[quote]What I meant to say was that they remove the feathers and make sure they don't grow back; the action of removing them is not what causes them not to grow back.[/quote]	Ah, I see. Sounds like it should be a very bloody process, in any case...

	Mixing black magic with arcane was a discussion, yes... There were two different discussions, actually - one time in regards to a Reniam-version of my own magefolk and their iconic weapons (which basically concluded with runes of both kinds being fine on the same object as long as you [i]never[/i] try to activate both at once), and the other time in regards to Jillian and her practices. 
[quote]	But one could say prepare (say the chant of, but not release the spell) a fireball spell with arcane, then use black magic to create, say oil or some form of flammable gas near/around a target location, then release the fireball.[/quote]	You're still [i]sustaining[/i] an unfinished arcane spell while you do your black magic ... which would probably work about as well as trying to drill a hole into a metal container of gunpowder. From what Jack said the last time it was talked about, I'm fairly confident it'd just blow up in your face, and potentially in a [i]spectacular[/i] manner. 
	If you created the oil/gas first (given it's possible and doesn't violate the laws of magic ... maybe draw it from the surroundings or something) and then, after being completely done with one type of magic, tried to use the other in succession, it might work. 
	Jack has also mentioned that the fire, light and other phenomena created by magic aren't actually [i]true[/i] versions of themselves, but rather still carry more semblance to the original magical energy, and tend to have unnatural properties which stem from our (or our characters', rather) flawed conceptions. I'm not certain how well mixing magical phenomena of two kinds (not applicable for "draw from surroundings", of course) would go, either, even if I suspect would be significantly less violent since the magic has already been mostly transformed into a semblance of the real thing...

	Speaking of magic, there was also the part about mind-affecting spells which personally bothered me quite a bit: "If it's not specifically [i]thought-control[/i] or the spell isn't sophisticated enough to [i]separately[/i] null your knowledge of self and/or erase your memories of what you were feeling and sensing right before ... I'd expect any kind of generic-effect spell or abrupt illusion to be consciously very jarring and immediately identifiable, the latter especially when you're already aware that someone was casting a mind-affecting spell."

	Incidentally, I'm also getting the feeling that our "translations" of arcane words are supposed to be very inaccurate, and their proper meanings do not really correspond to the English interpretations. (This has nothing to do with mind control.)