#askchua

Good question! I will list each gaian High Royal and their specialties.

Oberon - Illusions and Telepathy. He uses illusions to do sneaky illegal shit and telepathy to manipulate people.

Sanctoria - Not magical.

Wynnala - Telepathy. She has trouble speaking out loud, so she prefers to use telepathy to get her words out better.

Oberon Jr. - Illusions. He's not very good at them yet, but he tries to use illusions to change his appearance. It annoys Oberon when he gives himself wacky hair colors.

Tristabella - Illusions. She's still a young child and can't do much with this yet, but she's in school learning the basics.

Naetorus - Not magical.

Chua: Alchemy and curses. Chua can brew up some crazy potions, but they're most famous for their curse which turns people to stone.

Gultopp: Not magical. He didn't want to risk having a weakness to iron when his greatest enemy, Evangeline, is famous for using iron weapons.

Juvella: Curative and Floemancy. She decided to learn healing spells after working as a nurse, then figured if she was going to be weak to iron, she may as well learn offensive spells to protect herself, so she chose floemancy (frost magic).

Blomi: Not magical. Her dad wouldn't let her be magical, fearing iron weakness.

Hestal: Not magical, same reason as Blomi.

Sygbarne: Not magical. Her parents assume she's incapable of learning it, and even if she could, they wouldn't trust her to use it responsibly.

Maris: Hydromancy. Growing up on the coast, she's spent a lot of time on boats, and learned hydromancy for her own benefit.

Kast: Not magical, but he is interested in becoming magical and learning galemancy one day. He thinks storms are exciting.

Hethor and her family: Not magical, as Hethor believes magic is a "crutch of the fae". However, Mutara is a skilled alchemist, cleric, and floramancer who has managed to teach Thetos some floramancy as well.

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Chua has 9 conjoined siblings, and I imagine they each have their own unique personality.

There's Lua, the vain one who demands a ribbon to be ~unique~.

Bua, the drunkard who likes xamali.

Mua, the pervert who tries to kiss any attractive person within reach.

Dua, who always dances if they hear music.

Kua, the mean one who bites people.

Fua, always quiet and well-behaved.

Hua, has a big appetite and will eat anything, even foods that make Chua sick.

Rua, who is not smart and always gets themself tangled into knots.

And finally there's Peet, the silly one who makes mischief.

Chua is never lonely...for better or worse!

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Good question! I think the medusa can sense some things and not other things.

Each sibling has their own brain, so their thoughts are their own. What they perceive by sight or smell is known only to them. They also have their own tongue, so only they taste what they eat. However, whatever they swallow does end up in the same stomach (of the medusa) so the medusa is affected by whatever it is (alcohol, for example).

There is no special telepathy that is specific to medusas. However, medusas can learn telepathy and use it to read their siblings' thoughts. Medusa siblings are not intelligent enough to learn magic spells, so this only goes one way.

Medusas can restrain their siblings when needed, using hairwraps or other headwear. This will piss the siblings off and there will likely be consequences afterwards, but it can be done in a pinch, like when they're being totally unruly. I'm sure Chua has to do this from time to time to get through important speeches uninterrupted.

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Chua definitely does (as do all medusas), but probably not the others.

Marghan might say "we" because he is referring to his pet gryphon, Pidi, who never leaves his side. They are not conjoined but they may as well be!

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Questions/Comments?

Those "snakes" are actually Chua's conjoined siblings! Each one has their own thoughts and feelings. One didn't like the metal jewelry because it was uncomfortable, and protested by attacking Chua until Chua took it off. Chua didn't want their siblings to be naked because that isn't proper in their society, especially for royalty, so they gave this sibling a soft gold-colored ribbon to wear instead.

Sometimes you just gotta compromise!

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Questions/Comments?

Also, how rare are medusa? in the dozens, hundreds?

Good catch! Truthfully, that art is just outdated and needs to be replaced. But I will say that oftentimes for medusas, the barb may be more prominent than the rattle and vice versa. Sometimes the rattle is "internal" and not visible, but it still functions to some degree. The barbs are also retractable, so in some cases you may not see barb or rattle until they're needed.

As for the rarity of medusas: Producing a medusa is a very deliberate act on behalf of the parents. It's a methodical and involved process that can't just "accidentally" happen. In most jurisdictions, mutating a gorgon embryo into a medusa is a considered child abuse and the parents suffer serious consequences, like prison time and having their children taken away.

The only place this is legal is Lamai Nation, and couples may only do it when the church/government permits--like when a new religious or political leader is needed (this nation is a heavy-handed theocracy, so there is no separation of religious belief and law). Typically a couple will be chosen by these powers, and the couple may accept or decline to sacrifice one of their children to the position. Most tend to accept the offer in exchange for wealth and social power.

For these reasons, medusas are quite rare. There are no exact numbers, but it's estimated that there are no more than a few hundred in the whole world. In some jurisdictions, these medusas who were created without government approval are put to death or banished from civilization. But that isn't the norm. In most places they are just left alone in a legal sense, though society typically doesn't treat them nicely.

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Questions/Comments?