# Magical Glass Sculptures



## Devor (Apr 22, 2015)

Okay, simple question.  Maybe.  This is something that has come up in pushing my magic system to the next level.

If these glass objects were normal glass items filled with a powerful magical mist, what would you expect them to do?

Bear in mind, glass breaks easily.


----------



## ArenRax (Apr 22, 2015)

I would think maybe they move, glow, or change color on the inside like on of those old glow lamps.

I remember, like a lava lamp


----------



## T.Allen.Smith (Apr 22, 2015)

Perhaps they're enchantments meant to be broken.

Take the octopus. If broken, the mist forms into a fantastical octopus, fighting on behalf of its owner and strangling the poor soul on the receiving end.


----------



## Tom (Apr 22, 2015)

I'd also expect them to glow, maybe even catch light and refract it, like a prism. Glass is also an extremely viscous liquid, so maybe if the magic creates heat they'd melt, releasing the mist?


----------



## Devor (Apr 22, 2015)

Thanks everyone!

I was thinking along the lines that T.Allen mentioned, having the shape of glass be something that controls the shape of the mist when it's released.  But @Tom, I think having to somehow melt the glass to release the mist in this form sounds cool.  It adds an element of depth that keeps it from feeling like a cheap D&D-type gimmick.

I'm still looking for ideas - I'll go ahead add another image.


----------



## ArenRax (Apr 22, 2015)

it summons a weapon! that is uber powerful and enchanted but can only be around for a limited amount of time


----------



## Shreddies (Apr 22, 2015)

Maybe the mist has to be within the glass for a minimum amount of time before it can be used? Sort of like it has to metaphysically 'congeal' or set into the shape of its vessel.

Another idea is to have the mist always radiating magic and the glass filters it in such a way that it changes the effect of it. Meaning the color would determine its use as well.

So you can sit within the light of a . . . I dunno, pale blue teardrop shaped one, to recover from sickness more quickly. Or it makes you think more clearly.

They can also have a life expectancy, if the mist is always radiating power and is not replenished.

On a side note, depending on the strength of the mist, I'd think it might be poisonous if you inhale it or come into direct contact with it. Or it's only poisonous until it has congealed.

Edit: Or the mist makes the glass malleable and kind of spongy, like molten glass.


----------



## skip.knox (Apr 22, 2015)

Magic mirror effects. The mist aids in clairvoyance or telepathy or whatever. Its shape is related to what can be seen or affected.

I'd be interested in the crafting of the item. Is there a magical process involved with the glass itself? How does one get the mist in there and sealed? That could offer opportunities for imperfections, causing unexpected effects.

Also, perhaps there are other glasses that can affect glasses. Shatter them from afar, subvert what is shown, etc.


----------



## Devor (Apr 22, 2015)

Thanks for the help everyone!  I'm loving all of the comments - they're helping me to think.

It might be time for a little background.  The mist is called Astria, or the Soulmist.  Whenever a god wants to create a spiritual body, they make it out of Astria, but it's not a simple process.  Astria is no more a soul than a lump of coal is a carbon-based lifeform.

As you might imagine, Astria exists in the realm between worlds, and the moment it's released into the air, it vanishes back into that realm.  The glass above is designed to hold it and give it shape.  And the Astria inside it has been "mixed with mana" by a powerful wizard, whatever that means.

More importantly, there are creatures in this "in between" realm that use Astria to take a temporary shape.  Some people can summon them, like a creature living in their soul.  And the tiny corpse of one, called a "Tearling," would be used to hold the Astria together in one place while they shape the glass.  Each of these would have a tearling inside with the Astria.

Right now, I'm looking for any way to push this system further.


----------



## Butterfly (Apr 22, 2015)

I'm thinking maybe look at the scientific properties of glass.

Glass is an insulator of electricity, (which I learned from some film that was on last night).

Its also an amorphous solid meaning it does not have a crystalline structure.

It can bend light into a prism.

a concave shape can magnify objects, and magnifying glasses can start fires.


----------



## Svrtnsse (Apr 22, 2015)

Dragon:
This one sits on a small shelf just above the door to your house. It guards your home and warns you of unwelcome visitors. If it breaks, like if it were to fall down, it would put anyone nearby to sleep.

Octopus:
Put this in your kitchen to help keep it clean. It removes dirt and dust from surfaces, even if you can't reach or see them yourself. If it breaks, everything nearby becomes squeaking clean and free from dirt - including people and their clothes.

Dancing droplet:
Keep these in your living room or bedroom. Their presence soothes your mind and if you sit and watch them for long enough, they'll start to dance. If they break, they'll put you to sleep where you stand, but don't worry, they'll catch you in a hammock of mist and rock you gently while you rest.

Heart:
This is small one - you wear it around your neck. While you wear it, you'll know whether anyone who talks to you speaks the truth or not. If it breaks, it forces anyone nearby - including yourself - to speak the truth.

---
And that's my take on it, without looking at what anyone else wrote.


----------



## Devor (Apr 22, 2015)

Double thanks for that, Svrtnsse!  I was thinking about how they would work as golems or items, and I think I got myself stuck trying to think of a one-size-fits-all approach.  I really like the way you addressed it.  That's a big help!


----------



## Saigonnus (Apr 22, 2015)

Please forgive me if anything is repeated, I didn't read anything but the initial concept. 

A glass ball etched with an iris and veins, like it's an eyeball. This gives the user the ability of clairvoyance in regards to people, things and places they know. If it breaks, it allows the user to see everything for 500 feet in every direction. 

A small glass horn (like the kind you'd use to hear better before we had hearing aids). Gives the user the ability to hear anything down to a whisper from anyone within an area of effect. If broken, the range increases tenfold. 

How about a charm shaped like lips that allows the user to deliver whispered messages to people they know as long as they are closer than 10 miles from the user's present location. If they break it, it can be up to 100 miles away instead. 

A glass bead etched with a shadowy outline of a face. Summons up a shadowy helper for an hour when triggered, they can do mundane things, or carry things, but are prohibited from combat. If broken, they can engage in combat with the same skill the user possesses, but only until the combat is over, then they fade away.

Just some quick ideas.


----------



## Penpilot (Apr 22, 2015)

What I was thinking this comes in two parts, the glass and the Astria. First, the shaping of the glass helps shape the spell. Second, the Astria mixture inside also determines the potency and the end result. 

For example, the glass octopus. Depending on the Astria mixture inside and maybe the tearling type, if there is a type, "breaking" it open, can result in the above described attack creature defending its master, or it can result in a binding spell that entangles an enemy in crawling rope, or it can summon an octopus salad. 

As for the glass, maybe it's the key to all of this. It's where the greatest care should be taken. Maybe there's special glass and special craftsmen that create it. An unintended flaw in the glass may have it improperly break open, like one tentacle snaps off. This results in a malformed summoning/casting, resulting in someone getting attacked by something weird like a giant octopus salad or a ferocious 1000 tentacle monstrosity that's only one inch tall.

Maybe there's some special way to break open the glass. Maybe there's a special substance that melts the glass, but is harmless to flesh. Or maybe that's what makes magic users special. They're the only ones who have the ability to melt/break open the special glass. Say the special glass is unbreakable once sealed, like admantium glass.  It's very dangerous to use normal glass, for reasons I mentioned above about the accidental breaking.

Oh... also maybe there are different types of glass and colors of glass that affect the results of breaking them open. Maybe there's glass that's meant to break open in a wild way warping the the spell into an unpredictable end result. ETC.


----------



## Devor (Apr 22, 2015)

I'm out of thanks.    Sorry Penpilot, no thanks for you!

I'm taking note of everything people say on a sheet of paper and will circle, cross off, and so on.  It's all really helpful.

The type of tearling will affect the astria that gathers around it, and there should be room to play with enchanting it when the glass is made.  So at least at this stage I could find a way to justify just about any kind of effect.

Playing around with accidental breaks sounds like fun.


----------



## Shreddies (Apr 23, 2015)

Ooo! With the octopus you can have an effect that happens when you snap off one of the legs. So the bauble would have eight uses. Or ten with a squid. (or hundreds with some lovecraftian horror)


----------



## Devor (Apr 23, 2015)

Okay, here's what I've got:

 - They only carry so much astria.  They use it to fuel the magic and are useless when it's gone.  As long as you still have the tearling, there are ways to replenish the astria.  There might be types of tearlings.

 - They glow, the mist moves and changes colors inside the glass.  You can spot the tearling inside if you look for it.  For my purposes, any differences in the color of glass are just descriptive.

 - These objects can be a little smart.  They can know what's going on around them, tell friend from foe, and understand basic commands.  They are not sentient enough to betray their owners, but they can make simple decisions.

 - They can move, but only if the glass is heated.  You can heat the glass yourself, or the object can self-heat, but it uses up some astria to do it.  While the glass is heated, they can move like tiny golems.  The heart can beat. The guitar can play a tune. They can dance or move into position.  They can break themselves.

 - They can spit or radiate the astria inside to create magical effects.  The dragon could breath out fire, the heart could heal, the dancing things can put people to sleep.  But they use up the astria as they do so.  And you have to be close enough to be affected by the astria in question.

 - When the glass breaks, the mist inside takes the shape of the glass sculpture and ends with one last magical hurrah.  The more astria left inside the glass, the bigger the effect.  When the glass breaks, there is a chance the tearling inside can be damaged.

 - You can't separate the astria from the tearling.  If breaking off the tentacle of an octopus has its own effect, then each tentacle would need its own tearling.  Tearlings are hard to come by.

 - If you wanted to do some scrying, you would get a special glass astria object for that purpose, which would look a lot like a kaleidoscope, with a layer of metal outside the glass to focus your vision.  It would follow a different set of rules.

I'm happy with all this.  Thank you everyone for the help!  I'm also keeping a list of specific effects, so further comments are welcome.


----------



## K.S. Crooks (Apr 26, 2015)

I definitely want the first one to come alive. Is there something special about the glass to prevent the magic from coming out, similar to the way a genie's bottle is special. Magic glass doesn't have to break easily or what is the "glass" is diamond or some fictional transparent material. The mist could provide temporary magical abilities to a person who doesn't have any or perform a single magic spell.


----------



## Devor (May 26, 2015)

I wasn't going to ask this, but I think I have to.

There's a particular glass object that I have been trying to ignore, but I think is too . . . . obvious, when combining glass and mist.

Does anybody have any ideas for using some kind of a magical hookah or bong while completely detaching it from drugs in readers' minds?

I'm not hopeful.


----------



## Saigonnus (May 26, 2015)

Hookahs were used for herb mixtures long before the modern times. 

Maybe a magical one could impart fire breath or ice breath to the user of said hookah. They breathe in the mist and voila! Dragon's breath


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Devor (May 27, 2015)

Saigonnus said:


> Hookahs were used for herb mixtures long before the modern times.
> 
> Maybe a magical one could impart fire breath or ice breath to the user of said hookah. They breathe in the mist and voila! Dragon's breath



I'm not too worried yet about the effects of using it.  I'm more concerned with whether it can be used in any way without making people think of drugs because that is probably the absolute biggest turn off for so many readers.

It's the mist that's magical, and I was thinking, for instance, of having regular food and other objects sort of pickling in the mist you breath instead of "drug-ish" herbs.  But I'm worried that, so long as people are breathing in magical mist from a pipe, there's no safe way of using it. Take out the pipe and that leaves me with . . . what?  Magical pickling?


----------



## Saigonnus (May 27, 2015)

Probably not, I think that it is too ingrained in society as a device used for drugs. It was conceived of as a way to smoke and really has no other purpose. 

Perhaps the dregs of society uses it, like addicts. Give it some negative effects and you'll send the right message to those readers. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Laurence (May 27, 2015)

They're obviously trick vials. The user is meant to believe that to release their power he or she must throw them to the floor, shattering them. Upon doing this, they instead pass straight through the floor, leaving feint ripples in the stone.

_It's not very effective..._


----------



## Devor (May 27, 2015)

This is where I'm at:

You've got your glass container full of magic mist.  You soak something in the mist and it breaks down into something closer to a your typical potion.  Since you drink it, instead of inhale it, I think it should be okay.

But, what would you soak in the mist to make a potion?


----------



## Saigonnus (May 27, 2015)

This is where alchemy comes in. Red dragon scales does this, brimstone does that, wellberries make a healing potion. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

