9 of the Most Unique Magic Systems in YA Fantasy

1 year ago 125

This contented contains affiliate links. When you bargain done these links, we whitethorn gain an affiliate commission.

Grace Lapointe’s fabrication has been published successful Kaleidoscope, Deaf Poets Society, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, and is forthcoming successful Corporeal Lit Mag. Her essays and poesy person been published successful Wordgathering. Her stories and essays—including ones that she wrote arsenic a assemblage student—have been taught successful assemblage courses and cited successful books and dissertations. More of her enactment is astatine https://gracelapointe.wordpress.com, Medium, and Ao3.

View All posts by Grace Lapointe

Magic systems found a set of rules for what magic tin bash successful a fictional world, and crafting a coherent magic strategy is an important facet of worldbuilding. Some fashionable types of magic systems see magic from books, words, oregon spells, elemental magic, and magic from supernatural beings.

In galore fantasies, rules are necessary. Completely unrestricted magic could destruct immoderate imaginable plots oregon beryllium excessively chaotic for readers. Moral rules show what magical societies worth and prohibit.

Magic systems tin beryllium similar physics — for example, laws of question — and similar metaphysics, revealing a fictional society’s motivation and spiritual beliefs. In Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels, the Grisha telephone their powerfulness “the tiny science,” not magic, and opposition it with forbidden magic, called merzost. Despite the comparisons to chemistry and physics, magic is ne'er an nonstop science. Doing spells oregon rituals incorrectly, oregon with the incorrect motives, tin beryllium deadly but unpredictable.

Not each magic systems are intelligibly defined, and galore readers and authors similar a much open-ended approach. On Book Riot, Alice Nuttall called this attack “no rules, conscionable vibes.” Soft magic, which is not explained successful item to readers, isn’t needfully little immersive. This video connected hard and brushed worldbuilding uses Studio Ghibli films arsenic fantabulous examples of brushed worldbuilding. In dreamlike fantasies like Spirited Away, viewers tin ideate their ain explanations oregon absorption connected the themes and characters, alternatively of learning intricate lore.

Magic systems tin beryllium elemental oregon complex, intelligibly defined oregon mysterious. The champion magic systems illuminate their stories’ themes. Here are immoderate of my favourite magic systems successful YA fantasy.

Swords & Spaceships Newsletter

Sign up to Swords & Spaceships to receive quality and recommendations from the satellite of subject fabrication and fantasy.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an oculus connected your inbox.

By signing up you hold to our terms of use

The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin

“To airy a candle is to formed a shadow.” In the archetypal publication of the Earthsea cycle, A Wizard of Earthsea, the wizard Ged’s teacher tells him this. This punctuation hints astatine a well-developed magic strategy with its ain logic. In Earthsea, utilizing magic has consequences that indispensable beryllium kept successful balance. This is simply a large acquisition for young wizards learning to power their powers. Magic stems from learning objects’ existent names, and this is consistent. Wizards tin overpower different radical by learning their existent names arsenic well. This is wherefore astir radical cognize Ged arsenic Sparrowhawk, his “use-name,” portion the sanction Ged is simply a secret.

A Magic Steeped successful Poison by Judy I. Lin

The protagonist, Ning, is simply a shénnóng-shī: an adept tea-maker. In this unsocial magic system, antithetic types of beverage leaves tin entree memories oregon heal oregon poison people. This each depends connected however the beverage is prepared and served. The magic is inspired by Chinese mythology and beverage ceremonies. Ning feels liable for accidentally poisoning her parent by brewing healing tea, truthful she travels to the imperial beverage contention to redeem herself. Here, magic has consequences that reason each different and tin easy spell wrong.

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

In a phantasy inspired by Welsh mythology, Mererid is simply a h2o diviner. She’s been labeled arsenic unsafe and sought aft since birth. After moving arsenic the prince’s h2o diviner, she teams up with her erstwhile mentor and respective different engaging characters to get revenge connected the prince. One subordinate of the team, Fane, has an adorable, loyal Welsh corgi, Trefor, who sneezes erstwhile helium senses magic. I bask ironic nods to real-world subject successful phantasy books. Diviners gully connected the h2o and robust successful people’s blood, adjacent though they whitethorn not picture it successful those terms.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Xingyin lives connected the satellite with her mother, Chang’e, the Moon Goddess. When Chang’e was large with Xingyin, she stole the Celestials’ immortality elixir to prevention some their lives, and the Celestials banished her to the moon. The archetypal publication follows Xingyin’s travel to the Celestial Kingdom to prevention her parent from imprisonment. The magic strategy involves drafting connected chi (life force) and obtaining magical weapons. There are besides questions of ethics. Life magic similar Xingyin’s tin beryllium reined in, but she understandably distrusts magic that uses caput control.

Camelot Rising Trilogy by Kiersten White

This feminist, Arthurian retelling subverts a batch of the sexism successful the archetypal myths. In the archetypal book, The Guinevere Deception, Guinevere’s individuality is simply a mystery. The trilogy combines respective types of magic: h2o magic, occurrence magic, binding spells, and more. Its magic tin beryllium some innate and learned. Using magic ever has a price: Guinevere’s enactment magic tin permission her feeling winded. Her magic, which she doesn’t retrieve learning, offers clues astir her individuality and experiences aboriginal successful the trilogy.

Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn

Yes, determination are 2 Arthurian fantasies successful a row, due to the fact that they’re each truthful originative and distinctive! Bree, a pupil successful an aboriginal assemblage program, learns astir a concealed nine of descendants of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. This bid is divers and addresses the achromatic supremacy and hierarchies recovered successful exclusive, concealed societies. It takes the past of its setting, present-day North Carolina, into account. The magic is fascinating, original, and intelligibly defined. The sanction Legendborn refers to the highest-ranked members of the Order, who telephone magic the aether. Ancestors and traditions are important to this series’ magic system.

Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

This is simply a slow-burn, sapphic phantasy romance acceptable successful a satellite with references to galore European fairy tales. Tasmin is simply a witch who was banished from her coven and cursed with an inability to consciousness love. So, arsenic outgo for Tasmin’s spells, customers magically siphon their emotion for different radical to her. She meets Wren, who’s a source: a vas for magic who cannot usage it. This makes witches and sources opposites, successful a sense. In galore fantasies, characters either are magical oregon not, so, sources are a fascinating complication.

Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor

This publication has an awesome fire-based magic system, and the authorities and manner are loosely inspired by Prohibition. Flare is pure, incendiary occurrence magic, portion the overmuch weaker, diluted mentation is called flicker. This originative magic besides fits the novel’s themes and aesthetics perfectly. The protagonist, Ingrid, indispensable determine whether to enactment the wealthy, ruling people oregon the opposition. So, with the Prohibition vibes and the absorption connected inequality, it makes cleanable consciousness that there’s a cheaper, “bootleg” mentation of occurrence magic.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

The Legacy of Orïsha bid is acceptable successful a mythical state inspired by Nigeria, specifically Yoruba civilization and religion. The beforehand of the publication contains a representation of Orïsha and a database of the 10 clans of Maji, each associated with a Yoruba deity. Maji accidental prayers and magic successful Yoruba, so, the king bans Yoruba to oppress Maji. The protagonist, Zélie, is simply a Reaper, with powers implicit spirits of surviving and dormant people. Reapers are associated with Oya, the goddess of rebirth. Other Maji enactment with fire, earth, healing, water, oregon dreams. Blood magic utilizing bony relics is the astir unsafe and is utilized arsenic a past resort.

Read Entire Article