Almost. Effort is a vehicle - but not all magic has to be difficult.
[Case in point: Merlin had only gotten lazier after being a virtual shut-in for over a millennium, but even when he was able to walk in the world he favored certain tactics that'd help him get out of messes scot-free, finish the job quicker and go back to playing around.]
It's imagination. There are all sorts of limitations to certain spells, tools and what-have-you, but magic in itself is boundless. An exemplary mage with enough power will envision something spectacular and work through the circumstances they find themselves in, seeing opportunity in what others think of as barriers.
At the end of the day, magic is but a tool to accomplish one's ends, and there's no rule that says a powerful person must be a tyrant or an enemy to mankind.
So what's stopping you from choosing to be kind every time you use magecraft? If you really want to help others with magic, you're free to do so - and believe me, there are plenty of humans looking for all sorts of ways to get out of their personal problems that rise from genuine need or otherwise.
If you go down that route, however, you should take care to not end up like the hero Siegfried. From what I saw of him, he didn't really look happy towards the end.
no subject
[Case in point: Merlin had only gotten lazier after being a virtual shut-in for over a millennium, but even when he was able to walk in the world he favored certain tactics that'd help him get out of messes scot-free, finish the job quicker and go back to playing around.]
It's imagination. There are all sorts of limitations to certain spells, tools and what-have-you, but magic in itself is boundless. An exemplary mage with enough power will envision something spectacular and work through the circumstances they find themselves in, seeing opportunity in what others think of as barriers.
At the end of the day, magic is but a tool to accomplish one's ends, and there's no rule that says a powerful person must be a tyrant or an enemy to mankind.
So what's stopping you from choosing to be kind every time you use magecraft? If you really want to help others with magic, you're free to do so - and believe me, there are plenty of humans looking for all sorts of ways to get out of their personal problems that rise from genuine need or otherwise.
If you go down that route, however, you should take care to not end up like the hero Siegfried. From what I saw of him, he didn't really look happy towards the end.