Whew, having built up our world to where we have a dynamic living
world, with an established, even if rudimentary technology level. We need to
address the next object on our list, magic and religion or as I like to say,
magic and miracles.
Some worlds are very magic rich, others a very limited and
magic is rare. This is High or Epic and Low fantasy. The word "Low"
refers to the level of prominence with traditional fantasy elements such as
magic and fantastic creatures. The world where Conan lives is a low fantasy
world. Conversely, the world of Narnia is a High fantasy world with talking
animals and immensely powerful magic users.
There is a great deal of debate on magical systems in
fiction, some writers, most of the ones I have met thus far subscribe to the
Vancian system of magic derived from Jack Vance's The Dying Earth stories. This form of magic is a mnemonic system
where the caster memorizes spells and once a particular spell is cast, the
caster forgets that spell, thus having to memorize it anew the next day.
This is the primary system of magic in the Dungeons and
Dragons role-playing game. This system has little in common with real world
magical beliefs that have come down through the ages. This system seems to be what many writers are
exposed to, and very few actually research the various forms of magic that humanity
has developed around the world.
When I asked how many people have played, or currently play
Dungeons and Dragons, many hands shot up. This didn’t surprise me, but it led
to a discussion regarding creating a world whole-cloth or using something like
the Dungeons and Dragons setting for stories.
The first thing is copyright infringement. Unless the proprietary owners
of the Dungeons and Dragons franchise, Wizards of the Coast grant you
permission to write stories in their setting…don’t.
Personally, I don’t understand the desire to write in an
established setting, using the legends and lore created and imagined by other
writers. I understand the argument made that is makes it easier, but it also is
a lazy way to write. If you are building a world, a setting and a story that is
epic why use someone else’s worlds and words to tell your story.
Back to our topic, in order to create the magic for your
world, you first have to define magic as it applies to the world you envision.
For our purposes, we can define magic as the use of spells, charms and rituals
to cause or control events that benefit the caster. If this is the foundation
of the magic system, then you have already established that spells, charms and
rituals will be part of the system.
This gives you three different areas of magic; spells,
charms and rituals, and each aspect can be learned individually or in any
combination of the three depending on how much you want to limit magic.
Once the extent of magic is established, you have to decide
how magic is learned. Are there massive arcane schools like Hogwarts or are
there secreted cabals hidden in dark corners of the world where the arts are
taught only to a select few? Is magic an innate ability that only a few are
born with, an elite class with a birthright or is it something anyone with
determination can learn?
What about the other side of magic then, divine magic? This
is a little different from the magic that wizards sling about, or is it? Is
magic considered a divine spark, granted to those willing to pledge their lives
to a god or gods who will impart this ability into them? If this is how you
envision magic, then you have to develop the religions and gods, demons and
other sundry mystical beings that may or may not care about the world imparting
power to their followers. Is the main religion a monotheistic one where a
single deity grants powers to their priest or a pantheon where numerous gods
are worshipped and each one can grant a different aspect or form of magic to
their followers.
This leads to other social structures such as government and
how the social stratum of your world is built up. Magic and religion can be powerful
shapers of your world, not only for individual users of magic, but how it is
viewed by the civilizations these practioners of magic reside.
Magic like technology has far-reaching ramifications that have
to be examined and developed, even if you are the only one who knows what these
may be. By building your magic and religious system in this manner your world
will become a living world to your readers because it is complete and makes
sense to the setting.
