I was doing some world building for a fantasy story I daydreamed and wanted more of. I *need* to have some internal logic when I’m making things, and the focus of this world building session was magic.
I liked the idea of mana crystals, specifically as an organ one uses to manipulate magic that hardens when one dies - some of the mana one has literally crystallizes as its no longer used, like blood coagulating. Fantasy media I’ve seen tends to just have demonic/magic monsters having magic crystals, and thats one way to differentiate between monster and beast, but I wanted every living thing to have one! I wanted humans to have them, as the core of spells and skills. Plus if everything had one it would make it easier to code later down the line if I was to adapt this into a game.
But... where is the line drawn? I liked the idea of trees and mushrooms having them too, as magic trees give rise to ents and dryads, and magic mushrooms are drugs but also glowy underground, and thats a staple. but... how far back does one have to go in the evolution to have trees AND mushrooms AND animals having the same thing? are we saying BACTERIA gets magic crystals?? what kinda spells are germs gonna cast?
...What about viruses? If I say “all living things have magic”, and I give viruses magic, I’m making a statement I’m uncomfortable making.
I talked with a friend, and he said viruses steal mana from other things in order to duplicate. I loved that. “procreate” is a spell everything knows, even if they’re not conscious of it.
OH DANG! This also is the answer for “surely everyone would get stronger and stronger magic as time goes by?”. The more magic one has, the more susecptible one would be to disease. The viruses and bacteria would duplicate more rapidly in a magic rich environment.
I was also linking magic to consciousness, with hints of who a person/thing was stored in the mana crystal. (oh! I may put resurrection in the setting, with one needing only the mana crystal. in emergencies, adventurers cutting out the magic core of their friends in order to revive them later. easier to take a friends rock than the whole friend)
With the link to consciousness, and the link to procreation, this is an explanation for exhaustion during pregnancy, as “create babe” is a continuous spell and the parent gets dry on magic. Having it as a separate spell rather than an act of biology allows for same gender and mixed species parents, AND removes unwanted/unexpected pregnancies, mostly.
ANYWAY. having “procreation needs mana” as an idea brought the thought that, in this setting, “wizards are the most sexual motherfuckers out there”. And I STILL find that amusing. Enjoy.