Everything that exists is embued with magical energy, and each thing has an energy unique to itself. Sorcerers cannot tap their own energies to power their spells, and must borrow outside energy. As you know, Guildmaster, this creates certain problems.

Because each source has a unique energy, Sorcerers are never able to completely match the flow of energy in an object. Thus, when tapping into a field of energy, the sorcerer tries to force the energy to do his bidding; the conflict between his flows of energy and the energy of the target will spark, and the spark causes a surge of energy that the best of us are unable to control by our wills. As I have observed, that energy moves right into the nearest "ground"... it finds the path most attractive to its energy. In most cases, it is the sorcerer who has trying so hard to gather all that energy, who finds himself shot through with more than he can take. The side effects are drastic.

These side effects are what we know as Scarring. I have seen and heard of all manner of Scars in my travels, both visible or invisible. My investigation has indicated that without fail the resulting Scar depends on the type of spell the mage was trying to cast. I have noted some examples in my descriptions of the talents, but there would not be space in all our libraries to describe the variety of unpleasant and painful effects made possible by uncontrolled surges. Sadly, those with Scars are the fortunate... the other side effect of a surge is death. The more powerful a spell, the more powerful the resulting surge... and the more hideous the scars and more likely the chance of death.

We are fortunate, Guildmaster, to know a relatively easy solution to this problem. The other guilds also have access to this knowledge... that surges can be grounded into a focus instead of into the mage himself. The higher quality a focus is, the more energy it will absorb. In addition, a focus that is related to a mage's Paradigm, to the type of energies being tapped, or the type of spell being cast, will either cause less of a surge due to synergy, or will better absorb the surge, possibly serving as a focus for several hundred spells. A wild mage--that is, a mage without guild training--has not been taught about foci, and so wild mages with sorcerous talents often have short lifespans.

Every act of sorcerous magic causes a surge, no matter how minor. I have seen mages risk the most minor magics without a focus because the Scarring will be minute, but most consider even that a high risk.

Mages with both Mentalist and Sorcerous Talents:

There are some mages who have been blessed with the best--and the worst--of both worlds. Every spell they cast, whether mentalist or not, is affected by resonance. And every spell they cast, whether sorcerous or not, is subject to a surge. Thus such a mage must always shield herself from resonance, and must use a focus for every act of magic. Surges from mentalist spells generally result in afflictions of the mind or permanent twists of the spirit.

On the other hand, these mages gain not only access to more widely-varied talents, but has access to more power. Summoning a spirit as a pure mentalist can be dangerous... a mentalist has only so much energy to use. However, a mixed mage can use outside energies to power the summoning, causing a spell of greater power. In addition, a mage need never worry about running out of energy, as he can use his own personal energies to fuel any of his spells, even sorcerous ones.

A mage with both talents needs to use a focus as soon as his sorcery talents awaken. Before those talents are awakened, however, their advantages and hazards will not affect him. If a mage has talents in both disciplines, but only his mentalist talents are awakened, he is in essence a mentalist mage and only subject to resonance. Once his sorcery is awakened, however, he becomes subject to both resonance and surges, and must begin to use a focus. Similarly, a mage who awakens sorcery first need not worry about resonance until his mentalism talents awaken.

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Overview || Talents || Levels || Resonance || Surges || Notes