Magic in Verd
Hello Friends,
I think if there is one word, or maybe one concept, that conjures up the idea of fantasy in my mind more than anything else, it would have to be magic. The two themes are very nearly inseparable to me, and I find magic to be one of the most freeing and attractive elements of the fantasy genre. There are certainly exceptions (for example, some of KJ Park’s works, while fantasy, have few if any magical elements), but almost all fantasy incorporates magic- or what would have to be taken to be or equated to magic- in some way. So, I decided that today’s blog post would be about this sorcerous subject and how it fits into the world of Verd.
But before I get into that, a sacrifice to the gods of administration. Here's an outline of what I am planning to upload in June:
June 1st: Ancondi Realm Guide - Ancondi is the closest thing Verd has to an ‘Old World’ realm, having largely been spared from the ravages of the Cataclysm and ensuing struggles. The concept for Ancondi’s ‘feel’ blends cosmopolitanism with an entrenched and revered imperial cult, so keep an eye out if that sounds interesting to you!
June 8th: Legend of Emerlane's Folly, “The King of Elba-Tur” - the third installment in the Legend of Emerlane’s Folly sees the heroes allying themselves with the runts of Elba-Tur- a hidden city chafing under the burden of Saala rule. With the Khaa-Na and his servants gearing up for war, Emerlane will need all the allies she can get to survive!
June 15th: Anabosis Chapter 3, “Anabosis”: - In this chapter, Emma and Hal finish their journey to Anabosis aboard the “Starlight”. After witnessing a bombastic example of Anabosian experimentation, the pair settle in and get accustomed to life on the alien world.
June 22nd: Blog discussion - Unless I change my mind, June’s blog post will cover the topic of religion in Verdian society- exploring the different religions, and what influence they have in day to day life. I think cultures will inevitably develop different faiths and creeds to help better explain the universe and the unknown, and in a world as hostile as Verd the impact religion would have will be interesting to dive into.
June 29th: Bye Week- I will be on vacation this week and will not be uploading any new material.
Leave a comment below if you are excited about any of these planned uploads, or have any questions!
Now that that’s done, let’s talk sorcery.
When I think about magic in fantasy, there are so many dimensions and scales concerning how it's handled. How common is it? How powerful is it? Who can learn it? All these questions (and many more) pop up once magic is introduced into a setting, and so the crafting of a ‘system’ has become something of an art.
While magic systems are interesting and fun to dive into, I believe that the one quality that all good treatments of magic share is that their take on magic reflects the tone of the setting, and the setting, in turn, is believably adapted to the system of magic that has been established.
Take, for example, magic in Tolkein’s Middle Earth. This is a world where eldritch power comes from a grand and divine source (harmony) and permeates the old parts of the world. It’s epic. It’s largely undefined. As such, active use of magic is very rare and only done by natively magical entities (like elves and the Istari). It’s almost a spiritual thing, and fits with the more mythical tone of Tolkein’s stories.
For another example, consider the world of Rowling’s Harry Potter. In that universe, magic is a (relatively) common, defined set of powers that one can learn to command if born with the ability to do so. With those qualities, magic would have influenced society in significant ways, molding and defining an entire subculture in the world- and it does. We can see this in her novels with the founding of magical schools, governments, financial systems, etc.
These are, by my measure, excellent treatments of magic given the universes in which they exist. They are believable and tonally appropriate given their settings, and their worlds are, in turn, evolved to reflect the presence of magic. As a test of this, consider Harry Potter in Middle Earth or Gandalf at Hogwarts- both ideas feel silly at their core (though could potentially be the base for entertaining fanfiction).
So where does that leave Verd?
I consider Verd to be a world with a defining ‘before’ and ‘after’. There is the old world (pre-Cataclysm) where magic was a mighty, Verd-shaking force commanded by learned arch-wizards. Then there is the new world where sorcery is far more muted and rare, spoken mostly of in the context of history and legend.
From a setting perspective, this is handled with a delineation between ‘True’ and ‘Low’ magic. True magic is a primal thing, woven into the fabric of the universe. Use of this kind of magic was more common (though still very rare) in the old world, where court mages shaped the world, probed the universe, and laid entire armies to waste with their spellcraft. Unfortunately, the true mages of the time ended up opening the Cryptstorm and were annihilated for the effort. It has become, therefore, a sort of lost art.
Low magic, on the other hand, can still be seen on Verd, as is more akin to the typical ‘wizardly’ spells found in the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and Harry Potter. Practitioners of the low craft can do things like throw fireballs, create illusions, and move objects telekinetically, but cannot act at a macro level like their predecessors could.
The social treatment of magic also changed dramatically with this before and after divide. Whereas before the Cataclysm wizards were esteemed and elevated to high positions of power, now they are outcasts. They are seen as destroyers of the world and in many places the practice of magic is outlawed. So scorned, those learned in the ways of low magic must keep their powers secret, selling their services to those in power or seeking membership in hidden societies (like the Arcani, which will be described in the Ancondi Realm Guide).
One element I like about this approach is that it adds a measure of freedom when building the world from an adventuring perspective. When traveling through the countryside, you could come across marvels of the old world that would no longer be possible without True magic. At the same time, you could have an adventure focussed on rediscovering the secrets of the old warlocks, perhaps capturing a sliver of the power that was once possible.
In any case, let me know below if you’ve come across any settings or worlds that you think handled magic in a particularly fun, unique, or generally ‘good’ way.
Best,
Eric
