Briar Moss (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
growingwild) wrote2012-12-02 08:37 pm
growingwild) wrote2012-12-02 08:37 pm
Entry tags:
Abilities
Having grown up on the streets, Briar is very resourceful, and has picked up quite a few not necessarily 'legal' skills. He's very good at picking locks, and his deft, steady hands have come in handy even apart from picking locks. He's skilled in street fighting and hand to hand combat, favouring knives in particular (and Briar always has multiple knives hidden on his person). And having spent so much time engaging in criminal activity himself, he's got a good eye for recognising when someone else isn't up to any good.
His education got to a late start; when he came to Winding Circle, he couldn't read or write at all. But from Tris he did learn reading and writing, and eventually learned well enough that Rosethorn would let him label her medicines (and Rosethorn has exacting standards). And in the end not being able to rely on writing may have helped Briar develop an excellent memory, as he's able to recite what's told to him accurately. At Winding Circle, Briar also began to have a basic education. He also picked up on some other skills, like carpentry, and picked up quite a bit of knowledge from his foster-sisters in the fields of the weather, smithing, and weaving.
But the main bulk of Briar's knowledge centered around his magic: in gardening, and plants. He is extremely knowledgeable about what plants do what, how to best grow them, and what they can be used for. Medicines in particular are one area that Briar has gained very good knowledge of, and as a result he also has a very good knowledge of healing in general, even if he cannot use his own magic to heal.
As for Briar's magic specifically, in his world the kind of magic he has is referred to as 'ambient' magic. Rather than 'academic' mages, whose magic is rooted entirely in their own strength, Briar's magic is rooted in the natural world, and specifically in plants. In fact, plants love Briar. It's not unknown for plants nearby Briar to start moving towards him in a desperate attempt to get near and capture his attention. Plants will happily attempt to defend Briar as well, with their thorns and vines and poisons, even against someone who had been their gardener. In these cases, Briar often has to tell the plants to behave to get them to back off.
He can also have a more concentrated effect on plants, making them move or grow very quickly. He can make a plant go from a seed to a fully grown plant in moments, or call life to a wood to reawaken the dead plant within it. He can restore the power in things like medicines, which have been derived from plants. He can heal plants that are dying, or help them resist damage from things like fire. But while the effect that Briar can have on plants is dramatic, this doesn't meant that he doesn't use traditional gardening methods. Because while he can use magic to grow a plant extraordinarily quickly, it is ultimately better for the plant to grow naturally, as it will be stronger in the end.
Briar can also 'talk' to plants, although this is limited by the plant's understanding of the world. But he can hear a plant grumble as someone walks all over it, or ask it what it's being fed. He can also draw strength from plants, using their magic and power to restore his own.
As Briar is a plant mage, many people often have the perception that this means that his magic isn't particularly the case. This is not the case, as Briar is very much capable of using his magic to devastating effect. With the use of cotton bads filled with seeds, Briar can shoot up climbing plants to wrap around people and trap them, or even thorny plants that will grow right through someone, killing them.
Briar's magic however is also unusual, in that his magic is not 'just' plant magic. When he was around ten, his foster-sister Sandry wove his magic, and that of their two other foster-sisters, Tris and Daja, together. This gave Briar a small amount of thread, weather, and smith-magic, which can sometimes influence his own magic. He can also magically speak with his sisters (although if they are too far away from each other, like when they were in different countries, they cannot communicate this way). He is also able to 'see' magic, an ability which he gained from his sister Tris.
And sometimes, as is the nature of magic, Briar's magic can have odd effects (particularly if he isn't careful about taking the right precautions). One example of this is when he tried to tattoo his hands using Sandry's magicked needles: instead of a flowing vine tattoo, he ended up with magical, moving plant tattoos that are always changing and shifting.
His education got to a late start; when he came to Winding Circle, he couldn't read or write at all. But from Tris he did learn reading and writing, and eventually learned well enough that Rosethorn would let him label her medicines (and Rosethorn has exacting standards). And in the end not being able to rely on writing may have helped Briar develop an excellent memory, as he's able to recite what's told to him accurately. At Winding Circle, Briar also began to have a basic education. He also picked up on some other skills, like carpentry, and picked up quite a bit of knowledge from his foster-sisters in the fields of the weather, smithing, and weaving.
But the main bulk of Briar's knowledge centered around his magic: in gardening, and plants. He is extremely knowledgeable about what plants do what, how to best grow them, and what they can be used for. Medicines in particular are one area that Briar has gained very good knowledge of, and as a result he also has a very good knowledge of healing in general, even if he cannot use his own magic to heal.
As for Briar's magic specifically, in his world the kind of magic he has is referred to as 'ambient' magic. Rather than 'academic' mages, whose magic is rooted entirely in their own strength, Briar's magic is rooted in the natural world, and specifically in plants. In fact, plants love Briar. It's not unknown for plants nearby Briar to start moving towards him in a desperate attempt to get near and capture his attention. Plants will happily attempt to defend Briar as well, with their thorns and vines and poisons, even against someone who had been their gardener. In these cases, Briar often has to tell the plants to behave to get them to back off.
He can also have a more concentrated effect on plants, making them move or grow very quickly. He can make a plant go from a seed to a fully grown plant in moments, or call life to a wood to reawaken the dead plant within it. He can restore the power in things like medicines, which have been derived from plants. He can heal plants that are dying, or help them resist damage from things like fire. But while the effect that Briar can have on plants is dramatic, this doesn't meant that he doesn't use traditional gardening methods. Because while he can use magic to grow a plant extraordinarily quickly, it is ultimately better for the plant to grow naturally, as it will be stronger in the end.
Briar can also 'talk' to plants, although this is limited by the plant's understanding of the world. But he can hear a plant grumble as someone walks all over it, or ask it what it's being fed. He can also draw strength from plants, using their magic and power to restore his own.
As Briar is a plant mage, many people often have the perception that this means that his magic isn't particularly the case. This is not the case, as Briar is very much capable of using his magic to devastating effect. With the use of cotton bads filled with seeds, Briar can shoot up climbing plants to wrap around people and trap them, or even thorny plants that will grow right through someone, killing them.
Briar's magic however is also unusual, in that his magic is not 'just' plant magic. When he was around ten, his foster-sister Sandry wove his magic, and that of their two other foster-sisters, Tris and Daja, together. This gave Briar a small amount of thread, weather, and smith-magic, which can sometimes influence his own magic. He can also magically speak with his sisters (although if they are too far away from each other, like when they were in different countries, they cannot communicate this way). He is also able to 'see' magic, an ability which he gained from his sister Tris.
And sometimes, as is the nature of magic, Briar's magic can have odd effects (particularly if he isn't careful about taking the right precautions). One example of this is when he tried to tattoo his hands using Sandry's magicked needles: instead of a flowing vine tattoo, he ended up with magical, moving plant tattoos that are always changing and shifting.