Into the Tides Book Bonus: Heat and Cold Powers

Today is a little book-bonus! In posts such as these, I'll give you extra information from my novel that you won't find in the book itself.

Elizabeth
and a squirrel

In Into the Tides, people who have magic are called "Powers." Each type of magic has a different set of capabilities, which is based on genetics. And for each Power type, there are 6 different levels of ability, called classes, with 6th class being the weakest and 1st class having the most magic. How a person's class is determined is based on what they can do.

I've been working on creating descriptions that explain what each Power type can do, by class. If you're reading the book and wondering what the characters are capable of, and what they would be capable of if they were higher in class, you can find out!

Here's more about heat and cold Powers. One of the main characters in the book is Elizabeth, a fifth class heat Power. Despite often being called "fire" and "ice" Powers, most heat and cold Powers can't create fire or ice; their truly impressive abilities come from being able to maintain and share core body temperature in lower temperatures. By third level it's possible to create active sparks or ice, but in this world, generally cold and heat Powers are considered more healing or utilitarian magics than direct attack magics.

A non-exhaustive list of some Magic Types
Heat	6-	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to 40 degrees F) Active: Raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard by up to 5 degrees
	5	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to 10 degrees F) Active: Raise air temperature in 10 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees (if area unoccupied by unwilling living organisms); raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 10 degrees; radiate core body-temperature warmth (usually 96.8 degrees F) at touch (warmth extends onto surface of touched object/willing person 2 inches beyond point of contact)
	4	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -10 degrees F) Active: Raise air temperature in 20 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 40 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 5 degrees; radiate body-temperature warmth at touch to envelop willing person of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward)
	3	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -15 degrees F); radiates body-temperature warmth at touch (1/2" past point of physical contact) Active: Raise air temperature in 40 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 40 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 80 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-temperature warmth at touch to envelop 3 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); create a spark
	2	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -15 degrees F); radiates body-temperature warmth at touch (2 inches past point of physical contact) Active: Raise air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 10 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 160 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-temperature warmth at touch-chain (people may be touching each other and not the heat Power directly) to envelop 10 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); create a fire (2 cubic feet of seasoned wood/material or 2 cubic inches green wood); raise body temperature of willing person by 3 degrees per minute until normal healthy temp is reached (apprx 98.6 F)
	1+	Passive: Is less susceptible to cold (comfortable down to -15 degrees F); radiates body-temperature warmth at touch (envelop 1 same-size person); raise body temperature of willing person to body temperature or up to 5 degrees above normal Active: Raise air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 25 degrees; raise air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 160 degrees; raise air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 320 degrees; raise water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; boil 3 gallons water; radiate body-temperature warmth via touch-chain for up to 30 people; start fire (10 cubic feet of material); raise the body temperature of another willing person within 20 feet to normal; raise body temperature of a touched person (willing or unwilling) at a rate of 1 degree per minute
Cold	6-	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 100 degrees F) Active: Lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard by up to 5 degrees
	5	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 130 degrees F) Active: lower air temperature in 10 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees (if area unoccupied by unwilling living organisms); lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 10 degrees; radiate body-comfortable coolness (usually 65-75 F, depending on person; only when ambient temperature is above this temperature) at touch (air pocket extends onto surface of touched object/willing person 2 inches beyond point of contact)
	4	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 150 degrees F) Active: Lower air temperature in 20 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 40 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 5 degrees; radiate body-comfortable temperature at touch to envelop willing person of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward)
	3	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 155 degrees F); radiates body-comfortable temperature at touch (1/2" past point of physical contact) Active: Lower air temperature in 40 cubic yards by up to 5 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 40 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 80 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-comfortable temperature at touch to envelop 3 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of warmth is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); freeze a 1/4 cubic inch cube of water
	2	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 155 degrees F); radiates body-comfortable temperature at touch (2 inches past point of physical contact) Active: lower air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 10 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 160 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 20 degrees; radiate body-comfortable temperature at touch-chain (people may be touching each other and not the cold Power directly) to envelop 10 willing people of equivalent size (pocket of coolness is 1/2 inch deep from surface of skin outward); freeze water (2 cubic feet); lower human body temperature of willing person by 3 degrees per minute until normal healthy temp is reached (apprx 98.6 F)
	1+	Passive: Is less susceptible to heat (comfortable up to 155 degrees F); radiates body-comfortable temperature at touch (envelop 1 same-size person); lower body temperature of willing person at touch to normal or up to 5 degrees below normal Active: Lower air temperature in 100 cubic yards by up to 25 degrees; lower air temperature in 1 cubic yard as much as to 160 degrees; lower air temperature 1 cubic foot up to 320 degrees; lower water temperature 1 cubic yard up to 80 degrees; freeze 20 gallons water per ten minutes; radiate body-comfortable temperature via touch-chain for up to 30 people; lower the body temperature of another willing person within 20 feet to normal; lower body temperature of a touched person (willing or unwilling) at a rate of 1 degree per minute

Specific heat and Power application

 Affecting living tissue is exponentially harder magically than affecting non-living tissue; in non-living substances, the lower a substance's specific heat is, the less magic is required to raise or lower that substance's temperature.

For example, while causing burns directly to skin would require a second or first class, a third class could cause a spark to clothing, which could then burn the skin. A fourth class could raise the heat of a piece of metal the target was touching if it was already near, but not quite at, skin-burning temperature. A cold Power touching pipes running across a ceiling could lower the ambient temperature of a room at a higher level than by magic alone. And it would be easier to lower the temperature of a metal pot until the water in it froze, or the air at the surface of the water, than to freeze the water directly; dropping a nickel in the water and freezing the nickel would be more efficient than creating ice cubes for cooling a drink on a hot summer day. 

Because of this, most heat or cold Powers typically apply the rules of thermodynamics to achieve their desired results.


Living, willing & unwilling:

 In order to be "willing" or "unwilling" to accept heat loss or acquisition, a living creature's instincts must be able to recognize a desirable temperature. When raising or lowering temperature of air or water, an unwilling target in the area affected will not have its temperature directly changed; however it will make raising the task more difficult depending on the amount of will it possesses.

Particularly simple or minute organisms (below 1/4 cubic inch in size) do not typically have enough will to affect casting of magic. Normal levels of micro organisms in water (such as in most areas of the ocean) would usually not make it more difficult to lower the temperature of the water. However, water filled with algae and other micro-organisms (such as from near the shore of a still pond) would take noticeably more energy to affect.

By default, if a temperature rise/lowering is healthy for a healthy organism, then will be "willing" to undergo the transformation; if the temperature change would be damaging to the organism when healthy, it would be considered "unwilling." Living plant matter of at least 1/4 cubic inch is generally capable of creating resistance to magic (approximately 5x nonliving). Animal matter for non-sentient creatures generates more (12.5x nonliving), for creatures capable of self-identifying (such as some insects, rats, dogs, cats) yet more (62.5x), and sapient creatures--humans--more (312.5x). 

A cat, dog, rat, gorilla, dolphin, octopus, or other high-order animal might choose to be willing if, for some reason, it found the increased/lowered temperature appealing or soothing (such as numbing an injury or soothing a sore muscle with minor warmth). If the temperature caused discomfort, it is unlikely the animal would be willing, except in cases of extreme trust (such as a dog allowing its master to warm it up a few degrees before a swim in a cold lake). Once health became seriously threatened, or pain extreme, the animal's instincts would override its decision to trust. Heavy sedation can lower an animal's resistance slightly.