Doug McMillan
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Doug McMillan
@dougmcmillan.bsky.social
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dougmcmillan.bsky.social
No sarcasm meant. The system is legitimately swamped right now.
Application Portal Notice. The Canadian Military is getting far more applicants than they expected.
March 18, 2025 at 7:38 PM
dougmcmillan.bsky.social
As far as learning magic without gifts, here's from the Villian's own mouth. In the Witcher novels anyone could learn magic given the time, focus and resources. In both the Netflix show and the R. Talsorian TTRPG they turned it into an inborn gift, into the X-men.
“As you rightly observed, the parallels between us aren’t completely parallel,” murmured Geralt. “In spite of appearances, we have little in common, Vilgefortz. What did you want to prove by telling me your story? That the road to wizardly excellence, although winding and difficult, is available to anyone? Even—excuse my parallel—to bastards or foundlings, wanderers or witchers—” “No,” the sorcerer interrupted. “I didn’t mean to prove this road is open to all, because that’s obvious and was proved long ago. Neither was there a need to prove that certain people simply have no other path.” Sapkowski, Andrzej. The Time of Contempt (The Witcher Book 4 / The Witcher Saga Novels Book 2) (p. 144). Orbit. Kindle Edition.
January 10, 2025 at 4:12 PM
dougmcmillan.bsky.social
So Ciri is a Source, and the bloodline of Lara Donnen. Sources are a bit of an exception to the Conclave's usual policies and aren't treated the same.

This is from The Blood of Elves. Content notice for ableism and Eugenics.
Tissaia De Vries from, "The Blood of Elves" by Andrei Sakowski: No one is born a wizard. We still know too little about genetics and the mechanisms of heredity. We sacrifice too little time and means on research. Unfortunately, we constantly try to pass on inherited magical abilities in, so to say, a natural way. Results of these pseudo-experiments can be seen all too often in town gutters and within temple walls. We see too many of them, and too frequently come across morons and women in a catatonic state, dribbling seers who soil themselves, seeresses, village oracles and miracle-workers, cretins whose minds are degenerate due to the inherited, uncontrolled Force. These morons and cretins can also have offspring, can pass on abilities and thus degenerate further. Is anyone in a position to foresee or describe how the last link in such a chain will look? Most of us wizards lose the ability to procreate due to somatic changes and dysfunction of the pituitary gland. Some wizards – usually women – attune to magic while still maintaining efficiency of the gonads. They can conceive and give birth – and have the audacity to consider this happiness and a blessing. But I repeat: no one is born Sapkowski, Andrzej. Blood of Elves (The Witcher Book 3 / The Witcher Saga Novels Book 1) (p. 262). Orbit. Kindle Edition. a wizard. And no one should be born one! Conscious of the gravity of what I write, I answer the question posed at the Congress in Cidaris. I answer most emphatically: each one of us must decide what she wants to be – a wizard or a mother. I demand all apprentices be sterilised. Without exception. Tissaia de Vries, The Poisoned Source Sapkowski, Andrzej. Blood of Elves (The Witcher Book 3 / The Witcher Saga Novels Book 1) (p. 262). Orbit. Kindle Edition.
January 10, 2025 at 3:56 PM