I do not care if you use a hard or soft magic system. The only thing I care about is you gushing on the magic in your novels AND the magic systems you like in popular or well-known fiction. I just want to talk about magical powers, spells, channeling magic, runes, and anything else that comes with it from our own novels or the work of others! If you have spoilers that you don’t want others to see, then you should hide them. If you don’t write fantasy but love the popular works of others who do fantasy, you can mention what you like.
My Turn:
I am in the process of world-building Alagossia. I am trying to figure out the magic systems, the races and species that all use magic, and how magic and technology coexist in harmony.
So, in my world, magic comes from the air called First Mist/Mystic Air or just Mist. Give every single living being Mystic levels or veins that can handle the Mist that everyone breathes/ takes in.
What I like about my magic system is that magic comes directly from the air that the Alagossians breathe in daily. It grants them immortal life, youth and vigor, and depending on the race/species immense power. There is spell casting and ways to channel energy to create spells. The spells can also be used to combine with the technology. Though some races don’t use Mystic-tek and prefer to just use their Mystic to get by.
Yet those who can channel mystic levels to produce enough energy to wield spells and more are broken into Mystic Types 0-4. Schooling, apprenticeship, training can help, but some people don’t have that luxury, financially or it’s a matter of getting older.
Mystic Levels work like blood veins, pushing the Mist through the body like air does for us. Having the person feel the mist coursing throughout their body the way blood does.
There’s more to mention in regards to Mist Settings and the different Mystic Levels each race has, but I can discuss those if you are truly interested.
I am still figuring things out in terms of the magic system and things that tie along with it, remember that.
How about when science becomes so advanced it’s like magic, like Halo’s Forerunners, or technology that can’t work without magic (/ religious observance), like the Adeptus Mechanicus and Orc tech in Warhammer 40,000. The anime series Unbreakable Machine Doll is another example of blending magic with technology.
The only difference between science and magic is time ~ unknown quote.
I don’t have a traditional magic system in my story, just technology that looks like magic for anyone who’s unaware of the technology’s existence. But sometimes I (the lazy author) forget I’m supposed to use / reference that tech in my story…Freyja’s not like the other girls, literally…Dov is no longer normal either, but his ‘magic’ is (should be) far more subdued.
This sounds very familiar to me! Is this a twelve or thirteen episode anime with a small girl and a teenage guy attending a school or something along those lines?
The magic system is complicated, but also very difficult to manage, which I find the most enjoyable, honestly. Magic isn’t something that’s going to 100% save a situation, and it may actually create more problems which aligns with my #1 writing rule: “Anything that can go wrong, should go wrong”.
Note: Every single person is born with the innate ability to use magic. However, magic was long-ago corrupted. This caused something people refer to as the “void plague”, which caused a mass-wide epidemic that led to a sickness of the body and the mind (think something close to rabies), and in extreme circumstances caused demonic possession and also the corpses of those who died of the void plague to become harbingers/servants of demonic beings, spreading their illness to people around them. This epidemic was “solved” when Arion–the Father God–gifted people a rare mineral substance referred to as ‘mekhos’, which purposefully nullifies magic.
The idea was meant to be a temporary solution until one could find a way to “cure” the corrupted magic, but what started out as temporary soon became very permanent.
Eventually, after centuries, people discovered that magic had (in a way) “cured” itself. Magic is an innate part of their universe. It acts as an added element to how their universe functions, and essentially impacts the environment the same way the ocean, the rain, etc. would. When magic became corrupted, the “doorway” between the astral plane/death domains very thin, which caused a lot of demonic beings to escape their version of hell and enter into their plane. Essentially, many doorways somewhat “cracked” open.
Now, some fun things about the magic system now that the whole clarification bits out of the way:
Each persons magic manifests in a connection to an element. Meaning, they all have an elemental base or “core” to which their magic stems. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re only able to perform magic that is based off that element (although it does and can make it more difficult and in some cases impossible to wield high-powered elemental magic, i.e. if someone’s “core” element is water, they will never be able to perform super powerful fire magic. They can still do fire-magic, but it is a much lesser form.). This creates both advantages and disadvantages to each user, and sets limitations for their abilities.
They have to use foci that directly interacts with their core element–this, or their foci must have some powerful emotional connection to the user. I.e. if someone with a core of “earth” magic wants to cast a spell, they must have with them something that connects them to the earth (a rock, a pocket full of dirt, mud, etc.). More powerful spells may require more foci, or different foci depending on the intention of the user.
Spells are often difficult to cast and require a heavy knowledge of ruins. More powerful spells have to have the ruin drawn out, others only require the ruin to be traced. It also oftentimes require complicated hand-gestures.
If someone is not grounded and they do not have a strong will, then their magic will often become unpredictable. The more powerful the magic user, the stronger their will must be in order to control/contain the magic. If they do not have a strong will, but are a powerful magic user, they risk not only harming themselves and others–but also risk demonic possession due to the inability to harness their connection to their magic.
In extremely rare circumstances, the use of mekhos can essentially nullify the magic inside of a person forever. Which means they lose the ability to cast spells and are often cut off from the astral plane. It’s only happened a handful of times, and in most cases when this nullification happens the person dies.
Sometimes it’s hard to stay the Madness of Magic, and you can get carries away with it at times. With all the Differing and Similar Powers within such as the Marvel Universe, it becomes a more troubling thought as to where to Stay the Magic Level, and Strength of that Magic/Power.
That was one thing that seemed to make the MCU fall on it’s face for me… How Powerful can a Person be?
Don’t think they cared too much about it really…
And that is where my Magic System comes in… Finding that level of Acceptable amidst the want to take it further and fall into Madness. But, I have found that which is manageable, and not too Stupidly over the top…
