I pride myself on the functional magic systems I create in my works.  Within the universes, I tend to have characters that exist solely to understand these complex systems and make a science out of them.  The Search For Eden is the name of the series in which The End of Utopia, my published novel on Amazon is part of, so that Magic system will be the focus of this blog post.

 

Magic in this universe uses Mana that is within the blood of every individual capable of using Magic.  This resource is drained relative to the amount of energy that is being altered in reality.  In fact, altering reality is the best way to explain what magic really is.  The effort of change being equal to the amount of Mana used.

 

When a Mage, which is the name of a Magic User, is attacked by the spell from another Mage, this same Mana can also serve as protection.  Say one Mage attacked another with a ball of fire, the Mage attacking would lose Mana equal to the fireball, the Mage being attacked would also lose Mana equal to the spell, and if full Mana is used, the spell will be blocked.  A strategy that Mages employ when fighting each other is to drain the enemy’s Mana reserves will attacks until they are incapable of blocking any hostile Magic, which will lead to a victory.

 

There are six schools of Magic and they are seen relative to the states of matter in physics that they mimic closely.  These schools are: Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Light, Darkness.  The first four are much more common than the last two and thus, the full extent of abilities of Dark and Light Mages is still unknown.

 

In addition, each of these 6 schools have a forbidden technique that is frowned upon by society and can lead to jail time, or even death by execution in some cases.  These techniques will be broken down along with each entry down below.  It is important to note at this point that the full extent of Mages abilities is still unknown but as more research is done, more answers will be found.

 

Solid Mages:  These Mages have power of the ground beneath our feet as well as calling on the Power of Planets.  Some of them also have the power to Shapeshift as this ability lies firmly within the nature of solid objects. There are also a few that are skilled artisans as they have learned to manipulate the countless metals in ways not normally to be thought possible.

 

The Forbidden Technique of Solid Mages is to force an unwitting victim to Shapeshift.  This can be something as small as changing their nose to an ear, or something more significant such as polymorphing an individual and rewriting their entire DNA structure.  Their brain itself will be altered in this case.

 

Liquid Mages: These Mages have the power of the many fluids and liquids that exist in our universe.  This is not limited to controlling just water, for mercury is also a liquid and any material that is not a solution that contains other states of matter is their to command. Skilled Liquid Mages are capable of healing some of the most intense wounds and even prevent the terminally ill from passing on with the proper healing application.

 

The Forbidden Technique of Liquid Mages is Blood Magic.  Normally, Blood containing solids and gases would prevent a Liquid Mage from controlling it, but the sinister power of Blood Magic works around this exception.  As Mana is located in blood, these Mages are capable of using an enemies magic source as their own.  Since there are very efficient options at killing their enemies these Mages are incredibly deadly.

 

Gas Mages: These Mages have the power over the winds themselves as well as any material that is gaseous in nature.  Many of them are capable of limited flight and the skilled Mages can change the weather on their personal whims.  They can amplify sound as well created illusions using distortions.  The particularly creative can even create small scale illusions if the right gases are used in combination.

 

The Forbidden Technique of Gas Mages is Weaponized Sound.  Amplifying the sound is one thing, but by actually using the sound as a weapon is crossing a different threshold.  Not just limited to putting foes to sleep with music, these Mages posses the ability to shatter minds with loud sounds, use music to send their enemies to their graves and create sonic-booms with the ability to level Cities.

 

Plasma Mages: Plasma Mages deal mostly with Lightning and Fire.  A spellflinger launching Fireballs is a Plasma Mage.  A skilled user of this Magic can summon lightning storms, create walls of fire, and even use pulses to create electro-magnetic pulses.  While many claim that this is one of the most offensive oriented schools of Magic, Plasma Mages can use their abilities to power generators and do more mundane tasks such as starting campfires.

 

The Forbidden Technique of Plasma Mages is Nuclear Magic.  Using their mastery over plasma allows Nuclear Mages to control atoms themselves.  Breaking these bonds creates catastrophic reactions and their power is such that entire planets can be threatened by a single Nuclear Mage.  They can create or destroy materials on a whim allowing them unparalleled variety in their spells.  Of all the forbidden techniques, this is the one that society as a whole tends to punish the most severely.

 

Light Mages:  Light Mages are as rare as they are powerful.  They can control light itself in such ways as searing heat, optical illusions, and blinding displays.  Light Magic alongside Liquid Magic is well known for its healing abilities.  Many Light Mages are Healers full time and forgo combat training.  That is not to say that those healers have not mastered the art of optical illusions to protect themselves.

 

The Forbidden Technique of Light Mages is an Advanced form of Mind Control.  Using the power of their illusions allows these Mages to enslave their victims in a dream state that they have little chance of escaping.  Society finds it hard to untangle the webs of enslaved thralls by these Mages and their notoriety makes them a favorite bedtime story of mother’s to their children.  A warning of not trusting strangers.

 

Dark Mages: Dark Mages are rare, powerful, and very misunderstood.  Most people associate darkness with evil and as such, many Dark Mages are avoided in society as if they all used a forbidden technique.  Their strange powers involve curses and removing and inflicting sickness and diesease.  With their complete mastery of death inducing ailments they are also quite skilled at healing them.  Dark Mage healing is renowned for having a price, but whether this is true or not depends on the Mage likely.  One particularly odd ability of the Mages is their ability to enter a Dream World that many go to as they sleep.  Dark Mages can go their willingly if they have sufficient ability.

 

The Forbidden Technique of Dark Mages in Necromancy.  While Dark Mages in general are treated as evildoers, Necromancy is seen as one of the ultimate distortions of reality.  Raising the dead from their graves is a common tale of Magic that should never be attempted, and within the ranks of Dark Mages, only in the deepest dark places will one practice this craft.  The entire world frowns upon this technique and in some societies, being a Necromancer can lead to a death sentence.  Ironically, those who have mastery of the dead may not even fear death.  Part of the public’s terror may even be that these Necromancer planned to be killed so that they could gain even more power.