The Magic Philosophy?

[Lady Lyndis]

Have you ever wanted to know how Fire Emblem got their ideas about magic? I mean, it is quite obvious where they got these ideas. But I want to know the philosophy behind these ideas.

Lets talk about the Magic in Fire Emblem. The Game of Fire Emblem that I've felt the best was "Blazing Sword" and it's counter-part "Sealed Sword."

The Story, it's plot, the weapns, the magic and the people. Everything about Fire Emblem made me want to know more about the unknown - the truth. I wanted to learn the idealistic teachings behind the Magic Users (Mages, Sages, Monks, Clerics, Bishops, Troubadours, Valkyries, Shaman, Druid, Magic Seal, Bramimond, etc.)

I wanted to know how the Sages and Valkyries passed down their teachings to the Mages and Troubadours. How the Shamans and Druids acquire their knowledge of truth from books of study and use them or apply them for magical purposes. I want to know where Monks, Clerics, and Bishops are able to acquire such items (like a staff or wand). It is quite abvious how they draw their powers. I just want to know how this knowledge was gained. How where they able to preserve such books and buy copies of them from a local store residence?

In a Fire Emblem World, magic users are seen as commoners - Knowlege users or Scholars to be exact. That is why you would see Sage Pent and his lovely wife, Louise, as adorned people where they ruled. It seems Sage Pent had control over some pegasi army groups in Ilia.

Why is it that when one uses dark magic, even with good intentions their fate seems to uncertain death? We look at Canas.

Here is a quote from my game:

Canas - Seeker of Wisdom

Canas returned to his family in Ilia.

Some years later, he and his wife died trying to stop a snowstorm.

His child was raised by his old mother.

---------------------------------------------------

The Link Source: http://serenesforest.net/fe7/epilogue2.html

It was quite fortunate that we were only in control of one Dark Arts User. For if we were to have more and see their fates we could better understand the nature of Dark Arts and the Fate of the users who use the arts.

Now I know this may seem out of nowhere, but have you wondered about how Hawkeye (Desert Guardian) was able to have a dragon for a daugther? I know he must have mated with a full blood dragon female. But I just wonder "how". I often guess that the dragon was in human form when they mated. Since we were able to know that Nils and Ninian are originally Ice Dragons in human forms.

If any of you read the Christian Bible (Old Testament) or the Jewish Bible, you would understand the story once told in the book of Genesis. I forgot the verse. But I do remember the storical idea. The story was about Earth Angels, who were assigned to watch the Earth without interfering with the humans. I believe they were able to help them at solve some issues at some point, but that was it. The Angels were doing their jobs, but the Angels began to take sight on the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they choose...

It never said anything about female angels going after the male men, although this was also likely to happen.

The Nephilim (fallen angels) were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these were the ancient heroes, men of renown. I would often ask myself, how can one believe that angels from Heaven could engage in sexual relations with women from Earth? In the bible it is said that the union of Angels and Humans bore giant children. These children were said to look hideous, ugly, and unatural. Yet, the Angels would teach the wisdom they knew, including Magic. It was finally realized that when these children could die (because of their human flesh).

To understand what I talking about, you would have to understand teh philosophy of Angels. Angels never die. They were created to live for eternity. Their souls are never to be tranformed life human souls because they are already complete.

So when these Giant children died, their souls would transform because their souls weren't designed to to leave their bodies. This was an unbearable pain that they bore. This continued until they became dark demons infested or corressponding with the dark arts.

This was how Nergel was able to bring life into the a doll or what was called a "Morph". These naked scarred souls were finally happy to find an empty vessel again - to live with sincere freedom and without pain. When demons heard about this, they decided to help Nergel reach full potential in Dark Arts and he wouldn't be possest or being controlled by any dark spirit. But his price was to lose the heart of love and friendship. Although his goals seemed clearer, his mind seemed much curropt (for he was created - as a human being - to manipulate souls or become what he has became.)

Before I read Genesis - before I played Fire Emblem, I always thought that spiritual beings can never have physical engagement with human beings. I was completely shallow in my opinion. The God, the Highest of all spiritual being, become flesh and trod on earth. Did he not become human enough so others could see, smell, feel and touch him?

If Paul the human apostle of Jesus Christ was able to leave prison and stepped out through the prison walls, without anybody seeing him actually leave, then I believe it is not hard at all for angels to do the opposite.

This came to my conclusion that if the dragon girl didn't have a dragon stone, she would have currupted her flesh and she would been like the Giant Children.

But after all, maybe we didn't understand the scriptures. Maybe the scritputers itself was in poor description in itself. I will write more if people want me to.

But please, I want to know other people's concerns on this.

If you disagree with me, please say why.

I want to know your ideas on this.

Edited February 4, 2009 by Lady Lyndis

[Not Changed by VASM :(]

Wooooooooooooooooooooow

I am really glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks about Fire Emblem this much...

[Hibari]

Wow. Well, you've certainly put a lot of thought into this.

[Kintenbo]

For the Dark Magic segment, it didn't seem that Niime had too much problems with herself living. She seems like a normal, if cranky, old lady. Then again, she said in a support conversation that she was much like Sophia. Maybe Dark Magic made her a bit more cranky. (probably the fact that Hugh didn't become a Dark Magic user helped, too)

[General Spoon]

Too bad Fa isn't Hawkeye's daughter.

[Father Wood]

Woah man that was deep. But I sure liked the read, you should come here more often. I've never heard that story of angels and I'm Christian.

For a second there I thought you were gonna talk about the leviathan from the book of Job. For those of you who don't know, a leviathan is a sea serpent with wings who can breathe fire, and is widely believed to be the earliest origin of dragons in literature.

[_____]

About the Dark Magic:

I thought a common theory as to why Canas died was that he didn't want to become a vegetable?

Edited February 5, 2009 by Asaello

[General Spoon]

About the Dark Magic:

I thought a common theory as to why Canas died was that he didn't want to become a vegatable?

To clarify, he means that his brothers, also dark magic users, went into vegitive states.

[Ragnell]

First off, there are many spoilers in this post for FE7-10.

If you really want to look at the mythology of FE's magic, look more at FE9/10. In those, it explains that all magic is tied to spirits and that those spirits can take up residence in a human host. That human then gains great power but at the cost of the spirit feeding on their soul. The spirits also leave the mark, the Spirit's Protection. In the endgame, you actually face those spirits, but there are only fire, wind, and thunder types. So that raises the question of whether dark and light magic are also controlled by spirits.

Let's start with dark magic. It can mostly be assumed that dark magic is not controlled by spirits, but possibly by the user's spirit. In FE7 you meet Brammiond, who's personality reflects those who he is talking to. Athos explains that his personality has been consumed after years of using dark magic. So this shows that dark magic feeds off of its user much like spirits can feed off a human host. And while all dark magic users do not die, they sure have a tendancy to end up dead (Pelleas, Canas, I'm looking at you). Also, it is worth noting that Canas calls dark magic not "dark" but ancient. So it may not be pure evil like many people think.

Now on to light magic. There are no real leads on to how light magic works, but it is very effective against monsters and does not affect the user in any way. My guess is that light magic's power comes from the ruling deity of each continent. This would explain why monks, and bishops can use it (they are holy men/women). This brings up the idea that monsters (FE8) are actually dark magic incarnate, because light magic is effective against dark magic as well.

And finally, it can be assumed that magic is usually passed on from person to person, master to apprentice. Just about every magic user in FE has some kind of teacher (Ewan-Saleh, Erk-Pent, etc.). But in a convo. between Tormod and Callil it is revealed that each person can only become so powerful by themselves. And how powerful you can get is determined at birth. So only certain people can become effective mages. Thus, people sign pacts with spirits for more power.

After Nergal searched for more quintessence, I began to suspect that this is in fact the power of the mages. He explains that different people have different amounts of quintessence. This would explain why mages can only get so much power: they only have so much quintessence. And when Nergal absorbed more quintessence, he gained more magical power.

So... yeah. Those are some of my guesses and assumptions... holy crap that post was big.

[General Spoon]

After Nergal searched for more quintessence, I began to suspect that this is in fact the power of the mages. He explains that different people have different amounts of quintessence. This would explain why mages can only get so much power: they only have so much quintessence. And when Nergal absorbed more quintessence, he gained more magical power.

Except that it seems to be implied that quintessence=souls.

[Not Changed by VASM :(]

Except that it seems to be implied that quintessence=souls.

And it also seems to be implied that Souls=What Anima Spirits and Dark Magic feed of off.

[Herr Wozzeck]

And finally, it can be assumed that magic is usually passed on from person to person, master to apprentice. Just about every magic user in FE has some kind of teacher (Ewan-Saleh, Erk-Pent, etc.). But in a convo. between Tormod and Callil it is revealed that each person can only become so powerful by themselves. And how powerful you can get is determined at birth. So only certain people can become effective mages. Thus, people sign pacts with spirits for more power.

I thought I might bring up the FE4 Holy Blood system, because that seems to be a better way to back this than Tormod and Callil's support convo. Because with the Holy Blood system, the magics you can use best are determined at birth, down to the tomes that you can use (if you don't have minor Fala blood, you can't use Bolganon, for instance.). So through that, we can assume that a person's power is indeed determined by birth.

[Gemini-Saga]

Wow did you Guys saw what you have Done O_o

Wow your relating every FE to explain implicit things on the series that no one though to explain... NICE!!!

So Dark Magic should be called Arcane Magic, or Ancient Magic...

I Wonder if there is a Hidden Story that explains why Ancient Magic became Dark Magic :\

[General Spoon]

Wow did you Guys saw what you have Done O_o

Wow your relating every FE to explain implicit things on the series that no one though to explain... NICE!!!

So Dark Magic should be called Arcane Magic, or Ancient Magic...

I Wonder if there is a Hidden Story that explains why Ancient Magic became Dark Magic :\

Oh, that's an easy one. In the animations, the color of Dark Magic is black. Light night. Since night magic sounds stupid, and black magic sounds racist (and reminds me of the Wizards basketball team), they chose to call it dark magic.

I don't know how it got called ancient though.

[Herr Wozzeck]

Oh, that's an easy one. In the animations, the color of Dark Magic is black. Light night. Since night magic sounds stupid, and black magic sounds racist (and reminds me of the Wizards basketball team), they chose to call it dark magic.

I don't know how it got called ancient though.

Or, you could just say standard RPG fare that your player units so happen to be able to use as well.

[Liz]

First off, there are many spoilers in this post for FE7-10.

If you really want to look at the mythology of FE's magic, look more at FE9/10. In those, it explains that all magic is tied to spirits and that those spirits can take up residence in a human host. That human then gains great power but at the cost of the spirit feeding on their soul. The spirits also leave the mark, the Spirit's Protection. In the endgame, you actually face those spirits, but there are only fire, wind, and thunder types. So that raises the question of whether dark and light magic are also controlled by spirits.

wrong. you are mistaking mages with spirit charmers. mages=/=spirit charmers. Ilyana is not a spirit charmer. Tormod isn't a spirit charmer. Soren isn't a spirit charmer. but they can use magic so magic has to come from somewhere else.

being a spirit charmer increases your magic by taking residence in your body, but eats your soul. perhaps the spirit needs the soul as a nutritive power source to continue living, since it's wasting its magical power every time the spirit charmer uses magic? this point actually proves the quintessence=soul=magic.

Let's start with dark magic. It can mostly be assumed that dark magic is not controlled by spirits, but possibly by the user's spirit. In FE7 you meet Brammiond, who's personality reflects those who he is talking to. Athos explains that his personality has been consumed after years of using dark magic. So this shows that dark magic feeds off of its user much like spirits can feed off a human host. And while all dark magic users do not die, they sure have a tendancy to end up dead (Pelleas, Canas, I'm looking at you). Also, it is worth noting that Canas calls dark magic not "dark" but ancient. So it may not be pure evil like many people think.

first of all, i'm not even sure who says it, but someone in some game says that magic is not evil, it is an unknown art that almost nobody understands.

and the whole "my soul was consumed by the dark arts" is mostly just people who were messing with an unknown power without any knowledge, slowly getting lost. myths like these are really common with unknown power sources, actually.

and i see the whole thing as merely figurative. dark magic users are usually the people who want to learn more about magic, are studying it and all that. it would make sense that after learning so much junk they could quite possibly loose their minds. and as i said, in mythological and fantasy stories, it is actually quite common.

Now on to light magic. There are no real leads on to how light magic works, but it is very effective against monsters and does not affect the user in any way. My guess is that light magic's power comes from the ruling deity of each continent. This would explain why monks, and bishops can use it (they are holy men/women). This brings up the idea that monsters (FE8) are actually dark magic incarnate, because light magic is effective against dark magic as well.

eh..... not so much. it is said somewhere that only pure people who want to do good can learn how to use light magic. now, unless the goddess of light came and blessed every person who is "good", i don't see it coming from some divine being, just like i don't see dark magic coming from some dark being.

and i see the fact that light magic is effective against monsters because they're a heresy to living things and want to hurt them, therefore "evil." since light magic represents the good soul of the person, it would make sense that it would do high damage on monsters.

And finally, it can be assumed that magic is usually passed on from person to person, master to apprentice. Just about every magic user in FE has some kind of teacher (Ewan-Saleh, Erk-Pent, etc.).

false. magical knowledge CAN be passed from person to person, but magic in itself is determined by birth, as you said in the next part.

But in a convo. between Tormod and Callil it is revealed that each person can only become so powerful by themselves. And how powerful you can get is determined at birth. So only certain people can become effective mages. Thus, people sign pacts with spirits for more power.

true

After Nergal searched for more quintessence, I began to suspect that this is in fact the power of the mages. He explains that different people have different amounts of quintessence. This would explain why mages can only get so much power: they only have so much quintessence. And when Nergal absorbed more quintessence, he gained more magical power.

So... yeah. Those are some of my guesses and assumptions... holy crap that post was big.

but what IS quintessence? apparently everyone has it, but not everyone is a mage. and many hints throughout the game suggest that quintessence=soul.

[General Spoon]

Well, quintesence is basically the soul. And the soul is, of course, not a phyiscal object.

[Ragnell]

wrong. you are mistaking mages with spirit charmers. mages=/=spirit charmers. Ilyana is not a spirit charmer. Tormod isn't a spirit charmer. Soren isn't a spirit charmer. but they can use magic so magic has to come from somewhere else.

No, magic does come from spirits, but the spirit does not necessarily enter the user. Here's a quote from Serenes Forest:

Calill: Ha ha ha! Oh, Tormod. I have only shown you the tip of the magical iceberg. Anyone can learn that much with hard work and practice. Maybe not as quickly as you, but... Whether you can go further, however, depends on your own essence.

Tormod: My essence?

Calill: The abilities that you were born with... or lack. Having a certain essence is the key to mastering magic.

Tormod: Wh-what do you think? Do I have a magical essence?

Calill: Sorry, Tormod. But you and I, we're nothing special. Some talent, yes. But not the true essence.

Tormod: Then...this is it? This is as far as I'll go? I can't be the world's mightiest mage, no matter how hard I try?

Calill: Well, there is a way to improve magical abilites beyond one's essence, but... even that has limits. And a price.

Tormod: What kind of way?

Calill: You let a spirit come into your body. It's called Spirit Charming.

Tormod: That sounds crazy!

Calill: Some would say so. Magic comes from these spirits--from their interactions with the natural world. If you take that power into your body, your magic will see a dramatic and powerful improvement. In plain language, you turn your body into bait. You get better magic, and the spirit gets...you.

Tormod: W-what? It...it EATS you?

Calill: As I understand it...the spirit will slowly consume your soul in exchange for essence. So I suggest you not make such a bargain unless you're absolutely prepared.

being a spirit charmer increases your magic by taking residence in your body, but eats your soul. perhaps the spirit needs the soul as a nutritive power source to continue living, since it's wasting its magical power every time the spirit charmer uses magic? this point actually proves the quintessence=soul=magic.

Agreed

first of all, i'm not even sure who says it, but someone in some game says that magic is not evil, it is an unknown art that almost nobody understands.

and the whole "my soul was consumed by the dark arts" is mostly just people who were messing with an unknown power without any knowledge, slowly getting lost. myths like these are really common with unknown power sources, actually.

and i see the whole thing as merely figurative. dark magic users are usually the people who want to learn more about magic, are studying it and all that. it would make sense that after learning so much junk they could quite possibly loose their minds. and as i said, in mythological and fantasy stories, it is actually quite common.

eh..... not so much. it is said somewhere that only pure people who want to do good can learn how to use light magic. now, unless the goddess of light came and blessed every person who is "good", i don't see it coming from some divine being, just like i don't see dark magic coming from some dark being.

Yup, it's Canas, which is why I said that it's not necessarily "dark" magic. He calls it ancient magic, though it does seem to have some evil qualities.

and i see the fact that light magic is effective against monsters because they're a heresy to living things and want to hurt them, therefore "evil." since light magic represents the good soul of the person, it would make sense that it would do high damage on monsters.

false. magical knowledge CAN be passed from person to person, but magic in itself is determined by birth, as you said in the next part.

I mean that there is usually a teacher for mages, not that a teacher must teach them for them to use magic. Like I said, their soul/quintessence/magic IS determined at birth.

but what IS quintessence? apparently everyone has it, but not everyone is a mage. and many hints throughout the game suggest that quintessence=soul.

I don't know what it is, but I think that everyone has it so everyone could, potentially, be a mage. But only people with lots of it can be good mages. What I'm saying is that Elbert, for instance, could be trained to use magic well. Nergal said he had lots of quintessence, so he could become powerful. Your quintessence defines your potential, though, not your born skill.

Edited February 6, 2009 by Urvan

[General Spoon]

No, I think that what Nergal means by stronger quintesence is that the person's soul has a stronger "will", if you will (stupid pun).

[Liz]

No, magic does come from spirits, but the spirit does not necessarily enter the user. Here's a quote from Serenes Forest:

Agreed

Yup, it's Canas, which is why I said that it's not necessarily "dark" magic. He calls it ancient magic, though it does seem to have some evil qualities.

I mean that there is usually a teacher for mages, not that a teacher must teach them for them to use magic. Like I said, their soul/quintessence/magic IS determined at birth.

I don't know what it is, but I think that everyone has it so everyone could, potentially, be a mage. But only people with lots of it can be good mages. What I'm saying is that Elbert, for instance, could be trained to use magic well. Nergal said he had lots of quintessence, so he could become powerful. Your quintessence defines your potential, though, not your born skill.

you know what, i think we may actually be agreeing on the same thing, but my wording wasn't exactly good which lead to misunderstandings.

what i meant to say was that the soul is the channel between magical power and the person. when i argued about "magic" i actually meant the potential for a person to USE magic, since i consider "magic" as magic if it can be manipulated in some way.

magic is a tool. spirits are the source of the power, but magic in itself doesn't come from the spirits. it's the user who controls the power source what causes magic. and the Calill quote even agrees with it. she doesn't say that spirits are magic. she says that magic comes from the spirits. big difference.

so we've established that the soul, or quintessence, is required to do magic. without the soul, there is no magic manipulation. therefore the soul acts as a link. the "stronger" your soul is, the stronger the connection between the spirits and the person,

and obviously you won't be automatically a mage if you have tons of quintessence. but the stronger the person's quintessence is, the stronger the link between spirits and the person. meaning that you probably will learn to use magic easier and can actually go further into the magical world and such.

so what was the difference? we had different views of what magic is, which lead to our misunderstanding.

Edited February 6, 2009 by Persephone

[Lady Lyndis]

There were some remarks on what I wrote. Merely on how long, deep, or how one thinks of Fire Emblem. And there was one comment about me saying I should post more often.

My remark - I’m quite pleased. (Seriously, I was blushing pretty hard when I read those comments.)

Anyways, back to the subject matter.

There was one remark on dark magic that I was quite impressed. I mean, it was quite obvious, but I was glad it was bought up.

It can mostly be assumed that dark magic is not controlled by spirits, but possibly by the user's spirit.

------------------

Also, it is worth noting that Canas calls dark magic not "dark" but ancient. So it may not be pure evil like many people think.

You are right about Canas calling “Ancient Arts”

I believe that there are two categories when one talks about Dark/Ancient Arts.

I mean, let us cut to the chase...All magic that do not have any unity from God are forbidden or is not supposed to be known to the humans.

For that reason alone, it can be suggested that Dark arts are like steroids – corrupts the soul; even if it be a little, it has caused damage. That ‘damage’ is not supposed to occur, if you have lived the sacred life you creator has forged for you to live.

So in essence, human knowledge, usage, or activities relating to Dark arts is a sin which is why it erodes the user’s soul.

It is safe to assume that if a person first learns Anima (natural magic; water, earth, fire, air) and if one learns Light Magic (magic that correlates with God’s power) you would be much safer to then learn Dark Arts – if you so desire.

I have simply indicated to the fact that Athos (an Archsage) has lived a life of prosperity and good fortune, for he has done things within the law of magic – he understood the limits of the soul. He had knowledge from the dragons to help him achieve greater things – to help preserve his soul and flesh. Most importantly, I believe that he knew “ENOUGH” of the truth to correlate with the Dark Shady arts.

There are no real leads on to how light magic works, but it is very effective against monsters and does not affect the user in any way. My guess is that light magic's power comes from the ruling deity of each continent. This would explain why monks, and bishops can use it (they are holy men/women). This brings up the idea that monsters (FE8) are actually dark magic incarnate, because light magic is effective against dark magic as well.

I adore this theory! Light Magic is, of course, from the holy ones. The pure secrets of the unknown – God’s string of power!

When you say that Radiant magic comes from a ruling divinity of a continent, it makes me unsure on what you are trying to say. I understand your thinking, for it is not entirely wrong.

The ruling deity is where it was born from – where the knowledge of light began to be understood clearer by “All People.” I believe that all men/women were meant to know the knowledge of light magic in today’s world, but lack it because of problem with knowing God or doing sinful things. So in termination, even if we did acquire the knowledge of light magic, we would have to pure in heart at least 60%. (Ok, now I’m getting too crazy…lol)

For this reason alone, not all can use the power of light magic.

And finally, it can be assumed that magic is usually passed on from person to person, master to apprentice. Just about every magic user in FE has some kind of teacher (Ewan-Saleh, Erk-Pent, etc.). And how powerful you can get is determined at birth. So only certain people can become effective mages. Thus, people sign pacts with spirits for more power.

Yes! This is what I pointed out in my intro post – That Magic is taught or learned through the knowledge of seeing those who do it, use it, or chant words of it.

That would explain how Nino (a precocious 14 year old mage who worked for the Black-Fang in return for Sonia’s, her step-mother/Nergal’s Morph, love or affection.) gained the knowledge as well as the power of natural magic. Here is conversation she had with Erk:

A support Conversation with Erk & Nino! Click and read what it says.

The Link Source: http://www.serenesforest.net/fe7/support/063.html

After reading this conversation, I just had a craving of wanting to take a shower for some reason; I was overwhelmed. I….I just want to know the truth – I REALLY WANTED TO KNOW MAGIC!!!!

Seriously, I wish a book, like what Erk mentioned, was somewhere hidden in my house basement so I could find it and use it for awesome purposes; of course, not for Nergal’s purposes.

After Nergal searched for more quintessence, I began to suspect that this is in fact the power of the mages. He explains that different people have different amounts of quintessence. This would explain why mages can only get so much power: they only have so much quintessence. And when Nergal absorbed more quintessence, he gained more magical power.

This theory seems to be correct. But you are wrong in some cases. The knowledge of Quintessence is knowledge for both Anima/Dark users.

Users of the light do not need that knowledge, for there are only concerned with there relationship with God or a divine source – The more Faith or belief they have in that source, the more power they will acquire, as well as the how much experience they have in using there powers makes or allows them to grow in spiritual power. In conclusion, they could do what Mages and Shamans do without having to rely on another source of magic as long as they follow the rules or path of their divine source.

The technique Nergal is using compared to the light users (Bishops, ArchSages, etc.) is basically a steroid-ious method in gaining his own spiritual power.

Nergal must have studied somewhere (maybe in some magic book) that Light magic can only give maximum of ‘this & that’ power. But Nergal wanted more power so that he could control the world. He wanted power to a great extent that he would give up his tensions towards love and friendship. When he did this, he has found out that his use in divine power has lessoned dramatically that he would have to depend on Dark Arts to increase his essence, his quintessence, his fundamental nature, his spirit, his core!

He wanted more power BEYOND Compare! That is why he was happy to show Athos the power he has gained when he met them to steal, kidnap (or Dragon-nap) Ninian. I forgot the chapter it was. But I do know it was in either “Hector Mode” or “Eliwood Mode.”

But truth be told, I don’t think Nergal read enough of Dark arts (or at least to know what would happen if he were to pull off such a thing he has done). But then again, I don’t think a writer would know unless they have done what Nergal has done and human hearted enough to write a book about his observations so that students of dark arts would understand more of the fundamentals of Dark Arts.

I just wish to know the secrets behind Athos’s immortality. Even after he died, we later found out in the Manga called “Fire Emblem – The Champion’s Sword” (dedicated to the “Sealed Sword” game) that Athos somehow attached himself to the world of the living in order to protect the Dragon Village to some degree. That is when Al spiritually came in his sacred shrine and talked with him; allowing him to obtain a dragon stone as well as more power for Al to use to accomplish the goals.

Reasonably, I suppose I’ve typed an adequate amount in this post.

But please, I want to know other people's concerns on this.

Like I said earlier, if you disagree with me, please say why.

I want to know your ideas on this.

Edited February 6, 2009 by Lady Lyndis

[Ragnell]

I agree with pretty much every thing you said^

Here's a slightly altered theory. We've said that your quintessence determines how powerful you can be, but the power of anima comes from spirits. So maybe if you have more quintessence, spirits are more apt or able to do what you'd like. While dark magic probably uses quintessence itself in a raw form to damage foes. And I agree with you about Nergal's motivation, it seems spot-on.

And for light magic, I can find almost no flaws in your theory. The one thing I disagree with is that all people used to be able to use light magic. At least in the backstory for PoR/RD, people did not start out completely good. They had evil in them from the start, so everyone could not use it then. But I agree that everyone has the potential to use light magic, it just depends how holy and good you are. The theory about light magic coming from the gods is also furthered by the fact that the goddess Ashera uses light magic (just remembered that).

[General Spoon]

Users of the light do not need that knowledge, for there are only concerned with there relationship with God or a divine source – The more Faith or belief they have in that source, the more power they will acquire, as well as the how much experience they have in using there powers makes or allows them to grow in spiritual power. In conclusion, they could do what Mages and Shamans do without having to rely on another source of magic as long as they follow the rules or path of their divine source.

Pretty crappy God and/or loose rules then if Kenneth and that bishop on the Western Isles (that's one damn bishop you've got there!) can use light magic.

[Liz]

Pretty crappy God and/or loose rules then if Kenneth and that bishop on the Western Isles (that's one damn bishop you've got there!) can use light magic.

not to mention the Begnion Senate.

[Ragnell]

not to mention the Begnion Senate.

Ah, but they actually did serve the Goddess Ashera. As it said in the game, the goddess isn't perfect. Far from it, in fact. So they can serve the goddess/god without doing good.