z

Young Writers Society


Laws of Magic in My Book



User avatar
94 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 0
Reviews: 94
Mon Feb 16, 2015 9:13 pm
View Likes
mephistophelesangel says...



So, in this book that I'm writing, there is magic. And I have a certain rule for the magic-using in my book, and I'd love it if anyone could look at it and see if it makes any sense.

1) there is a 'price' that a wizard has to pay in order to use each magic. Normally, the 'price' is energy for life. (ex : a wizard getting tired after doing a big magic)

2) from wizard to wizard, there is a certain amount of 'price' that he CAN pay while doing magic in his whole lifetime. So, if a wizard can pay a large amount of price while he uses magic in life, his magic will be stronger and longer.

(think of it like this; you have a thousand dollars. But a hundred dollars is your parent's. So you have 900 dollars. With that, you can buy these little objects that you like. For your entire life, you can buy those things with the 900 dollars.

The thousand dollars is the wizard's entire life energy. The 900 dollars is the portion of the life energy that can actually be used for magic.)

3) some magic that 'go against nature' have greater prices that need to be paid. But this 'going against nature' business is a bit complicated.

- For example : casting a spell purposefully so that it lasts after death is going against nature, for a wizard's spell isn't meant to go after the wizard's soul leaves the body.

* But casting a spell while the castor is living in order to remain living after death is NOT against nature. That's because the soul doesn't really leave the body if the spell is cast before death. The spell holds onto the soul and puts it back into the body after.

Casting a spell to alter fate is against nature, because fate isn't meant to be touched upon by any hands.

4) but, if a wizard wants to cast a magic that goes against nature, he has to say the Oath of Wizards. It is basically a compromise between nature and the wizard, saying that the wizard will pay the price for that 'going against nature' magic after he dies.

- the Oath can be said only once in a lifetime. Saying the Oath is basically putting debts on what you already have to pay. If the wizard says the Oath again, he'll put more debt onto himself, which is way too much price that he'd have to pay - both living and dead. So, his body'll crumble into ashes.

________________________________
Alright, I'm really nervous now. Did any of that make sense? I would love any feedback.
  





User avatar
355 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 2099
Reviews: 355
Mon Feb 16, 2015 9:48 pm
View Likes
LadySpark says...



I like the idea of magic costing something. What I think you need to focus on what it would cost, and how a wizard would refuel whatever they spent on these spells. How long between spells do you have to wait to cast another one? Is it longer for harder spells? Is there something special you can use to make your money/energy go farther?
No need to be nervous, by the way! It's a great idea <3
hush, my sweet
these tornadoes are for you


-Richard Siken


Formerly SparkToFlame
  





User avatar
94 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 0
Reviews: 94
Mon Feb 16, 2015 10:15 pm
View Likes
mephistophelesangel says...



Thank you!

As to how a wizard would refuel the energy that they spent on the spell, I'm thinking that because it's life energy and comes from the body, it'll regenerate itself over time (if that makes sense at all).

As to your other questions, I'd say that it depends on which wizard it is in the book. If he is more powerful, then he doesn't have to wait very long to cast another spell. And yes, it's longer for spells that take more energy.

Again, thank you so much!
  





User avatar
560 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 30438
Reviews: 560
Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:56 pm
Tenyo says...



1) Is the price something that lasts longer or shorter depending on how powerful the magic is, or can some price/prices last for their entire lives?

2) Is it possible to break into that last one hundred dollars? And if they only use five hundred dollars then can they live longer?

3) I kind of like how complex this part is. With nature being such a mysterious force- if I were reading this as a novel- I'd find it much more interesting if the exact details or consequences were less known. That's completely up to you and the mechanics of your novel, though.

4) After he dies... Does this imply some kind of afterlife or is the effect purely physical?

I agree with spark. The idea of magic having a price is fantastic. I like how it kind of limits some people from being over-powered, but at the same time allows for recklessness and sacrifice. Keep going, this sounds really interesting!
We were born to be amazing.
  





User avatar



Gender: None specified
Points: 0
Reviews: 0
Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:58 pm
View Likes
SlokziMan says...



Hey, I'm new to this site, so I decided to write a few posts here!

I've read over your post, and I think that it makes sense, mostly. But one question I have. are you saying that 'nature' is a 'person' in your story?
  





User avatar
94 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 0
Reviews: 94
Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:07 pm
mephistophelesangel says...



@Tenyo , thanks for telling me your opinion on this!
I'll just go ahead and answer some of your questions.

1) The price does depend on how powerful the magic is, but I wouldn't say that any last for the wizard's entire life. If the price is so big that it can last for a lifetime, then the wizard would be extremely weakened or dead at that point.

2) It isn't possible to do that. The 'nine hundred dollars' is a set limit for a certain wizard. If people could use their whole life energy to do magic, then the limit wouldn't matter.

Even if they use only five hundred dollars, they wouldn't be living longer. Because, consider this, they've still used up some of their life energy. If they stop at five hundred dollars, they might not die in the next five years, but they still aren't going to live as long as normal people.

3) Thank you! I'll take that into account ;)

4) Yes, it does imply afterlife. More precisely, the soul of the wizard. Well, some might affect the physical body. If the price is a little too much, a small portion of the wizard's limb, possibly, would crumble into ashes or be destroyed in some other way.
  





User avatar
560 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 30438
Reviews: 560
Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:11 pm
View Likes
Tenyo says...



Ah, I love it even more now =]
We were born to be amazing.
  





User avatar
152 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 3965
Reviews: 152
Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:24 am
View Likes
Rubric says...



So the basic framework that I’ve found helpful is to approach Magic as a consistent system, and as a social and narrative construct. There are many different ways to discuss this idea.

Consistent system:
This is the overall framework of how the magic system functions. For example, reciting poetry, or carving runes.
But where does the magic come from? You’ve mentioned “nature”, but what does that mean? Is magic just another force in the universe, like light, or gravity? That’s a little hard to accept, especially when it’s built on a language system of oaths and poetry, or even runes. Many cultures chalked magic up to otherworldly influences, such as demons, gods, spirits, the unseelie court etc etc, and this affected the way magic was interacted with, and whether it was feared or venerated.
What constitutes “natural” vs “unnatural”, it seems to me that any raising of the dead is fairly unnatural, and saying that the soul never left the body is really just clouding the issue. Is dead dead, except when it’s not?

Social Construct:
Who are the people who use magic, and what does everyone else think of them?
How does magic affect society? If wizards are infrequent, it might not be by much, but if they’re around in any serious numbers probably quite a bit, depending on what magic is available.
Do magicians have a way to tell truth from lie? How does this affect the justice system? Are there rules for when truth telling magic is used? If so, who enforces those rules?
Are magicians considered better than others, worse, or about the same? In a medieval society, are they seen as commoners, nobles, or somewhere in between? How are they trained to use magic? Who takes responsibility for magicians who misuse their power (as rune wizards seem to in your piece.)

Narrative Construct:
Why aren’t wizards solving all the problems of the world with a click of their fingers? Why do non-magic fighters still matter? What do powerful wizards need help to get done?
Magic is presumed to be awesome, and pretty much everyone should want it. What limits the amount of magicians? Maybe magic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? Or maybe only certain people can practice it.
How does your answer to these kinds of questions affect the stories you’re trying to tell? Is magic a useful tool that shows characters strength, or is it a sign of unearned privilege that must be overcome for the good of all?
So you're going to kill a god. Sure. But what happens next?

Diary of a Deicide, Part One.


Got YWS?
  





User avatar
179 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 15489
Reviews: 179
Thu Feb 19, 2015 4:37 am
r4p17 says...



Okay, so one factor I don't quite understand is the part where you talk about money. By this do you mean that you have to pay to be able to use magic? That seems a little too easy. If so, everyone could use it as long as they have enough money which would have major implications in your world.

Secondly, I think you should consider the cost of your magic. For most ordinary spells it seems that you just become a little tired. I have seen this used many times in fantasy books. It is something I try to avoid. It is used a little to often. A helpful piece of advice that I woul give you is to make it slightly differnt by adding a twist to it. One suggestion I have is to make them slower or aomething like that. It still affect them and makes them slower like you would be while tire, but it isn't exactly the same and would be a major disadvantage in a fight. I hope this helps! :D
One writer with one imagination makes thousands of new worlds and stories." ~ Anonymous author
  





User avatar
152 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 3965
Reviews: 152
Thu Feb 19, 2015 4:48 am
Rubric says...



Using one's own life force to cast spells is a very common fantasy trope, discussed here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... mHitPoints

and r4p17, the money thing was an analogy for casting from one's personal pool of life energy, essentially.
So you're going to kill a god. Sure. But what happens next?

Diary of a Deicide, Part One.


Got YWS?
  








These were autumn mornings, the time of year when kings of old went forth to conquest; and I, never stirring from my little corner in Calcutta, would let my mind wander over the whole world.
— Rabindranath Tagore, The Cabuliwallah