The Magic and Musings of Tahlia Coppertell

[Obvious_Illusion]

Character Profile
Tahlia Coppertell

Appearance
Race: Human
Age: 19
Height: 5'7"
Weight: Thin
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Light brown (See habits/hobbies for more info)

Personality
Traits: Headstrong, Imaginative, Manipulative.
Deity: Oghma; also loosely worships Mystra, Azuth and Tymora.
Initial Alignment: True Neutral.
Profession: Mage; Adventurer; Scholar.
Base Class & Proposed Development: Sorcerer/Rogue/Arcane Trickster/Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep.
Habits/Hobbies:
- Whenever she has been casting a lot of magic, her hair becomes more blonde. Tahlia supposes that when she is able to cast more complex, powerful magic, her hair may become completely blonde. This effect is, however temporary and not using magic returns her hair to brown.
- Tahlia sometimes has a habit of being melodramatic and taking on the role of a very dramatic damsel in distress, or inept idiot.
- Tahlia will often take lead of a group and refer to them as her troupe, or otherwise, and introduce them as such.
- She often dwells on issues of morality and ethics, and these will become the subject of her acting and melodrama.
- In her spare time, she writes; both in journal and fictional form.
Languages: Common, Elven and Draconic.
Weapon of Choice: Sling.

Background: Not much is known of her parents. They were either traders, guards of traders or perhaps just on the ride - They were attacked by a group of orcs and other lesser humanoids. One of the travellers with the group of traders heading south from Waterdeep fleed to fetch help, and the guards (which may or may not have been her parents), held off the attackers until help (a trade route patrol) was luckily found, however they were slaughtered, along with the traders and others in the caravan. Tahlia and her younger sister, Khala were babies, and well-hidden inside the caravan when they were attacked - The patrol found Tahlia and Khala in the aftermath. The circumstances, however, are all incredibly sketchy. The lone survivor (Aside from Tahlia and Khala) of the caravan did not know the parents very well. Tahlia and her sister were taken to Daggerford, which was close by, and Tahlia ended up being fostered by a kind-enough lone woman, Deloras. Deloras would not take on both, however, and Khala ended up with couple that took a liking to her. The couple were just passing on by, and rumoured to have travelled south. The only signifier of a name on Tahlia and her sister were silver rings with their respective names enscribed. This is Tahlia's only connection to any pre-existing family.

Growing up, Tahlia developed well enough, she had plenty of chores and worked hard, but Deloras was fairly well to do. Headstrong and a natural leader, Tahlia often lead childish games with other children in Daggerford - This sometimes got her in trouble. She had a private tutor to teach her how to read and write, as Deloras always emphasised the importance of reading, books and knowledge. Tahlia always found this difficult, as she was usually too engrossed in her imagination and fancies, but learning to read and write, she discovered a way to combine those passions - Writing. This fascination would take a step back, however, as she hit puberty and her sorcery powers began to develop. This came as a shock to Deloras, when at first magical lights and small bursts of flame began to haunt the house. Luckily it never caught on fire. When a link between these hauntings and Tahlia was made, she spent a long time at the temple of Lathander, the Morninglow Tower in Daggerford. A cleric with enough knowledge recognised these hauntings as sorcery, and the focus in her life then came onto her powers.

She has now come to Baldur's Gate in search of her younger sister.

Goals:
- Grow in magical power.
- Find her younger sister, Khala.
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts:
Her favourite colours are yellow and orange.
Tahlia wants to find her sister, Khala.
She is interested in anything magical.

[Obvious_Illusion]

On Morals and Magic


Arcane, Divine and the Matter of the Authentic; A Lament on the Experential Facets of Magic

Author's Note: While I cannot diverge on the experience of divine magic, I shall attempt to umbrella them as the same as Arcane in this instance.

I am attempting to ask an entirely broad question, that for many is quite simple, and for others, is a question never asked and entirely difficult to answer. Why use magic? I will attempt to answer this question to the best of my abilities whilst acknowledging that there is a gap between a questioning of using magic, and the practical application of magic.

Magic as a Birthright.

There are many whom are quick to claim that their magic is a birthright - though I should note that there are even wizards who might claim that the capacity to learn magic, and practice it, especially if it is of traditional value is indeed also a birthright. Is the simple ability to use magic enough to justify actually using it? This seems to me a poor justification. If we are capable of murdering a person, we do not, as rational and virtuous people, murder that person, just because we can. Imagine a world where there is no magic, and no one is entitled to the use of it, and it is also not even of an imaginable capability. How then might that world function? Imagine if that magicless world, was then introduced to magic. What purpose does the magic have? Is it to aid people's everyday lives, to make it easier? To ask a question of 'why use magic?', I assert that we must also ask ourselves, 'how would we function without magic?' And perhaps we might find ourselves being less inclined to magic, or quite the opposite, over-protective of it.

Magic and Knowledge.

It seems quite apparent to me that there is a correlation between those whom study and practice magic, and those whom have a greater understanding of the world. Might we then conclude that by using magic, and studying magic, we are able to understand the world? What purpose does knowledge of the world have in our everyday lives? This is by no means an easy question to ask - but it does assert the value of Divination magic. If I were to use this as an argument, and to argue that there is a greater overriding purpose in understanding the world, then I would be able to argue that Divination magic is of great purpose, however other forms of magic are perhaps not.

Magic and Aestheticism.

While many wizards are baffled when attempting to ask this question, and often turn to their covetous craft and old tomes, I find that those delightful Minstrels and Thespians of the realms are eagerly content to answer a question such as this. For them, if they are capable of such feats, and more often than not, magic is an art form, something to be appreciated, and very much a spectacle. While this could perhaps be seen as a poor argument, in the face of a world where there is very much death looming around every corner, and any attempt to lighten the world, and make it more pleasant and enjoyable is an endeavour to be appreciated. I am, however not arguing that magic is justified simply by being pretty, and easy to look upon, but simply that any enjoyment that magic might offer, or suffering eased is a worthwhile reason to use magic.

Magic and Balance.

There are servants of nature who seek balance, and valiant knights of Tyr and Torm whom seek greater good, as well as defilers of death and seekers of undeath whom seek only evil. Is it possible that to follow an ideal is reason enough to use magic? If I sought to enforce laws and the legalities of my nation, would that not be reason enough to use magic? Magic itself has no moral status, although there are ways in which it can be manipulated to do so - Such as necromancy. However, a curative spell from a priest may be used on both the evil man and the man of good, just the same as the wizard's fire ball might burn and sear a group of kobolds, just as easily as it might kill innocent children. It might then be, that I should argue that to use magic, a practitioner must have a worthwhile purpose, whether it be preservation or destruction. The most dangerous practitioner is the one whom has no purpose, nothing to gain, and nothing to lose.

Magic and Identity; The Authentic Self

Perhaps the paradigm question I am trying to ask here: Are we our magic, or is our magic us? Where do we find our identity in magic? As a Sorceress I am born of magic; whether I would decide to develop my powers, they would still exist nonetheless. For me, it's inescapable, and yet I would be naught without it. But there has to be a line where I can assert that I am not my magic, and I am just a person. It is at this pinnacle revelation that I can only begin to understand why I should use magic. If it is an inevitable part of me, then I must use magic to resist being anything else. Please, do take wisdom in my words and take time to understand the implications of what I mean, for I shall state my meanings quite explicitly. I use magic to resist magic. To resist becoming only magic, and not a person. The authentic self is the mage, and the magic is his tool; his resource; his art; his craft.

Final Thoughts.

I must be confident that were I to lose my ability to use magic, that I would still have some worthwhile use in the world, and if I can be sure of that, and strive towards that, then my reasoning of the use of magic is validated.

[Obvious_Illusion]

Debates and Debacle


Advocacy and the Oppositional; Playing the Devil's Role in the Face of the Other

It has come to my attention in recent times that the ineptitude of decision-making and rationality is due to a lack of consideration for the other. This becomes apparent to me as a problem of knowledge - people are inclined to only do what they know, because that's all they know, and that's all they'll ever consider. This is not a bad thing, for we do not want a tailor whom considers the life of adventuring and takes it upon himself to give up his tailoring, as we'd be without a tailor. I, myself am subject to this, for I am a Sorceress, and not a Warrior and will never try to wear armour or wield a halberd or other such weapon. It is, however for argumentative sake that this ideal takes on a more sinister approach. I will discuss in following the role of playing the devil's advocate in argument, and its critical importance.


The Role of the Opposite.

When we argue a point, it is of greater measure to argue both our own point, and the complete opposite point to reach a solid conclusion. In pointing out the flaws and the construction of both arguments, we are able to firmly assert a logical position for our argument's point. We are, however at risk of reaching a state of indecision due to perhaps seeing flaws in our side of the argument, and no longer being able to argue our point. This is, however not at all risk, and perhaps the greatest merit of the true scholar. The ability to realise ones own mistakes and to correct them. The scholar who spends his whole life researching his own stance, philosophy and argument, but never the oppositional argument, has research of much less worth and credibility than the scholar who spends his whole life considering both his own argument, and the counter arguments.


Playing the Advocate.

Woven into our very language are constant paradoxes in the way we sequence our thoughts and arguments, there is an incredible miscommunication, and when playing the advocate I find this to become a very prolific notion. When a person explains a concept to us, we might say 'I see what you mean' - an almost natural response, but if we consider the words we're actually using, it is possible that we are being rude or patronising. When saying 'I see what you mean', we are not validating their argument, only that we either a) understand what they are saying, or b) are able to decipher what they are trying to say, but in saying 'what you mean', we are acknowledging that they are inept of arguing the point. A drunken wizard once said to me, 'I hate it when people agree with me', to which I replied cheekily, 'I quite agree, it's frustrating.' There was, however a fierce meaning in his inebriation and comment - for it is only when we disagree with someone that we are able to argue, and it is only when we are able to play out our thoughts and arguments, and still after that, disagree that we have debated and argued and have truly acknowledged the others' point of view, in which case we say 'Let's agree to disagree.'


The Other.

It is in considering the other that we find the true wisdom to arguments, as I have been arguing. Take for example a man and a woman meeting in a foreign, neutral city in another realm. The man argues that in his native home, the grass is green, the woman, however argues that he must be tapped in the head, but it is quite clear that the grass is brown, because it is brown where she is from. The man thoroughly disagrees. They are both equally correct, but incorrect in their arguing, for they both lack evidence of each others experience. If they are, however, to imagine a land with dead, brown grass, or imagine a land with vibrant, lush green grass, respectively, then even if they are unable to conclusively prove the other wrong, they might at least consider the possibility of both of them being correct.


Final Thoughts.

If we are to be taken seriously in any of our arguments, it is imperative to consider that in all instances, we are wrong and that being wrong is perhaps the greatest virtue in scholarly affairs.

[Obvious_Illusion]

Journal Entry

Ghosts of the Past and the Wounds of Tomorrow

Dear Omnipresent Journal,

It's... been some time since I bothered to write to you. I suppose I'm so used to writing scholarly papers, and I get so distracted with everything else... Anyhow, the following two events seem important enough to reflect on.

I was viewing some wares in the Friendly 'Fortress' Inn when lo and behold, a ghostly apparition walked by. Upon seeing it... well, my world changed. I felt enamoured of it. I could sense its yearning for freedom, and upon following it to Cloakwood, it began to wail and scream in pain. Its suffering was... romantic. An odd notion, indeed. But it was romantic in the sense of it being oh-so poetic. It wanted naught but freedom, and granting it so was the least I could do. Its presence, however was attracting forces of malevolence, not to mention beasts and such of the Cloakwood forest. Nonetheless, I bested them, with the help of another follower of the ghost. It lead us to what I suppose was its body in its lifetime, and we found its family heirloom - A suite of armour, with the inscription of the 'Bowen' family.

After taking the armour, it lead us towards Baldur's Gate, where we picked up a few other unimportant people to assist in its voyage. Getting over the bridge with the flaming fist guards was... difficult, but upon seeing that it was harmless, they let us pass. We kept getting attacked by more evil spirits, it was a difficult voyage! It lead us to a graveyard, where a huge spirit who explained that I must return whatever is keeping it bound to the physical realm to its grave, then attacked us, claiming that the ghost was his to keep. Some kind of spirit fiend and hoarder. Needless to say, its appearance was terrifying, and we cowered in fear for some time, luckily it was slow-moving, and we could blast it with magic from far away.

The spirits still attacked, and finally I found the Bowen grave, where I returned the armour, and the ghost was put to rest. Before the ghost disappeared, it asked us what we most desired - I said 'Knowledge' without much thought, and I do not regret my decision. But apparently a ghosts' interpretation of knowledge is an extravagantly well-made crossbow. I can't complain.

-----

And the other occurrence... well. The rumour of Tommy being unfaithful. I found him alone with Lynn, and suspected the worst. But I was wrong... am I bad for thinking him untrustworthy? Still... I trust him for now. But he makes it hard to trust him, being surrounded by so many women all the time.

The words trail off into a few scribbles, some scribbled out thoughts and a bad sketch of a ghost-like figure.