Blood Number
If you think I'm any different than you because I was born with more magic than blood, then you clearly do not understand how any of this works.Blood Numbers in Estya are one of the foundations of Estyan understanding of magic. A person's blood number determines not only the type of magic a sorcerer can use and how powerful they can be, but also the composition of their blood, when they suffer the effects of blood loss, and, often, what their daily lives will look like.
Alhari Scale
A blood number is a number set on the Alhari Scale ranging from negative one-hundred to positive one-hundred. Negative one-hundred would be an entity of pure dark magic, such as Demons, while positive one-hundred are entities of pure light magic, like the Mother of Light Magic, Niyanna.
The top line of the scale shows blood composition - how much of an Estyan's veins are filled with blood and how much by magic. It also shows where Demons and Gods fall on the scale. The scale itself displays the range of Blood Numbers from negative one-hundred to positive one-hundred. Below that, it shows the translation between blood number and magical power as a simple percentile. The Alhari Scale also shows a range of common blood numbers for Estyans to have (-25 to +25, excluding 0). Below those, it shows the ranges for each type of magic. Dark Magic stretches from -100 to -1, Light from +1 to +100, and harmony at 0.
Type and Power
A Blood Number first and foremost indicated the type of magic and the overall power of an Estyan. It does not indicate specifically how that power is broken down by either raw magical strength (the difference between lighting a candle and burning a city) or endurance (how long a sorcerer can go before their magic is drained.)Types
Estyans with numbers from -1 to -99 use dark magic, while numbers +1 to +99 use light magic. Socially, however, Estyans are only considered "dark sorcerers" from numbers -1 through -50, while -51 through -100 are considered "demons" because they have more dark magic in their veins than Estyan blood. The reverse is also true: from +1 to +50, an Estyan is considered a "light sorcerer", and from +51 to +100 are considered divine, agents of the divine, or gods themselves.Power
Blood Numbers also indicate the power level of a sorcerer, though not endurance or strength - sorcerers take the Alhari Test to learn the specifics if they are curious or their parents force them. Power is expressed as a percentage. If +/- 100 was the most powerful a sorcerer could become, then an Estyan with a +/- 50 Blood Number would be about 50% the strength of divine or demon.Blood Composition
The second key thing blood numbers reveal is the amount of blood versus magic is in an Estyan's veins. Estyans have a combination of blood and pure, liquid magic flowing through their veins, and their bodies have adapted to accoadate this. Blood is considered inert, or non-magical, though Estyans are still reliant on it to survive. However, when using magic, an Estyan draws upon their Well of Magic - how much magic they have at their disposal - to cast spells, dropping their blood pressure as the magic is used up. A blood number serves to indicate the percentage of a sorcerer's blood is magic. A sorcerer with a number of -15 has 15% of their blood replaced by dark magic, while someone with a number of +60 would have 60% of their blood replaced with light magic. While Estyans cannot naturally tolerate such low blood volumes, the magic they use serves to keep their body running smoothly on what little it has. However, this does mean that powerful sorcerers are particularly susceptible to blood loss and risk passing out or outright dying if they use too much magic and lose too much blood at once. This is particularly common among powerful sorcerers who are drafted into war, as a small wound can quickly become fatal if not treated quickly.Changing Numbers
Most Estyans are born with Blood Numbers between -25 and +25, excluding 0, so the average Estyan is a relatively weak sorcerer compared. They are generally coerced into learning to fight and survive with minimal use of their magic, as if they go against someone with a higher Blood Number, they are likely to lose without non-magical means of defending themselves. However, some Estyans wish to persue magic regardless of their original number, and will train for years to grow it by just a few points. While it is certainly possible to increase, or even invert a Blood Number, it takes extreme dedication and years of intense training that involves pushing oneself to the brink of death repeatedly to force one's body to adapt.I don't know what it's like? I used to be you.
Okay, probably should have read that before leaving a comment on the Magic Abridged article. Would it be possible for a mage with enough training to become a god on virtue of being pure magic? Also the fact that powerful mages are very weak to bleeding is a good balance. Could you enchant a weapon to inflict wounds that cannot be magically closed? Because that could be a pretty terrifying anti-mage weapon. By the way, how exactly do you measure blood type? And is a +50 being half as powerful as a god accurate? Sounds broken, even if they bleed half their blood at the slightest paper cut. And can low level mages still beat super powerful ones using superior skill?
Holy hell I'm glad you seem so interested in the magic system I developed - most of my response is going to be in future articles, specifically the ones on the Alhari Test and Material Magic. Short answers: +100 is the closest understanding of divinity Estyans possess, but Divine Magic, such as that which devoted Disciples wield, is intended to demonstrate that this theory is wrong, as the most powerful necromancer to walk the earth also wields this divine magic (I'll clarify this in the article itself when I have more time. Blood Numbers are measured via the Alhari Test, which measures both raw power as well as stamina. It's possible to have a sorcerer with a high blood number, but relatively low Alhari Score (say, they are powerful, but lack stamina, lowering their score), so they have the potential to be super powerful, but lack the training. And power growth is not linear - it's on a curve (a diagram I still need to make). And while Estyans associate +100 with godhood... they don't actually know what that sort of power looks like, because the Gods don't use Blood Magic at all, only Estyans (See the Disciple Order for an example of god-given magic). It's primarily used as a frame of reference, and a faulty one that reflects Estyans' limited understanding. Anti-Mage weapons have been commissioned before, but in general, because all Estyans are technically considered sorcerers, there is little support for the use of such weapons, and the only ones who could afford such weapons are in power and would like to not be in the sights of the Shadi Order for crimes against the world. The world is definitely still a WIP, and this is one of the.... many, many articles I need to revisit and edit, especially after the developments that surfaced after Summer Camp!
My Work: Chardovil | Estya