I knew early on that I wanted my magical system to be scientifically consistent, as much as possible. Ergo, I decided that in the place of a tried and tired elemental system, or one based on spells or anything conventional really, I am going with the four fundamental forces of physics. As far as I know, no one has ever attempted this before. If there is already such a fusion of concepts, please do notify me. I'd feel terrible saying that I've never come across it when another author has already attempted it.
For those of you unfamiliar with the four fundamental forces, I'll attempt to summarise their characteristics below. Please note, I'm not trained in physics, save in popular science books akin to "The Elegant Universe" and secondary school concepts. The familiar forces are gravity and electromagnetism. Gravity is the force that attracts anything with mass (well technically energy, but that's a little more abstract. Here's a link for good measure : http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&v=p_o4aY7xkXg&hl=en-GB) to anything else with mass. Electromagnetism is a little more complex to describe through it's numerous embodiments. As it's name suggests, electromagnetism is a unified force of electricity and magnetism. Light, being an electromagnetic wave, also comes under this force.
The other two forces don't have a very apparent effect on our daily lives. Gravity pulls you down, though that is really quite relative, to the earth, and electromagnetism is practically omnipresent in the modern world. From computers, to radio, to x-rays. The other two forces are essential, but not very apparent. They are the strong and weak nuclear forces. The strong nuclear force acts over tiny distances, within protons and neutrons; well technically between quarks, so you'd see it involved in all hadrons. If you've seen a diagram of atomic structure, you know that all the protons are packed within the nucleus of an atom. Based on a familiar understanding of electromagnetism, this absolutely does not make sense. So many positive charges in the same area? Wouldn't they fly right apart? Well the residual strong nuclear force between protons prevents that and holds them together.
What about the weak nuclear force? Well this is a little weirder. It mediates changes in fermions, leading to, for example, changes in the nucleus of an atom, radioactive decay, and also, stars. The weak nuclear force is part of why hydrogen atoms can be fused together in the heart of stars. At least stars that use the hydrogen pathway.
So... there remains the burning question of how this magic system would work.
The basic concept I have is such that a user of any of these four disciplines of magic would have the ability to strengthen or weaken the force in a certain localised area. The more proficient an individual is with magic, the longer, stronger, and larger the field of effect can be. In this sense, magic with the four fundamental forces is like manipulating energy directly, instead of through a material medium like a wire or a particle accelerator. Magic is direct alteration of energy with the mind.
A core idea is that this force magic is only limited by what the user can conceive through their understanding of the effects of that force. For example, someone using the electromagnetic force may use it to generate light in spherical light-globes. But if he only understands the force from that perspective, he does not know how to use that discipline of electromagnetic magic to levitate objects. Even though he may be strong enough magically to do so.
It's simliar to technological advances in that way. Theoretically, it would have been possible for an Airbus 380 aeroplane to have been built in the, I don't know, industrial revolution for example. The materials were available and if put in exactly the right place, they would form an aeroplane just as they would today. Except that didn't happen. Humanity was limited by their understanding of aerodynamic engineering at the time. If I apply this to my magics, advanced techniques are certainly possible once understanding has been reached, but until then, knowledge limits ability.
Based on this tenet, I am free to incorporate any method of magic use into the story. In it's simplest form, magic relies on will to be used. The mage commands the energy mentally, and the energy fluctuations happen. However, to aid a junior mage in understanding how magic works, or to focus the mind on the intended result, magic users may develop incantations, inscriptions, dances, songs or true names, basically anything that aids their magic use. The use of magic is limited to the users understanding of magic; if someone believes a stone will only float after reciting a spell for levitation, then he has to use that verbal command for that stone to levitate. Someone with a different understanding of magic could lift the stone just as effectively with a gesture, a song or just with mental will.
I have not yet determined how a mage's strength is developed and such. I suppose it is like a muscle. The more a mage uses their awareness of energy, the greater power and control the mage has. Another factor is the mage's ability to perceive energy. This ties in with the three planes. A mage is able to sense the energy around when they are in tune with the energy plane. Non-mages have been cut off from their awareness of the higher planes, the etheric and the energetic. As such they cannot visualise the energy around them and cannot manipulate it. Of course this applies to physical beings, namely humans. An advanced mage can sense the energy signatures of anything around him. If he stood by your computer or phone right now, he would sense the electrical currents flowing through the wires, heat generated from computation, and so on, without having to physically touch the device.
As for limits on magic use, every individual has a link to their soul and spirit, which are manifest in the higher planes. The stronger that link is, determined by how often the person exercises that link, the greater the mage's power level. I'm using power almost in the way that a physicist would use it; in terms of the amount of energy that is transferred per unit time. So the greater the mage's power, the more energy he can draw per second.
Does this violate the law of conservation of mass and energy? Well yes, quite blatantly. Energy is drawn in from the higher energy plane, or sent back to the energy plane, to perform magic. However magic use is limited by mental exertion. I would liken the effect of using magic on the soul to the effect of physical exercise on the body. Physical exercise tires the whole individual, but primarily affects the body. Magical exercise also tires the individual, but at the level of the soul more than on the body or the spirit. Perhaps your mind would just feel slow, sluggish and unresponsive. You might get energy aches, fatigue, cramps even, though the experience would be mental more than physical.
As to how exactly the forces can be used... I'll put those details in the rest of the posts in the "Magical Disciplines" series.
No comments:
Post a Comment