Building Magical Systems: Hard, Soft and In Between

On making sense of magic in a fantasy world.

A while ago, a reader asked me about the tagline for the Black Ice series.

You know, the one that says magic is mechanical.

“What does that mean?” they asked. “There’s nothing mechanical about magic. It’s supposed to be mysterious and powerful."

So I thought I might tell you a little about the magical systems that drive this espionage thriller urban fantasy tale, and offer a few ideas for constructing a magical system for your own fantasy world.

The Spectrum of Magical Systems

Fantasy favorite Brandon Sanderson created what’s now considered the defining paradigm for magical systems:

There’s hard magic, which operates according to rigid rules, constraints and consequences. It’s transparent and consistent, leaning more toward technology than mysticism. That’s the system operating in Sanderson’s own Mistborn and series like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Arcane.

Soft magic is mysterious, grounded in myth and legend, largely unknowable, which makes it both alluring and dangerous. It’s the realm of wizards and witches and prophecies waiting to be fulfilled. Soft magic is what you see in Lord of the Rings and the universe of Game of Thrones.

These two magical systems are at the opposite ends of a broad spectrum of frameworks that can hold both a rigid set of rules and the majesty and dread of powers working on levels far beyond the knowledge of the characters.

The Harry Potter books are a good example of a hybrid magical system. J K Rowling puts rules around the practicalities of casting spells, but doesn’t delve too deeply into where the power comes from in the first place. You’ll also find that kind of framework in The Witcher and in many works of romantasy and epic fantasy.

Systems Collide in The Bone Angel

The Bone Angel series has two magical systems, operating in direct opposition. That’s the conflict that drives the plot.

In The Bone Angel, Faeside magic is hard, with a definite lean into technology. That’s the formula in a lot of urban fantasy noir and espionage thrillers, where spies and agents move in gritty, dystopian worlds and magic is often in short supply. In these stories, magic has clear limitations and using it has a price that’s often steep. Because of that, the characters are forced to solve plot problems on their own.

On the ultra modern, dystopian Faeside, magic and technology are fused into techno-magical machines that operate on protocols and sequences much like computer code. There, the elements of air and fire are dominant. Magic is made by individuals with a genetic sensitivity to magnetic currents and the energies of stones, metals and organic things. But once it’s called forth, magic can be manipulated by others.

On the Earthside, magic falls closer to the middle of the spectrum. In our world, tech dominates and magic exists on the fringes, practiced by a small group of people who can call on the energies of the earth and its elemental forces. Earthside magic like Mama Silva’s is softer, more mystical, born of the ancient and sacred power of blood. But it’s also rigid and rule-bound, with clear boundaries around who can practice it and how it’s done.

In The Bone Angel, these two systems are fundamentally incompatible and actively work against each other. That’s what happens in The Hunt for Lilywhite, when technology-driven Faeside Protocols clash violently with the dark, primal forces of Earthside blood magic.

But sometimes, these very different kinds of magic can come to an uneasy truce. The Hunter and Marcus don’t know much about magic, but they must crack a magical protocol designed to run on the Earthside. It takes a bit of Earthside magic, courtesy of the fearsome Mama Silva, to do that.

But whichever system is operating at the moment, there’s always a price to pay. And magic doesn’t always save the day. Sometimes it makes things much, much worse. If characters can simply wave a wand and make plot problems disappear, the stakes disappear and so does reader interest.

Want to make a magical system? Here are a few questions to think about.

• What is magic for? Is it benign, or a malevolent uncontrollable force?

• Who can wield it — and how? What must they do to get access to that power?

• What is the cost of this magic? Who’s willing to pay that price, and who is not?

• Does magic drive the plot, or does it just add to the ambiance?

• Can readers understand the system without exhaustive explanations?

The Bone Angel tries to answer these questions as the Hunter, Marcus and Maddalena try to defuse a dangerous experimental magical system that none of them understands. The essential incompatibility of Faeside and Earthside magics is a prime driver of the techno-espionage plot and a key feature of the Moon Road world.

YMMV. (Your Magic May Vary)

Till next time —

JM

Behind the Scenes: As Series 3: Black Ice gets rolling, I’ll be using the Midnight Alley feature more to talk about what I’ve learned about worldbuilding and serializing in this amazing journey through the world of the Moon Road. Got a question or a thought you’d like to see here? Let me know in the comments!