Hi all.

I finally decided to actually make a post about this rather than a comment that might get lost. Hell, this might still get lost but whatever. This will be a long one.

*The situation is this: *I need advice/guidance/suggestions about this magic system. I have outlines for a hard system and a vague soft system that is designed to alter how the hard system operates. I got inspired by the recent posts/comments about rational systems and it just makes sense to me. I’m not interested in matching existing sciences, because magic, but I’m trying to make it coherent at the very least. It’s been too easy to explain this as nanotech, somehow, creating these fields that allow for sufficiently advanced magic.

*The setting: *

To put it succinctly, there is tech in my world that emulates magic, and then there is old magic that breaks the system but is not widespread. The world consists of subterranean cavern cities connected by eternally dark tunnel systems filled with eldritch things you really want to avoid. They are the things that like to break my hard system of magic. The cities, specifically the largest, are the sources of this hard system based around light, sound, gravitic and magnetic elements. I like to stay away from elements even though you will find examples of people who specialize in manipulating water or those who prefer fire, but it all sort of boils down to vague science. Maybe it’s easier just to say “lolmagic” and spit fireballs from your ass, I dunno.

*Manipulators or your traditional ‘Mancers: *

There do exist examples of traditional elemental magic, but it cannot simply be manifested. It has to be drawn from a source and can then be amplified. For example: a knight errant who has settled down and then set upon by monsters reaches for the heart of his campfire and pulls a shroud of flame about his shoulders, or a shaman of the north disembarks from a galleon of war to bury his axe in the thick ice that blocks their way and shatter it like glass.

These magic users are incredibly rare outside of cities because they are far away from the source of that type of magic, the city itself. It’s never stated but without the energizing field of the city the nanotech in their bodies must draw on the users own energy and so, while powerful, they are not a commonplace thing. Additionally the process by which one attains their abilities is a thing of honor and accomplishment, not usually granted by chance. Every city has a different process by which they create magic users. Diviners/oracles/necromancers are drowned in a ‘sanctified’ pool of water that really just communicates instructions to the machines in their body.

*The City that never Sleeps and the Everglow:

Everglow is how magic is recognized in my world, from light comes power and while the Everglow is an overarching term there are certain disciplines that fall under the title. Godslight is that which comes from the sun and moon, Solus and Lunal respectively. The Lordlight originates from Solus and tends toward the manipulation of light, metal, fire, etc. and some forms of sound. Coldlight originates from Lunal and is associated with the manipulation of water and cold and gravity...honestly this one is kind of vague. When Lunal dominates the sky she exudes a kind of pressure that alters the atmosphere to something akin to an ocean. Comparing these two to water/fire bending of Avatar: The Last Airbender fame would be a start to visualizing it.

The Husk and the Everdark:

The Everdark is associated with absence, void, emptiness and somehow the altering of space and time. I’m not certain but maybe ‘quantum’ covers this whole thing. The Everdark is classic cosmic horror, eldritch and alien magic. The Husk are the monsters of the world and they exhibit psychic abilities, flesh crafting, regeneration on a rapid scale, short range teleportation or blinking, phasing and other stuff. The thing they worship is like change incarnate and their magic alters how normal shit works. Example: a magitech horse is infected by the Husk and the crystalline core that powers it begins to grow and bubble and form shapes that geometric structure should not take on.

So here’s this huge (on my phone screen at least) scattershot of information. There may be some additional in my comment history but I don’t feel like reiterating it at the moment, I’ve felt like a broken record beating my head against the wall for a while now. Anyone have a suggestion on what I should focus on first or what to get rid of because it doesn’t fit the theme? I’m all for trimming the fat because honestly the world has become very bloated and I’m having difficulty knowing where to stop so I don’t overwhelm an audience.