The Unburning Flames

It is often said, by those with little to no experience in the field, that destruction is the most brutish form of magical expression. These uninformed critics claim it to be without subtlety, a release of un-tempered power requiring only base involvement of one’s spirit and mind. Of course, this view is a complete mischaracterization of a noble school, nothing more than slanders stemming from either the superstitious fear of primal forces present in the non-magical populace or coming from the other magical schools’ self-indulgent elitism. The easiest way to show the error in these common conceptions of destruction magic is to examine the complexity, forethought, and self-discipline inherent in the most common form of offensive destruction: pyromancy. Specifically, let us explore how adept pyromancers have developed the ability to use fire to injure and kill, but without the fire ever truly burning their target.

This concept of the unburning flame may sound like nonsense, but it is an essential principle for any respectable mage whom wields fire as their chosen weapon. This phenomenon is accomplished through the establishment of a magicka tether between the pyromancer and their flame. Instead of flinging fires out to consume whatever fuel they might find, the pyromancer feeds magicka through this link, keeping the flames satiated and dependent. Balancing the link is of the utmost importance; giving too little of one’s magicka reserves will cause the fire to fizzle out, while too much magicka can drive a mage quickly to exhaustion. With its need for nourishment met by the the magicka tether, the flame has neither an incentive to move beyond the area the mage intended or any inclination toward blackening and blistering.

While this may seem undesirable for someone looking to use fire as a weapon, two aspects of the flame go unaltered: the heat and the force. A flame using magical accelerants can reach high temperatures in incredibly short times, enveloping a foe and heating their body past its ability to function (though this can be more difficult to achieve with the Dunmer, as their innate threshold for heat tolerance is significantly higher). As for the force aspect of pyromancy, a genuine fireball (accomplished by sending concentrated fire out then dramatically increasing its magicka supply on impact) can produce a blast as crushing as a blow from the largest of war-hammers.

With all the delicate focus required in this type of pyromancy, one might ask would it not be more common for a mage to just let loose their flames to do what comes naturally? Though pyromancers of rumor and fiction so regularly leave their enemies charred to crisps, any who observe these mages in battle would see that this is rarely the case. To use flame magicks in the stereotypically volatile way would be a practical debacle, endangering not only the caster but the entire surrounding area. To bring forth a flame without properly limiting its desire to scorch will allow it to spread beyond its intended target, leading to a literal backfire upon the spellcaster. If the practitioners of the school of destruction were as deficient in restraint and judgment as they are so commonly discussed as being, the forests around every major magical community would be nothing but ashes and cinders.

Though a pyromancer’s control of their flames is not exclusively for concerns of safety, many learn the proper technique because of their regard to honor, morality, or personal gain. When a mage so publicly defiles a living body with un-reigned fire, the grotesque spectacle can only serve to lower the repute of that mage and the association they represent, at worst gaining enemies looking for justifiable retribution. Those more interested in wealth than matters of honor still have reasons to hold back their flame, as the loot they covet on their victims would be unlikely to survive the ravages of indiscriminate fires. Even those as depraved as necromancers have reason to temper their attacks, as the damage of actually burning the body could destroy whatever usefulness that figure had.

It must be addressed that there are indeed mages who forgo the appropriate etiquette of pyromancy, but they should not be made the basis of destruction mages’ reputation. The mages who allow their flames to burn do so either out of their own inexperience and ignorance of correct form, or because they take such a sadistic joy in their bringing about suffering and chaos that they throw their own safety to the wind. Both types of these pyromancers quickly find themselves dead, either claimed by their own uncontrollable flames or dealt with through the intervention of those they have harmed. To judge the whole school of destruction off of the failures of these few would be akin to disparaging mages for the ruin wrought by a dragon’s fire.