I'm considering joining this website because of the appeal and the general status of members, length of posts, the general ensemble that often encompasses a good forum, however, there are a few problems which postpone my joining. I'll post these questions in list form to make it easier to read and whomever has the answers can assist me in their response.

• What is the Sight?
• What is the Gift?
• What is Wild Magic?
• What are the differences between the three?
• Can a character have possess two of these 'abilities', for example, Wild Magic and the Sight?
• What is this forum based upon?
• Is the lack of information suggesting that there is a basis, e.g a book which needs to be read?
• Is there a minimum and/or maximum word count in posts?
• How active is the forum in terms of average posts per day/week, whichever is more fitting.

One to Four: Gift ∙ human, academic magic, the use of which must be taught.
Sight ∙ aspect of the magical Gift that gives its holders certain advantages in matters of vision. It can be erratic, showing holders only lies, illness, magic, or future importance. In its fullest form, it can allow the holder to see clearly over distance, see tiny things in sharp detail, and to detect illness, lies, godhood, magic, death, and other aspects of life.
Wild magic ∙ the magic that is part of the natural world. Unlike the human Gift, it cannot be drained or done away with; it is always present. Wild magic is believed by most to be a myth.

Those aren't the best examples in the world, so I'll expand a bit. The Gift is the most common type of magic one might possess. It ranges in strength from person to person; some may be able to cast a weak circle of protection, while those incredibly strong might be able to turn one into a tree. The more one uses their gift, the more it drains them, and more complex performances will drain them quicker. Typically, one's magic would also have a color attributed to it, which also varies from person to person, and the types of spells one might perform depends on their strength, nature, training, and the tools at their disposal.

The Sight is a much rarer type of magic an no where near as showy; those with the Gift are often immune to it, either in part or in full.

Wild Magic is the single rarest magical ability, and most don't believe it exists. While it can be incredibly powerful, allowing the user to shape shift, heal, or control animals, here at Corus was ask that members tone it down immensely - such as an affinity (ability to speak) with a particular animal, and perhaps mild healing abilities with that same animal. Anything more intense would, like the Gift, require training, and as it 'doesn't exist', and so has no one prepared to train those with it, powerful wild magic is likely to drive the wildmage insane. Wild magic is copper in color.

Five: You can only have one of these magical abilities, both in the books on which this is based, and the forum itself.

Six: The forum is based upon three quartets, a duology, and in incomplete trilogy by Tamora Pierce, which, sequentially, go as follows: Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hands of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, Lioness Rampant, Wild Magic, Wolf Speaker, Emperor Mage, The Realms of the Gods, First Test, Page, Squire, Lady Knight, Trickster's Choice, and Trickster's Queen. Terrier, and the two books that will eventually follow it, can be read at any point, though would make the most sense after having read In the Hands of the Goddess.

Seven: The books aren't required, as members (as you see XD) are more than happy to answer questions, and the background information is, slowly but surely, getting up there.

Eight: ...There are forums with MAXIMUM word counts?! -deeply afraid now- That's a very, very large "No" hereabouts, however we do ask that members aim for a minimum of 300 words per post; most will wind up exceeding that by quite a bit.

Nine: Having been open just over two weeks makes this question a bit challenging to answer; it also varies from day to day, depending on the RL demands of the members. On average, my estimate would have to be two-five a day, but don't quote me on that >.<

Hopefully I did a passable job of answering your questions; if you've any further, don't hesitate to ask.

The information is perfect. I appreciate the detail and the expansion of some of the terms, I had read through the basic information but there was little elaboration to help someone whom is not familiar with Tamora Pierce's work. I do have a couple more questions but I have decided to join, regardless of the response. I'll need to do some background work, get some information and so forth but I have something appropriate in the coming hours/days (once, I get into something, I tend to focus on that single project).

• Is there a set colour system for these abilities or is it a random process?
• If the setting were to be placed into actual time periods, which would it be most familiar with? E.g. the Renaissance, the Middle Ages, the Tudor Period.

Thanks for the information so far.

One: It's never really been suggested in the books, so I just let folk go with whatever color they like XD

Two: We would fall under the Middle Ages.