Hi! First time here, just found "All these Old Ghosts" in my recs and had to consume every bit of leaked plot that existed on here.
Also, gotta say how much i love the concept of "Holy =/= safe." Genuinely one of my favorite concepts. Especially if used in a manner thats similar to "Holy power may be used, at a cost." So like, a magic user whos focus is Holy magic, yet their body burns every time they call on it, leaving scars upon scars in a pattern of a beautiful tragedy.
On that note; what do you think of the idea of Vampires eventually learning to use the Holy powers as well. Specifically, im thinking in the concept of Abolish post cure. No doubt he gets used to the burn that is the Holy power curing him. And no doubt he learns to ignore it. Its Abolish after all. But when turned, vamps loose their book powers. And we never see anyone post cure try to use one.
I imagine if they did, the lingering penance would make it so they either A. Feel like theyre burning from the inside out, as their unclean forms try to weld what they once forsake. Or B. That they normally wouldn't be able to push thru the all consuming Holy burn that I can imagine consuming the books provides; something that forms a mental block preventing cured vamps from consuming them. Thoughts?
Either way, would Abolish be someone to push through and re-consume a book? Would that be something to occur? Because if there exists a loop where he is turned early, then cured (or even remaining as a vampire, imagine that attempt), and he trys to relearn his fire spell... oof. Imagine the angst of that; your magic and your form, eternally at war, unable to be truly at rest as they continuously battle for dominance in your soul; as your blood burns, beating heart pumping liters of liquid fire all throughout, but knowing its something new to try, something different, and even if it seems unrelated to freedom, at least it might just be one step closer.
Now imagine Scott reaction to a vampire using holy powers.
The thing about Holy powers, at least the type derived from the Holy Spirits we see in Oakhurst, is that they are not innate to the user. Mere mortals cannot manipulate that kind of energy on their own. The living can serve as a vessel for it, but can't redirect it— can't even see or grasp it. Such power can only be adequately channeled by the Holy Spirits themselves, and those few stray ghosts that, while not forsaken, stand apart from their number.
The abilities we see utilized in Oakhurst are a kind of magic in which spells are perhaps best explained as "incredibly precise prayers". Not prayers made of words as we'd know them, but invocations made of image and sensation; intention, want, and force of will. Though in Oakhurst it comes so easily as to mistake for instinctive, it's not the humans themselves that call down fire, that halt evil with a word, that bestow blessings of fortune and fortitude. It is the Holy Spirits doing that, fulfilling any request faithfully made of them.
As far as forms of magic go, holy magic is notoriously unreliable.
In most places and contexts, those who call to the Spirits will likely go unheard— and therefore unanswered. While the forces of Good are technically, if not omniscient, something very close to it, they perceive the world at such a vast scale that to process every detail would take longer than the passage of time itself. For all their good intentions, if they aren't already paying attention to just the right place at just the right time... well, a single mortal's cry is easily missed until it's too late.
And even in the contexts where a cry would be heard? The Holy Spirits have rules they cannot break. Rules that dictate when they can and cannot answer. Rules that dictate when they must and must not answer. For it is in the very nature of the Holy Spirits to empower the light and repel the darkness. They can do nothing else.
If a creature of the light calls upon their power by proper incantation, and their request does not wish darkness (that is, death or intentional, unavoidable harm) upon another living being, then the Holy Spirits must oblige the request, exactly as phrased.
If a creature of unholy power calls upon the Holy Spirits for any reason other than to request a release from the darkness, then the Spirits cannot respond.
(I'm sure you can already foresee how these rules, while entirely and sincerely benevolent in intention, leave plenty of room for abuse of divine power, the dangers of human error, and cries for help met with silence.)
In fact, the only reason the powers we see in canon even work so consistently is because the Holy Spirits cling to Oakhurst, and scattered the tomes around Oakhurst's tombs for humans to find. The tomes are guiding enchantments, meant to teach even humans entirely ignorant of divine magic how to perform a single pre-written invocation of the Spirits. If any human had the time and focus to truly learn what the books were actually teaching them to do, they wouldn't even need the book's enchantment anymore, because that knowledge would simply be theirs to use. At that point, they could maybe begin to learn the theory behind what they were doing, and start making adjustments to the spells— perhaps even write new ones entirely.
As for the question of how these powers would work for a cured former vampire?
If they've been cured, they're not a vampire anymore. There may still be traces of the venom dormant in their system, but the curse is burned away. The physicality remains; the arcane aspects are gone. As far as the Holy Spirits are concerned? That's a human person. That's a creature of the light now. If they call, the Spirits will answer— with no special consequence or punishment or payment required.
(Side note! Spells designed to broadly target humans, or specific types of supernatural creature, will be confused by a cured vampire seeming physically "vampiric" but spiritually human. Unless a specific exception is written into the spell, it just won't do anything for a former vampire.)
Oh, and while his knowledge is several centuries outdated, Scott Goldsmith is still a highly educated scholar of the arcane... although he took up the study after he became a vampire, so the Holy Spirits have never given him anything except their silence.
