@Havenstone on a somewhat different tack from previous aetherial blood questions, is harrowing as efficient as is reasonable at the Hegemony’s tech level in harvesting aetherial blood from an adult?
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That has been tried, and adds nothing to a wisard’s usable aether.
@Kuria_Aliki, those punishments might appear in later games; we’ll see. They wouldn’t make a huge difference in aether supply, though. And a universal eyeball tax would (a) not be enough to meet the current blood consumption of the Hegemony (b) be hard to sustain after you’d done it once. It’s not I think a plausible alternative to the current system.
@cascat07, there might be some minor efficiency gains to be made by a genius-level MC in Harrowing tech in the late game. But it’ll be a small bonus, not a replacement option.
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So, to recap, we have five potentially-workable routes so far for dealing with the moral questions of theurgy, three of which should work and two of which are still mad science:
1: Continue Harrowing, either as-is, with a new set of targets (Logan’s Run?), or Halassur-style infant (or fetus) farming.
2: Transition to mass-training theurges using their own blood (which is by far the most efficient means, but probably won’t appeal to our arrogant nobles).
3: Abandon widespread use of theurgy, accept massive starvation and die-back. (Hm, I wonder how much blood we could stockpile if we wanted to Harrow the population down to manageable levels?)
4: Develop techne to take the place of theurgy.
5: Theurgic space program to get at the empyrean.
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I think the problem with this one is that it might win the war but not the peace. I don’t think you’ll be able to sustain the wards or ripen the crops with self-sacrifice therugy.
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For the wards, it would definitely be a problem (though we’ll see in Book 2 if most of them are even necessary).
Ripening the crops, on the other hand, sounds feasible if you farm intelligently. Part of the reason why the current system is eating up so much blood is because the current agricultural system tends towards giant monoculture plantations (and part because Karagon is overtaxing Shayard and there’s ridiculous excess and waste - it’s worse than US agricultural policy). Combining self-theurgy with intelligent crop rotation and a spreading out of agriculture should allow for avoiding famine.
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My MC is definitely keeping the Harrowing of helots around. What about yours?
Just a reminder to please keep the spoiler protection for those who want to hear it all first from Cerlota.
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I would always prefer a quick death or even a slow harrowing over being paralysed for eternity or losing any body part at all.
Obviously we’ll need a workable combination of 2, 4 and 5. That the “nobles” won’t liker nr. 2 is more of recommendation then anything. Besides if Halassur is starting mass training too then we need to probably match that.
Yep, get somebody like the late Lutzenberger to design and implement our new agricultural policy and cross our fingers it works. On the plus side that kind of land re-distribution to smallholder cooperatives should go a long way towards appeasing the yeoman and former helots who want to stay in farming.
If absolutely necessary we can cull the non-productive idle-rich population, if we’re not going to waste them by throwing them at pointless wars with Halassur anymore. It would still be a short-term, stop-gap measure.
On the subject of Halassur, since there aren’t many first-born sons around do they then practice ultimogeniture by any chance @Havenstone ?
A quick death, sure. It is why my mc has a better life as a rebel as dying in a failed rebellion or even of starvation is a million times better than being Harrowed. The main part of his reasoning why there will be no compromises with the theocracy.
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Havie I need a choice to KILL THE HERETIC WITH FIREEEE after of course poison his tea… I mean I understand if heretic guy has to escape because plot. But no way in million of years mara have a chat with a blood mage or talking to him. It is no way she has no absolute tolerance for it. She is determined to starve half
Sorry! Havenstone’s mentioned that you’re going to need to be willing to at least engage with theurgy on some level to be able to fight the Hegemony. Because, y’know, they’re also using it, and it’d be like trying to fight a modern army when you’re committed to not using any petroleum products.
There’s no reason you can’t take an Ottoman approach to dealing with your theurges once they’ve outlived their usefulness, though. 
My inner magocrat is utterly appalled by this (It’s like people being leashed by their dogs) but you could go with the Qunari approach of enslaving all theurges and forcing them to do all theurgy related tasks in your new regime.
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PACIFISM ROUTE Iwill not fight so heretics are pointless and only destiny is death NO COMPROMISE WITH DEVIL. Mara will never use teurge as she will never fight to begin with so mages are the symbol of all wrong for Mara she will never pact with one and i should not force to that if I am game will end for me there as I will not continue playing as negates my choices completely and goes totally off character.
There is enough compromise the fact food she eats is blood produced and most other stuff Is something that is already hard to accept for mara so the idea of talking with one is nuts.
The Qunari have effective tools (both social and magical) for enslaving their mages, though. This 'verse really doesn’t - people who have learned to make Change are essentially uncontrollable except by bringing them into the hierarchy.
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@Havenstone I wonder if the aether in aetherial blood simply passes through the body or if it gets broken down. Knowing how to destroy refined aether could also be useful in a scorched earth sort of way.
Regarding sublimation, if the aether simply becomes a gas on leaving the body, can that gas be collected for later use? Or does the aether actually break down in some way? If it is possible to collect aether-rich air, would there be any effect on wisards breathing aether-rich air since that air would go into the lungs to interact with blood meant to carry oxygen but which is also a natural solvent for aether? And I would point out that the idea of pumping air does date back to at least Aristotle.
A staff is kind of a lame weapon, is there an option to obtain a different one?
Capture a sword.
Indeed, Mara has already inspired that “scorched earth” path, with some feedback she gave way back in the WiP thread. 
It doesn’t break down, but ascends to its natural sphere too rapidly to be captured, faster even than fire rises to the empyrean.
Yes, but you’ll be lame with it for a while, until you’ve had the chance to actually learn it.
Alternatively, play as a noble and keep your sword.
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@Havenstone
I do remember speculation of developing something for Helots to drink that would make their blood useless when they are Harrowed but I couldn’t think of what to search for to find and link it.
EDIT: Found it.
And if the rooms are air-tight? Being a gas does not make something useless. We can work with gases though liquids and solids would be easier. Assuming gaseous aether can be inhaled and dissolve in blood in the lungs, I was thinking it could be useful in laboratories and might also be used as a show of power/decadence that the very air the truly powerful breathe thrums with the Potential for Change.
Aether isn’t air. Once it’s freed from its natural matrices (in either meteoric metal or human tissue) it moves through other solids on its way back to its natural elevation in the cosmos.
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