Noble Ire wrote:Interesting, and quite refreshing (all too often, gods are used as Deus Ex Machina in Fantasy).
I thought it was also important because so much of my story reflects moral perspective, and gods would make that not only more complicated, but also way more stupid

.
Nevertheless, if it isn't tied to religious mythology, the question is raised: Do the Azzarn regard magic the same way we regard science, as a basic, immutable part of the world, without a driving will or moral basis?
Yes. They view science and magic as being essentially two parts of the same thing. They can use science to better understand magic, and magic to better understand science. Only once you understand the nature of something and the principles it operates under can you begin to manipulate it.
For instance, healers. A healer needs to know the construction of the body (like a human doctor) before any healing magic is going to be effective/beneficial --not only to actually have an effect, but to make it have the
desired effect. This is difficult and requires a particular kind of mind, just like any kind of magic. There's also different degrees of capability. Bemia can heal very well, and with minimal peripheral damage. On the other hand, those with enough magical touch to be able to change things, but not
help things can become botch-healers, which is actually an offensive technique. That is, it's like healing magic, but the intent is to manipulate the tissues to cause random massive internal damage, basically by instigating undirected alterations (which aren't necessarily bad, but the chances of it helping are.....
not good. 
)
Ha ha, tangent... my point is, they need science or they don't know what to do to yield an workable or effective magical technique. They can't change a random object they don't understand, or at the very least not with any accuracy.