okay so when i reblogged that magic rules post for fateless night earlier i made a joke with it but how about i take a more serious look at it?
How is it learned and executed?
for human magic i will refer to mages. there are other types, but they are typically either supernaturally exclusive or belonging to incredibly powerful beings that are no longer “mortal”
any human can become a mage with practice. it’s just about training the mind to properly channel the energies needed. That isn’t to say it’s easy, simply feasible. what gets more complicated about mages is that they can’t channel those magics directly.
the word of mages in fateless night is enchantment. transcribing a spell of some sort onto some material or other to be activated later. this is where spellbooks come into play, as paper is easily enchanted, but only holds a single charge of a spell and is consumed immediately after. this is where fireballs and lightningbolts and missiles of pure force and what have you come from. a single use spell, prepared prior to use in an enchantment circle.
it’s also important to note that spells only carry as much energy as is put into them. this isn’t as restricting as it sounds, because they can be prepared at length, and ceremonies can be put on hold for mages to refresh themselves, and other sources of energy can be pulled on as well, such as fires, electricity, and in some cases car batteries.
another thing of note is that different materials have different affinities for enchantment. normally it takes a very experienced eye to recognize what piece of glass will hold eletricity better than fire, or is more likely to make a humming noise if someone draws near rather than redirect a bullet, but some supernatural creatures have a natural sense for it, making an alliance between them and a mage very valuable. some even make a business out of it, with all the corruption that might imply.
the last thing to remember is that some enchantments are active while others are passive. this is distinguished by being referred to as “spells, hexes, curses” and whatnot, and “enchantments” respectively. an active enchantment needs to be, as is implied, activated with a small force of will. this is unique to the mage, however, and means spells cannot be used by anyone not involved with the enchantment ritual. typically they’re big bursts of energy all at once, which usually burns out the material used as a medium.
passive enchantments, on the other hand, are continuous and need only be activated a single time, lasting as long as the energies do. they’re typically designed to be much more energy efficient as well, as a longer lasting enchantment of this sort is more useful than the short bursts of spells. they’re also usually things that manipulate the material in some way, or use it as a groundwork for another effect. reinforced glass that doesn’t break, a gun that has a built in aim assist, a sword with a blade that burns white hot.
sometimes, in complex enchantments, both can be used at once. the mage leaves an imprint of their will in the enchantment that activates a spell under special criteria. a door handle that, when an unknown person uses it, sends out an electric shock, for example. lots of cool stuff.
already sorta answered, but i’ll reiterate. enchantments on materials. passive? always active so long as the energies last. active? activated with a force of will from the mage that made the enchantment. anyone can enchant if they know how and have the focus to draw upon their will to shape their energies.
Does it have a will of its own?
Complicated question with a complicated answer. Both yes, and no, as frustrating as that is. Supernatural creatures in Fateless Night are creatures of magic, formed from it, and most have wills of their own. To some this constitutes as such. Others lay claim to how certain materials have affinity for certain spells or enchantments as evidence it has its own will. However, if it does have this will of its own it has not acted upon it in a recorded way, so no.
Is it restricted in space and time?
in a way. magic is dependent on the energies put into the enchantments, and more powerful spells need more surface area of materials or they might overload. transportation enchantments are common enough, but while a time machine is theoretically feasible, it would be such a complex work of enchantment it has never been created. the most a mage has made was a chamber that suspended animation until the energies within wore down, and there were still kinks to be worked out. as such, time magic is generally frowned upon, and while some mages have made spells that “stop time” in a small area around them, it was only in a sense of holding kinetic energy in place for a short period, and only in objects or beings at a certain size range.
What does available magic do?
depends on the imagination of the mage and compatibility of the materials, as well as how much energy can be put into it. Fireball? Sure, easy. Teleportation? Harder, but feasible. Forming a sword made of water? Difficult, needs lots of preparation, but yeah, it can be done.
How does it relate to the character, plot and theme of the book?
one character is a mage. he works for a group called Hawthorne Securities that produces supernatural security systems. he’s the lead mage, while one of his partners has an innate sense for a material’s affinities, another tests these security systems from her experience as an expert thief, a third does their taxes, and their leader arranges everything.
ha ha sylvester’s a desk jocky.
What is the cost of magic?
energy, in some form or another. the mage has willpower, which resembles physical energy, and can be replenished by eating, relaxing and sleeping. they can also draw upon life energy of beings around them, using their willpower, electricity, fire, kinetic energy, and whatnot.
it can’t just be called upon at a moment’s notice. a mage that tries to do that will probably get their head blown off as the energies flow through them. it has to be prepared ahead of time in order to be safe. it also cannot do things to manipulate the “soul.” whatever makes a human a human cannot be granted by magic. any creatures raised by magic will simply be mindless, only able to act through the will of others. there may be other restrictions. i’m still thinking about that.
as long as the energies do. more efficient enchantments can last for lifetimes, and some draw energy from around them to sustain themselves (think solar panels storing energy in a battery). an unactivated spell may go dormant if it’s not enchanted well, letting it seep energy, but even that can take a while, and a spell enchanted well will be ready to activated indefinitely. this makes it dangerous, however, as older spells start to wear a bit and may go off at a moment’s notice.
spells can only be used by mages involved in the enchantment ceremony. enchantments can be used by anyone at all, like any other tool.
How do others react to it?
most humans don’t know it exists. mages react to it with caution, as mages spend a lot of time vying for control and killing each other. supernatural creatures do the same, but may scoff at it. humans using magic is just sort of silly, considering how little control they have of it, and how it typically doesn’t actually change them from being, well, squishy humans.
Why haven’t people with this power taken over the world?
who says they haven’t? or at least parts of the world. however, mages aren’t nearly as powerful as other things existing in this world, most of which would smack them silly just for thinking about it. The other reason is that magic is REALLY volatile and dangerous. Mages typically don’t live long if they aren’t careful. They’re often hunted down by other mages due to whatever reason, and spells have odd reactions when in close proximity to one another, sometimes going off for no reason at all. Magic is cool, but it tends to get you killed, yo.
as for creatures other than humans with magic, well... Let’s just say there’s something very big at the top that’s willing to smack down anyone who gets too uppity, and which doesn’t like to interfere too much.
