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In Marrishland, magic is the source of all power, so it isn't surprising that it plays such an important role in its history and culture. It also lies at the heart of the conflict in the book. To find out how, read the book.

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Wint magic

By its nature, wint magic is synergistic, collective, and cumulative. The larger the number of adult wints who subscribe to the same system of beliefs and behavior, the more magical power each member contributes to the tribe's pool of magic. This pool of magic remains even if a contributing member dies and is not depleted over time, though any adult member of the tribe may draw on it to fuel magical effects. If a tribe's culture changed significantly, however, they would lose the ability to tap the magical resources of prior generations, contributing instead to a new pool of magic.

Because of this, the strength of a tribe's magic depended heavily on the size of the tribe, how long they had worshipped the same deity, and how carefully they had conserved their magic. The Totanbeni were extremely powerful because they were so numerous, though some scholars claim the Totanbeni were not so united as outsiders believed them to be. The Totanbeni who spent much of their time on shadelshifs, they argue, probably drew from a different pool of magic than those who dwelled in the subcontinent's interior.

The fate of the magical pool of a wint culture that has ceased to exist — whether due to genocide, misfortune, or radical cultural changes — is a matter of much speculation. Most scholars believe this magic gradually decays. Several speculate that these lost pools of magic maintain an existence in the Tempest, though attempts to find or tap these pools have been unsuccessful. A few Kafthaian scholars even claim that not only do these purposeless pools live on in the Tempest, but that they actually have a rudimentary sentience and a driving desire to use themselves up at any opportunity. In essence, these scholars speculate that the demons summoned by Kafthaian witches are, in fact, the manifestations of wint gods whose tribes are no more.

(Contributed by Weard Krag Arkum)