#askphilippa

For gaians, magic is a skill that takes a lot of time and dedication to learn. It's considered a big investment, and it may not always pay off. Even basic spells don't come as easily to gaians as they do for fae, plus opening themselves up to magic comes with some drawbacks, such as iron allergy and distrust from some other gaians.

That said, some gaians have chosen to pursuit magic because they believe the pros outweigh the cons.

Philippa, Frederick, and Cinnamon are the only gaians in Drifter's Hollow who use magic. Philippa was already a powerful terramancer when she arrived, and she was the one who taught Frederick. Cinnamon was taught by Mr. Ocean.

In one story, Dr. Che mentions that he once considered learning healing spells, but decided it was too complex and decided to stick with traditional medicine.

He comes to the conclusion that satyrs are just naturally bad at magic, and he actually has a point there. Some gaian species struggle with it more than others. Fauns and gorgons, for example, seem to pick up magic pretty easily. But satyrs and minotaurs have a harder time. Centaurs are somewhere in-between.

Cinnamon is an exception, she seems to be a child prodigy and learned telepathy very quickly. That may have something to do with the fact that she's deaf and blind though. Satyrs typically struggle because magic requires intense concentration, and this species is constantly battling their own distracting hormones and hyper-awareness of their surroundings. But half of Cinnamon's senses are dulled, and I think that forces her to use her brain more than the average satyr.

So, it just goes to show that there are always exceptions to the rule!

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Good question! First I will say that Rye gave birth to Skel in Kelvingyard, but this birth was not planned by anyone. It just kind of happened. This is a normal occurrence in the slaveyard, and these unplanned children meet one of two fates: 1 ) they are deemed "excess" or "unsalable" and culled. 2 ) they are deemed saleable and placed in the nursery, which I talked about more in this other post.

Rye was not a very desirable slave, so her offspring weren't considered very desirable either. But Skel wasn't deformed or sickly, and there wasn't an excess of goblins in Kelvingyard at the time, so he escaped culling and was chucked in the nursery. Rye was permitted to raise him there until she and/or her son were sold off. It was 5 years before someone bought Skel, so at this age he was taken away from Rye. Rye was bought not long after that, but by a different family.

Meanwhile, Philippa was being held as a slaveyard "brood mother". A brood mother is s female who is deemed especially valuable, and so her offspring are considered valuable as well. Brood mothers are cared for better than typical yard slaves and separated into their own area. They are treated like baby-factories, and because their offspring are more desirable, they typically sell quickly.

In Philippa's case, her rare gigantism made her and her offspring more desirable to buyers. Even if her children didn't appear to have her condition, there was a good chance they still carried the gene and could pass it on later.

Each of Philippa's children were sold before they were even born. They stayed with her only long enough to breastfeed, then they were shipped off to whoever had paid for them in advance.

Honestly I'm not sure whose situation is more tragic, Rye's or Philippa's...Whether Kelvingyard deems your life worthless or valuable, it doesn't matter. You lose either way.

TL;DR: Rye's kids sat in the bargain bin while Philippa's kids were getting pre-ordered.

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

"Of course you can! C'mere, you!" says Philly, picking up @codycoolfriend and squeezing them into paste.

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Questions/Comments?

That's an interesting ship! I never would have thought of that, but ...yeah, I could kind of see it working. They have similar good-natured, generous personalities and they both put the needs of others before their own. They're active, helpful members of their communities, and both are well liked by their village. Not to mention Frederick already looks up to Philippa as a mentor and mother-figure.

I think the main problem would be Olof's devotion to his wife, Halldora. He doesn't know if she's alive or dead, and until he knows her fate, he's acting as if his marriage to her is still valid.

Another problem might be the age gap between them. Olof is younger than he seems, I think 30-ish at this point in the series? Philippa is about 15 years older. 45 might not be old by human standards, but that's more like 55 in centaur-years because they don't live as long as humans.

He's in the summer of his life and she's in the autumn of hers. This may not seem like a big deal at first, but it does affect the types of activities they like to do and the interests they have. Olof might be a little too "active" for Philippa's liking, and I'm not sure she could keep up with him and his hobbies. She's at the “chill out and veg” stage of her life.

I'm not sure I would personally ship them, but I do see the appeal! Once again, just my two cents. Everyone is entitled to their own ships and opinions!

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Questions/Comments?

Great question! To become magical, gaians must undergo a ritual where they're exposed to benign magical energy at a specific frequency. They need the help of an experienced mage to do this.

This ritual can be dangerous if it isn't performed correctly. Whether the spell is benign or not, magical energy can literally rip people apart if they're exposed to too much of it at once. An experienced mage can correctly determine how much power to exert without injuring the gaian.

In the LG series, Big Philly performed this ritual with Frederick, though it happened "off-camera". Mr. Ocean also performed this ritual on Cinnamon in "A Mage in the Making". This wasn't a great example though, because Mr. Ocean is exceptionally powerful and Cinnamon is a baby. The ritual is easier to perform the younger the gaian is, and a mage as powerful as Mr. Ocean can complete it in a matter of minutes. For the average mage and adult gaian, the ritual may take days or weeks of exposure to take hold.

In "A Mage in the Making", Mr. Ocean placed his hands on Cinnamon's head and transferred magic power to her. He claims the sensation is disturbing for Cinnamon, but not painful. This can differ wildly between individuals; some claim that the ritual caused them mind-shattering pain, while others say they barely noticed anything.

The mage typically joins hands with the gaian or touches them in some way to transfer the magical energy. They must do this somewhere quiet and isolated where the mage won't get distracted, because it takes a lot of concentration to keep the energy level steady. Each session can last for hours and leave both parties feeling fatigued.

Over time, the magic takes root in the gaian's body. The gaian finds that their senses are a little sharper and exposure to iron makes them feel queasy. Once the mage feels magical energy radiating off the gaian naturally, they know the ritual is complete.

It's important to know that once this ritual is done, it cannot be undone. That gaian will forever be a magic user, meaning they will always suffer from a weakness to iron. Their capacity for spells will also be naturally lower than any fae's, so they can never become quite as powerful as the average fae mage.

The younger the gaian is when this ritual is performed, the more powerful they can become later in life. However, there is always the matter of consent that makes this decision tricky. Some parents, such as Cinnamon's parents, decide the benefits are worth the drawbacks and make this decision for their children.

Many faun cultures are especially notorious for this--where the children have no say in it because the ritual is performed the minute they leave the womb. As a tradeoff, these cultures produce some of the most powerful gaian mages in the world.

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The Disney version of John Tucker Must Die.