I am aware that findings of the magnitude I am about to present invite skepticism, and I welcome it. Skepticism honestly applied is the highest service one scholar can render another. In anticipation of that skepticism, I have documented my methodology with a thoroughness that I trust will satisfy even the most rigorous of critics, and I invite any institution on the continent to conduct an independent replication.
Forty-two arcane practitioners were recruited for this study. They were selected to represent a range of skill levels, backgrounds, ages, and arcane traditions — I wanted no possibility of the results being attributable to the specific practices of any single school. Twelve came from Quelavar institutions. Fourteen from Thessavar institutions. The remainder from independent practice in the Free Cities and the Verdant Kingdoms. All gave their informed consent. None were told the specific hypothesis being tested. I did not want their expectations to influence their performance.
Each practitioner was assessed at baseline using the Veldrith Scale of Arcane Sensitivity — the standardized measurement instrument developed at the Thessavar College of Applied Magic in Year 1988 CC, subsequently adopted by both empires, and the closest thing to a universally accepted metric our fractious scholarly community has managed to produce. Baseline measurements were taken at the practitioners' home institutions, at no less than three hundred miles from the Thornwood.
The forty-two practitioners then spent six months living and working in controlled conditions within two miles of the Vitae rift. They were provided with housing, food, and access to their normal arcane practice materials. They were not instructed to interact with the rift directly. They were simply present near it, as anyone living in Thorngate has always been present near it, without ceremony or intention.
Measurements were taken at monthly intervals throughout the proximity period.
Upon completion of the proximity period, practitioners returned to their home institutions and resumed their normal work. Measurements were taken at six-month intervals for four years thereafter.
The results of all three phases are documented below. I have not selected for favorable results. I have not omitted unfavorable findings. Every measurement, including those that initially seemed inconsistent, is included in the full record, which is available for inspection at the Quelavar College archive.
The meticulous, Almost clinical way you've framed this magical study with baseline measurements, control distances, replication invites, and full transparency about methodology gives it such a compelling sense of scholarly authenticity, So what inspired you to present a fantasy concept in the voice of a real academic paper?