Three years of emptiness--fantasy setting

What would your town look like three years after being abandoned?

Writing Into the Tides made me think about what happens to places when they're left uninhabited for years. In the Tides, magic traps all the people of the South, leaving their homes behind. Three years later, Kelly goes to visit, and finds the slightly-creepy remains of empty cities and towns.

So what would your hometown be like? Would it be overgrown, would pieces of it have fallen apart? What would have survived untouched?

Docks might fall apart--but then again, they're pretty sturdy, so you might have some that were just fine. Or maybe your inland farms now grow more dandelions than wheat. And without human management, is anything still growing in your backyard garden besides mint and rosemary?

Roads would be cracked and timeworn. Kudzu would eat most of the roadsides and exposed powerlines, trailing up and over as it is wont to do. Maybe wild animals would be nesting in your bed--although if you're in the Broken Powers universe, there may be something nesting there, but it's probably not a wild mouse.

Old buildings are a great clue, buildings that have been abandoned and left unattended over the years. Plus they're pretty gorgeous to look at, even if I'm not keen on going into them and trying to stand on those crumbling floors. Although three years isn't all that long, it really takes less time than most people think for age to weaken an uninhabited building.

Have you ever wondered what your hometown would look like in a post-apocalyptic scenario, be it book or movie? What do you think would age well--and what ones wouldn't? Where would you go to seek shelter if you came back three years later?

If Tides were a tabletop RPG...

If you've played a tabletop RPG, such as Dungeons and Dragons or a GURPS setting, you're familiar with the concept of classes--basically, the roles the characters fill in the adventuring party. Basically, their jobs.

Should there ever be a Broken Powers world tabletop RPG, I've been wondering what classes it might have.

I think I'd have to divide classes into Powered or unPowered, with different advantages to each. A possible set might be:

Powered:

• Utilitarian Power (flight, heat, cold): This covers sixth- through third-class Powers who work in jobs where their magic is used as a tool. They have mechanical prowess and general survival skills. They have regular employment (not necessarily government), but cannot achieve much fame, although they may have hobbies that can add extra income. They are fairly socially adept and can have minor social influence.
• Military Power (strength, illusion, travel, etc): This covers Powers of all strengths whose magics are used in the military. Although they may not all engage in melee, they will be familiar with weaponry and basic fighting and self-defense techniques, and probably have concepts of strategy. While they're good at physical survival, they're less well adapted to society. The pay is less than privately employed utilitarian Powers, but they likely have their basic needs taken care of by the government.
• Specialized Power: This covers Powers who have advanced degrees and use their Powers for specialized technical jobs. They may have specialized knowledge, but are likely inept at fighting. While their specialization may give them some social status, outside academia or their particular realm of expertise they're unlikely to be known. They may, however, have a social network of powerful contacts or sponsors behind them.
• Investigative Power: This covers high-level Powers who are employed by the government. They have the highest degree of influence, as they are agents of the government; however, they are also the most highly regulated. They have mandatory but steady employment, and strong magic; because the government takes care of them, they may not have the best day-to-day survival skills.

unPowered:

• Entertainers: This covers people who are in any part of the entertainment industry. Players will choose the performance or medium the character specializes in. The characters have high levels of skill in this art and can become famous for their art, obtaining a high degree of social influence and accumulating a lot of wealth. They may also develop a social network of powerful contacts, and are generally well-liked by the public, and are usually adept at moving through all strata of society.
• Politicals: Politicians, lobbyists, social activists--all people who specialize in building power and influence. Generally but not always wealthy, their greatest assets are in getting things done. Few, however, are well-liked by the public.
• Skilled Workers: People who have regular jobs. Although they have little influence or wealth to begin with, they are very skilled at a variety of tasks, and may have any level of education.From mechanics to doctors, they're capable and competent, and can get almost any job done. They learn quickly and are good at just plain getting by.
• Law-breakers: People who get their income by less-than-legal means, such as thievery, drug dealing, or cons. They're great at manipulating people, and most are decent at fighting. Survival is their specialty, and some are reasonably wealthy. However, they have no political influence, and have to stay below the eyes of the law.
• Military: Great at fighting and usually capable of taking care of themselves, these people tend to be fairly skilled in a variety of areas. They have less political influence and wealth than other professions, but have more than Powered military personnel, as well as more personal freedom. They also have some degree of government power, depending on rank.

I'd probably come up with more--have to figure out what assets there are, and what each class can contribute to an adventuring party. But it's sure fun to think about.

Book Bonus: Tidbit: Kelly meets a tutor at Mechany's

To get back on schedule, and also to help me during packing and moving, the Publishing News post will be next Friday, not this one.

----

The protagonist of Into the Tides, Kelly, is a tone-deaf woman who inherited music magic (called a music Power). Because of her tone deafness, when her Power emerged at puberty, she couldn't use it; after a few years of trying to help her themselves, her family sent her to a special boarding school that helps youngsters who have problems with their magic.

Kelly, age 17, starts her first year at Mechany's. At the end of the first week, the students without mentors are interviewed by tutor-researchers (most of whom are grad students), who in exchange for the opportunity to study abnormal magic development will offer one-on-one additional tutoring to students. During Kelly's session, twenty-seven researchers looking for "projects" interview the thirty-eight new students.

"I have a learning disability in magic. I'm a little... dysfunctional."

The woman in the lab coat nodded encouragingly, looking more comfortable in the narrow classroom desks than I felt. This was her natural environment, after all: observing students. Then again, she couldn't be more than twenty. She was probably a student herself half the time. "My notes show you have a music Power," she commented.

I nodded. "Fourth class, if I'm like my dad. I want to do what he does, one day--go to clinics and sing away pain from the patients."

She scratched a note on her paper. "Admirable. It's a good use for music magic. So what sort of problems do you notice with your magic?"

Beside us, a twelve-year-old appeared a foot above the ground, upside down, and plummeted to the floor, feet barely missing my head. I jumped up with a little shriek.

"Sorry," he said, and sat up and waved at a guy in a lab coat on the other side of the room. "Every time I sneeze," he called. "Although only sometimes upside down."

I sat down, watching him jog back to the researcher. He definitely had a tutor--the researcher watched every step avidly, the eager light in his eyes full of acquisitive joy.

My partner's lips pursed. "Probably got the kid to do that on purpose," she muttered to me. "He's such a show off. And travel Powers always get the most attention in terms of a thesis. But who's it gonna help?"

I folded my hands in my lap. "My dad had a rock band for a while," I said. "He's really good. If he wasn't Powered, he'd probably have become a star. We've been trying for years, but even he can't get my magic to work right."

Her attention came back to me. "So it's a resilient problem."

I nodded.

A girl about fifteen or so jumped up, whapping at her desk with a heavy-looking yellow-and-black blanket. She'd carried it in with her despite the 80-degree weather, and at the time I'd thought the black patches were some strange dyework.

The room was otherwise quiet while she put out of the flames with a few well-placed blows, everyone watching. Finally, the man in a lab coat who'd prudently backed a few feet away walked over to stare at the smudges. "These desks are supposed to be pretty much fireproof," he commented with an even tone. "I think you warped it."

She sighed, flopping down into the seat and rubbing at the smudge with a corner of the blanket. "Sorry."

He smiled and clapped her shoulder. "Not at all."

I cleared my throat, and my partner reluctantly tore her eyes from the scene to look back at me. The bite of plastic pinching my fingers told me I was fiddling with the fish bracelet around my wrist, so I stopped. "Once, when I was fourteen, I tried to hum my brother's headache away, only I ended up making him fall asleep instead, and he didn't wake up for almost twelve hours."

Her polite smile drooped a little. "Um. Anything else?"

"Well, when Mom was editing a book, I tried singing her a song to help her focus. After about three minutes she said she really had to pee, and she couldn't concentrate for most of the night."

"That's, uh, interesting." Her gaze slid down to her clipboard. "What, exactly, do you know about your problem?"

I was fidgeting with my bracelet again. "I'm tone deaf."

"Tone deaf."

"Yeah." Lacing my hands together so I'd keep them still, I stared at her, hoping.

She didn't look back up at me. "A tone-deaf music Power. And you've had no unusual, special abilities manifest? Just ordinary things?"

I shook my head. "Usually I can't get my magic to work at all. But nothing a normal music Power couldn't do."

"Well, it's sort of an obvious problem. Easy to identify. And fourth class is... I mean, it's nice. Not the strongest level of magic, though."

The plastic fish on my bracelet seemed to swim around in my vision, and not by any magic or trick of the light. I squeezed my eyes and willed them to stay dry.

A woman on the side of the room shouted in surprise, and a young girl apologized.

"The school is really very good at addressing cases like yours," my partner said. "I just don't think you'd need me. You understand, right?"

I nodded. Again.

The sound of heels on linoleum told me she was standing up. "I really think you'll be fine," she added. "They're professionals, the regular teachers. Really good at what they do. And it's such an obvious problem, I'm sure there's an obvious solution. They'll have you good to go in a year, I bet. Maybe two."

Her heels clicked away, and I heard her mutter something about a blind illusion Power and smells.

None of the other researchers stopped by my desk. Not that year. Not the next. And not the year after that, either, even though I still hadn't managed to make my magic work.

My magic was broken, but not broken enough.

----

Tone-deaf Kelly has long considered her inborn music magic to be useless. But after a disaster drowns the American South in magic, including her whole family except her twin brother, she discovers her “useless” magic lets her hear the voices of those lost. Now, with the help of her twin and her handsome, green-eyed neighbor Derik, she’ll face magic itself to save them–only the attempt may cost her everyone she has left.

Available now on:Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
Amazon.com
Kobo 
iTunes

Trax's Favorite Show

What's Trax's favorite TV show?

Wholock's Headquarters in Time
(or a Wikimedia commons image)

Super Wholock: the story of the time-traveling ex-detective Wholock and his sidekick Bob, who stop monsters from destroying all of human history throughout all of time and space.

Wholock, a former police detective suffering burnout, retires to a rural Oregon town, where he takes a job as building superintendent for a long-abandoned mansion that has recently been renovated into apartments. There he hears rumors that the former mansion has a spotty history--as in, sometimes it's there; sometimes it's not. Naturally brushing aside this rumor as ridiculous superstition (who ever heard of a disappearing building?) he moves in and meets the first four tenants, including his neighbor, the sarcastic history professor named Bob whose desire to avoid trouble is matched against his tendency to attract trouble, thanks to minor but annoying gift of foresight.

Things quickly to ruin when Wholock discovers a secret room under the basement, where he can see all of time... and the monsters who are coming out of the woodwork to change history so that they, instead of the human race, will rule the world by the modern era. Now Wholock and Bob must use the mansion's magic to save history, while keeping any of the other tenants from discovering the secret of the mansion.

Whether it's discovering the cause behind the Famine of the Fireflies (season 1, episode 19) or nudging a scullery maid and a molding specialist towards new jobs in Area 51 without allowing them to be killed by swamp monsters (season 3, episode 9), Wholock is sure to save the day. 

The animals of the Lost

What does the fox say...before it becomes a fox?

In the Broken Powers series, people with Powers who run into concentrated amounts of wild magic are transformed into animal-like creatures that are cold to the touch, called the Lost. Kelly and her friends run into a number of Lost in their journey.

What animal a person becomes is based on their emotional state when they're being changed, and the location in which they changed. The mental state is preserved, and most people they can interact only with other Lost of the same species. Here are just a few of the animal types, and what these Lost were feeling before being transformed:

Butterflies are understandably common--they were panicking. These were mostly people who saw the magic disaster approaching, so those who would have a had a good view south. They had the run-in-circles-screaming kind of reaction to seeing the magic.

On the other hand, raccoons were also afraid, but less so than the panicking crowd. Many of them had enough rationality to try taking shelter in the closest sturdy-looking location, or were afraid for a reason less threatening than the magic.

Foxes are people who were, right before being hit by magic, feeling socially competitive, such as in a team sport. Many either were inside, or so focused on what they were doing they didn't see the explosion of magic that swallowed them. Robins would have been feeling individually competitive, focused on being a single winner in a competition.

Beavers would have purposeful: people engaged in work or study or such, doing a task that required full attention but was not overly exciting. Bees would have been irritable, feeling grumpy and out-of-sorts. Herons, meanwhile, would have been downright angry.

Cats were people who were engaged in artistic or creative pursuits. They were "in the zone," so to speak, and passionately creating something. Rats would have been methodically creative, less artistic fugue and more methodically outlining or plugging away on a necessary but less-loved part of an overall enjoyable project.

Hm, I wonder what that--

Squirrels were feeling cheerful and energetic, most likely spending time with their friends. They were calm, content, and energized, fully engaged with the people around them.

Ants were bored, while deer were confused about what was happening, just slightly afraid but mostly wondering what was going on.

Dogs would have been feeling responsible for others, but calm. Geese would have also been feeling protective about others, but also determined and a bit afraid.

Otters would be those who were confused but curious, investigating something odd.

Mice would have been those who were romantically-minded, while snakes would have been sleepy and comfortable.


Of course, there are many more, and Lost in different locations might become different animals despite feeling the same. 

Into the Tides book bonus: Dream 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.

The people who know what you're dreaming
(painting by Franz Schrotzberg)

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!

Today I'm looking at dream powers.

A non-exhaustive list of some Magic Types
Power	Class*	Capabilities/Limitations
Dream	6-	Sense when someone within 20 feet is sleeping See flashes of what a touched person is dreaming
	5	Sense when someone within 20 feet is sleeping, and the location of sleeper(s);  see flashes of what touched person is dreaming  Speak into a touched person's dreams without awareness (they hear the dream Power's voice but may or may not be able to recognize as not being part of the dream, depending on dream and dreamer)
	4	Passive: Sense when people within 40 feet are sleeping, location of sleepers, and if the people are well-known the identity of sleepers; see flashes of dreams from person dreaming within 10 feet; accidentally (occurs randomly and without focusing) share dreams if touching another person when sleeping; perfect dream memory (always remembers own dreams) Active: speak into a touched person's dreams with selective awareness (dream Power chooses if the person knows that the voice is not part of the dream); view full dream of a touched sleeper
	3	Passive: Sense when people within 60 feet are sleeping, location of sleepers, and if the people are well-known the identity of sleepers; see flashes of dreams from person dreaming within 20 feet; accidentally (occurs randomly and without focusing) share dreams if touching another person when sleeping; perfect dream memory (always remembers own dreams); view full dream of a touched sleeping person Active: speak into a touched person's dreams with selective awareness (dream Power chooses if the person knows that the voice is not part of the dream); visually input images into dream (dreamer sees chosen image) with selective awareness
	2	Passive: Sense when people within 80 feet are sleeping, location of sleepers, and if the people are well-known the identity of sleepers; see flashes of dreams from person dreaming within 40 feet; share dreams if touching another person when sleeping OR choose to block dreams (choose before going to sleep; sees no dreams while sleeping if this choice is made); perfect dream memory (always remembers own dreams); view full dream of a touched sleeping person Active: speak into a person's dreams with selective awareness within 10 feet; visually input images into dream with selective awareness; remake dream (dreamer sees and hears exactly what dream Power chooses)
	1+	Passive: Sense when people within 100 feet are sleeping, location of sleepers, and if the people are well-known the identity of sleepers; see flashes of dreams from person dreaming within 75 feet; share dreams with up to 2 people within 20 feet when sleeping OR choose to block dreams; share dreams with up to 5 people if all are touching; perfect dream memory (always remembers own dreams); view full dream of a person within 20 feet Active: speak into up to 3 peoples' dreams with selective awareness within 10 feet; visually input images into dreams with selective awareness; remake dreams (dreamers see exactly what dream Power chooses); combine dreams so that all people are sharing a dream

Dream Powers are considered a somewhat military magic. Typically they're used as scouts or for infiltration, because knowing that someone is sleeping nearby can determine the presence of others. Furthermore, a well-disguised dream Power can harass enemies by preventing them from gaining a good night's sleep, disrupting them with nightmares. However, sharing the actual details of another person's dream (enemy or ally), except in the cases of shared dreams or with special consent forms, is considered a war crime.

Dream Powers may also be useful for communication purposes, being able to talk to sleepers, but the distance limits prevent them from being extremely effective, and unless the dreamer has a way of verifying that the speaker wasn't a product of their own mind, relying on communication via dreams can be unreliable. There have, in fact, been cases of armed forces attacking at the wrong time due to commanders assuming their own natural dreams were communication by dreamers, or thinking an actual communication by a dreamer was a dream. Therefore, dreamers have been pretty much historically removed from the lines of communication. The exception is controlled shared dreaming, which is used when overworked allies need time to both communicate and rest. Because a dream Power's shared dream does not disrupt normal rest, and the dreamer can fully remember everything that occurs or is decided in the dream, trusted first class dream Powers may sometimes be used to help leaders maintain full sleep cycles and plan strategy.

Out of combat, dream Powers often work as psychologists, helping war veterans regain a sense of stability and enabling them to deal with nightmares. They can also redirect or even prevent bad dreams via strategic uses of their Powers. As such, hospitals, mental wards, and trauma centers staff themselves with dream Powers as much as possible; and most city headquarters for Power registration host regular clinics for dealing with night terrors. Dream Powers who choose to take the occasional side job, with proper paperwork, occasionally hire themselves out to private individuals plagued by normal nightmares, or those who desire something unique and fun.

Because of privacy laws and the nature of the subconscious, what a dream Power sees in a dream is inadmissible in courts, and is considered private property of the dreamer except during exceptional circumstances. Dream Powers are required to take yearly courses in maintaining confidentiality, and those found to have improperly revealed the contents of a dream are prosecuted by laws and fines. Dream Powers are forbidden from publishing or most forms of art, both by law and by practicality, which protects them from lawsuits and prosecution. However, storytelling is a common hobby during private social gatherings, so long as no exact source may be pinpointed, and roleplaying games are quite popular.

Shared dreaming is typically as random as normal dreaming and is usually outside the dream Power's control. Unlike dream viewing, the Power is asleep, and wakes fully rested from the shared dream. High level Powers (third class and up) may be able to influence the dream, especially if they are trained in lucid dreaming (and most are), but on the whole the dream is fully at the control of the dreamer. They may appear either as themselves or as a random character in the dream; lucid dreamers usually maintain a sense of self and the understanding that the actions they take are under the command of the dreamer. Since fighting the will of the dreamer rarely yields results, the most common quote dream Powers use is "Just go with it."

Dream Powers do not typically suffer mental scarring from even the most disturbing shared dreams; it is thought that their magic buffers against negative psychological experiences. In fact, they are typically considered more mentally stable than most other people, and those with family histories of schizophrenia or other psychological illness are virtually immune themselves. They also have high resistance to mind-altering drugs. Several schools of thought hold that the ability to see worst and most embarrassing parts of peoples' subconscious thoughts enables them to better deal with the dark sides of their own mind, and also helps them distinguish between reality and hallucination.

That said, dream Powers usually have difficulty being accepted by those who are not dream Powers, as many people are uncomfortable with the idea of their dreams being "overheard" by others. In various cultures throughout history, they have been consulted as visionaries, wisdoms, or oracles; yet even when revered they were often isolated.

Into the Tides book bonus: Interview with Michael Holskerski on strength Powers and eating disorders

In Into the Tides, one of the main characters, Derik, is a six-class strength Power. In the Broken Powers world, strength magic is accompanied by an increased metabolism. 

Three years before Into the Tides began, magic poured over the American South, and everyone in the area was lost, including most of Derik's family. His uncle, living in Boston as a gym owner, survived. Together they worked to live with the grief of losing their family members.

Derik, in the book, talks about some of the health problems strength Powers face, including what happens when a strength Power develops an eating disorder. While Into the Tides is a fantasy world, eating disorders are a real problem, and have the highest mortality rates of any mental health problem. In the past decade, the rate of eating disorder diagnoses has increased in both men and women.

For more information about eating disorders in men, and where to find help if you or a man you know may be dealing with an eating disorder, check out the National Eating Disorders Association's page for men; to find more information for both men and women, check out the main page.

-------------------------

Local Madison resident Derik Holskerski
(sixth class strength Power)

Boston gym owner Michael Holskerski,  personal trainer and a sixth class strength Power, joins The Daily News reporter Sandra Collins to talk about the underlying health problems strength Powers face.

COLLINS: Sometimes we all wonder what it would be like to be just a little bit magical. But as great as it may sound to be able to life a couch by yourself, being a strength Power--the most prevalent magic type--may be a mixed blessing.

Joining me today is Michael Holskerski, a sixth-class strength Power taking a day off from helping his nephew open a gym in the city. He'll talk about the downside of his magic. Michael, what's the first thing that stands out to you about strength magic?

HOLSKERSKI: Hello, Sandra. Thanks for having me in today.

I think the first thing that comes to mind for most people is, of course, what's usually hailed as the major limiting factor in the spread of the genes for strength magic. I come from a family with a range of classes; my parents were second class and fourth class. Three guesses which is which.

COLLINS: Well obviously, your mother must be the fourth-class.

HOLSKERSKI: Exactly. Strength magic is tightly linked to our extremely high metabolisms, and the stronger the magic, the higher the metabolism. Therefore, maintaining high enough levels of body fat to bear a child is difficult for women with higher levels of strength magic. Of course it's not impossible, with women with a long family history of high but healthy slenderness having the best chances; but the risks are higher and complications are frequent. These days it's generally advised for women with higher classes who want children to use surrogates. But historically that wasn't a choice, and since most high-class female strength Powers run around 12-16% body fat if they eat enough, childbearing usually wasn't an option. Strength-Powered bodies tend to keep just enough essential fat to survive, but not much more.

COLLINS: Women aren't the only ones who face problems, though.

HOLSKERSKI: Not by a long shot. Men are also less fertile, producing nearly a third fewer children on average than unPowered men. Plus, later in life they have a higher than normal chance of developing testicular cancer, which is why doctors recommend they begin regular exams at age thirty.

COLLINS: You say gender-specific; does that mean there are troubles that affect both genders equally?

HOLSKERSKI: Here's a factoid for you: being underweight is, pound for pound, at least as dangerous as being overweight. Forget the warrior stereotype of dying in battle. Heart disease and organ failure are, and have always been, the leading causes of death in strength Powers. Again, this goes back to metabolism: you can feed a person and half on what a sixth-class Power eats; but you can feed eight people off what a first class eats. So when food became tight or prices rose, often strength Powers felt the pinch the most; and in times of starvation, often only a very small percent of strength Powers were kept at full rations.

Even beyond that, we're also highly susceptible to osteoporosis in older age, since fat plays a role in keeping bones strong. Our magic does help prevent early-onset osteoporosis, since it strengthens the bones to support muscle development; but that advantage is lost in the 60s. Immune problems are also a life-long issue, and plagues often hit strength Power populations hard. Our magic doesn't actually mean we need less fat than other people; it just means we have less.

COLLINS: So let's talk eating disorders. While those have been a deadly factor for a long time, since the Tides hit two and half years ago, they've been on the rise--well, even more so. Are strength Powers less likely to be affected, given the information that's out there on how dangerous not eating is?

HOLSKERSKI: (throat clears) If anything, it's worse than ever. (Pause.) You'll have to forgive me; most of my family was stationed at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina.

COLLINS: I'm sorry for your loss.

HOLSKERSKI: Yes, thank you. (throat clears again) Depression is always a factor in personal loss. It's no secret that most of the fifth-class and higher strength Powers are in the armed forces; and that some of the largest bases were located in the South. So of those who are left, most of us are dealing with the loss of our families.

Eating disorders are one of the many ways people act out in grief or as symptom of depression. While for the unPowered it's a serious problem, for a strength Power the time table towards fatality is accelerated enormously. You know how, when the body doesn't have enough fat to burn, it burns muscle?

COLLINS: Yes.

HOLSKERSKI: For a strength Power, the body prioritizes voluntary muscle much more than it should. So it turns to organ cannibalization very quickly. A low-class strength Power can, without exercise and by maintaining a high-calorie diet, conceivably build up stores of fat. However, even a sixth class is likely to have low body fat, because they build muscle more quickly, which increases metabolism on its own. That's in addition to the magically fast metabolism.

COLLINS: So in other words, the more a strength Power works out, the faster their already accelerated metabolism burns fat. And the less fat a person has, the quicker the body begins eating muscle, including vital organs.

HOLSKERSKI: Yes. So you see, it's a very deadly disease.

COLLINS: Is there a cure?

HOLSKERSKI: Therapy and physical treatment together can put a person on the road to recovery. There's no magic wand for eating disorders that makes them go away overnight, though. No pill, either.  Magic may fix some of the physical symptoms, but continuing treatment and support is vital. That's for anyone with an eating disorder, mind you, and not just someone with magic.

COLLINS: Thank you for your frankness with this serious issue. And thank you for joining us today.

HOLSKERSKI: My pleasure. 

Into the Tides book bonus: Illusion 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.

The magic that can make pretty,
trippy images for everyone--
but only off the clock. On the clock,
they tell you when someone else is
seeing things.
(image from here)

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 illusion Powers, which are referenced in Into the Tides but never really make a full appearance. Illusion is a fully mental Power, unlike any of the previously listed magic types.

A non-exhaustive list of some Magic Types
Illusion	6-	Passive: Vague feeling when someone sees something differently (frequently acts up for things such as colorblindness, looking in a different direction, finding something accidentally lost, etc) Active: Shift own perception of color [see a different color] or sound [hear sounds in a different tone or at a different decibel level]; shift 1 person's perception of the color of a small object with awareness (they know the color is incorrect; effective regardless of willing or not. Does not affect technology.)
	5	Passive: sense if someone else nearby is seeing something differently (a 'feeling,' often described as a tickling in the gut, that a person within 10 feet is seeing the same things you are but in a different color or shape, or sees something hidden. Does not reveal what, but gut feeling gets stronger closer to the person who is seeing the thing differently. Only occurs for magic or when viewer believes something has been deliberately camouflaged)  Active: shift own perception of color and sound; shift another willing person's perception of color and sound to the same degree; distortion on small objects with awareness (shift the color of an object or sound; slightly shift the shape of the small  [1 inch or less] object)
	4	Passive: gut feeling if another person within 10 feet sees something different; ability to see through a willing person's eyes when touching them Active: shift own perception of color and sound; shift up to 4 willing people's perception of color and sound to match (people must be within 20 feet); distortion on medium-sized objects with awareness for up to 3 people; shift universal color of small object with awareness (anyone looking at it will see a different color as long as illusion Power focuses, but will know the color has been altered); create small images on a blank surface for people within 10 feet of Power; remove a willing person's ability to see (until the illusion Power stops focusing)
	3	Passive: gut feeling if another person within 10 feet sees something different; ability to see through a willing person's eyes when touching them (must close own eyes) Active: distortion for self; distortion for up to 10 willing people (people must be within 30 feet); distortion on medium-sized (up to 5 inches diameter) objects with awareness for up to 8 people; universal color or shape shift of an object up to 5" with awareness; create sound and images on blank surfaces for up to 10 willing people within 10 feet; remove another person's ability to see (duration: as long as focus if willing; usually around 2 minutes if they're unwilling); remove 3 willing peoples' abilities to see
	2	Passive: gut feeling if another person within 10 feet sees something different; ability to discern approximately what is different (the area that looks different, but not what is different about it); ability to see through a willing person's eyes (distance limit 1 mile) without losing own vision Active: distortion for self; distortion for up to 10 willing people (people must be within 30 feet); distortion on medium-sized (up to 5 inches diameter) objects with awareness for up to 8 people; universal color or shape shift of an object up to 5" with awareness; create detailed sound and images on blank surfaces (images are translucent) for up to 20 willing people within 50 feet; create detailed sound and images for 1 person within 10 feet without awareness, willing or unwilling; remove sight for up to 10 willing people or 5 unwilling (apprx. 10 minutes)
	1+	Passive: gut feeling if another person within 100 feet sees something different; knowledge of what looks different and how; ability to see through another willing person's eyes regardless of distance Active: distortion for self; distortion for up to 100 willing people (people must be within 100 feet); distortion on objects up to 5 inches diameter without awareness for people within 40 feet of illusion Power (viewer is not aware that anything is different about object); universal distortion on objects up to 4 feet across with awareness; create detailed sound and images (images are opaque; with awareness; willing or not) on any surface for up to 40 people within 100 feet; create detailed sound and images for up to four people within 20 feet without awareness, willing or unwilling; remove sight from up to 40 willing people or up to 10 unwilling (average duration: apprx 1 hr); extended hallucination (willing person may continue to see/hear hallucination for approximately double the length of time that illusion Power was focusing)

Illusion Powers, like music Powers, are often employed in investigations, and are also used in intelligence operations. While higher class illusion Powers could conceivably play movies for their friends (and occasionally do in their down-time), the rarity of high class Powers means they don't do so professionally. However, they have been known to occasionally moonlight during vacations for extremely wealthy clients who are willing to pay outrageously for the experience of a 3-D movie. Such things require official approval (with lots of paperwork) and the government usually takes a cut through a high tax on the experience, but those illusion Powers who do so have been known to make a good vacation/retirement off the deal.

Technology, it is important to note, is not affected by illusion Powers. Because this is a mental Power, it affects the brain's interpretation of input; thus, brainless organisms are unaffected. More intelligent organisms with sophisticated brain structure are usually equally affected as humans, including most mammals and lizards; but those with less sophisticated structure or more alien metal structure, such as squid, insects, and plants, are not affected at all.

Into the Tides Book Bonus: Music 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.

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!

Today's post is on music Powers. The protagonist, Kelly, should have been a music Power--had she not been born tone-deaf, that is! Here's what she should be able to do, what her father can do, and what other music Powers can do.

A non-exhaustive list of some Magic Types
Power	Class	Capabilities/Limitations
Music	6-	Passive: hear most nuances in speech; perfect pitch Active: minor alterations to moods of 1-2 willing listeners (within 15 feet); help 1-2 willing subjects sleep (ignoring pain or illness)
	5	Passive: perfect pitch; hear full nuance in speech within normal talking distance (apprx. 10 ft; with training can be used to detect lies vs truth with moderate accuracy--about as well as a polygraph; not effective through electronic media such as phones or television [which may alter sound] but fully effective through records); hear most nuances in sounds within 20 feet; hear most unimpeded sounds (no barriers between sound and person) within 100 feet with concentration (words in speech not be discernible, although tone of voice may be) Active: moderate alterations to moods of up to 6 willing listeners within discernible hearing distance (able to make out words of songs); minor mood alterations of up to 12 willing listeners; able to help 4-6 willing subjects sleep; help up to 2 listeners ignore moderate pain while listening
	4	Passive: hear most nuances in sounds within 40 feet; hear full nuance in speech within 20 feet (unimpeded); hear most sounds sounds within 300 feet with concentration (impeded included); perfect pitch  Active: help up to 4 listeners ignore moderate pain when listening to music (lasts 20 minutes after cessation of music; lingering effect with humming x2); strongly alter moods of 10-15 willing listeners (60 min post-music duration; lingering effect may be extended up to double by listener humming tune)
	3	Passive: hear most nuances in sounds within 40 feet; hear full nuance in speech within 30 feet (unimpeded); hear most sounds sounds within 500 feet with concentration (impeded included; words not discernible); perfect pitch Active: help up to 10 listeners ignore moderate pain when listening to music (lasts 40 minutes after cessation of music; lingering effect with humming x2); strongly alter moods of 10-15 willing listeners (120 min post-music duration; lingering effect x3 by listener humming tune); moderately alter moods of up to 30 willing listeners (120 min duration; x2 lingering); help up to 30 willing listeners sleep; project voice up to 20 feet away (voice is heard as if emanating from position of that distance away; magic cannot be worked through projected voice)
	2	Passive: hear most nuances in sounds within 60 feet; hear full nuance in speech within 40 feet (unimpeded or impeded); hear most sounds sounds within 750 feet with concentration (impeded included; words not discernible); perfect pitch Active: help up to 30 listeners ignore moderate pain when listening to music (lasts 40 minutes after cessation of music; lingering effect with humming x3); strongly alter moods of up to 30 willing listeners (120 min post-music duration; lingering effect x3 by listener thinking about tune); moderately alter moods of up to 60 willing listeners (120 min duration; x3 lingering); cause moderate alterations in moods of up to 1 unwilling listener (takes 3-4 minutes to take effect; lasts only as long as music Power continues channeling magic and singing; affects mood only and not reasoning--does not force unwilling listener to take any particular action; subject may choose to pass out [will automatically do so if magic would cause medical danger]); help up to 30 willing listeners sleep; project voice up to 20 feet away (magic can work at 1/10th efficiency)
	1+	Passive: hear most nuances in sounds within 80 feet; hear full nuance in speech within 50 feet (unimpeded or impeded); hear most sounds sounds within 1000 feet with concentration (impeded included; words not discernible); perfect pitch Active: help up to 45 listeners ignore moderate pain when listening to music (lasts 60 minutes after cessation of music; lingering effect by thinking about song x3); may cause addiction by mood alteration or pain relief by overriding biofeedback; may cause "overdose" death by numbing too much pain or altering moods too strongly for brain to handle; strongly alter moods of up to 40 willing listeners (120 min post-music duration; lingering effect x3 by listener thinking about tune); moderately alter moods of up to 100 willing listeners (120 min duration; x3 lingering); cause major alterations in moods of up to 2 unwilling listeners (takes 3-4 minutes to take effect; lasts only as long as music Power continues channeling magic and singing; may cause brain damage or even death if done too long); help up to 60 willing listeners sleep; project voice up to 40 feet away (magic can work at 1/5th efficiency) or 160 feet (without magic)

Willing listeners:

A person is considered a willing listener if they consciously choose to respond to the effect of the music, or if they are not consciously opposed to the effect of the music (such as being willing to no longer be angry.) The latter is half as effective; thus a music Power who could affect 4 conscious-choice listeners would only effect 2 subconscious choice listeners.

Many people, especially those who are disinclined to hold grudges, dislike the feeling of being angry or having heavy negative emotions. This is considered "not consciously opposed to the effect."

Someone who is drugged but who would prefer the effect of the music and would consciously choose to allow the effect if fully coherent is also considered "not consciously opposed."

Someone who is unaware of a music Power's presence, and who would not welcome the effect of a change in emotion (such as a shopper on a budget for whom a spending spree would be financially uncomfortable, but who enjoys spending sprees), would be considered "opposed" to the effect of the music magic. Knowing an effect might be disadvantageous is usually enough to cause a person to be opposed, unless the person consciously chooses to be affected (such as someone with anxiety asking a music Power to help them not feel guilty about making a specific, budgeted-for indulgence purchase. This effect may naturally trigger a long-term lack of guilt, but may not, depending on person).

Those who are opposed to having their mood influenced, consciously or subconsciously, are completely unaffected by music magic below second class. Those who are asleep or unconscious cannot be affected by mood-altering music, willing or not, except that which was cast before they went to sleep.

Extended duration:

Music Powers at fifth class and higher may have an extended duration effect. While a minute or two of an altered mood may have a much longer effect (such as a moment of happiness after an unhappy morning may cause a person's outlook to improve over the rest of the day), lingering is a magic effect. Because music magic stimulates the emotional centers of the brain, a non-magical person who recalls the music may continue the stimulation of the same emotional center for a duration in which the music has at least a minimal presence, even if that presence is not enough to normally cause an effect.

For effects that help willing patients sleep, falling asleep becomes easier, and the patient stays asleep longer unless interrupted. The effect typically lasts much longer than it technically should based on science's understanding of magic lingering--the exact reason for this phenomena is still being studied, but it is believed to be related to the natural processes of the sleeping mind. Waking is no harder than normal; in fact patients often wake up more quickly to negative stimuli (such as unknown, unexpected intruders) from a magically-enhanced sleep than normal sleep, while still being able to sleep through neutral stimuli (such as a nurse coming in to check on vitals). Blinking may occur during unexpected stimuli of any kind, allowing patient's subconscious to identify possible threats without waking them.

Addiction and magic:

Because the body cannot be affected beyond its normal capacity for Powers below first, the effect of music magic is non-addictive, regardless of cumulative use. Because it responds to the individual's biological pathways, it is also impossible to under or overdose, and is effective for those who (due to substance abuse) have an altered natural state. Some people who already have addictions to certain mood-altering substances may find a music Power's abilities an adequate substitute for the drug, which makes them invaluable to rehabilitation, but may also make music Powers above sixth class (who typically do not produce effects strong enough to affect addiction-altered brains) targets for addicts, dealers, and criminal organizations.

Into the Tides Book Bonus: Earth 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.

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 earth Powers. Owen, one of the characters in the book, is a fifth class earth Power looking for a job after having recently moved to Wisconsin. Only, seems he may not have had the best luck in finding an employer...

A non-exhaustive list of some Magic Types
Power	Class	Capabilities/Limitations
Earth	6-	Passive: Sense presence of metals contained within touched nonliving surface (such as ground, pipes, wooden furniture; cannot identify type of metal; range 2 feet from touch) Active: Sense presence of metals within 10 feet of touch; sense flaws in touched metal object within 2 feet (such as bubbles/internal cracks/etc)
	5	Passive: Sense presence of metals contained within touched solid surface (4 feet from touch) Active: Sense presence of metals within 20 feet of touch; identify metals within 1 foot (with training); sense flaws in touched metal object within 10 feet; sense density of touched object within 3 feet; send minor vibration into touched object to depth of 10 feet Character note: Owen, at fifth class, seeks employment in the construction industry, a common industry for earth Powers.
	4	Passive: Sense presence of metals contained within touched solid surface (10 feet from touch); identify metals within 1 foot Active: Sense presence of metals within 60 feet of touch; identify metals within 5 feet (with training); sense flaws in touched metal object within 60 feet; sense density of touched object within 10 feet; precisely locate flaws in touched metal object within 10 from touch; send minor vibrations into touched surface up to 60 feet deep
	3	Passive: Sense presence of metals contained within touched solid surface (30 feet from touch); identify metals within 4 feet Active: Sense presence of metals within 90 feet of touch; identify metals within 10 feet (with training); sense presence of flaws in contiguous touched metal object within 300 feet; sense density of touched object within 30 feet; precisely locate flaws in touched metal object within 30 from touch; sense presence of metals in surface without touching within 20 feet; send moderate vibrations into touched surface depth of 2 feet and minor depth of 90 feet
	2	Passive: Precisely locate metals contained within touched solid surface (30 feet from touch); identify metals within 10 feet Active: Sense presence of metals within 120 feet of touch; identify metals within 30 feet (with training); sense flaws in contiguous touched metal object within .25 mile; sense density of touched object within 60 feet; precisely locate flaws in touched metal object within 30 from touch; sense presence of metals in surface without touching within 30 feet; send moderate vibrations into touched surface depth of 10 feet and minor depth of 120 feet; cause a minor vibration located within 30 feet from an untouched object/area
	1+	Passive: Precisely locate metals contained within touched solid surface (30 feet from touch); identify metals within 30 feet; sense origins of vibrations in ground within 60 feet Active: Sense presence of metals within 150 feet of touch; identify metals within 60 feet (with training); sense flaws in contiguous touched metal object within 3 miles; sense density of touched object within 90 feet; precisely locate flaws in touched metal object within 60 from touch; sense presence of metals in surface without touching within 60 feet; moderate vibrations into touched surface depth of 30 feet and minor depth of 150 feet; cause a moderate vibration located within 30 feet from an untouched object/area; cause a 9 square foot area centered around self (1 inch x 1 inch point of contact is the center) to vibrate moderately (equivalent of standing in a magnitude 4 earthquake; vibrations travel minor 10 feet past moderate area), cause a 3 square foot area to vibrate strongly (equivalent of a magnitude 6 earthquake; travels 5 feet as moderate and 9 feet as minor)

Earth Powers frequently take jobs involving pipelines or metalwork. While earth Powers have been documented since Minoan Crete, it is believed the first documented cases were actually telekinetic Powers, as the ability to sense flaws in metal was never included in descriptions. By mid-Roman times, however, the link between metalworking and earth Powers was clearly established, and this is considered to signify the birth of the actual earth Power. Until the Industrial Revolution earth Powers had special status as craftsman and weapon makers.

Their ability to sense contiguous metals is also of much use in exploring for valuable resources, as it can aid in establishing the depth of metal deposits. As such, earth Powers were often sent as members of exploration parties, and the gene therefore became particularly widespread. Exactly which nationality originally produced the earth Power gene is unknown, although most theories point towards Egypt. However, a second school of thought has the Egyptian history taking second place to nomadic Sarmatians, later acquired as prisoners of war by Egypt as slaves via the Mongols; genetic tests tracing mitochondrial DNA so far support this theory, but whether the common ancestor of the earth Powers was an earth Power, or simply a telekinetic Power, is unclear.

By the Roman theory, the modern form of earth Power, with the ability to sense surroundings, evolved approximately concurrently with the Roman line of travel Powers. The Native American line of travel Powers is thought to have emerged after contact with the Norse peoples, and the earth power re-emerged within a few generations, where they were revered similar to the (now thought to be extinct) sense Powers.

(Sense Powers could enhance perceptions, such as scent, sight, or taste, for themselves and others. However, as far as the public knows, the last known sense Powers died out after interactions with--and depredations by--colonizing Europeans.)

Book Extras: Sandra's interview

Sandra is one of the characters in Into the Tides, a middle-aged journalist who joins Kelly and her friends on their journey to rescue the people lost in the magic. Here's an article of hers that takes place a few weeks before Into the Tides begins.

Sandra

From The Daily News, out of Madison, WI:

You may have heard the recent news that Lorren's Oil plans to begin drilling in Lake Mendota. But what does that mean for the local environment? After all the recent efforts to clean the lake, will the drilling pollute the waters?

Lorren's Oil representative Marsha Annister sat down with The Daily News' Sandra Collins for an interview with the paper and explained how they plan to prevent such disasters.

ANNISTER: Keeping the lake clean is our top priority. You know that oil companies have worked in recent years to improve safety and cleanliness. Lorren's stands out and above even the best-known giants. Our CEO, Aaron Surry, demands we implement every new technology. In addition, we incorporate high numbers of earth Powers into our staff, employing their magic to seek for structural weaknesses in our pipelines.

COLLINS: What led you to drill in Lake Mendota? Wisconsin's not known as a major oil-producing state.

ANNISTER:  With the loss of the Gulf of Mexico production, it's essential to utilize all our possibilities for production. The Michigan Basin is actually quite significant. While the larger corporations are focusing their efforts east and out west, we're tapping into the rich middle-US fields. Doing so is challenging, in part due to the fact that the Michigan Basin overlaps into Canadian territory, but we've worked out mutually beneficial agreements with their government.

COLLINS: What other benefits will Madison see thanks to the drilling platform opening?

ANNISTER: Cheaper gas, obviously. But also an economic boost. We're bringing hundreds, potentially thousands of jobs to the area, and as Madison's population expands exponentially, unemployment is a major threat. So anything that can get people working is a good thing.

COLLINS: Thanks, Marsha. We appreciate you bringing some light on these issues for us.

ANNISTER: You're quite welcome. That's what I'm here for, to help all the citizens of Madison know that Lorren's Oil is looking out for them.

COLLINS: Sandra Collins with The Daily News

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.

Into the Tides Book Bonus: Travel 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.

 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 travel Powers. While the abilities similar to a first-class travel Power are described in the book, no real travel Powers show up.

A non-exhaustive list of some Magic Types
Travel	6-	Passive: Sense presence of obstructions within 3 feet Active: "skip" with interference 1 foot once every 30 seconds 6th class travel Powers are encouraged to avoid skipping while moving, as they are notorious for running into things
	5	Passive: Sense presence of obstructions within 20 feet; sense presence of approaching obstructions (such as sensing that people, cars, or horses are moving nearby, and from approximately which angle; does not sense objects less than 3 cubic feet) within 40 feet; uncontrolled skip with interference of 2 feet on average once a week Active: skip with interference 10 feet once every 30 seconds; break skip period into smaller skips (such as skipping with interference 5 feet every 10 seconds)
	4	Passive: Sense presence of obstructions within 40 feet; sense presence of approaching obstructions within 60 feet; uncontrolled skip of 2 feet without interference once a week Active: skip without interference 1 foot a day (continuous distance only); skip with interference 30 feet once every 45 seconds (may be broken up)
	3	Passive: Sense presence of obstructions within 60 feet; sense presence of approaching obstructions within 100 feet; uncontrolled skip of 5 feet without interference once every 5 days Active: skip without interference 5 feet a day (continuous distance only); skip with interference 60 feet once every minute (may be broken up); skip with another person with interference 5 feet every minute
	2	Passive: Sense presence of obstructions within 120 feet; sense presence of approaching obstructions within 180 feet; uncontrolled skip of 5 feet without interference once every 3 days; sense buildup of uncontrolled skip within 6 hours (+ or - 6 hour accuracy) of its likely occurrence due to buildup; sense uncontrolled skip 2 seconds before it occurs if skip occurs due to buildup Active: skip without interference 10 feet a day (continuous distance only) OR 2 feet every 12 hours; skip with interference 100 feet once every minute (may be broken up); skip with another person with interference 20 feet every minute; sense when another person is skipping within 100 feet (radius)
	1+	Passive: Sense presence of obstructions within 200 feet; sense presence of approaching obstructions within 300 feet; uncontrolled skip of 5 feet without interference once every day; sense buildup of uncontrolled skip magic with +/- 4 hours accuracy; sense uncontrolled skip due to buildup 5 seconds before it happens Active: skip without interference 20 feet a day (continuous distance only) OR 2 feet once every 4 hours; skip with interference 150 feet once every minute (may be broken up); skip with another person with interference 40 feet every minute; skip with 2 people with interference 5 feet every minute; skip another person without self 5 feet every minute within as long as person can be seen; sense when another person is skipping within 300 feet

Skipping:

Effectively, skipping is a teleport: Power is at location 1 and a microsecond later at location 2. Clothes and nonliving objects (up to 15 percent of body weight) stay with travel Power during a skip; excess objects are left behind in whole (such that a person weight 100 pounds carrying a 7 pound weight and a 10 pound weight would result in the  entire 7-pound weight being left behind). "With interference" means objects between starting location and ending location interrupt movement, with Power's ending location automatically being directly in front of interfering object. Skipping occurs as if traveling normally without jumping, so a 3-foot wall would stop a skip, but a 3-foot post that the Power could walk around does not--however, the distance to walk around the post would be added into the distance of the skip, shortening the total length of the skip by an equivalent amount.

The Power emerges skip at same speed as he or she was traveling when entering the skip. "Every x seconds" refers to a minimum recovery period the Power must take before engaging in the next skip. Thus, a 10-foot skip at the end of 30 seconds cannot be followed by a 10-foot skip at the beginning of the next 30 seconds. Skips cannot be saved up for longer skips--if a person does not skip for six hours, the next skip is still a maximum of 10 feet with a 30 second recovery period.


Emergency/uncontrolled skipping

Uncontrolled skipping, sometimes called "emergency skipping," occurs randomly and only when Power is not paying attention. It does not occur when skip has high probability of resulting in harm if travel Power is consciously or subconsciously aware of the danger. This means a travel Power might fall off a very low bed in the middle of the night, resulting in at most a bruise, but not the top bunk, which could result in serious injuries.

Uncontrolled skipping is most likely to occur when danger is approaching that the travel Power subconsciously notices, such as a beach ball flying at them from the corner of the eye, or when a danger unexpectedly occurs, such as if the travel Power begins to fall into a hidden hole in the ground.

When no danger has occurred in the period of a week, the built-up travel magic will cause a random skip with interference approximately once a week. To help avoid skipping at inappropriate times, it is common for a designated family member or friend to take to throwing soft objects at the travel Power's head once a week (or more, depending on temperament of helper).