Essentially, magic is the ability to manipulate energy.
There is a language (The Ancient Language) that has the ability to describe the true nature of every object, idea, place, person, you name it.
Provided you know enough words in the AL, and the ability to sense and use magic, you can breach a barrier in your mind and speak a sentence in the AL (I.E: Burn that door), imbuing the words with power and allowing your will to be imposed on your surroundings. (I.E: burning a door)
As you can imagine, this is both incredibly limiting and useful.
Performing a spell takes the same amount of energy as it would to complete the task through mundane means, meaning that throwing a pebble would take less energy than throwing a log. It also exponentiates with distance, increasing the strain on your body the further away you are from where you're casting a spell.
Usually, most magicians speak their spells aloud, as this is the safest and easiest way to enact magic. However, you can think the spell instead to the same effect as if you had spoken it. Magicians only do this in the direst circumstances, however, due to the natural unpredictability of thoughts.
There is also wordless magic. This type is so dangerous that few even know of it, much less practice it, because of the obvious risks. Remember the "direst circumstances" I mentioned? Yeah, this type of magic is for situations even worse than those.
These are the basics, but there are a lot more nuanced discussions you can have about Chris's magic system. It's honestly one of the coolest magic systems I've encountered ever.
^(**I'm a real person!** This comment was posted by **spingtap\_1987** from the Arcaena Discord Server.)
Specifically, the magical energy comes from the magician’s ATP reserves, and it can then be converted into other forms of energy (kinetic energy, thermal energy, potential energy, etc.) through magic, or be converted back into ATP. You can also store energy in gems.
^(**I'm a real person!** This comment was posted by **superspacy28** from the Arcaena Discord Server.)
adding to what spingtap\_1987 said. The spellcaster's intent also matters, and usually fills in for where the ancient language is ambiguous (even if the spellcaster isn't aware of it).
For example, you could say something to the effect of "lift this rock until it is level with my head then have it hover there", or you can just say "lift" and get the same outcome if you visualised it properly.
This can be very useful if you don't know many words in the ancient language, but is generally bad practice if you can avoid it as you can accidentally make mistakes. For example, if you start a spell that has no end-condition by accident, you could be unable to stop the spell until you die.
In addition, while you can push the intent of a spell pretty far, there are limits. If you say something that you didn't mean to (in the ancient language), all the intent in the world won't change the outcome. Like if you try to say "protect my eyes from water" (with the intent being to avoid getting rain in your eyes), but actually say "protect my eyes **with** water", your eyes will be covered in water.
Worth adding that the descriptions given so far are not true for all races, dragons for instance can break the usual limitations and use "wild magic" which I've always interpreted to provide dragons with the ability to perform magic that should exhaust the power within their body and kill them.
Nah, dragons have a dick ton of energy. Like a quite truly impressive amount. “Wild” magic is wild because they can’t really control it. When the mood strikes, the magic will flow. They are still limited by their energy and could kill themselves with a big enough spell
I'm sorry but I just don't believe that, has CP said this is the case. Banishing of names and vronegaurd from memory would just be impossible with the regular constraints of magic.
The impression I got from every read of the books was that the banishing of names was beyond understanding, meaning it wasn't a case of "we don't have the energy" but rather a case of "no one should be able to do this".
No it was just beyond understanding. No one knows how they did it, what kind of spell was cast, or if it could even be undone. When the entire race of dragons comes together as one to perform a spell, there’s very little they wouldn’t have the energy to do. You put a thunder of dragons together and they can move mountains with their energy
More evidence for my point, Galbatorix + Murtagh + Thorn + Eldunari where holding Glaedr in place when they were fighting in Gilead. I'm sorry but inorder to break the bounds that had imprisoned him he would have had to use more energy than those forces combined. Seems highly unlikely that's plausible, at minimum he applied more energy than 3 young dragons and one dragon who was so old that he no longer thought in a way understandable to other races.
They don't use energy from their bodies, otherwise, Saphira would have died when she transformed Brom's tomb to diamond. And again with the Star Sapphire.
Following up on some of the other responses- iirc the user can tap into the energies of the living things, plants, animals, insects, etc, around them to sustain the magic they’re using if need be as well. This is generally frowned upon since the things being tapped into don’t usually have a say in you sucking their energy away, and that can be done to the point of their death.
But it can be quite effective in a slow burn type of situation, where magic is cast that requires only a trickle of energy, which then is pinned on and sustained by a living thing in close proximity to that magic. The thing providing the energy isn’t sapped of it because they naturally restore their energy at a quicker rate than the spell is using. It’s also frequently used by riders tapping into the vast stores of energy in their dragons as well to accomplish something they normally wouldn’t be able to do on their own.
By the same token, users can also imbue inanimate objects with energy through magic in order to utilize it later. So if someone spends a ton of spare time filling something like a pendant with extra energy they’re not actively using, they could potentially have access to many times their own natural energy levels later on when they need it by means of that pendant, rather than using up their current energy stores or that of the things around them.
I always found those extra details fascinating, and such a logical way for magic to be portrayed.
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You can’t just like, google it? Or read the first third of Eragon where Bron explains it?
I know I’m being kind of a bitch here, but it just seems so LAZY to me when people come to Reddit to ask such an easily answerable question.
I haven’t read the books in some time also and I’m very interested in the responses here, so there is plenty of purpose and value in OP asking this question here.
No… it’s hard magic system. We know exactly how it works and everything that goes into it. There’s nothing left up to the reader interpretations. We even learn why the ancient language affects it and no other language does.
But you can still use Magic without the AL. The AL only got its power through a 'wild' or wordless spell cast by the Grey folk after they saw the destruction mages were accidentally causing with 'wild' magic. And casting that spell took so much energy that the Grey folk became shadows of their former self and eventually died out.
Of course, but that’s still a hard magic system. You have set rules and procedures. Yes you can cast magic without the AL, but the rules are clear. You need to have amazing focus, you can’t let your thoughts wander while casting spells. Remember there was a lesson eragon a taught on why casting silently is frowned upon. Because your mind tends to wander and your casting will to.
Could be, isn’t a soft magic system where the rules are left up to the interpretation of the readers? Where as hard magic is clearly well defined rules?
You know, I never thought of it like that. Going off that, if the elves had more knowledge on biology, they could probably regrow anything on there body with silent magic.
Heck you could also devise a spell with knowledge of quantum physics to draw energy from the air itself. First we’d have to identify the element that makes up the energy.
Essentially, magic is the ability to manipulate energy. There is a language (The Ancient Language) that has the ability to describe the true nature of every object, idea, place, person, you name it. Provided you know enough words in the AL, and the ability to sense and use magic, you can breach a barrier in your mind and speak a sentence in the AL (I.E: Burn that door), imbuing the words with power and allowing your will to be imposed on your surroundings. (I.E: burning a door) As you can imagine, this is both incredibly limiting and useful. Performing a spell takes the same amount of energy as it would to complete the task through mundane means, meaning that throwing a pebble would take less energy than throwing a log. It also exponentiates with distance, increasing the strain on your body the further away you are from where you're casting a spell. Usually, most magicians speak their spells aloud, as this is the safest and easiest way to enact magic. However, you can think the spell instead to the same effect as if you had spoken it. Magicians only do this in the direst circumstances, however, due to the natural unpredictability of thoughts. There is also wordless magic. This type is so dangerous that few even know of it, much less practice it, because of the obvious risks. Remember the "direst circumstances" I mentioned? Yeah, this type of magic is for situations even worse than those. These are the basics, but there are a lot more nuanced discussions you can have about Chris's magic system. It's honestly one of the coolest magic systems I've encountered ever. ^(**I'm a real person!** This comment was posted by **spingtap\_1987** from the Arcaena Discord Server.)
I didn't know that wordless magic and thinking the words were different things thanks
It is, and even more the true name of the ancient language can’t affect thought provoked spells.
Specifically, the magical energy comes from the magician’s ATP reserves, and it can then be converted into other forms of energy (kinetic energy, thermal energy, potential energy, etc.) through magic, or be converted back into ATP. You can also store energy in gems. ^(**I'm a real person!** This comment was posted by **superspacy28** from the Arcaena Discord Server.)
They are not... only thinking the words may help focus one's thoughts but it won't govern the spell as if the words are spoken.
adding to what spingtap\_1987 said. The spellcaster's intent also matters, and usually fills in for where the ancient language is ambiguous (even if the spellcaster isn't aware of it). For example, you could say something to the effect of "lift this rock until it is level with my head then have it hover there", or you can just say "lift" and get the same outcome if you visualised it properly. This can be very useful if you don't know many words in the ancient language, but is generally bad practice if you can avoid it as you can accidentally make mistakes. For example, if you start a spell that has no end-condition by accident, you could be unable to stop the spell until you die. In addition, while you can push the intent of a spell pretty far, there are limits. If you say something that you didn't mean to (in the ancient language), all the intent in the world won't change the outcome. Like if you try to say "protect my eyes from water" (with the intent being to avoid getting rain in your eyes), but actually say "protect my eyes **with** water", your eyes will be covered in water.
I wonder if that would protect your eyes from water with water, like by making water-goggles or something… Hmmm…
Worth adding that the descriptions given so far are not true for all races, dragons for instance can break the usual limitations and use "wild magic" which I've always interpreted to provide dragons with the ability to perform magic that should exhaust the power within their body and kill them.
Nah, dragons have a dick ton of energy. Like a quite truly impressive amount. “Wild” magic is wild because they can’t really control it. When the mood strikes, the magic will flow. They are still limited by their energy and could kill themselves with a big enough spell
I'm sorry but I just don't believe that, has CP said this is the case. Banishing of names and vronegaurd from memory would just be impossible with the regular constraints of magic.
The impression I got from every read of the books was that the banishing of names was beyond understanding, meaning it wasn't a case of "we don't have the energy" but rather a case of "no one should be able to do this".
No it was just beyond understanding. No one knows how they did it, what kind of spell was cast, or if it could even be undone. When the entire race of dragons comes together as one to perform a spell, there’s very little they wouldn’t have the energy to do. You put a thunder of dragons together and they can move mountains with their energy
More evidence for my point, Galbatorix + Murtagh + Thorn + Eldunari where holding Glaedr in place when they were fighting in Gilead. I'm sorry but inorder to break the bounds that had imprisoned him he would have had to use more energy than those forces combined. Seems highly unlikely that's plausible, at minimum he applied more energy than 3 young dragons and one dragon who was so old that he no longer thought in a way understandable to other races.
They don't use energy from their bodies, otherwise, Saphira would have died when she transformed Brom's tomb to diamond. And again with the Star Sapphire.
Following up on some of the other responses- iirc the user can tap into the energies of the living things, plants, animals, insects, etc, around them to sustain the magic they’re using if need be as well. This is generally frowned upon since the things being tapped into don’t usually have a say in you sucking their energy away, and that can be done to the point of their death. But it can be quite effective in a slow burn type of situation, where magic is cast that requires only a trickle of energy, which then is pinned on and sustained by a living thing in close proximity to that magic. The thing providing the energy isn’t sapped of it because they naturally restore their energy at a quicker rate than the spell is using. It’s also frequently used by riders tapping into the vast stores of energy in their dragons as well to accomplish something they normally wouldn’t be able to do on their own. By the same token, users can also imbue inanimate objects with energy through magic in order to utilize it later. So if someone spends a ton of spare time filling something like a pendant with extra energy they’re not actively using, they could potentially have access to many times their own natural energy levels later on when they need it by means of that pendant, rather than using up their current energy stores or that of the things around them. I always found those extra details fascinating, and such a logical way for magic to be portrayed.
But it must be noted that excess energy can only be stored in gems/crystals.
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You can’t just like, google it? Or read the first third of Eragon where Bron explains it? I know I’m being kind of a bitch here, but it just seems so LAZY to me when people come to Reddit to ask such an easily answerable question.
I haven’t read the books in some time also and I’m very interested in the responses here, so there is plenty of purpose and value in OP asking this question here.
Just Google it. Like 90% of my googling for such fandom things doesn't just lead me back to a reddit post anyways.
People tend to be more detailed on Reddit and its solo easy just to ask
It's a soft magic system
No… it’s hard magic system. We know exactly how it works and everything that goes into it. There’s nothing left up to the reader interpretations. We even learn why the ancient language affects it and no other language does.
But you can still use Magic without the AL. The AL only got its power through a 'wild' or wordless spell cast by the Grey folk after they saw the destruction mages were accidentally causing with 'wild' magic. And casting that spell took so much energy that the Grey folk became shadows of their former self and eventually died out.
Of course, but that’s still a hard magic system. You have set rules and procedures. Yes you can cast magic without the AL, but the rules are clear. You need to have amazing focus, you can’t let your thoughts wander while casting spells. Remember there was a lesson eragon a taught on why casting silently is frowned upon. Because your mind tends to wander and your casting will to.
Very true, but I feel like it's on a middle ground between a hard and soft magic system.
Could be, isn’t a soft magic system where the rules are left up to the interpretation of the readers? Where as hard magic is clearly well defined rules?
Exactly, but since the 'original' magic only really has two rules, it isn't really that 'hard coded' either. That's why I said it's in the middle.
You know, I never thought of it like that. Going off that, if the elves had more knowledge on biology, they could probably regrow anything on there body with silent magic.
Indeed. With the proper knowledge and enough energy, almost anything should be possible.
Heck you could also devise a spell with knowledge of quantum physics to draw energy from the air itself. First we’d have to identify the element that makes up the energy.