Cavnish Magic

In Cavnal, magical abilities are traditionally divided into particular Gifts. The most powerful Gifts have a specific name, and, among some groups of people, a classing system.

Mages are also classed according to the number of Gifts they have. A mage with two Gifts is called a Maven, while a mage with three or more gifts is called an Ace.

In Cavnish high society, where magic and those who possess it are spurned, mages are referred to as Jixies. This supposedly derives from the slang term, magicksy, that used to be popular.

The following are the most powerful (named) Gifts of magic as they are known in Cavnal. Some minor spoilers may be visible, but the big spoilers are hidden.

Blood[]

A Blood mage is a healer. Less proficient mages may be restricted to minor feats of healing, such as cuts and bruises, but the most powerful Blood mages can cure diseases, reverse terrible trauma, and — legend has it — even bring the dead back to life. But no one knows for certain if any Blood mage has ever successfully brought someone back to life. Less powerful mages practice their craft by instinct, but the more powerful mages actually visualize the healing process, which is how they are able to perform such incredible feats of healing. It is thought that Blood mages also have the capacity to inflict harm, but this is unverified.

Blood mages in TMM:

Doc is the most powerful Blood mage currently in Cavnal. His familiarity with life and death sets him apart as something of an enigma.
Elanar, Queen of Cavnal, is a Blood, but of weak and relatively untrained skill.
Tarik becomes a Blood almost by accident. His skill is fairly untrained, being so new, but he shows promise of becoming a powerful Blood mage.
Eyid had healing abilities, but not particularly well developed.
Arnthor, the Cromner arch-mage accused of beginning the genocide called the Scourge, was a Blood mage.

Chroniker[]

The Chroniker Gift is perhaps the rarest Gift in recorded history, and some people believe it does not exist at all. A Chroniker has the ability to stop time around himself, if only just briefly. The Chroniker himself is not affected by this pause. Understandably, this has the potential to be a very powerful, and very insidious ability. It is perhaps fortunate that most mages have no knowledge of this Gift's existence, much less any aptitude for it at all.

Click "Expand" for spoilers about Chronikers in TMM:

Tarik is the only known living Chroniker. He uses the power reflexively to save his comrades' lives in A Dark So Deep, during the Borokhev mission. The effect of the time manipulation is that Tarik is able to pinpoint the location of his enemies by using the discharge from their rifles, but as soon as the time-hold cracks, the bullets that had been fired in his direction keep flying.

Cloak[]

The Cloak Gift allows the mage to turn invisible, blending flawlessly with their surroundings. This camouflage ability is a fantastic defense mechanism, but it has definite limitations — the mage cannot move while Cloaked, or the invisibility will be broken. It is unclear whether this feat is a matter of simple illusion — convincing other people that they cannot see the mage — or if it is in fact genuine invisibility. Cloaks often remark that they continue to see themselves even when invisible.

Cloaks in TMM:

Tarik is, of course, the most notable Cloak in the story. He discovers the Gift in a moment of desperate necessity, which seems to be a sort of common theme for him.

Dulcet[]

Dulcets are peculiar mages who have the ability to persuade others through their words. When consciously using their Gift, they can convince a listener of almost anything, even something they would be otherwise violently opposed to. Understandably, this was one of the first Gifts that got barred from public office, before mages in general were prohibited from holding government positions. Skilled Dulcets have learned how to "turn off" their persuasive abilities, but less adept mages often have the misfortune of making everyone always agree with them—even when they don't mean to.

Dulcets in TMM:

Quickly, in A Dark So Deep, is a Dulcet, and by his own admission not a very skilled one—or, some would say, too skilled. His inability to keep people from agreeing with him makes him reluctant to speak at all.

Flint[]

Flints are masters of fire. They are also called pyrogenics because they not only control fire, but can also create it. Some Flints are so in tune with the element that they seem to have a living furnace inside them. Their experience of fire is not one of pain and physical damage, but an almost euphoric sensation of energy and life which increases with the mage's power, making the creation and manipulation of fire dangerously close to an addiction for the most powerful mages.

Flints in TMM:

Scorch is the most powerful Flint in Brinmark, with a compulsive need for fire. Mages who choose to flaunt their Gifts often get tattoos symbolic of their power, but Scorch famously, or infamously, gave himself a "mark" by burning a hand print on his own face.
Tarik also possesses this Gift, but he has difficulty controlling it because he is already so fractured by the time he acquires it.
Eyid, former Godar of Istia, was rumored to be a Flint.
Aothir, a half-Istian rescued by Kor and his crew in A Dark So Deep (but whose name you don't learn until A Sea Like Glass) is a moderately powerful Flint.

Ghost[]

Ghosts are another rare breed of mage, who possess the ability to teleport from one place to another. They also have distinct limitations on their power: they can only Ghost to places they have seen before, and they are only invisible so long as they are moving. As soon as they complete the teleport, they will be visible again to anyone in the area. The movement is instantaneous, allowing the mage to cover incredible distances in short periods of time, so long as they know where they are going.

Click "Expand" for spoilers about Ghosts in TMM:

Derrin is thought to be the only Ghost in Brinmark, and even that is not well known. Most people assume that Derrin has no magical ability at all because he is so private about his Gift.

Aroden is also a Ghost.

Knack[]

Knacks are mind-readers. They have the ability to glean not only people's internal conversations, but powerful Knacks can also intuit their emotions and the movements of their subconscious, which makes them adept at detecting lies. Untrained Knacks are sometimes driven mad by their Gift before they learn to control it, because their own consciousness and thoughts get drowned out by a cacophony of noise from the world around them. Knacks generally live by an unspoken code of ethics, keeping their prying eyes out of people's minds unless they feel there is a good reason to intrude on their privacy. Less scrupulous mages will assume they have permission to pry unless told otherwise. Most people do not have the ability to block out a Knack's perception, but other people seem to have a natural ability to keep Knacks out of their heads.

Knacks in TMM:

Elanar is a skilled Knack, which her son never quite seems to catch on to. However, even she is unable to read King Trabin, who is incredibly talented at keeping his thoughts to himself.
Luce, a seamstress-turned-rebel whom Hayli meets before the Esobor incident, is a very powerful Knack. She has less reservation than most about prying into people's thoughts, at least until Tarik blocks her from his mind and rebukes her for her nosiness.
Zaid, the mage rescued along with Aothir before Borokhev, is a tolerably skilled Knack.

Click "Expand" for spoilers about Knacks in TMM:

Pika, the little urchin and thief, has the potential to become a very powerful Knack, who has the ability to read people that other Knacks cannot. Her ability verges on the empathic.
Aothir has a peculiar sort of mind-reading ability. He can see through the eyes of Thane, who likewise can see through his eyes.
Aroden also demonstrates an ability to read minds.

Mask[]

A Mask is a mage who can alter his physical appearance. Although most often used to change the mage's facial features, the Mask Gift can also be used to alter body type and size. Many people mistakenly think that the Mask Gift is a work of illusion, but anyone who actually possesses the Gift would be quick to point out that they do, in fact, physically change when they use their power. Any alteration of bone structure is an excruciatingly painful process. Most Masks operate on their own code of ethics, which prohibits them from adopting the features of any living person.

Masks in TMM:

Tarik is the most famous, and perhaps most powerful, Mask, in the story. This was his first Gift, and so the one for which he has the greatest aptitude. He has the ability to take on not only one new appearance, but layers of appearances which he can adopt or shed as needed. However, in the midst of his fracturing, this is one of the Gifts he is least able to count on.
Eyid was a talented Mask as well, but he never used the power very much because Istians consider it intrinsically dishonest, and there is nothing more abhorrent to them.

Click "Expand" for spoilers about Masks in TMM:

Aroden is a remarkably powerful Mask, probably second only to Tarik.

Mist[]

Mists are weather-workers. The term is not generally used, however, and in Cavnal the more common term for the Gift is the derogatory name, "farmdoll," because many mages with this Gift are employed on farms to protect or boost the harvest. A weather-worker's power is quite distinct from that of a Wind. Mists are underestimated in Cavnal but highly revered in the seafaring culture of Istia, where weather-workers are understood to have power not only over the currents in the sky but also the currents in the sea.

Mists in TMM:

Shaft, one of the mages from Greydowns, is a weather-worker, but not a very powerful one.
Agnir, captain of the Istian schooner Hastol, is perhaps the most adept Mist in Tarik's acquaintance. He not only has great magical power, but also incredible depth of understanding when it comes to how sea and sky interact.

Moth[]

Moths are shape-shifters, so called because of the moth's transformation from caterpillar to winged adult. This is also a fairly rare Gift. Each Moth has a particular creature that they Shift into, and it is always the same creature. So, for example, a mage who can Shift into a cat won't turn into any cat when she uses her power, but will always turn into the same cat, which has an identity of its own. Untrained Moths have no recollection of their animal lives, but the higher the skill, the finer the level of control—and teamwork—the mage and creature have.

Moths in TMM:

Hayli is the only known Moth in Brinmark at the time of the Madness Project. Her animal nature is a crow, who has a sarcastic, incisive and unyielding personality.
Arnthor was rumored to be a Moth, as well as a Blood. It is unknown what his animal nature was, however.
Creech, who appears in A Sea Like Glass, is a Moth. His animal nature is a large black and tan dog.

Rift[]

Rifts have the ability to pass through matter. This is another rare Gift that has the potential to be quite dangerous, because Rifts can be quite content to dwell inside physical structures for indefinite lengths of time, which makes them particularly well-suited to be spies. Rifts can only move through matter they are in direct contact with, so there is no element of teleportation. Novice Rifts are generally limited to moving themselves through matter, but master Rifts can carry objects or other people with them.

Rifts in TMM:

Shiver is the only known Rift in Rivano's Clan. In many ways he is like Coins's mage-twin, with the same insatiable thirst for gossip and secrets. While many Rifts are careful not to use their Gift in a way that would threaten other people's privacy, Shiver doesn't really care, and is quite content to use his Gift to spy on everyone, from the least significant to the most powerful.

Sculptor[]

Sculptors are manipulators of emotion. They can create panic, fear, calm, grief, even love and hope in their targets. The effect is temporary, however, and as soon as the Sculptor removes his influence, the emotion begins to fade, with no permanent damage or benefit to the target. Novice Sculptors can only influence the emotions of one person at a time, but master Sculptors can control the emotions of entire crowds—making them capable of either creating, or dispelling, mobs. Sculptors work solely from the outside in—they cannot read a person's emotions the way a Knack can, only instill new ones as a sort of emotional "override."

Sculptors in TMM:

Lute, the mage Hayli meets in Esobor, is a powerful Sculptor who can command whole crowds of people. He returns in A Dark So Deep to help Tarik in the riot outside Von's house.
Rigvar in A Sea Like Glass is a master Sculptor.

Shard[]

Shards using magic to gain a tactical advantage in fighting and the use of weapons. The Gift aids its wielders by giving them heightened spatial awareness, increased agility and faster reflexes, and finer motor control of their bodies and weapons. The Gift does not make them super-humanly fast or able to defy the laws of physics — a Shard can only move as fast as he has trained his physical body to move — but many Shards are able to use their mental clarity and heightened control of their bodies to move and react more quickly than people without the Gift.

Shards in TMM:

Dreyden Kor is the most notable Shard in Brinmark, but few people know about his ability.
Lt. Benard Bridnow is a skilled Shard who thought his skills would be valuable in the Cavnish Army.
Lev, a resident of the smelter who arrived shortly after the incident at Minister Von's house, is a highly talented Shard.
Eyid was a powerful Shard, but it was not his magically-heightened abilities that won him the reputation of being a great warrior.

Telekine[]

Telekines, like their name suggests, can use telekinesis to manipulate objects without touching them. Unskilled Telekines cannot manipulate matter against the force of gravity, but more highly skilled or powerful mages can cause objects to levitate and move through mid-air. By an unspoken code of ethics, most Telekines limit their use of power to picking up and moving objects, but some Telekines are willing to use their Gift to control the bodies of other people, Pushing and Pulling them to do what they want.

Telekines in TMM:

Tarik has the power of telekinesis, which he has proved willing to use to Move other people. His initial Gift did not allow him to move objects against gravity, but he soon mastered that aspect of the skill.
Tharskar, one of Rigvar's followers, is a very powerful Telekine who also has no reservations about using his ability to control other people's bodies.

Whisperer[]

Whisperers are another extremely rare type of mage in the world. Unlike Knacks, who can read other people's minds, and Sculptors, who can impose emotions on other people short-term, Whisperers have the unique ability of being able to speak directly into someone else's mind. Their words can manipulate the thoughts, emotions, and even the subconscious of the person they Whisper to, and over time can make them believe whatever the mage wants them to believe. Whisperers may speak with any voice — their own, someone else's, or, most insidiously, the hearer's own voice.

Click "Expand" for spoilers about Whisperers in TMM:

Aroden is eventually revealed to be the only known living Whisperer, an extremely powerful one at that. His lack of any inhibitions or moral code mean that there is no limit to what he will Whisper...or to whom he will Whisper it.
Arnthor was also rumored to have been a powerful Whisperer.

Wind[]

Winds are the most common and least powerful of the named Gifted. They have the ability to draw in powerful winds or push blowing winds away, but they cannot necessarily create a wind where there wasn't one before. Cavnish mages believe that people with more than one Gift also, by default, have this power as a sort of background noise to their other abilities — and many of them go through life without realizing it. Istians believe that the Wind power is the most basic expression of magic, or the weakest sign of Wake's touch, and so all mages have this power. The Cavnish belief that only Mavens or Aces have it may be owing to their false division of magic into Gifts — their failure to see the interconnectedness of all magic.

Because this power is uniquely associated with Wake — and because a multitude of Gifts is associated with the mental fracturing — it is perhaps not surprising that for many powerful mages, their Wind power expresses itself subconsciously whenever they are experiencing deep emotion. Most often this is seen with rage- or fear-caused gales, but even the sensation of love can stir up a peaceful breeze.

Winds in TMM:

Rivano is the most notable Wind in the Madness Method. It is somewhat curious that someone who is such a powerful and charismatic leader of mages has only this simple and common Gift.