The Magic of Mattson
I wrote a book set in a school for Magic. Appropriately, I came up with a magic system that the school teaches and the main characters learn. I love magic. I’ve been reading fantasy all my life, particularly high fantasy, and the magic is often one of my favorite aspects. Some magic systems I’ve loved, others not so much. Mattson Academy borrows elements from a few of my favorites. It’s got some traditional magic (Doctor Strange-y stuff), some elemental stuff that works like Avatar the Last Airbender or Wheel of Time, all wrapped in a tidy video game style shell (mana/mp).
To start with, it breaks down into two types of magic: Will Magic, and Elemental Magic.
Will Magic is a broad category that I like to think of as “standard magic.” It covers a lot of ground, but most of that ground is things we typically think of when we think of magic.
Telekinesis. Telepathy. Teleportation. Tele-anything really. Levitation. Hexes and curses. Summoning monsters. All this and a whole lot more.
The main thrust of Will magic is that it is done with a sheer effort of concentration, that the user is applying “mind over matter,” so to speak. It is a type of magic that is available to everyone, though not everyone has the requisite levels of skill, power, and concentration to use every technique available.
The other half is Elemental Magic. This is magic that involves the creation and manipulation of the basic elements that make up the world. In Mattson Academy, these elements are Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Lightning, Nature, Light, and Shadow.
I picked eight instead of the more traditional four (think Avatar, the Last Airbender), because I really like Lightning as a magic ability, and I also wanted to include Light and Shadow for thematic reasons (and also they’re cool).
Unlike Will Magic, not everyone can use every element. Most people can only use three or four, and they’re really only competent with two.
At the root of the magic is Essence. This is the magic element that is present everywhere and in everything and everyone. Everyone has some innate amount of essence within them, and this is the primary fuel for their Will Magic. It is also how they perform Elemental Magic, but with a caveat. Magi can convert some of their own essence to create any element they can use, but if they manipulate elements that already exist, it is less taxing on them. For example, one could create water out of thin air, but it would be easier to use a water spell by a lake or river.
Either way, Essence serves as a limit on someone’s magic. Once it’s depleted, they won’t be able to do any more until they get some food or take a bit of a rest.
There’s a lot more to it than all this. Some might say a whole book more. Or two, if you wait until September. Or more than two if I’m lucky (book 3 is half-written). If any of this sounds interesting, I hope you check it out!
