Echoic_
Acolyte
Hi there, I'm Echo, and I am a teen author!
I've been working on a writing project for 6 months now, and it's set in a fantasy world (wow) where the magic is based on the sun, moon, and stars. So, from that, I have two questions: Is my concept too basic? Is my fleshed-out idea actually any good?
Is my concept too basic?
My magic system gets a whole lot more complex than just "sun moon and stars", but I feel like just that as a basis lacks any interest or variety. Sky-based magic seems like such a cliche in YA fantasy. In an elevator pitch or a blurb I can't really info dump all the lore of my world, so I can't effectively say what makes my magic system unique (then again, I haven't written a blurb yet, so we'll see). I've seen and heard some really cool concepts from my friends and books I've read, like tattoo-based magic (my friend), or metal-based magic (Brandon Sanderson). Those all come across as a lot more unique than sky-based magic. So, without anything else to go on, is my sky-based magic too boring?
Is my fleshed-out idea actually any good?
Warning: lots of yapping ahead! If don't want to answer this question, by all means don't.
I am holding back on this explanation. Every aspect of this magic system has its lore reasons. Luckily for you, I'm not going to say these lore reasons, because otherwise this summary would become less of a summary and more of a 7 paragraph essay.
Something I find really unique about my magic is the combination of soft magic and hard magic. It's like... medium-rare magic. It's not quite as free as soft magic (except when it comes to Star Magic, but we'll get to that later), but it's not nearly as limited as hard magic systems.
In my world (Aetheria), there are three types of magic. Sun, Moon, and Star (also known as Solar, Lunar, and Astral). Everyone is born with magic, but few choose to train it.
I'm gonna cover Sun and Moon Magic first, since Star Magic is a bit of an outlier.
Sun Magic focuses on the physical, while Moon Magic handles the abstract. Each of these types have 4 subtypes.
Sun Magic subtypes:
Healers - Manipulate the human body. not limited to healing, can also control pulses, the nervous system, etc. Can't manipulate themselves.
Abjurers - Protectors. Cast force fields, wards against Star Magic, can create magical dead zones. Often overlooked but are in fact very powerful.
Invigorators - The ideal soldier. Can stretch their body beyond the normal limits. Super strength, super agility, enhanced senses, enhanced flexibility, etc. Can only cast on themselves.
Elementalists - Further separated into the four elements (earth, water, wind, fire). Basically avatar. Elementalists can manipulate all of the elements, although many choose to focus on one or two.
Moon Magic subtypes:
Illusionists: Create Illusions. Can be for any of the 5 senses, but only 1-2 (i.e. you can see, hear, the illusion but not smell, feel, or taste).
Memokeepers: Deal with memories. Can alter them, remove them, put in fake ones. Can also view the memories of others. Can't use it on themselves.
Charmers: Can affect the emotions of an individual. They can use this to persuade, anger, or fill a person with joy. Often become political figures.
Archivists: Store knowledge and can grant knowledge to others. Usually focus on one subject (history, language, math, certain sciences, etc.)
An important limiting factor to Sun and Moon Mages (common term for magic user) is that a Mage can only manipulate one subtype of one type (except in one very specific case: an eclipse). Both of these magic types act like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets, but it can always be exhausted at some point. Only humans can use these two types of magic.
Star Magic is much more of a soft magic than the other two types. It covers... basically anything you want. The impossible, lets say. There are no rules you can do with Star Magic, but what it takes. Depending on the spell, it takes different types and amounts of sacrifices; small spells like lighting a candle will require nothing but a bit of your energy, medium spells like growing a garden overnight take a blood sacrifice, and big spells like someone's resurrection takes another Star Mage's life. For these reasons, Star Magic is often practiced with a group of Mages to keep the sacrifices to a minimum. Only fae (might change the name of this race) can use Star Magic.
Note: Sun and Moon Magic can be enhanced by sacrifices, but its not an essential part of the magic.
Additional sub questions for this: Enough limitations? Too soft? Would you read this book?
Any additional questions of YOURS I will be so happy to answer!
The working title for this project is Beneath the Bleeding Stars
Was this an excuse to yap about my fantasy world? Yes. Was it also a genuine call for commentary? Also yes. Please leave your thoughts, I greatly appreciate them! If anyone wants me to explain the (extremely vast) lore behind the magic system just say the words.
Thank you for reading all of that, especially the second section. Still can't believe people will actually sit through my rants about my word.
Echo out!
I've been working on a writing project for 6 months now, and it's set in a fantasy world (wow) where the magic is based on the sun, moon, and stars. So, from that, I have two questions: Is my concept too basic? Is my fleshed-out idea actually any good?
Is my concept too basic?
My magic system gets a whole lot more complex than just "sun moon and stars", but I feel like just that as a basis lacks any interest or variety. Sky-based magic seems like such a cliche in YA fantasy. In an elevator pitch or a blurb I can't really info dump all the lore of my world, so I can't effectively say what makes my magic system unique (then again, I haven't written a blurb yet, so we'll see). I've seen and heard some really cool concepts from my friends and books I've read, like tattoo-based magic (my friend), or metal-based magic (Brandon Sanderson). Those all come across as a lot more unique than sky-based magic. So, without anything else to go on, is my sky-based magic too boring?
Is my fleshed-out idea actually any good?
Warning: lots of yapping ahead! If don't want to answer this question, by all means don't.
I am holding back on this explanation. Every aspect of this magic system has its lore reasons. Luckily for you, I'm not going to say these lore reasons, because otherwise this summary would become less of a summary and more of a 7 paragraph essay.
Something I find really unique about my magic is the combination of soft magic and hard magic. It's like... medium-rare magic. It's not quite as free as soft magic (except when it comes to Star Magic, but we'll get to that later), but it's not nearly as limited as hard magic systems.
In my world (Aetheria), there are three types of magic. Sun, Moon, and Star (also known as Solar, Lunar, and Astral). Everyone is born with magic, but few choose to train it.
I'm gonna cover Sun and Moon Magic first, since Star Magic is a bit of an outlier.
Sun Magic focuses on the physical, while Moon Magic handles the abstract. Each of these types have 4 subtypes.
Sun Magic subtypes:
Healers - Manipulate the human body. not limited to healing, can also control pulses, the nervous system, etc. Can't manipulate themselves.
Abjurers - Protectors. Cast force fields, wards against Star Magic, can create magical dead zones. Often overlooked but are in fact very powerful.
Invigorators - The ideal soldier. Can stretch their body beyond the normal limits. Super strength, super agility, enhanced senses, enhanced flexibility, etc. Can only cast on themselves.
Elementalists - Further separated into the four elements (earth, water, wind, fire). Basically avatar. Elementalists can manipulate all of the elements, although many choose to focus on one or two.
Moon Magic subtypes:
Illusionists: Create Illusions. Can be for any of the 5 senses, but only 1-2 (i.e. you can see, hear, the illusion but not smell, feel, or taste).
Memokeepers: Deal with memories. Can alter them, remove them, put in fake ones. Can also view the memories of others. Can't use it on themselves.
Charmers: Can affect the emotions of an individual. They can use this to persuade, anger, or fill a person with joy. Often become political figures.
Archivists: Store knowledge and can grant knowledge to others. Usually focus on one subject (history, language, math, certain sciences, etc.)
An important limiting factor to Sun and Moon Mages (common term for magic user) is that a Mage can only manipulate one subtype of one type (except in one very specific case: an eclipse). Both of these magic types act like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets, but it can always be exhausted at some point. Only humans can use these two types of magic.
Star Magic is much more of a soft magic than the other two types. It covers... basically anything you want. The impossible, lets say. There are no rules you can do with Star Magic, but what it takes. Depending on the spell, it takes different types and amounts of sacrifices; small spells like lighting a candle will require nothing but a bit of your energy, medium spells like growing a garden overnight take a blood sacrifice, and big spells like someone's resurrection takes another Star Mage's life. For these reasons, Star Magic is often practiced with a group of Mages to keep the sacrifices to a minimum. Only fae (might change the name of this race) can use Star Magic.
Note: Sun and Moon Magic can be enhanced by sacrifices, but its not an essential part of the magic.
Additional sub questions for this: Enough limitations? Too soft? Would you read this book?
Any additional questions of YOURS I will be so happy to answer!
The working title for this project is Beneath the Bleeding Stars
Was this an excuse to yap about my fantasy world? Yes. Was it also a genuine call for commentary? Also yes. Please leave your thoughts, I greatly appreciate them! If anyone wants me to explain the (extremely vast) lore behind the magic system just say the words.
Thank you for reading all of that, especially the second section. Still can't believe people will actually sit through my rants about my word.
Echo out!
Maester
Sage
Myth Weaver
