Magic

[Raphael]

Ok, so i am working on a peice with guilds and a whole lot of other stuff, what are your favorite types of magic, anything at all, feel free to discuss! Thanks!

[Spectre]

Hm... I'm a fan of magic 'systems', I guess, where the magic comes from a source. Something tangible- it doesn't have to make sense in the real world, but if the rules you make up make sense within the world, then it helps a lot.

I was never completely sold on how Harry Potter did magic; it's all about how you pronounce the words, until, guess what, you don't need to say them anymore! And the magic is unlimited!

Well, maybe if I read them again it would make more sense... but anyway, I liked what they did in Eragon. Like, the magic takes the same effort you'd need to do the task physically. Or I heard of another series where magic was based on 'furies', invisible beings that you had to convince to help you, I think.

Magic systems, man. That's where it's at.

(Dang, I haven't written any sort of system for my own stories... oh well, maybe they won't notice.)

[Deleted]

Oh, I love the concept of magic. I almost always incorporate some form of magic or other mystical aspect into my stories (love fantasy, can't help it), whether it be dragons, myths, or pure magic.

I agree the magic does have to come somewhere. However, I like to relate magic to what we know in the real world and say it's a gene or something of the sorts. You can only use magic if it's in your DNA (with rare exceptions, just as there are exceptions with actual genetics - they're called mutations).

The general idea I have in mind would be that magic and just regular life or whatever are codominant traits. We'll say M is magic and R is the non-magical gene (even though in genetics you only use one letter to represent them both). Say your parents' genetics are MR and MR. You could turn out either MM, RR, or MR. MM is pure-blood magician. You'd have very strong powers. RR is the average Joe - no magical abilities. With MR, you would possess mediocre abilities (your basic stuff).

Of course it'd be much more complicated if I actually bothered to expand upon it and make it more realistic and believable. It'd be influenced by more than 2 varieties of the gene! That's just the basics, though.

Another idea, though it would make for a far less-believable story, would be the ability to use a higher percentage of your brain's potential at any given time, unlocking special abilities mimicking magic.

[sapphire]

I'm with Spectre - magic systems all the way. Set the rules and then follow them. Brandon Sanderson has some really amazing ones. There's a system called Allomancy, which is based on metals, where the characters had to ingest flakes of various metals to do different things. They'd "burn" the metal to - for example - soothe someone else's emotions, but they would have to stop or swallow more when it ran out. It also involved not being able to magically push or pull something heavier than you - pushing on something too heavy would send the character flying backward instead of the object. It's incredibly complex, and one of the best I've seen.

I think a good strategy is to try to base it somewhat in reality - like Sanderson's Allomancy or Arcane's example of the DNA or, as in Harry Potter or Eragon, make it difficult to use and require a lot of practice. When your readers have something to ground them, you can do much crazier - and cooler - things with your other rules.

It's also a good idea to run your magic system - whatever that may be - across as many people as possible. The more questions they have to ask you, the better your system will be, once you've answered those questions.

[Raphael]

What i what to do is have a base idea for the magic, either it comes from the reason based part of your soul (essence) and you can use more science based magic, like alchemy or astrology, (predicting things with the stars), or something to do with reading the persons essence.

And then there are the schools of magic which are based more on your will rather than your reasoning creative/whimsical side (faith vrs reason) and these are the magics, like summoning, necromancery, elemental magic, transforming, illusion, sealing and barrier magic, and more.

I might have some magic that would be really rare and really taxing that used both the intellect and the will. but i havent decided yet. I want to make a big tree sort of thing to organize the magics so that i can decide on an overall system and also begin to work on systems for each magic.

[the Red Dragon]

In my book, there always has to be a source of magic. There's all kinds of different magics, but they all start somewhere. The most common / well known kind of magic is where it's a part of someone and you just have to learn how to harness it. I dunno, that's hardly my strong point . . .

[Spectre]

Sounds like you've got a very good idea of how to organize it, though. Keep it up! Rare, unexpected types of magic are always fun.

I'm guessing it takes quite a bit of planning to keep this all organized, yes?

[Raphael]

What in your oppinions are the best 'schools' of magic?
I have these:
Elemental
Ritual(healing and necromancery)
Ressual(transformations)
Illusionary(skrying, charms, and cammoflauge magic)
Sealing
Summoning
Bellacore(combat magic)
I named a few myself

[the Red Dragon]

What is sealing? Also, would elemental mean earth/air/water/fire? It sounds to me like you've got it pretty well organized.

[Raphael]

Yeah,
Fire- Lightning
Air- Torrent
Earth- Plant
Water- Frost

[sapphire]

Hmm, personally I'm a fan of ritual and illusionary, but that might be because of my tendency to write morally ambiguous characters. Elemental is cool, too.

[Raphael]

Hey, one more thing, I need to name my Necromancer, i think it will be a boy, but it could be a girl. So far my necromancer magic will work like blood sacrifice typish stuff. And so their magical talisman is a small cerimonial dagger to draw their own blood in most cases, any good names?

[sapphire]

Try looking at baby name websites - that's what I do for all my characters. You can search by meaning. My favorites are www.babynames.com and www.babynamenetwork.com.

[Deleted]

The schools looks pretty well-organized. Nothing to add off the top of my head. Maybe prophecy-type magic or something? Though that makes it easy to ruin a plot if a character knows what's going to happen (unless the character acts like an oracle and gives a vague account or riddle referencing the future).

As for names, my only advice is not to make it stereotypical. Don't name him, say, Shade for example. Maybe use names that refer to the dead or animals that represent darkness like the wolf or bat.

Male Names:
Andre - Spanish given name meaning 'warrior'
Gabriel - Given name meaning 'warrior of God'
Angelo - Italian given name meaning 'angel'
Nero - Italian name meaning 'wise warrior'
Percy - Short for Greek given name 'Perseus' meaning 'soldier'
Wallace / Wally - Given name meaning 'ruler of an army'
Wyatt - English Given name meaning 'hardy warrior'

Female Names:
Enya - Given name meaning 'fire'
Eris - Given name referring to the Greek goddess of strife and discord
Maia - Given name meaning 'brave warrior'
Nina - Quechuan given name meaning 'fire'
Morgan - Given name referring to Arthur's Morgana le Fey, an evil sorceress

Surnames:
Louvell - French surname meaning 'little wolf'
Wolfe - Surname meaning 'wolf'
Nolan - Irish surname meaning 'champion' or 'chariot fighter'
Wyatt - English surname meaning 'hardy warrior'
Blake - English surname meaning 'black'
Morgan - Surname variant of Morgan, referring to King Arthur's Morgana

Thought I'd try to give you some ideas. I'd go for relating them to mythology since your tying them in with magic.

[Raphael]

Thanks! I'll keep those in mind, for my necromancer i decided on a girl, and her name and opening are these:

rated for mutilation and some other possably disturbing things, it opens with Seppuku, and the necromancer magic and healing magic require the blood of the user.

Kiserete Nightingale

Never have shadows as dark as those been cast by a moon as full as that. The earth opened up, ready to swallow two more victims of the so called gift of magic. The rain poured down, out of clouds that danced around the moon, refusing to blot out the miserable funeral march. There was one mourner that could make no noise. All those around her wailed or mumbled prayers to guide the young couple into the after-life. Ritual Dedicates hardly lived long in a time of war; there was so much death, so much to bear. But no one told Kirasete, the young daughter, or expected her to have thought her parents dead.

The funeral procession continued up the side of the mountain of the dead; it had begun in the valley towne, at the local church. Kirasete served with the church, as a Ritual Aspirant. Once, she had dreamed to become a Dedicate like that of her parents, but nevermore. Her pure white robes, a simple remembrance of the untainted life she would have led, were drenched. It portrayed a sickly, pale remnant of the chaste life in the Ritual’s Order. The scarlet pigment of her irises nearly matched her bloodshot eyes, which overflowed with tears. The salt of her tears and the frost of the mountain rain washed through her platinum hair, a she followed the coffins up the mountain, the mountain of the dead.

Dirges rang out, but she did not perceive them, her ears were filled with the deafening void of her absent parents. The mahogany wood of the coffins mocked her openly, denying one last glimpse of her parents faces. Her eyes blazed with envy, for the coffins could see their beauty until the End. The rhythmic beats of the dirt falling into her parents’ grave, deep in the earth’s clutches provided the tempo which was perfect for the dirge.

One by one they all left, until only the silent mourner remained. By now she had collapsed by the freshly tilled graves. She had been abandoned by her parents and all that remained for her was the very thing that killed them, the Order. Her thoughts strayed to the ink of the henna on her abdomen. The natural irritation of her skin was all that she physically felt. It was a mocking voice ranting on about all that she had lost. The cold metal sheath of her Ceremonial Tanto, a gift from her parents on entering the Order, felt frozen against the skin of her left thigh. She had nothing left, her parents had forsaken her. All that she could do is forsake them.

The rain coated the handle of her tanto, but it did not affect her. Her grip was so determined that nothing could stop her now. She was lying back on her legs, the rain soaking into her. As she drew the blade, the silver gleamed in the moonlight. The henna tattoo of the Order, the Ankh, blazed against her pale skin. With one deft slash, she cut away a segment of her robes, which covered her left leg and the tattoo. The Ankh served as a sign of their devotion to life, and to the Order, that of her parents. For it was here, at their graves, that they abandoned her in this life, and here would she cut herself off from all that they wanted.

With her back on the ground, and her legs folded under her, she raised the blade high, and buried it deep into her stomach, at the base of her ribcage and the top of the tattoo. A cry came unbidden to her lips, as she traced the tattoo, but she refused to stop, even as the blood gushed out of the wound. Her own blood stained her hands, for the first time, but not the last. The chaste white of her robes was tarnished with the crimson red of her life-blood, but she did not care, her whole mind was bent on one thing, finishing the bloody right. With one last, struggling movement, she tore the blade down the length of the tattoo, ending one the tanto clashed against her hip bone. The blue Ankh was now replaced with a bloodied outline, a scar to prove her abandonment of the Order, of her parents. The scar would stretch from her ribcage, to the top of her thigh, and in the days to come it would constantly remind her of her goal: forsaking all that was her parents, the Order, the healing work of an aspirant, and walking the opposite path, a much darker path, that of a Necromancer.