What IS the "Black"?

[CyrilLucifer]

That's what was really confusing for me. There probably isn't much, if any aether in there, but then when I sat down and thought about it, I realized "I'm curing in an area where it makes absolutely no sense for me to cure so heavily." Especially since you'd be in there (at least the Chrysalis) canonically solo and how else would you have beaten Nabri up as a mage? Whacking him with your stick?

I'd guess we probably took 10 years off of our lives. Or, well, we can handwave it as a shiny Echo bonus (since we lack the Blessing in the the Chrysalis section).

[Cilia]

Maybe the Warrior of Light is more efficient at converting their life force to spells thanks to their extensive training?

Either way, I think the body naturally recovers as long as you don't push it to the breaking point. Every instance of someone overtaxing their life force to cast magic ends in death, but Black Mages and inexperienced / desperate Dark Knights go close to the limit with no apparent long-term side effects. (Then again, we don't age and have soul crystals to act as power regulators, so who knows.)

[lokoxDZz]

Black mages showed up as a destructive force that forcefully take aether away from the things arounds, in black mage history you don't have the help of elementals like the White mages for examples, if we compare with a example from other games take ExDeath, a powerfull blackmage specialized on pure destruction. Taking the path of the black also can means that you eventually will find yourself on the path to the void itself.

As for scholar means of using magic, i don't think its different from CNJ/WHM in fact i think fairies might be a kinda of artificial elemental itself.

[Shirobi]

Its just a way to refer to black magic and devotion to it.

[CGMidlander]

how else would you have beaten Nabri up as a mage? Whacking him with your stick?

Sticks and stones can break bones.