I simply must talk about something that has occupied my mind since involving myself in fandom after finishing LoTM.
And that is the nature of the power system and why it's a reason for the success of this series.
There are many posts analyzing the incredible creativity of the potions and beyonder powers, but what I want to focus on the most is actually not anything in the world of LoTM, but in ours.
I want to talk about the Fandom. (Mentions of Harry Potter and Warhammer 40K fandoms as well).
You see, finishing the story, I was most excited to delve into fanart and discussions of story moments and the feelings it evoked.
While I did get that, what happened as well is that I discovered a huge, nigh roleplay levels of identification of people in the world of the story.
Something I haven't seen except in the HP house system (low scale) and 40K (large scale).
/If you don't wanna read explanations and involvement of these fandoms, you can skip to "What does this have to do with LoTM?"
What I mean, is the way, people were all about behaviors that would put you in a specific HP house.
Character qualities and behaviors segmented into 4 ways. (Except that one was flawed, not very diverse and didn't really matter in a tangible way).
Then the 40K one (and this is much closer to our current example).
People identify with factions and beliefs of 40K to high degree.
A good example of that is videos of people getting into the 40K universe.
The videos explaining the lore, are made with heavy perspective of a person inside the universe, mainly so it invokes specific feelings or understanding of the watcher.
"Look at how it absorbed me. How passionate I am about the topic."
And most importantly "how easy and fun it is to be involved and be part of the [world] or [roleplay]".
If the person watching has a question that the video didn't cover?
(A good example is "What happened to the 2nd and 11th Space Marine Legion?", because the video skips them due to the lore being they were lost or expunged for their deeds) - 15% of the comments will be actual answers.
85% will be "We don't talk about that" (mainly as a joke, and partly to invoke curiosity into further research).
What does this have to do with LoTM?
It is the same reason as in 40K, as to why such behavior is so widespread and popular.
A sense of unspoken belonging and unity.
The 40K fandom didn't get together and decide "This is what we'll behave like towards the newbies or those not in the know".
The collective knowledge and specific circumstances and behaviors you can get only if you know the lore or have invested yourself enough becomes a part of your self, your identity and behavior.
And it's also why the Beyonder Pathways are the perfect middle of the above.
The belief system, that is present in LoTM serves as an example of faith being the natural consequence and how Charisma and Will affect those involved in the magic system.
The Churches and Faiths that exist in LoTM are factions and characters, and are great worldbuilding and story devices, but it is only part of the immersion sweeping the fandom. Characteristics that make the behavior show itself in the way it is. With (pseudo) reverence and representation of "your faith".
The main focus of this immersion is in the most important factor of this novel.
The Acting Method.
Every Beyonder Pathway has a name, and behaviors that you can interpret and perform, even unconsciously in your everyday life, and that you identify with.
It is a form of your expression and being seen, and being given importance through just living as you are.
And it is so much fun just being part of it and being aware of it, and not only that, but having a safety of "remember that you are just acting".
It made LoTM so successful, because every reader was not only swept by the amazing world, story and characters, but because it's so easy for the magic system to be real, when it is rooted in regular ways of behavior and thinking.
(Oh you're a shy person who doesn't involve himself much but still likes to be aware of events and be involved with no big contact? Hello, you must be from the Spectator pathway).
And it's why despite there being a bunch of "powerscalers", "gooners", and "glazers", it's still so positive and fun and immersive.
Because most of us are "method actors".
It's all so over the top, none of us obviously mean anything by it seriously, but we still feel connected through that world, and power system.
So much creativity and fun, because of an expertly crafted power system on the basis of human behavior and psychology.
