Thinking with Fel Magic

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

So I just saw the threads regarding this subject, and BOY, let me tell you. Like so much association fallacy being slingshot to the extreme opposite.

This is not to say, that yes, Fel be tricky. I myself are not an expert, but given the information that we have, I have my own working theory that gets me through the day, keeps me warm at night and refrains me from raging about Fel in the forums. It might be total shlock.

Fel, above all, it's an energy source, as much as the light, the void and arcane are. Every one has it's special qualities, but Fel's most intrinsic one is that is created by destruction. "Burn Life to Create" . So what makes Fel magic fel it's its source. You obtain fel magic by sacrificing life.

Being a Warlock is all about choosing this, you can't go "I'm going to be a warlock, but no fel, like, that's gross" You might only sacrifice void and demon entities in your dark arts, but sacrifice is still the basis for your power. Fel is what powers you, a ready-at-hand vastly powerful force, and it is your willingness to deal in these magics (regardless of how often you do) what makes you a warlock.

All Warlocks use fel, but not all fel users are warlocks. Fel as a magic source can power and strengthen myriad creatures, but are only warlocks who use it as the source of their spellcasting; they can compliment their repertoire with other sources, but it is fel what powers them, it is fel the reason they left their mage and shaman paths.

Sacrificing life to power your spells is fell itself; which would actually explain why some blood elves' eyes turned green even when they were just eating up mana-wyrms.

So that's my theory, feel free to weigh in.

[Deleted]

Sacrificing life to power your spells is fell itself; which would actually explain why some blood elves' eyes turned green even when they were just eating up mana-wyrms.

I can't recall the specific source, but I recall blood elves got the green eyes due to the burning crystals Kael sent them. They were mainly arcane, but laced with fel to basically get them addicted to it.

[Felrane]

Fel magic is just a more potent and less pure form of arcane. Which causes deformation and corruption. Unlike mages warlocks force power into themselves instead of using natural paths with runes and incantations and lei-lines. Warlocks are just mages that decided to amplify their spells with other peoples natural energy or their own. Binding Demons to themselves to feed of their power ect... Also no warlock would even try to not use the Fel side of things. They seek power and control and wouldn't even have a thought of fel energy is *gross*. If that was the case they would just stay mages or study the mage path.

As far as the blood elves they dont just drain mana worms, they were summoning demons and encasing/infusing them in bloodstone to have a steady source of demonic energy, because its easier to channel but very dangerous to handle. High elves kept to pure arcane sources and wouldn't have ever gained the green taint.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

I can't recall the specific source, but I recall blood elves got the green eyes due to the burning crystals Kael sent them. They were mainly arcane, but laced with fel to basically get them addicted to it.

I believe that could apply to those crystals as well. The energy in them was arcane in origin, but the act of siphoning and killing the source to make them was what tainted them. In that case, I like the aspect of "not poisoning your people on purpose" it reveals.

I think siphoning mana is how you get across fel on the first place. Like a unwitting ritual sacrifice; cause you are not just sucking the magic, but you are also taking a life.

[Deleted]

I believe that could apply to those crystals as well.

Ehhhhhhh they were green, had burning eyes in them, and were donated by the crazy fel-addled king dude.

[Aucald]

I tend to see Fel as an energy source, and "Warlock" as the title of a practitioner of a specific type of magic (e.g. the summoning of demons, the offensive use of spellcraft powered by Fel, etc. etc.) There are a number of creatures, mostly those mutated or "gifted" by the Burning Legion, that have innate abilities powered or imbued with Fel essence - but the usage of those abilities is not ritual or derived from the study of Fel and therefore they aren't Warlocks, per se. Felstalkers, Terrorguards, Pit Lords, and Doomguards are all examples of demonic creatures who can utilize Fel abilities but aren't Warlocks in practice. Demonic Eredar also have such innate abilities but can also study Fel on a scholarly level and thus can be properly called Warlocks, as can some other more intelligent species within the Burning Legion.

Fel essence, derived as it is from the sacrifice of life, is inherently corrupting - even if you only deal with the energetic byproduct of its creation (the energy itself, as in the example of the Blood Elves' Fel crystals) you can still be effected and changed by the corrupting influence of the energy itself. I liken both Fel and Arcane essence to the different kinds of radiation found in nature, Fel is more unstable thus more energetic once released but also prone to destructive chain-reactions and throws off more harmful background radiation than the Arcane. But both essences are addictive to mortal practitioners (Fel more so than Arcane), and both of them also appear to change or mutate the physiology of a practitioner over time at different speeds.

[Aquamonkey]

Are Demons the source of Fel magic?
They contain fel magic, but they aren't "the" source. The nature of this magic is created from destroying something else. (Loreology)
Think "Burn life to create" kind of thing. (Loreology)

The UVG describes fel as a "destructive form of magic."

This also lines up with the description of sacrificial magic (violation against life) from http://wowpedia.org/Quest:Seeking_th...7s_Edge_Memory

I think there's a also certain intent/method for creating fel energy. Draining energy from other creatures (which sounds like sacrificial magic to me) doesn't always result in fel.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Fel magic is just a more potent and less pure form of arcane. Which causes deformation and corruption. Unlike mages warlocks force power into themselves instead of using natural paths with runes and incantations and lei-lines. Warlocks are just mages that decided to amplify their spells with other peoples natural energy or their own. Binding Demons to themselves to feed of their power ect... Also no warlock would even try to not use the Fel side of things. They seek power and control and wouldn't even have a thought of fel energy is *gross*. If that was the case they would just stay mages or study the mage path.

As far as the blood elves they dont just drain mana worms, they were summoning demons and encasing/infusing them in bloodstone to have a steady source of demonic energy, because its easier to channel but very dangerous to handle. High elves kept to pure arcane sources and wouldn't have ever gained the green taint.

I agree with the definition, but I'm getting at it's origin; being sacrificial magic. If you sacrifice powerful creatures, you get more energy, but the act of burning life it's what taints it with fel.

So that's where fel came from in the first place; destruction. Now, wouldn't it be swell that Sargeras actually tainted himself in his righteous crusade, by murdering all those "evil" worlds on behalf of the titans?

I have a tough time swallowing the idea that the early-blood elves just started siphoning demons a la willy-nilly. I think they got tainted more than by the introduction of fel to their society by the methods brought by Rommath in how to rein the addiction.

[Aquamonkey]

Ehhhhhhh they were green, had burning eyes in them, and were donated by the crazy fel-addled king dude.

The crystals were green and had burning eyes in them since the founding of Quel'Thalas. It was more about them being filled with fel energy without the general populace knowing about it.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Ehhhhhhh they were green, had burning eyes in them, and were donated by the crazy fel-addled king dude.

Yeah, that's why it's a "could" heheheh XD. But yeah, what I'm getting at is how it became so widespread among the population, and I think it has to do more with the methods taught by Rommath (which the high elves refused) than to everyone just getting radiation THAT quickly. Maybe it was a conbination of both factors to make

- - - Updated - - -

Are Demons the source of Fel magic?
They contain fel magic, but they aren't "the" source. The nature of this magic is created from destroying something else. (Loreology)
Think "Burn life to create" kind of thing. (Loreology)

The UVG describes fel as a "destructive form of magic."

This also lines up with the description of sacrificial magic (violation against life) from http://wowpedia.org/Quest:Seeking_th...7s_Edge_Memory

I think there's a also certain intent/method for creating fel energy. Draining energy from other creatures (which sounds like sacrificial magic to me) doesn't always result in fel.

I think that lines up very well with my theory.

[Deleted]

They were green and had burning eyes in them since the founding of Quel'Thalas.

The Sunwell Trilogy is silly. We know the burning crystals were sent by Kael.

Hell, the comic had Sylvie look like a night elf, including night elven armour. Just because she used a night elven model at the time in the game.

There's also the fact that in the Draka comics, Nagrand appears shattered and there are wyverns on Draenor.

What I'm saying is that sometimes when Blizzard commision artists to draw something they just get what's in the game, paradoxes be damned.

[Aucald]

They were green and had burning eyes in them since the founding of Quel'Thalas.

At the time of the founding of Quel'Thalas their eyes were either blue or whitish/silver, it looks like the picture tends more toward the latter to me. They also favored blue and gold as the color scheme of their architecture, the red and gold motifs didn't come about until after the rechristening as Blood Elves (after the destruction of the Sunwell in the Third War). Not sure of the provenance of the image, but it looks like some continuity issues might've got made in it.

[Wyrt]

I think as long as the creature is intelligent enough to use fel magic they could probably be considered warlocks. I mean, if they use them in battle they would surely devote some time to learning how to use them effectively.

So, some demons like eredar and pit lords would be warlocks, but things like infernals and felhounds would not be.

[Aquamonkey]

The Sunwell Trilogy is silly. We know the burning crystals were sent by Kael.

TBC quest says the Burning Crystals were there before the Scourge invaded:

"The Burning Crystals - the green floating objects to the west of the Sunspire here - have long been used to power the isle's experimentations. The mana wyrms were their guardians, but the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas has driven them errant from our lack of magical control over them."

[Felrane]

I agree with the definition, but I'm getting at it's origin; being sacrificial magic. If you sacrifice powerful creatures, you get more energy, but the act of burning life it's what taints it with fel.

So that's where fel came from in the first place; destruction. Now, wouldn't it be swell that Sargeras actually tainted himself in his righteous crusade, by murdering all those "evil" worlds on behalf of the titans?

I have a tough time swallowing the idea that the early-blood elves just started siphoning demons a la willy-nilly. I think they got tainted more than by the introduction of fel to their society by the methods brought by Rommath in how to rein the addiction.

Well Fel magic most likely was around before Sargeras went crazy on the universe, but the warlock green fire quest-line you find out doomgaurds were constructs of the titans created to hunt down and destroy(consume?) sacrificial magic users but became addicted to it as well. Seems that once you use felmagic enough you become almost part of it. Demons tend to come back from the twisting nether left and right but most used to be just normal races so would make a bit of sense.

[Friendlyimmolation]

Fel magic is just a more potent and less pure form of arcane.

Fel Energy is actually Arcane in its purest form. I believe even Archimonde said that the mages of Dalaran stole the magic from the legion in WCIII.

[Deleted]

They also favored blue and gold as the color scheme of their architecture, the red and gold motifs didn't come about until after the rechristening as Blood Elves (after the destruction of the Sunwell in the Third War).

Funnily enough, that seems to have been retconned. The original colours were red and gold; high elves chose blue and silver to differentiate themselves from the 'new' power in Quel'thalas.

TBC quest says the Burning Crystals were there before the Scourge invaded:

"The Burning Crystals - the green floating objects to the west of the Sunspire here - have long been used to power the isle's experimentations. The mana wyrms were their guardians, but the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas has driven them errant from our lack of magical control over them."

Agreed, I made a mistake. However, I still doubt they were fel-green originally. We know Kael sent something back from Outland, it was the part of the idea behind the manaforges.

Rommath recently mentioned the crystals, stating they were removed after the restoration of the Sunwell. It seems like a huge pile of inconsistencies which probably won't be resolved until we actually get that bleeding Kael short story.

[Felrane]

I think as long as the creature is intelligent enough to use fel magic they could probably be considered warlocks. I mean, if they use them in battle they would surely devote some time to learning how to use them effectively.

So, some demons like eredar and pit lords would be warlocks, but things like infernals and felhounds would not be.

Ya Infernos are just rock constructs infused with pure fel energy kind of like mogu magic or necrotic id say. Felhounds on the other hand were most likely created by the titans as sort of Felmagic suckerfish to clean up Arcane magic but slowly got corrupted from over exposure.

[Deleted]

Ya Infernos are just rock constructs infused with pure fel energy kind of like mogu magic or necrotic id say.

They might be fel 'elementals' (brackets because... they're not actually elementals as such?) possessing the construct. The Shadowmoon questchain around the Deathforge implies that.

[Felrane]

They might be fel 'elementals' (brackets because... they're not actually elementals as such?) possessing the construct. The Shadowmoon questchain around the Deathforge implies that.

Forgot about that questline, but that makes sense corrupted elementals spirits being forced into constructs. Rather then living souls like mogu magic.