Nulls - The Void of Magic

That is the title bestowed upon us by the Conclave and other so called learned men across the lands of Ara'niel. We are a void of magic they say. Around us magic withers and dies becoming inert and useless. We are the ultimate anti-thesis of the magician. We exist to balance the scales they say, the opposite side of the "magical" equation. We are the equilibrium given to create order in a chaotic world of magic.

Born with our unique ability, we bear no physical marks or traits to distinguish us from others. Indeed, it is theorized that countless more of our "kind" might exist throughout the world. Toiling through life completely unaware of the "gift" they have been given. That is until that moment where magic is cast, or fails to cast, in their presence and their lives are changed forever.

The life of a discovered Null is rarely a peaceful one. Born in the cradle of the Conclave one is nearly certainly doomed to the life of an Inquisitor's Blade, enslaved by wizards. Discovered outside the grasp of the Conclave, you are forced to contend with the free mages of Ara'niel, nearly all of whom would see you dead before allowing the chance of your capture by the Conclave, and the possibility of you being converted into a mage-hunter. In turn you might find yourself victim of wicked wizards attempting to capture and dissect you for scientific purposes, or indentured to Guild mages seeking to use you against the Conclave just as the Conclave seeks to use you against them.

Things such as freedom and safety are luxuries Nulls know little. Slavery, blood, and battle are words that are far more familiar to them. Death is our lot in life, and it is the general outcome of most of our people. A peaceful existence for those few Null who attain it is only underwritten by years of conflict and suffering.

Learning to control ones powers is the most necessary step for a discovered Null. Contrary to popular belief a Null is not in fact an absence of magic but merely a disrupter of mana. We do not suck or erase magic -though it often appears that way to the naked eye. No, we merely excite the flow of mana to such a degree that it becomes all but impossible for a spell to retain its physical manifestation on the material plane as we know it, turning it back to its harmless and imperceptible raw form. Nulls merely dissolve the metaphorical bindings that craft a magical spell together. This is most effective against the elemental magic's for this form of primal sorcery is innately chaotic, taking much more effort for mages to control, and as a result much easier to lose control of.

Our abilities are not all-powerful however. A calm and steady flow of mana is capable of piercing our anti-magical protection, allowing for magic to work its will upon us. The most obvious example of this is the magical runes employed by the Conclave to ensure the loyalty of their Blades. Runes are one of the most structured and ordered of magic's and as such are almost impossible to disrupt and negate.

A Null's disruption capabilities extend from an innate field around them. The strength of that field varies at birth, however all Null's –given the proper training and focus- can learn to strengthen and extend that field of protection. Increasing the strength of one's disruptor has its costs and can cause mind-splitting migraines. Though the "birth field" will always provide limited protection, use of concentrated fields is often limited by the mental capabilities of the Null. Masters of this practice can manipulate their fields to a significant degree, contracting and focusing it to allow for greater distance and power, allowing Nulls to project their field unto other mages and specific magical attacks.

The source of Null's power is unknown though many have tried to decipher its secrets, generally to the detriment of our kind. However, a recent study conducted by free mages in Visnia have learned that these powers may not be as rare as originally thought. Instead it may simply be the magnitude of the power that is unique. The study was conducted on several noted mercenaries in Visnia who had survived what should have been fatal blows by rogue magic users. It was revealed in the investigation that all the men had an innate disruption about them - though it was still far weaker then that of a Null- that weakened the blow of the magical attack. Building on this the Visnia mages conducted a wide survey of hundreds of citizens both foreign and native alike. They discovered that every single one had such a disruptor field - albeit nearly all weak to the point of useless. This has led to the theory that humans are innately opposed to magic and that those who can cast magic may have less to do with an affinity toward magic so much as a lack of negation.

- Journal entry of Tairan Hawk, former Blade, sometime before his capture and execution by the Conclave.

Can a Null who possess excellent control of his field choose to allow magic THROUGH the field and have it affect him? (ie: manipulate the field to have a gap in it? or some other method?)

Theoretically yes. If they had another target and they to focus all their "void" on and at the time they were doing that they were hit by a spell sure. But the void is constant around them. As I said many people wouldn't even know it exists until magic went off around them. It would take a master of true skill to take all of that field and apply it completely to something else. Though is far more possible they could apply enough of the field elsewhere a spell of decent strength could penetrate.

Suppose then that a Null intentionally moves his void sufficiently to allow a spell to affect him, and the spell is intended to have an effect over a period of time (non-instantaneous duration). Would the Null be forced to maintain his void displacement for the full duration for the spell to take full effect? Or would, once the spell affected him, the void not disrupt its continuing effects?

Could a Null teach itself to automatically maintain its void effect not in a solid field, but in a shell around him (leaving maybe a 6" bubble directly against him which is not affected?)

Has a Null ever tried to learn magic? The theory is that those who can perform magic those with the greatest lack of a void, but has a Null ever actually tried to learn magic? You need instruction to learn it, and given the general opinion of Nulls by mages, has it ever actually be attempted?

If it would be too complex to always have to readjust the void effect around him to actually practice as a caster, could a void learn more structured and methodical magic, like rune magic?

Finally, does the mana excitation effect of the void field affect the Null's inherent mana as well? Or does the field extend out from the outer boundaries of the Null, not through its whole body as well?

Caligstro Smith wrote:Suppose then that a Null intentionally moves his void sufficiently to allow a spell to affect him, and the spell is intended to have an effect over a period of time (non-instantaneous duration). Would the Null be forced to maintain his void displacement for the full duration for the spell to take full effect? Or would, once the spell affected him, the void not disrupt its continuing effects?

The spell would have to be structured to mantain its integrity inspite of the the void. Thus far the only type of "spell" capable of doing this is a rune. Otherwise the void would just disrupt the mana of the spell as soon as it returned to the Blade. Which reminds me of something really important I didn't put in this passage...

Caligstro Smith wrote:
Could a Null teach itself to automatically maintain its void effect not in a solid field, but in a shell around him (leaving maybe a 6" bubble directly against him which is not affected?)

Yes, but it would be shorterm. It would take a lot of control and mental constitution alter the void out of its original state. A veteran could do it but probably not long enough to make it worth anything.

Caligstro Smith wrote:
Has a Null ever tried to learn magic? The theory is that those who can perform magic those with the greatest lack of a void, but has a Null ever actually tried to learn magic? You need instruction to learn it, and given the general opinion of Nulls by mages, has it ever actually be attempted?

This is actually part of a super longterm "epic" story arc I've been planning. But to answer your question no Blade has ever had the Gift. And there has never been a report of a Conclave mage trying to teach magical knowledge to their Blades. It's a rule to keep them in the dark as possible.

Caligstro Smith wrote:
If it would be too complex to always have to readjust the void effect around him to actually practice as a caster, could a void learn more structured and methodical magic, like rune magic?

Again no Blade has ever had the Gift and Conclave mages would keep Blades in the dark as possible about magic. Especially runes.

Caligstro Smith wrote:
Finally, does the mana excitation effect of the void field affect the Null's inherent mana as well? Or does the field extend out from the outer boundaries of the Null, not through its whole body as well?

This would not effect the mana inside the Null to any detrimental degree but would extend out of the Nulls body.

Would it be possible for a Null to sufficiently master his void field that he could suppress it at will for long (even arbitrarily long) durations?

Not arbitarily long. But as I said he could weaken it so as to be effected by a spell. It's almost impossible to detect the field outside of when magic doesn't work. A skilled Null could probably do it for a period of time by not a prolonged one. Again it depends on the degree and the strength of field. Someone with a really weak "birth field" who never works on strengthening it and instead trained on suppresing it could probably get by but that's because the field is very weak already so they don't really have to expend that much to keep it weak.

Question for clarity: You mention the "Gift". Is that being born with the Sense? You mention "gift" in the passage as if it was referring to being a Null, but in the comments it sounds like you're referring to having the ability to cast magic. As far as I'm aware, Blades are all Nulls, so when you say they don't have the "Gift", it makes it confusing.

Someone's been reading too much Goodkind perhaps?

I thought we had settled in some passage that the Gifted were people who could cast magic so I just used the term Gift to denote that.