Discussion: The cost of Magic
Iâm not really sure what to call this. Iâve always had the hopeful dream to write a book. Iâm not even sure that having it published matters to me. I just want the experience of creating a world that otherwise would never have existed.Â
I should also mention that I would most likely write a fantasy novel, as that is my favorite genre.Â
So Iâve often thought of writing a book, and Iâve often considered the unwritten book to be a fantasy novel. But to me, the true test of a good fantasy novel is the magic.Â
How does the magic work? Is it an unknown force that simply saves the characters over and over again until either the book ends, leaving the reader confused or frustrated? Or is it well detailed but essentially overlooked? And most importantly, what does the magic cost the character?
I think a good way to approach the problem is to look at a couple of examples. The magic system in Harry Potter is convoluted and specifically unscientific. âThe wand chooses the wizard, Harry.â But why? Why do the wands have any semblance of sentience? And what determines if a wizard will be more or less powerful? And what is the limit to magic? If you can levitate a feather, what does it take to levitate a mountain?Â
The system is unexplained and largely unimportant. Magic is there to allow things to happen that otherwise wouldnât or couldnât. There isnât a point in the Harry Potter series where being more powerful would have solved any of the problems. In this instance, the cost of magic is largely unknown to the reader, but we give it a pass because without a set cost, the characters are always just able to survive.Â
More detailed forms of magic can be found all over the place. In Eragon, by Christopher Paolini, magic costs the equivalent amount of energy to do the task. If you wanted to lift a rock with magic, you would need to be able to lift the rock without magic as well. There is also the stipulation that magic will either succeed, because the caster had enough energy, or will result in the death of the caster.Â
One of the most detailed systems, or at least intricate, comes from Lev Grossmanâs, The Magicians, and sequels. In these books, the magic had to be tailored to exact specifications of location and time. In the first one, while the characters are learning magic, they spend six months of essentially solitary confinement pouring over all the variations so that it becomes second nature to them. The cost of magic is relatively low, except for the crazy high barrier of entry.Â
A final example comes from Brandon Sanderson. In most of his novel series, Mistborn, Stormlight archive, magic is essentially the art of transferring energy from one thing to another. I donât know if he would agree with me, but a Mistborn turns swallowed metals into an effect by âburningâ it away in their stomach. A surgebinder turns stormlight into a different effect, for the cost of stormlight. Even in other books, Warbreaker for instance, Breath is the resource and the cost of doing magic.Â
So that leads all the way to what is a fair cost of magic? Or even further, what can be accomplished by performing magic? There are always combative uses for non-combative magic, and the opposite as well. So if you want magic to allow lifting objects, you have to also allow for magic to allow throwing things seemingly to heavy to lift at enemies.Â
These are all things that need to be considered when trying to create a system of magic. I think that if you were to create a universe to set a novel in, a fundamental truth must be found in magic. Because magic works best when the rules are explained and have severe consequences. It is a poor system when it becomes a consistent Deus Ex Machina. For example, Dragon Ball Z. How powerful are the Z fighters? Just barely powerful enough to beat the next enemy.Â
Iâm not totally sure where I was going with this. But it did feel nice to finally write something. Till next time.Â
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