Flux: The Magic System for my Novel, Windswept

[Lunu’anaki]

I'd really appreciate critique and comments on the magic system I currently have in place for my Novel. Here are the details!

 

Flux

Flux is a magic system revolving around Transformation. A fundamental force in the universe my story takes place in. It is comprised of three distinct magic systems which can interact with each other in a variety of ways: Material Flux, Energy Flux, and Life Flux.

Each of these three systems has two distinct groups of "matter" which they are capable of interacting with and two "potentials" (or methods of interaction with that matter)

It is rare that a person is capable of harnessing the powers of Flux. As a matter of fact, Human beings are only capable of accessing the most basic form of Flux, Material flux. Due to this fact, those in power have done a good job of hiding the existence of this magic from the general populace, and even those who are aware of Material Flux are rarely aware that Energy Flux and Life Flux are something that exist. (An ancient race in my world are the only ones capable of the latter two magics)

Flux is powered by a substance typically referred to as "Lyfe" not much is known of this substance, but it is a smokey glowing substance that can only be contained within a very specific type of crystal known as a moon crystal. The namesake of the moon crystal comes from stories told about a large crystal meteor falling to the earth which contained a large amount of Lyfe.

Lyfe is an energy that is fundamental to life on the planet, every living thing has a small store of Lyfe within themselves and it is consumed just like any other essential nutrient. Eating tends to refill a persons store of Lyfe to normal levels. Most forms of Flux require a greater amount of Lyfe than that which is typically stored by a Human being and generally, the amount gained through normal means is insufficient to make use of for anything other than sustenance.

 

Material Flux

Material Flux, as the name suggests, operates on materials. A person capable of Material Flux is either a "Shifter", an "Infuser", or both. It is very rare that an individual is capable of both, and typically, those who are, are also much more efficient with the use of Lyfe to fuel the magic.

 

Groups of Matter which Material Flux operates on:

These groups are the types of Matter which Material Flux interacts with. The grouping and lettering plays an important role as will be described later on.

Group 1: Solids

A. Stone

B. Metal

C. Crystal

Group 2: Liquids

A. Air

B. Water

C. Smoke

 

The Two Potentials of Material Flux: Shifting and Infusing

 

Shifting:

Shifting is the art of using Lyfe in order to change Matter from Group 1 into Matter from Group 2, and Vice-versa. Any Material from one group can be Shifted into any Material from the other, however, it takes less energy to convert Metal into Water than it does to turn Metal into Smoke. (The letter designation above shows which Materials are compatible in this way. A to A or B to B takes less energy than A to

Shifting uses a lot of Lyfe energy to accomplish and the more Material one Shifts, the more Lyfe they consume to do so. It also takes a lot of concentration to accomplish. The more experienced someone is, and the more focused they are on the task, the more efficient they can become with their expenditure of energy while shifting.

It takes a lot of experience to Shift matter into specific shapes, or to shift one type of matter into an object made of more than one type, but both are possible; and the more experienced a shifter is with creating a specific object the easier it becomes. Many shifters practice making one type of weapon or tool over years for this reason, so that they can form the weapon in a time of need more quickly and with less expenditure of their Lyfe energy, which is very hard to come by.

 

Infusing:

Infusing is the art of charging Matter from one of the above groups with Lyfe Energy, imbuing certain properties into that matter.  At their touch an infuser is capable of infusing and also defusing matter. Defusing matter draws Lyfe back into the infuser, however, some energy is lost in the transition. (The only exception to this energy loss is Moon Crystal)

Infusing charges matter with one of 3 core properties:

A. Weight- Matter infused with the Weight property is made heavier or lighter without any alteration to it's density or size.

B. Phasing- Matter infused with the phasing property is made to increase or decrease it's friction with other matter. (ex. Decreased Phasing makes a blade swung through air feel like it's being swung through water, Increased phasing makes a blade swung underwater, or through a person, feel like it's being swung through air.) Phasing does not alter the natural interaction between the infused object and other matter. It only alter's the amount of force required to make the interaction occur.

C. Visibility- Matter infused with the Visibility property is made more or less visible by changing the Matter's interactions with photons of light. (ex. A wall with decreased visibility could appear invisible to the naked eye)

When Matter from Group 1 (Solids) are infused, the property (corresponding to the Material's letter above) is increased. In practice: Stone becomes heavier. Swords cut things easier, Rubies become easier to see.

When Matter from Group 2 (Liquids) are infused, the property (corresponding to the Material's letter above) is decreased. In practice: Air becomes lighter. Water can be walked on, Smoke and anything it surrounds become invisible.

Infusing requires a small amount of Lyfe energy relative to Shifting. Infusing is very easy to pick up on as a practice, but takes skill to implement effectively. An Infuser can easily make smoke invisible by infusing it fairly readily, however the skill required to make an entire cloud of smoke invisible, ensure that smoke is constantly surrounding oneself, and implement all of that skill in a way where whomever, or whatever you are hiding from doesn't smell the smoke in the air is a different thing altogether.

 

Interactions between Infusing and Shifting:

Shifting infused matter into another form of Matter requires a larger amount of Lyfe than normal. However the rewards for doing so are immense. Infused Matter which is then shifted into another form of matter retains the properties gained by its prior state. In practice this means that you can infuse a large amount of air, decreasing it's weight, and subsequently shift that air into stone or metal. This allows for easy transport of large amounts of raw materials, unnaturally lightweight swords and machinery, or a host of other things.

The possibilities are endless and a creative Shifter/Infuser can do a host of interesting things by infusing matter and shifting it into other forms. Infusion of matter is additive, meaning effects can stack on top of one another, so things like nearly weightless, invisible swords which can cut through stone are entirely within the realm of possibility.

 

Lyfelack

Using up Lyfe energy past the average amount a typical human would would have causes bodily functions of the user to slow and/or cease.

In general this is referred to as Lyfelack. There are three stages of this illness (stage 4 would be death)

Stage 1: Subject feels constant lethargy, more susceptible to illnesses, illness can last longer. Subject has a cold body temperature. Given proper food and rest a Flux user will typically recover in a matter of days, this is assuming they avoid the use of Flux for this period of time.

Stage 2: Dangerously low body temperatures. Bodily functions act abnormally and are slowed (causing the subject's Lyfe regeneration to slow as well) Stage two is variable depending on how little Lyfe the subject has retained. It is defined by the point where someone's bodily functions are slowed and hindered to a degree where it causes them true harm, yet they still retain the ability to regenerate Lyfe enough to recover. Depending on severity it can take anywhere from one month to a year for an individual to recover from stage 2 lyfelack

Stage 3: Referred to by Flux users as "The point of no return" The point where the effects of lyfelack are so severe that the flux user is permanently incapable of generating lyfe energy in a natural manner. This means that a user will suffer from the consequences of lyfelack permanently. People with stage 3 lyfelack are commonly refered to as "Husks" 

Taking in an external source of Lyfe can help abate some of the symptoms of Lyfelack, however the use of flux while not fully recovered from Lyfelack can cause the progression of the illness to get worse.

A person with stage 3 lyfelack who takes in Lyfe energy from an external source regularly to avoid the consequences of the illness is refered to as a "Sapper" The only recognizable difference between a Sapper and a common Flux user is that a Sapper doesn't generate Lyfe in natural ways anymore, therefore subsisting off of, and burning away their store of Lyfe over time; and needing a constant source of replenishment to keep themselves from progressing back into the severe conditions of Lyfelack.

 

Notes on Life Flux and Energy Flux

I am yet two fully develop these two forms of Flux as they are unlikely to come into play in the forefront of my first book, however, what I can say is that they are magic systems which are exclusive to a couple of secluded races in my world who have existed on the planet since long before human civilization rose. These two Races, the Fomorians and the Tuath and are in a conflict with each other and have their fingerprints on a lot of the political strife my characters deal with.

Energy Flux is exclusive to the Tuath and involves the transformation and exploitation of Energy to do things such as Exploitation (traditional spellcasting. fireballs, lightning, teleportation, etc) and Alteration (changing one form of energy to another, converting large amounts of Heat, Electricity, etc. into Lyfe is possible with this)

Life Flux is exclusive to the Fomorians and involves Mutation (altering physical properties and genetics of living beings) and Control (forcing your will upon living beings)

 

 

 

Thanks for reading and I really truly appreciate any comments or suggestions you throw my way!!

Edited November 6, 2019 by Lunu’anaki

[+ILuvHats]

Ooh, I like this magic system. Especially this bit.

8 hours ago, Lunu’anaki said:

Shifting infused matter into another form of Matter requires a larger amount of Lyfe than normal. However the rewards for doing so are immense. Infused Matter which is then shifted into another form of matter retains the properties gained by its prior state. In practice this means that you can infuse a large amount of air, decreasing it's weight, and subsequently shift that air into stone or metal. This allows for easy transport of large amounts of raw materials, unnaturally lightweight swords and machinery, or a host of other things.

So you can decrease the properties of Group 1 solids, but you can only do so by transforming an already infused Group 2 material, and it takes a lot of Lyfe to perform the transformation. Muy interesante. Adds a lot of nuance to the system.

Some questions I have:

What happens if you overuse Lyfe and run out? Are there an ill effects? I'm guessing there are, but you didn't explicitly mention any.

It sounds like humans have a smaller store of Lyfe than the ancient races. Is it also true that humans have more Lyfe than most animals, and animals have more Lyfe than most plants? Or are they all on a similar level?

Is the consumption of Lyfe proportional to physical exertion the same as calories, or is it consumed at a more constant rate?

Is the capability of using Flux purely dependent on the max capacity of Lyfe an individual can store? Basically, I want to know if all humans are hypothetically capable of Flux, and the only reason that most humans can't use Flux is that they can't store enough Lyfe. Or is there another variable effecting whether someone can access the magic system (e.g. a gene).

Is the amount of Lyfe someone can store genetic, or is it determined randomly or through some other method?

I'm guessing an infuser is only capable of defusing inanimate matter falling into one of the two categories, and can't defuse lifeforms. Can an infuser defuse any infused object no matter who infused it, or can they only defuse objects they infused themselves?

What does increasing the visibility of something that's already opaque look like? Does it simply absorb more wavelengths of light and become darker, eventually turning black?

I'm guessing when you say crystals, you mean the crystalline gemstones people ordinarily think of, not just any crystalline material (like salts). Uh, I guess this isn't a question. More like a statement seeking confirmation?

End of questions

One last thing. This is a small, nitpicky nomenclature issue, but it would be more accurate to call group 2 fluids instead of liquids since fluids includes both liquids and gases.

But yeah, awesome magic system! You're definitely better at naming stuff than me. I have a tendency to flesh out everything about magic systems except the names. I'll just go "oh yeah, that thing does this to this other thing and you can do this action which I have no word for!" So good job on that front .

 

[Lunu’anaki]

2 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

Ooh, I like this magic system. Especially this bit.

So you can decrease the properties of Group 1 solids, but you can only do so by transforming an already infused Group 2 material, and it takes a lot of Lyfe to perform the transformation. Muy interesante. Adds a lot of nuance to the system.

Thank you very much!!

Quote

What happens if you overuse Lyfe and run out? Are there an ill effects? I'm guessing there are, but you didn't explicitly mention any.

Oh my, that was a big oversite on my part in formatting this post. Yes. there are a number of major and minor consequences associated with running out. Here's the main framework I have set up for this presently:

Using up Lyfe energy past the average amount a typical human would would have causes bodily functions of the user to slow and/or cease.

In general this is referred to as Lyfelack. There are three stages of this illness (stage 4 would be death)

Stage 1: Subject feels constant lethargy, more susceptible to illnesses, illness can last longer. Subject has a cold body temperature. Given proper food and rest a Flux user will typically recover in a matter of days, this is assuming they avoid the use of Flux for this period of time.

Stage 2: Dangerously low body temperatures. Bodily functions act abnormally and are slowed (causing the subject's Lyfe regeneration to slow as well) Stage two is variable depending on how little Lyfe the subject has retained. It is defined by the point where someone's bodily functions are slowed and hindered to a degree where it causes them true harm, yet they still retain the ability to regenerate Lyfe enough to recover. Depending on severity it can take anywhere from one month to a year for an individual to recover from stage 2 lyfelack

Stage 3: Referred to by Flux users as "The point of no return" The point where the effects of lyfelack are so severe that the flux user is permanently incapable of generating lyfe energy in a natural manner. This means that a user will suffer from the consequences of lyfelack permanently. People with stage 3 lyfelack are commonly refered to as "Husks" 

Taking in an external source of Lyfe can help abate some of the symptoms of Lyfelack, however the use of flux while not fully recovered from Lyfelack can cause the progression of the illness to get worse.

A person with stage 3 lyfelack who takes in Lyfe energy from an external source regularly to avoid the consequences of the illness is refered to as a "sapper" The only recognizable difference between a Sapper and a common Flux user is that a Sapper doesn't generate Lyfe in natural ways anymore, therefore subsisting off of, and burning away their store of Lyfe over time; and needing a constant source of replenishment to keep themselves from progressing back into the severe conditions of Lyfelack.

 

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It sounds like humans have a smaller store of Lyfe than the ancient races. Is it also true that humans have more Lyfe than most animals, and animals have more Lyfe than most plants? Or are they all on a similar level?

Is the consumption of Lyfe proportional to physical exertion the same as calories, or is it consumed at a more constant rate?

Lyfe is generally proportional to calories, so an elephant would have a larger general store of lyfe than a human... but it's slightly different. It is consumed by physical, mental, and magical means

So a Gorilla for example might actually have a smaller general Lyfe store than a human, because humans, having more innate sentience and magic  to them, have had their biology adapted to that use of Lyfe energy.

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Is the capability of using Flux purely dependent on the max capacity of Lyfe an individual can store? Basically, I want to know if all humans are hypothetically capable of Flux, and the only reason that most humans can't use Flux is that they can't store enough Lyfe. Or is there another variable effecting whether someone can access the magic system (e.g. a gene).

You can't take in external sources of Lyfe unless you are capable of using Flux. And not everyone is capable of using Flux.

There is no hard limit on how much Lyfe you can store... however, taking in Lyfe has some psychological effects that can be very beneficial in small amounts but... overwhelming at higher amounts. I havn't fully developed this yet but essentially the energy really want's you to use it and changes your psychology in ways that make you more likely to use it.

Quote

Is the amount of Lyfe someone can store genetic, or is it determined randomly or through some other method?

I'm guessing an infuser is only capable of defusing inanimate matter falling into one of the two categories, and can't defuse lifeforms. Can an infuser defuse any infused object no matter who infused it, or can they only defuse objects they infused themselves?

I havn't really decided on answers to these first few yet. lol

Infused objects are not locked down by who infused them though, so an infuser can absolutely defuse any infused object. no matter who made it.

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What does increasing the visibility of something that's already opaque look like? Does it simply absorb more wavelengths of light and become darker, eventually turning black?

So it's kind of like increasing the sharpness on a photograph... someone with bad eyesight might see the object better, the object would be more apparent in darkness (not brighter, just more easily recognizable) It's very subtle, but very useful in sleight of hand. People are more likely to look at an object with increased visibility than a normal object. Like how an extremely beautiful person (or an extremely crazy person) stands out in a crowd.

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I'm guessing when you say crystals, you mean the crystalline gemstones people ordinarily think of, not just any crystalline material (like salts). Uh, I guess this isn't a question. More like a statement seeking confirmation?

Most people in-world think that... but most things with crystalline structures could be used/made. Salt would work for that.

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One last thing. This is a small, nitpicky nomenclature issue, but it would be more accurate to call group 2 fluids instead of liquids since fluids includes both liquids and gases.

But yeah, awesome magic system! You're definitely better at naming stuff than me. I have a tendency to flesh out everything about magic systems except the names. I'll just go "oh yeah, that thing does this to this other thing and you can do this action which I have no word for!" So good job on that front .

Right! Fluids. it's been a minute since my last high school physics class so thank you for that. It's still a rough outline so i appreciate you catching that now before I wrote it into the novel 300 times 

Haha thank you!!  I actually hated the name Material Flux when i made it but i just needed a stand in... over time it grew on me though. I'm glad to hear someone thinks differently than I did when I created it!!

 

[DragonLynx931]

I love this system so much. It's a perfect balance of powerful abilities with requirements and consequences to keep it interesting, so the protagonist can't just solve all the problems with magic. Could you please email me the completed draft, because I really want to read this story. My email is [email protected]. Thanks

[Lunu’anaki]

On 11/7/2019 at 2:58 PM, DragonLynx931 said:

I love this system so much. It's a perfect balance of powerful abilities with requirements and consequences to keep it interesting, so the protagonist can't just solve all the problems with magic. Could you please email me the completed draft, because I really want to read this story. My email is [email protected]. Thanks

Thank You 

I'll put you on the list for Alpha Readers when I finish the first draft! I expect to be done by December 2020. For now you can read a section of the book here

I'm glad you like where I'm going with this! Thanks again.

Edited November 8, 2019 by Lunu’anaki

[King Aragorn of Gondor]

I'd like to read this as well, I love the magic system you have put in place my email is, [email protected]

[Guest Coda]

This sounds awesome. My email is [email protected]

[Lunu’anaki]

11 hours ago, Aragorn said:

I'd like to read this as well, I love the magic system you have put in place my email is, [email protected]

 

2 hours ago, Coda said:

This sounds awesome. My email is [email protected]

Thank you both! I've added you to the Alpha-Reading list as well!!

[Halyo_Alex]

I'm immediately intrigued by this (being a fan of the surge of transformation) so I'm interested to see how you do with a similar yet clearly different concept like this. 10/10 on the creativity, and I like the downsides you've mentioned thus far. I'd love to be an alpha reader too. I can message you my email address (because I'd rather not have it be super public) if you're ok with that.

[Lunu’anaki]

2 hours ago, Halyo_Alex said:

I'm immediately intrigued by this (being a fan of the surge of transformation) so I'm interested to see how you do with a similar yet clearly different concept like this. 10/10 on the creativity, and I like the downsides you've mentioned thus far. I'd love to be an alpha reader too. I can message you my email address (because I'd rather not have it be super public) if you're ok with that.

Thanks a ton! And yeah, soulcasting was a big piece of inspiration for Flux!

shoot me a PM and I’ll add you to the list!

[+Doomstick]

time to be a pedant, but it should be fluids, not liquids for matter Group 2

[Lunu’anaki]

21 hours ago, The Last Post said:

time to be a pedant, but it should be fluids, not liquids for matter Group 2

Yes! You are absolutely correct and thanks for pointing that out!!

[+Doomstick]

*bows*

[Terra]

I like this magic system and you are explaining it very well! I wonder how you will use it in your story. I am also very interested to know are there any differences between humans?

Like in human society are there people that can use more flux because they can harness more lyfe then others or are there no differences and does only skill make a difference in how you use flux. I like how you explained lyfelack that's why I am also interested if there is a lyfelimit?

keep up the great work!

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Terra

[Lunu’anaki]

On 11/14/2019 at 6:51 AM, Terra said:

I like this magic system and you are explaining it very well! I wonder how you will use it in your story. I am also very interested to know are there any differences between humans?

Like in human society are there people that can use more flux because they can harness more lyfe then others or are there no differences and does only skill make a difference in how you use flux. I like how you explained lyfelack that's why I am also interested if there is a lyfelimit?

keep up the great work!

 

Thanks!! 

There's variance in both how much Lyfe someones body naturally has at equilibrium, and in how "efficient" they naturally are at using the energy. Skill also plays a role in efficiency so it can be learned.

There is no hard limit on how much Lyfe you can store... however, taking in Lyfe has some psychological effects that can be very beneficial in small amounts but... overwhelming at higher amounts. I havn't fully developed this yet but essentially the energy really want's you to use it and changes your psychology in ways that make you more likely to use it.

[Ubeka]

Great system so far! I feel that you have worked very well on going deep rather than wide with it, especially with the interesting combination of Shifting and Infusing. I can see some very cool applications of this in a story already.

Some things that I noticed, though, is that a couple of the basic rules seem a tad arbitrary. I like the groupings "solids" and "fluids", those are fine. But the A-A, B-B, C-C correspondence doesn't feel consistent. Howcome crystals are paired with smoke, why are metals paired with water? (Another nitpick here would be: metals are crystalline as well but perhaps you could go for gemstones instead of crystals to work your way around that)

There's a similar "problem" with Infusing. We seem to have quite mixed effects of whether Infusing strengthens or weakens something within the two categories. Stones become heavier, so there is an increase, while blades (made of metal) cut easier - meaning there's less "force" necessary. This also seems a bit inconsistent.

These aren't big issues, mind you, but maybe it'd be good to consider streamlining things a bit here. You did a great job so far!

Edited November 16, 2019 by Ubeka

[mathiau]

I have a few questions : Does infused matter loose it's power over time? if not your system allows people with both infusion and shifting to create some quite powerful like an invisibility shield (infuse water with decreased visibility, put it in a cast with the for of a big shield then transform it to metal), does your world have an underworld market for them?

Does shifting conserve mass? if yes, do you have any trick to mitigate the massive amount of air created when shifting anything into it?

Also, does your story have any celtic inspiration ?  

Anyway your stroy looks good, I will send you my mail if you still accept alpha readers

12 hours ago, Ubeka said:

 (Another nitpick here would be: metals are crystalline as well but perhaps you could go for gemstones instead of crystals to work your way around that)

On the same topic most stones are composed of of bunch of little crystals

[Lunu’anaki]

20 hours ago, Ubeka said:

Great system so far! I feel that you have worked very well on going deep rather than wide with it, especially with the interesting combination of Shifting and Infusing. I can see some very cool applications of this in a story already.

Some things that I noticed, though, is that a couple of the basic rules seem a tad arbitrary. I like the groupings "solids" and "fluids", those are fine. But the A-A, B-B, C-C correspondence doesn't feel consistent. Howcome crystals are paired with smoke, why are metals paired with water? (Another nitpick here would be: metals are crystalline as well but perhaps you could go for gemstones instead of crystals to work your way around that)

So the pairings are definitely arbitrary and part of that has to do with story purposes and things that are going on in-world at the time the magic system is being used in the novels. There is a reason for it... but it's not a natural one. Thats about all I'm willing to say on the subject as it's not something I've fully explored myself in the outlining but I appreciate that you've pointed it out because now I need to include someone in my story being curious about this, both as a foreshadowing element and a way of pointing out to the reader that they arn't wrong in wondering why it is that way.  (as for the metal-crystal connection, well... holy rust I hadn't even considered that... I'll need to work in a fix for that. Thanks!!)

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There's a similar "problem" with Infusing. We seem to have quite mixed effects of whether Infusing strengthens or weakens something within the two categories. Stones become heavier, so there is an increase, while blades (made of metal) cut easier - meaning there's less "force" necessary. This also seems a bit inconsistent.

These aren't big issues, mind you, but maybe it'd be good to consider streamlining things a bit here. You did a great job so far!

It's interesting you bring that up, as originally the Phasing property for metal and water were reversed in my system for that very reason. Originally, Friction was the property they were acting upon... but for storytelling reasons I created a new "physical property" in my universe known as phasing in order to switch the effects and make it easier for infusers to be involved in the creation of blades with increased phasing.

Thanks for the input and I'm definitely considering putting more in world explanations and/or reasons for these inconsistencies into my novel, if not altering the mechanics of the magic system to fix any issues. Probably a little bit of both.

These points are a huge help!! I'm not sure I would have caught on to certain things you've mentioned myself so thanks again!!

7 hours ago, mathiau said:

I have a few questions : Does infused matter loose it's power over time? if not your system allows people with both infusion and shifting to create some quite powerful like an invisibility shield (infuse water with decreased visibility, put it in a cast with the for of a big shield then transform it to metal), does your world have an underworld market for them?

Over time, yes. however it is a fairly slow process. The world does have a black market for items of that variety and most individuals who trade on that market are either very powerful, or are themselves an infuser or a shifter. Most of the items in trade are actually made in small illegal shops run by a shifter and infuser working together because it is extremely rare that a person is both (in fact in the time of the first book there are only 3 living people who have both powers, and 2 of them are the MC and the MC's mentor)

...on top of that, even shifters and 'fusers are very rare and are hunted by the government, who enslave them in order to have a constant supply of specially infused weaponry, a constant source of raw materials, and other special items.

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Does shifting conserve mass? if yes, do you have any trick to mitigate the massive amount of air created when shifting anything into it?

I haven't exactly worked this out yet... but it's basically spatially based, not based on density or mass in-particular. A 4-foot brick of air becomes a 4-foot brick of stone, or metal, or whatever.... so it doesn't displace anything. I know that's weird from a technical standpoint, but i plan on working out exactly why it is that way (honestly it might be based on the magic's origins, but I'll have an explanation for it once I dive deeper into the origins of the magic and why it exists, etc... It has to do with an off planet influence from a long time ago.

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Also, does your story have any celtic inspiration ?  

Yes!! It's awesome you picked up on that. not many people do!

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Anyway your stroy looks good, I will send you my mail if you still accept alpha readers

On the same topic most stones are composed of of bunch of little crystals

Thanks!! I'll add you to the list!!

(I've totally thought about how that might effect infusing in regards to stones having crystals imbedded within. I haven't decided 100% yet but I think it will either A-ignore the crystals as they aren't being infused intentionally, or B-make the crystals more visible as it makes the stone heavier. Intention is a really important piece of how the magic is used but I'm not sure how far it goes once the energy is actually being utilized so I've definitely got to consider it some more!!

[Cocoa]

As mentioned, most metals have a crystalline structure, but it's also worth noting that most stones are also made up of crystals. So perhaps the fact that all three solids capable of being shifted are generally crystalline in nature is significant.

Since lyfe is stored in moon crystals, is there anything stopping someone from using a bunch of smoke to make a bunch of moon crystals? What if you shifted a moon crystal full of lyfe into smoke? If there's something that makes moon crystals behave unlike other crystals when it comes to shifting, maybe change it to a non-crystal substance (or stone, or metal, for that matter) to avoid confusion. "Moon amber," maybe? It resembling solidified tree resin could tie back to the whole life energy idea.

You say that visibility infusions affect the material's interaction with photons, but it feels like there's more going on. It just being photons wouldn't make people's attention be drawn to a more visible object, and less visible smoke would just be transparent instead of cloaking things inside it. So I'm not entirely sure what's going on there.

If you change it so that visibility really is just a slider on transparency/opaqueness, consider what making something super opaque would do. I imagine it would absorb or reflect electromagnetic radiation outside the visible spectrum.

If I have something invisible that should be producing light, what happens? For example, if I finagle things to get a sample of invisible magnesium, and then ignite it, do I still get a burst of bright light and heat? If not, what happens to the energy? What happens if I have a super-visible object that should be producing light?

One really fun hack I can think of for this is that ice is a crystal form of water, and heat energy is a lot easier to come by and manipulate than lyfe. So you can save a lot of lyfe when working with B-group and C-group shifts and infusions.

What about impurities? There's a little water vapor in air. A lot of the volume of what we think of as 'smoke' is air. There's air dissolved in water. Some stones have metal impurities in them. Do these impurities naturally convert over to their counterpart when you shift, unless you expend deliberate effort and lyfe to make the result a pure material? Does only the substance you're deliberately trying to shift convert, so for example could you extract metals from stone my converting only the stone bits to air?

For lyfelack, why is Stage 3 a point of no return even if you have access to an external source of lyfe? I can understand that below a certain threshold you no longer have enough lyfe left to naturally digest food and make more lyfe, but wouldn't infusing more lyfe be enough to jumpstart the system and get it up and running again?

And one last thing that's only tangentially related to the magic system but is a worldbuilding issue to consider, is how people keep infused air and smoke from just diffusing while working with it.

[Lunu’anaki]

On 1/12/2022 at 2:23 PM, Cocoa said:

Since lyfe is stored in moon crystals, is there anything stopping someone from using a bunch of smoke to make a bunch of moon crystals? What if you shifted a moon crystal full of lyfe into smoke? If there's something that makes moon crystals behave unlike other crystals when it comes to shifting, maybe change it to a non-crystal substance (or stone, or metal, for that matter) to avoid confusion. "Moon amber," maybe? It resembling solidified tree resin could tie back to the whole life energy idea.

It's funny you mention this. I've actually been considering it a lot lately. I'm doing a complete re-write of my book and will be making some changes, this being one of the big ones. I think that I'm going to change the name of "lyfe" to avoid confusion between the words life and lyfe, as well as remove the idea of a specific container being necessary. I haven't decided if I'm going to make the energy source tangible or not; but if it is tangible I'm envisioning people holding it in containers as if it were some sort of liquid or gas.

 

As for everything else you've said, this comment has been extremely helpful and given me some things to consider! I think some of your ideas (like the transparency change for visibility) will really help the system be more easily understood while simultaneously making it easier to write about! I'll be sure to drop in and let you know how it's going as the magic system evolves

[EmulatonStromenkiin]

Flux requires will, but maybe a way taught for triggering the flux is a mental/vocal command to help channel their will? This would probably function more as a help-meet to stay focused than as something neccesary.

[Lunu’anaki]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:44 AM, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

Flux requires will, but maybe a way taught for triggering the flux is a mental/vocal command to help channel their will? This would probably function more as a help-meet to stay focused than as something neccesary.

Thanks! Thats a good idea. It's helpful to have a built in necessity for focus.

[mentally ill]

oh... wow

this. is. so. cool. tbh i could never create a magic system this detailed, and I wholeheartedly applaud this because did I say that this is so COOL??

[Emery the Steelrunner]

On 11/6/2019 at 0:04 AM, Lunu’anaki said:

Groups of Matter which Material Flux operates on:

These groups are the types of Matter which Material Flux interacts with. The grouping and lettering plays an important role as will be described later on.

Group 1: Solids

A. Stone

B. Metal

C. Crystal

Group 2: Liquids

A. Air

B. Water

C. Smoke

A really amazing concept for a magic system. I would recommend changing liquids to fluids, because both gases and liquids are fluids.

[Lunu’anaki]

On 4/13/2022 at 11:24 AM, Emery the Windrunner said:

A really amazing concept for a magic system. I would recommend changing liquids to fluids, because both gases and liquids are fluids.

Thank you very much! Yes. that makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the input.

 

On 2/20/2022 at 0:13 AM, mentally ill said:

oh... wow

this. is. so. cool. tbh i could never create a magic system this detailed, and I wholeheartedly applaud this because did I say that this is so COOL??

Thanks a ton!! I worked hard on it!!