Sirius HM, Outer La Noscea, etc.). Fernehalwes made a point once, echoed just recently in his comments about item naming, that much of what we see is from the point of view of unreliable narrators. For instance, lamia are commonly believed to be Drowned servants, but in reality, they're the results of Allagan genetic engineering. Contradictory information abounds and "the truth" is somewhat up for grabs, particularly as it applies to the Void.
Likewise, "voidtouched" can refer to an actual condition of being influenced or even possessed by voidsent, as well as being akin to being called "tainted" -- a way to dehumanize someone you don't like or don't trust. Calling someone "voidtouched" could be true, or it could just be the same as calling someone a witch.
The Freelance Wizard
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
