Mindfire
Istar
This is something that's been bugging me for a long time. Almost since I started this fantasy writing trek. And that is: I don't like referring to the gifts, powers, and abilities of my various characters as "magic". I do it because that's the most convenient word available and the English language is sorely lacking for alternatives, but I don't like using it. Reason being that the word "magic" doesn't fit what my characters do, or that stuff, that essence, that is so crucial to this world. The word "magic", generally speaking, has three common "flavors". There's "magic" as in stage tricks, illusions, and charlatanry, "magic" as in the real-world occult, and "magic" as in the Disney stuff. I suppose you could also say there's a fourth flavor, unique to fantasy, whose definition often floats and meanders between the other three. But none of these definitions are a fit for what's going on in my world. In my world, "magic" is a sliver of divine power revealed in human beings and woven into the universe itself. Power is woven into the universe. It exists in the power of language, in emotions, in imagination, in dreams, in intuition, in common sense, in hope, in faith, in love, in all of the intangibles that collectively comprise the essence of humanity and in all of the things that make nature wondrous. Its use is more akin to biblical miracles than most magic seen in the fantasy genre. So to even call it "magic" seems like a disservice. But I'm struggling to find a word to replace it. The best I can find is words in other languages, like the Greek χάρισμα (kharisma) or the Hebrew מתנה (mataná), which both mean "gift". Thoughts? Suggestions?