> Except that it requires the mystic to actually have any powers worth
> using, which to me is a dubious concept. The aim of mysticism is not to
> acquire k3w1 p0\V/3rz! but to draw closer to the ineffable whether it be
> Dayzatar, Irensavel or Durapdur. I don't see how a mystic could start
> casting a killing bolt of doom just because he decides to play whoopsies
> with the dark side.
Well .... quite. :)
If we are going to look at this from the N Worlds perspective, and going on from what Greg has been saying on the subject at various conceptions, I think that we could be looking at three potential paths towards mysticism, from a cosmological and I suppose God-Learnery point of view -- plus the dragon path that I won't get into here, and has been detailed in some publications anyway.
Greg has several times described Mysticism as a connection with the Ultimate, which from the N Worlds point of view can be described as turning away from the apparent diversity of these worlds and instead seeking what is common and universal to them all and to the mystic him/her -self.
There could then be forms of Mysticism that sought to reach the ultimate by avoiding and ignoring the N Worlds as being "broken" or some such (there can be many variants of this type) ; those that instead try to attain to the ultimate *via* one of the 3 types of magic (the Old Wind people would be an example of this), so that their mysticism would be accompanied by a deeply dedicated and exclusive commitment to gods, sorcery, or spirits as a mystical practise ; the third type would attempt to reach the Ultimate via the Inner World which is a mixed world and can therefore be seen as a manifestation of the Ultimate that has been encroached upon, invaded, or damaged by the other Worlds.
So we would then have three types of mystics - those who sought to reach the Ultimate by drawing away from the Inner World and its inhabitants ; those who sought to reach it by some single-minded dedication to a magical tradition, which would make them aloof but not unreachable (and, at a pinch, playable) ; and those who are deeply involved in the Inner World and with its inhabitants, whilst simultaneously avoiding all otherworldly magic (some forms of Inner World magic or possibly even some mystic powers from the Ultimate could potentially be available, depending on the Sect).
Would that make sense or be helpful at all ?
Julian Lord
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