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Bright Jade Sea
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>To Wordblood: Do Devas automatically grow in Talents (and/or Competencies) when they raise their Soul Force - or should we budget for those improvements separately?
”Talents do generally increase along with Soul Force, and Competencies may do so as well. However, those traits which improve will only be those associated with the deva’s nature. Take myself for example: my basic ability to comprehend all languages is, of course, perfect. Raw magical force could prevent me doing so with a concealment effect, but I would be aware that something was off. This ability will not really improve, as there is little room for it to do so, save in that blocking it will become more difficult. There are, however, what you might call ‘secondary’ abilities associated with my linguistic nature, such as the capacity for being a persuasive speaker. As my Soul Force increases, my Inspiration Talent, and associated Competencies, will increase on their own. All devas also receive an array of basic functionality, and I may or may not also gain ‘tertiary’ abilities from the general themes of the greater Titan of whom I am part. Talents and Competencies may also be granted in the same way as my physical form, through the symbolic resonances of samsara. As a dragon, for example, I know how to fight using my horns and teeth and claws, and how to fly, even though none of these skills are associated with my Purpose or Element. We can also be directly granted Talents and Competencies through application of Titan’s Will, though it will be more or less expensive to do so based on how well the improvement coincides with our nature.”
>Also, you've mentioned that some Common Devas attempt to make themselves stronger, improving their Soul Force somewhat over time. What does such a work-out regimen classically entail for a spiritual entity? Is it a matter of training, or meditating on your nature, or accumulating favors - or does it come down to just plain stuffing yourself with all the energy you manage to scrounge up?
”Ah, now, this is quite an interesting question. The simple answer is ‘possibly all those things, but it depends’, and I know that won’t satisfy you.”
“One of the limitations of Lord and Noble devas is that we are, in a sense, ‘locked in’ - being part of our Titan’s self, we derive our nature from a higher source and cannot change it on our own. As such, we are incapable of training or of truly learning, beyond rote memorization. You could give Kairosa a bow, and arrows, and a target, but no matter how much you have her practice, she will never become a better archer than her natural dexterity and coordination initially allow. We can generally only improve by application of Titan’s Will, which is itself a representation or reflection of the growth of our Titan as a whole. Common devas, not being solid part of their Titan’s soul-structure, do not suffer this limitation. However, it remains relatively rare that a Common deva improves themselves beyond their base form, and to explain why, I must first explain what a Common deva is, as they are quite different from the higher orders. One simple analogy, used already, is to say they are tools. Like a hammer or a sword, they are created for a purpose, and it is only when put to that purpose they ‘live’. The difference between a living tool and a dead one is whether it is being held by a living hand, and in the same way, the body of a Common deva is an instrument given life by the will and animating essence of a Titan. You see, if the Lords and Nobles are like the ‘organs’ of a Titan, then there is also a general life force circulating between them, equivalent to their blood. Creating a Common deva is simply a matter of creating a body, generally from the spirit matter of one’s own inner world, and then breathing that essence into it in order to bring it to life. That borrowed life force is their equivalent of a soul. On their death, barring specific abhorrent magic, that essence will return to their Titan to circulate anew, and if their creator cares to, they can bring the deva back to life again by making them a new body, within a certain time limit.”
“Now, normally a Common deva will do little more than what they were created to do. However, their life comes from a Titan, and Titans are powerful and complex beings. Individual Commons can have distinct personalities due to random impurities in the blend of energy which they happened to be animated by, and sometimes this essence can contain a spark of the creative forces of their progenitor. This can allow such a deva to think beyond the purpose their body was created for, and give them the imagination and drive to explore all the possible applications of their being. To go back to the analogy of tools, one might imagine a carpenter’s knife coming to the realization that it can also be used to cut food, or be employed as a weapon. Of course, Common devas are much more powerful and complicated than simple tools, and the ways and degrees to which they can expand upon themselves are much wider. The original metaphor holds, however, in that the ways that they can improve themselves often vary depending on what their original nature was. Generally speaking, however, Common devas can usually improve themselves by exploring extra dimensions of their own nature, by improving the efficiency with which they use their native abilities and powers, or by receiving worship from mortals, whose prayers can provide them with small amounts of useable aether. Common devas can also attempt to meditate on their connection to their progenitor-Titan, unblocking in-built spiritual limitations in order to draw in greater amounts of their animating essence, effectively allowing their ‘soul’ to grow larger, giving them more potential and power. This is somewhat risky, however. If they open the connection too much, they might lose their personal cohesion, and go mad or die. They can also, of course, simply ask their creator to improve them, though then of course they have to make a case for their worth. Through all this, it should be noted that even those Common who have the motivation to grow usually retain most of their natural traits; and that, like all devas, they will be primarily driven by a desire to serve their progenitor. To do otherwise would be to forsake the purpose of their existence.”
“Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention that there are, of course, some exceptions to all this. Devas can be given the ability to improve themselves as part of their nature. A war deva, for one example, generally has the capacity to learn how to use new weapons or fighting styles that have been invented since their creation. Devas given bodies of flesh and blood, for another, usually have some ability to train it for greater strength as mortals do. There are always strange possibilities.”
>Wordblood: I recall that the description for that mist of yours stated that the mist could 'support' living beings. Can it provide for all of a living being's physical needs, and how healthy is it to subsist entirely on a diet (for lack of a better term) of mist?
”It may be possible to live off our mist alone, but I’m not entirely sure. The mortal need for air is rather simple, as it is both received and released quickly and easily; the need for water is similar. The mist should provide for both those needs safely. Food is more tricky. What one eats becomes part of oneself, and to begin with, mortal creatures are unlikely to be able to ‘digest’ it into the variety of particulars that they need food to provide. Beyond which, doing so extensively could have side effects. What if, once it leaves our inner world, our living mist turns into normal air and water? The effects on someone who had incorporated it into their own body would be unpleasant, at the very least.”
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