There is one skeleton that Rexxar and co. meets in Dustwallow Marsh during the Founding of Durotar campaign. https://wowwiki.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_Talendar
While he lived, Talendar was drawn to the arcane, even though he was unable to cast spells himself. He thus decided to surround himself with the arcane and locked himself within the halls which were to become his tomb.
I’ve always considered Arcane in warcraft to be more of a science discipline rather than something innate and not accessible to any hardworking adept.
Are there any examples in modern lore where someone was “drawn to the arcane, even though he was unable to cast spells himself”?
Now that’s an interesting… and quite old source. And I’m not sure how to interpret it. Just like yours, my understanding of arcane magic was always that it was, in principle, able to be learned by everyone… who had the necessary mental skills. Since it was relevant for my RP I actually did look for sources for the innateness of magic before, and never found one, and never heard one in RP/realm forum discussions on this very topic. Of course that doesn’t mean that there are none… but if they are somewhere, they are quite obscure.
And while your source is interesting, I myself wouldn’t really be convinced by it alone. That someone might be incompatible with arcane magic is not the same thing as arcane magic being innate to only special individuals. I mean… if he personally had a condition where he, for example, reacted harshly to mind-to-mana contact, it would make him unable to use magic, but it would be his condition that was special, not the ability to use magic.
And while I’m not ignoring it… I do tend to look at pre-WoW-Sources as not necessarily reliable for WoW.
Yes, I am also not sure if Frozen Throne could be considered 100 % canon. Especially after Chronicles. That’s why I am interested if there are any similar cases in wow.
There does seem to be some kind of aptitude for arcane magic, though. For example, the High Elves were surprised at the humans’ “affinity” for magic, once they taught it to them. I think it was called like that on some archeology item… I’ll have a look.
And here it is:
The elves taught only one hundred humans, the bare minimum needed to defeat the trolls. The humans proved to be clumsy spellcasters but had a natural affinity for magic.
Well, that would go for dwarves and possibly gnomes as well, and even orcs might fit into that category, considering Aggramar had his hand in their creation.
One possibility is that Talendar was not actually a Highborne, but an elf of lower cast who didn’t have a direct access to Well of Eternity. It would explain his lack of magical knowledge and make his quest for power some kind of attempt to prove that he was worthy of a status of Highborne.
Well, that would go for dwarves and possibly gnomes as well, and even orcs might fit into that category, considering Aggramar had his hand in their creation.
Well, Dark Iron dwarves are quite capable in terms of magic, as well as gnomes.
It might as well be just a default “human potential” trope which is quite common in fantasy
Considering that he comes from Warcraft 3 I would simply say that it’s outdated and retconned lore at this point. The new portrayal of magic is generally that it’s a science and that essentially everyone can learn it as long as he has patience, a clear intellect etc. In “Tides of War” for example Kalecgos compares magic to mathematics.
What does exist is a natural affinity to magic or being “naturally gifted” like Jaina for example. But, this is likely more akin to our real world: For example someone simply is better at drawing, and he doesn’t need to practice it for hours. He’s simply a natural at drawing. Someone else struggles with it for years, but is still able to become a good artist over the years through hard and dedicated work.
…that’s Aegwynn talking to an adult Jaina. Not really a source for innate magic here.
Unfortunately, all this served to do was cause Proudmoore to drop the teenager affect and go back to being the leader she apparently was. “I‟m afraid I can‟t do that, Magna. You‟re too important to—” “I‟m not important to anything! Don‟t you understand, you stupid little girl? I‟m not fit for human company—or orc company, troll company, dwarf company, you name it.”
That got the infant‟s back up. Aegwynn could see the magic roiling within her and realized that, child though she may be, she was quite powerful. She had gotten through the wards without Aegwynn‟s even noticing, after all, and that bespoke a certain skill. “I‟m not a „little girl.‟ I‟m a wizard of the Kirin Tor.”
And the Antonidas-quote was also directed at apprentice Jaina, not spoken about a baby:
Being wrong was never something that bothered her, and she mostly blamed Antonidas for that. Her mentor had drummed into her from the moment her apprenticeship started that the worst sin a mage could commit was arrogance, and also the easiest. “With so much power at your command—literally at your fingertips—it is easy to be tempted to think that you are all-powerful,” the older wizard had said. “Indeed it is so easy that most wizards succumb to the notion. It is one of the reasons why we are often so tiresome.” That last had been said with a small smile.
“Aegwynn could see the magic in her and realized that - despite her youth - she was very powerful.”
To be honest, I don’t see how it shows that magic is innate. On the contrary, it says that magic is a skill that is developed over the lifetime and Jaina has developed it on a significant level despite her relative youth.
As was mentioned above, it can be compared to drawing. Some people might just take a brush and draw a piece of art. Other have to study it academically in order to draw a simple shapes. Jaina is a first case
I always compared it to the portrayal of arcane casters in DnD. There are wizards and sorcerers. Wizards usually do not have any innate talent and study magic academically via books and scrolls, use reagents and arcane foci to cast spells. Some might eventually become proficient in arcane, but some might end up lighting arcane lanterns in a small town for money. And there are sorcerers. They have an extreme amounts of innate arcane potential due to their bloodline, some random event or by just being special.
Jaina is a sorcerer in DnD language. Or just an extremely talented wizard. In the end, she is considered a strongest mage of her generation.
Actually, I’ve browsed through Circle of Hatred and found an opposite of what you said.
Aegwynn shrugged. “I‟ve never wanted any other life for myself
but as a wizard. From when I was a little girl, it was how I always answered those tiresome questions about what I wanted to be when I grew up. The adults always looked at me strangely when I said that — wizards were always men, after all.” That last was said with a certain bitterness.
That shows that even Aegwynn, perhaps the strongest human mage ever didn’t have any particular affinity towards arcane when she was a child and everything was achieved by her studies.
Actually sorcerers in D&D are the gifted mage arch type in that they generally don’t have to study in order to use magic they are born with a huge capacity for magic thanks to the dragonblood often flowing in their vains the only real studying they do is to control their power i think
this is often show in games by their ability to cast more often then a wizard but they don’t know as many spells
They usually attend magic schools. However, its more of Dragon Age-like “learn to control your magic in order not to blow everything up” rather than a normal academic study of a subject. I cannot say for every official DnD setting out there, but it is definitely the case in Forgotten Realms.
Qara in NWN2 had to study magic in Neverwinter Academy, although she hated it because magic was natural to her and she didn’t need scrolls and tomes in order to cast unlike wizards in the academy. Illius, another sorcerer featured in Demon Stone game was apprentice of Khelben Blackstaff.
The best example of bloodline/wildmagic sorcerer in warcraft is Medivh. Because of his powerful arcane heritage and this whole Sargeras possession thing he had to learn how to control all the arcane within in order not to kill everyone around him.
Qara is a good example of a reckless Sorceress with a ego problem to boot it’s why she never got along with sand who was the traditional wizard Neverwinter Nights 2 is one my favorite games
I generally played a Tiefling Paladin for the irony
I have no idea, I always had the impression you have to have a certain affinity for things. It is possible that everyone can perform “magic” i.e. you can be a paladin/priest if you devote yourself to the light.
You can be a shaman if you devote yourself to the elements, druid to nature, mage to arcane etc. But there will always be those that are more “inclined” or “alligned” with something.
Honestly with so many retcons, changes and new information it is hard to keep up with how things work.
