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Author Craft / Re: Magic use in contemporary fantasy
« on: May 02, 2007, 05:01:07 AM »
Magic in my world is based on the nature and construction of the Universe: which is divided into the Material (the 'real' world), the Nothing (elemental entropy) and a buffer zone known as The Howling. The latter is a realm of creatures (imps, daemons, furies, banshees, rievings, etc.) and the humans who can communicate with and control (to a degree) these creatures are known as witchkin. They have been fighting a secret war throughout history with the animus of the Nothing, a force they call The Crumbler. Each witchkin finds their own unique and personal focus to do this. One of my heroes, Kevin Forrest (aka Mr. Slip) uses computers:
He flipped the screen open and popped the gig stick into the USB slot. The static charge of connection to the little trapped pocket of The Howling raised the hair on the back of his neck and caused the longer strands on his head to sway in suspicion. On the gigstick, reduced to six sided runecode, denizens of the Howling cast beady eyes on a new interface.
The screen lit, a baleful pulsating red. After a moment, it flashed to black and the familiar-but changed stylized logo bled through the LCD in luminous pixels: 'Inferno Inside.'
Kevin shook his head, chuckling. The more intelligent of the Howling creatures -- the imps and furies especially -- found it endlessly amusing that most humans thought they were demonic creatures with an interest in their souls. Nothing could be further from the truth. They didn't have much interest in timespace in general. The idea of wasting time and energy tempting humans to corruption -- something humans needed no help with -- was the most boring prospect imaginable. They did have a rather mean spirited sense of humor, though, and their endless teasing of Kevin was an aspect of that.
What they did find fascinating about the material universe -- and the humans that inhabited it -- were machines. The tools that humans designed and created were viewed as crude but filled with potential.
They swarmed the laptop and began re-designing it, from the molecular structure up. Kevin felt it heat and shiver in his hands as the higher-energy lower planar creatures did complex things to its inner workings. After a few minutes, the screen shut down and repowered -- now drawing energy from the ambient charge of the pocket dimension.
Cat gave up her habitual hunt in disgust. She retired beneath the bench for a nap.
The 'puter booted, the runic OS installing quickly from the gigstick, dumb daemons (imp servants, created for specific tasks) preparing and setting up the build saved microseconds before the last box had been destroyed.
Part of the fun in writing this novel is finding new ways to 'explain' old fantasy tropes like possession and magical swords and ghostly apparitions.
He flipped the screen open and popped the gig stick into the USB slot. The static charge of connection to the little trapped pocket of The Howling raised the hair on the back of his neck and caused the longer strands on his head to sway in suspicion. On the gigstick, reduced to six sided runecode, denizens of the Howling cast beady eyes on a new interface.
The screen lit, a baleful pulsating red. After a moment, it flashed to black and the familiar-but changed stylized logo bled through the LCD in luminous pixels: 'Inferno Inside.'
Kevin shook his head, chuckling. The more intelligent of the Howling creatures -- the imps and furies especially -- found it endlessly amusing that most humans thought they were demonic creatures with an interest in their souls. Nothing could be further from the truth. They didn't have much interest in timespace in general. The idea of wasting time and energy tempting humans to corruption -- something humans needed no help with -- was the most boring prospect imaginable. They did have a rather mean spirited sense of humor, though, and their endless teasing of Kevin was an aspect of that.
What they did find fascinating about the material universe -- and the humans that inhabited it -- were machines. The tools that humans designed and created were viewed as crude but filled with potential.
They swarmed the laptop and began re-designing it, from the molecular structure up. Kevin felt it heat and shiver in his hands as the higher-energy lower planar creatures did complex things to its inner workings. After a few minutes, the screen shut down and repowered -- now drawing energy from the ambient charge of the pocket dimension.
Cat gave up her habitual hunt in disgust. She retired beneath the bench for a nap.
The 'puter booted, the runic OS installing quickly from the gigstick, dumb daemons (imp servants, created for specific tasks) preparing and setting up the build saved microseconds before the last box had been destroyed.
Part of the fun in writing this novel is finding new ways to 'explain' old fantasy tropes like possession and magical swords and ghostly apparitions.
