Magic and Magic Systems Part 1

Forget everything. For a moment lets forget everything. The plagiarisms, the stolen catch phrases and the half baked plotlines full of nonsensical plot holes that even the biggest supporter can not make sense of. And just for a minute lets forget the ill conceived magic system of the elements, and the Elementals. Not that is was a bad idea – just that it was poorly executed.

The elements, elementals and the system that comes with them are still important and will remain so. But for now and for the purpose of the main storyline they hold no further significance of the division of the civilizations and colonies. Since its inception, magic was never the main aspect of the world of this story.

This was a world where using magic afforded me liberties. And I love magic. Everything about a world where magic is as natural as breathing appeals to me. But in look at this project from a critical point of view and actively working to take it to the next level, what I found is that I have not been using the magic potential of this world to its fullest potential.

The first book was written on the premise of a basic ideology. I just let the story flow. Didn’t give much thought to world building and magic system. I always figured if the story was good enough I wouldn’t matter. After-all I, myself have never been that deeply enthralled by the details of the fantasy worlds I so loved to read about. The Elemental system as a whole has been integral to the singular plot line of book one, but trying to make it work further than its inception point has proven to be fruitless. To be fair to the system its still important. The elemental division of the civilizations serves us well in the broad spectrum of worldbuilding.

In essence the Elementals do govern the magic and magic systems of the Edainian world, but with the bastardization of the nations (I shall explain), the magics have melded and has become so intertwined that very little clear differentiation and definition can be concluded, leaving few powers are still exclusive to the mastery of any one element.

Initially, when I started paying attention to the worldbuilding the Elements served as a way to divide the people, explaining the different civilizations more than it truly served in the explanation of the magic system. For this purpose it shall remain intact.

Knowing where I am headed with the story it still makes sense as a part of the story part of the whole. But it is not the most important magic system in the world I am creating. It never has been. Its a starting point. A baseline. Its one of the oldest systems in existence. But I do not intend to regurgitate what has already been done. Magic is complex, and lawless. Yes, I mean lawless. Magic that can be explained or follows the laws of physics is not magic.

For a human audience I accept that writing a good magic system, means making is make sense. But its not so much about explaining and defining the system as making the story as a whole around it make sense. Perhaps this point of view comes from a big picture perspective or perhaps just because magic – no matter how nonsensical it might seem – has just always made sense to me.

Magic is only limited by human imagination. The laws that govern magic in the human world has never sat well with me. And I can write another one dimensional magic system or I can try to do better.

We can of course start this story over and redefine the magic system from scratch. But research has proven that, that would be senseless and unnecessary. As it stands the world we are building makes sense as long as I can find a way to relate it to the known world. The language and customs needs as much work as the magic system itself.

My characters are slowly transforming into vivid lifeforms no longer bound by the two dimensional, flat, stage dancers they once were.

The world its self has evolved past the limitations of an elementary magic system. And thus require far more work than I initially indented. I just wanted to write a good story and that is still the main objective. But now that I am actively working on it, I find that my objectives small. I will reach for the stars. I will make this one of the best worlds ever written.