Magic

[The Thinking Herald]

Alright, folks. As I've let on in my AMA and my profile, I'm an aspiring writer. So, really, it was inevitable that one of these posts was coming.

My fantasy world is something I have been working on for ages with a co-author and brainstormer of mine. I'm not entirely sure where he gets his inspiration from, but I myself am heavily influenced by other fantasy which I've read or experienced - ASOIAF, the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and Stormlight being currently the three main influencing works. I plan to build a story with thematic influences from Malazan and Stormlight - moments of sombreness, moments of heroism, moments of despair and hopelessness mixed into one, and where ASOIAF will factor in will be the politics and realism of the world. However, I'll save the plot critiquing for Reading Excuses, if I ever get around to actually joining it.

I'm here to talk about magic.

My magic system works in an elemental manner, similarly to the MBotF, but with twists from Stormlight. There are higher planes of existence, different dimensions, realms of the past, from which people of the present harness ancient, raw elemental magics. Fire, water, you name it. These higher realms of existence channel their magic back into the current world through the presence of dragons and gems. Dragonsblood is magic, and so are the gems. The process is this. Gems are mined under the earth. All gems found will have a certain amount of magical potency to them, a certain amount of magical energy in them. This originally is dependent upon several main factors: Size of gem (the larger the gem the better), the fineness of the gem (similar to Stormlight, the more facets, the less leaking), and the color of the gem (green gems harness the nature energy better, etc.) Sooner or later, the base magical energy in the gems is used up in battle or whatever. In order to "recharge" the magic, a dragon must be killed, and the blood stored. Gems are boiled in the dragonsblood, and can absorb the magical, elemental essence of the dragon. Once entered into the gem, it reverts to raw power, accessible to all magic users.

Who are the magic users in my world? Everyone in my fantasy world has some chance of tapping the magic. However, due to the demand for the magical energies, the gems and dragonsblood, only those government-sanctioned in the main country of the world (I.E. army mages) or those rich enough to afford them, can access the materials required to perform magic. And, of course, like any other normal, human skill, it depends on willingness to learn and develop the skill.

Please critique my magic system. Is it too similar to Malazan or Stormlight? How could I flesh it out more? Thanks in advance.

[Yezrien]

I like it. I haven't read Malazan yet, but I don't think the similarities to Stormlight are too egregious. Tons of settings use gems in their magic systems, so I wouldn't worry about that. I have several follow-up questions, which I hope you'll find helpful.

1. What exactly can you do with the magic? Narrow it down. Lay out specific functions and rules. This is where you really set your magic system apart from others. (You don't have to have all the answers right away, but I'd like to know more about these other planes and dimensions.)

2. What are the dragons like? Are they intelligent? How do they feel about being killed for their blood? If they are captured and raised on a dragon farm, does this affect the potency of their blood? If dragons are hunted to the brink of extinction, do the few remaining ones have extra magic in their blood?

3. Is there a way to use the dragon blood directly, without absorbing its power into gems? What obstacles prevent this, and what powers might be unlocked if those obstacles could be overcome?