People have asked us now several times how exactly the magic works in Rellas. We will give you a bit more information soon, but here is the quick and dirty explanation.
Magic in Rellas exists in 3 types: mage magic, priest magic, and bloodline magic.
Mage magic depends on the environment and the user’s capabilitiers. I am going to let Damaes explain it a little bit. There is nothing spoilery here, so hopefully I won’t get in trouble with Tor. Please keep in mind that Damaes has trouble with using words to communicate, and Maggie was a PoliSci major.
Damaes took a deep breath. “The water cleaning barrel. You take a barrel. You punch a hole in the bottom, layer cloth, clean sand, and crushed charcoal inside. Then you pour dirty water into it and wait. In time, what will come out?”
“Clean water,” I said.
“That is the magic of mages. We absorb magic from the world, filter it through ourselves, and gain essence which is the fuel for our spells. Some barrels are small, others are large. The power of the mage is determined by the size of the barrel and the quality of the filter.”
Damaes raised his hand. Streaks of white light slithered from his fingers, clasped the boulder, and levitated it eight feet off the ground.
“This is difficult. It has mass. It takes up space. It wants to stick to the ground.”
“Gravity,” I said.
He looked at me waiting for an explanation. I should have paid better attention in science class.
“Objects that have mass attract each other. The heavier they are, the stronger they pull.” Earth… wait, no. “The world on which we stand is a very large and heavy object. It pulls everything to itself, the rocks, us, the moons. That force is called gravity. The moons are in motion, which is the only reason they don’t fall onto our heads.”
Damaes nodded. “Gravity depends on mass.”
“Yes.” And he got it on the first try.
“Essence has no mass. Making it act on objects with mass is taxing.”
The rock plummeted with a thud.
Damaes raised his hand. A ribbon of crimson lightning wrapped around his fingers.
“Flame, lightning, and light have no mass. They’re easy. They cost little. This can kill a human in a fraction of a breath, because humans are fragile.”
He paused, and I nodded.
If I understood it correctly, mage magic existed in two forms: environmental and essence. He absorbed environmental magic and converted it into essence. Acting on something like a rock probably required converting the essence back, so it could affect the environment again. Working with steam, heat, lightning and so on was likely infinitely easier. When he conjured that beam to destroy a meteorite, it looked like white fire. He must’ve hit it with some super plasma or something. Whatever it was dissipated back into the environment as heat and light.
Priest magic works similarly. They too absorb magic from the environment, but their focus is on physical enhancement of self. They cure diseases, improve their bodies, and buff themself to use a game term.
Bloodline magic doesn’t rely on external source which needs to be absorbed. It is manufactured by the user’s body or possibly soul. It is a finite but replenishable source. If the bloodline magic wielder overextends, they become exhausted and must take time to recover, but given enough rest, they will be back to full power.
The bloodline magic isn’t limited to Great Families. Butcher’s magic was bloodline magic. Sol’s magic is also bloodline magic.
All magic can be improved and developed with practice, even bloodline magic.
All magic has a price. We’re going to borrow Doran Arvel for that explanation.
“I shared things with you,” Doran said. “Private things. My goals and designs. I must know.”
I sighed. “Does your magic have a price?”
“All magic has a price, Maggie. The mages hunger for power and struggle to contain it. The priests enhance themselves, watching time gnaw away on their mortal bodies with every breath.”
“What about the Great Families?”
His face turned contemplative. “Ours is the magic of the soul. It seeks to dominate its source. Some of us conquer it, and others succumb.”
“Ulmar Hreban had succumbed. I would say the Mirror Heart corrupted him, but that would mean that there was a time when he was free of its influence. It manifested as soon as he was born, and nobody around him bothered to put any safeguards in place. He never had a chance. The Mirror Heart was a trellis, and his soul grew twisting around it like a grapevine.”
“How did it twist him?” he asked.
“It convinced him that people are selfish liars. Ulmar thought the entire world waited to stab him in the back, so he responded with brutality. He wasn’t just cruel. He became inhumane, and he wanted power so he could inflict suffering on others.”
Mages are power junkies. They are never satisfied with their level, they always want to push themselves further, and they have a compulsion to unleash their powers. If you reread what happened between Damaes and Isadau in the first book, you will see that Isadau lost control. That is typical mage behavior.
Priests are often tormented by their power. Most of us can disengage from monitoring our body functions. We don’t generally pay attention to our breathing and heart beat, unless something out of the ordinary occurs. Achieving that distance is a lot harder for priests. Some of the more skilled ones can look at a person and see exactly how disease or old age are changing their bodies, and they observe those same changes in their own bodies. They are aware. They learn early that they are incapable of saving everyone, emotionally, physically, or mentally.
As Doran explained, bloodline magic tends to have profound effect on the character and psyche of its users. You have to have strong will to stay true to yourself.
A personal aside: I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the fourth kind of magic present in my life and life of many of us with spouses and partners: the project injury magic. I can’t tell you how many times I had the following conversation with my husband:
Me: You are bleeding.
Him: Where?
Me: Here. How did you do this to yourself?
Him: shrug.
I had to stop this post because his ear was bleeding. It turned out to be a tiny scratch which likely happened yesterday because we spent 4 hours fighting back the weeds. Texas knows that rain is rare, so when we get some, everything grows like mad.
I have become convinced that any project involving tools or equipment, like putting together a home gym, or weeding the yard, or building a wood shed, requires a small blood sacrifice to the God of Home Improvement.
First?
🥳
Yes. 🙂
Thank you! 🤗
Maybe I shouldn’t have read it first before commenting and might have gotten an elusive First! 😄
I have been stalking the website all day 😆
Thanks for this explanation! Not something I’d had time to wonder about yet, and now I don’t have to. Win!
Also, yes, project injury magic is so real! The number of bruises I have discovered post-project is astonishing.
Thanks!
The god of home improvement must be offered pain. Bruises, blisters & cuts. On bad days it is broken limbs and concussions. 😱
Thank you for the back ground to Rellas.
Thank you, Ilona! I appreciate your generosity of spirit so much! Eeee!! Awesome info—and tiny snippetlings!
This is amazing! Thank you!
Does the ability to absorb magic from the environment (i.e. mages) pass down through bloodlines?
Are priests born with their magical abilities, or do they gain them through some sort of training or initiation rite of the priesthood. If the former, are those abilities heritable?
Is Maggie’s magic bloodline-magic? And if so, what implications would that have if she had any children in Rellas?
Let’s leave a bit of mystery and worldbuild for the next books 🙂
All of this is so much more beautiful as part of the story!
Thank you 😊
Sounds like Maggie is going to get some magic training. 🤗
Omg three snippet days in a row. WE ARE SO LUCKY! YAAAY!! THANK YOUUU!! The excitement I felt when I saw it was Damaes talking to Maggie!!!! His powers are terrifying and intimidating.
I love learning about this world more. As a scientist, I’ve been wondering how much science has been discovered (since Maggie says basic algebra would blow their minds) and how it may differ from our world, so I love seeing any mentions of it 🥹❤️
I love the depth to which you devote to worldbuilding.
You are nearly unmatched in the writing world. It is one of the reasons why your writing transcends genres, (at least IMO) what reads as effortlessly.
Thank you guys! I appreciate the insight into the world building aspects.
+1
really appreciated all the snippets and info over the last 3 posts.
can’t wait to buy the companion book.
Excellent!
Lovely snippet! The last bit made me think of Terry Pratchett and his fictional explanation of how various gods and mythical creatures happen. The sock eater, the Oh God of hangovers and the Verruca Gnome come to mind!
love the snippets soooo much!
The god of home improvement has received many a sacrifice from me and my family, my dad I. Particular was quite devout. Lol
Many thanks, Ilona, for the additional details regarding the various types of magic in Rellas! More fuel for the mental visuals I conjure up while reading. Your creative spirit is truly appreciated! So excited for Maggie 2!
May the God of Home Improvement ever be satisfied with small sacrifices.
Sending peace, health and safety to all!
feasting for days on these snippets!! we are a well fed horde
OK, I kept reading the noun project as the verb project. So I read it as projecting injury magic. Which truly didn’t make any sense.
Home improvement magic also requires duct tape to stop the bleeding. All other bandages are inferior.
I think also travel magic requires a blood sacrifice. I never seem to go anywhere these days without scraping or bruising or something! Old thin skin. Argh! It actually sounds horrifying that the priests are so aware of their own bodies. Just being sort of aware is frustrating enough as you get older!
I loved reading about magic systems!
Thank you!!!!!!
Thank you
Thank you for giving us this explanation!
Thank you for the snippets that came with the explanation. I understand the 3 magics better so now I must (!!! 😄) re-read with all this in mind.