| Moderator |
 |
 |
Joined: November 16th, 2009, 9:13 pm
Posts: 2045
Location: Eniret
|
Empower/Infuse: Red
Attract/Enchant: Orange
Fire/Heat/Light: Yellow
Plant Life/Poison: Green
Cold/Darken/Ice: Blue
Break/Unlock/Unravel: Purple
Heal/Mend/Fuse: Silver
Shape/Form/Change: Gold
Constrict/Bind/Lock: Black
Shield/Protect/Cloak: White
To use a spell, the person must take energy from themselves, the Elements, or other sentient things (like other people or dragons or the occasional magic tree.) There are drawbacks to each method, or course. Using your own energy makes you weaker. Using the Elements is unpredictable and risky at best. And before you use energy from others, you have to gain permission or it'll kill you. (Unless like my last villain, you are much stronger than the person you're using and can take it effortlessly.) If they store energy from any of these sources in an object that can retain it, they can use it later, but in themselves the objects do not have usable energy.
The colors come into play when the actual spell is activated. With every kind of magic you use, there will be a glow (if it's slow in effect) or a burst (if it's fast) of the color type you're using. You cannot hide or change the color UNLESS you activate protection or invisibility magic beforehand. The shimmer of this magic is white, but you can only see it if you're inside it. And if you're inside it, no one can see you. You can also see it if you're working it on someone else, but anyone not involved in an invisibility spell cannot see the spell or the thing you're hiding. White magic has a quirk, though, like all kinds of magic: it can't keep up with quick movement. You have to allow it time to move with you, or it pops like a bubble.
Green magic, used for poison or plant life, has a mind of its own when it comes to going where you want. Unlike other types, it has to originate somewhere -- a hand, or a rock, or the ground, preferably. It likes to wave around and curl up like a vine and will not take a direct path no matter how you coax it.
Yellow magic, used for heat, light, or fire, always appears first as an orb. It likes to float around in the air and it's hard to make it spread out enough to make a fire along the ground, on firewood, or on a building. Stars, especially the sun, are said to be made of huge orbs of yellow magic. Once it is grounded, it is very fast and hard to stop.
Purple magic, used for breaking or unlocking, is always violent. It also always appears very bright and as a burst. It fades quickly and is hard to sustain. If you put too much energy into it you can cause a huge explosion. You have to walk a fine line between too much and too little energy. It takes a lot of skill to manipulate and isn't used often because of the danger involved.
Blue magic, used for cooling things and creating darkness and ice, is slow in effect and appears sharp or jagged, like ice crystals. If you use it on a person, it is very painful for the victim and will kill them slowly. For a person who uses blue magic often, anyone who has mental contact with them will feel that their mind is cold and sharp, because they have been warped by using blue magic so often.
Black magic, used for binding, locking, or constricting, can also warp the minds of those who use it, though not as dramatically. It is moderately slow and creeps low to the ground. When it reaches its target it will writhe around it like snakes. It is subtle and hard to contain once it is activated. It seems to spread darkness rather than light. Many people hesitate to use it because of the menacing feel of it.
Red magic is like green magic in the fact that it curls and writhes like vines. It is beautiful but doesn't have much power of its own, because it is more of a "carrier" for other things. To charm a blade against breaking, for instance, you would use red magic. Spells that don't have their own color use red. Energy is also transferred using red. It is the fastest of all colors, often only a flash.
Silver magic is one of the most beautiful and most powerful types, used for healing, mending or fusing thing together. It is known for its calming effect. It is slow but steady, usually a soft glow. Because of its difficulty, only the most gifted or skilled can use it. You cannot use it through things but need direct contact with the thing you are using it on, with one exception.
Orange magic is used for enchantment in the form of drawing things in. It moves outward in ripples like ripples in a still pond. It is hard to concentrate in one area because of its tendency to want to shift around and ripple from a different location. When you do succeed, however, it can be very useful. It is harder to concentrate it in a small location than a large one. If you step into an orange enchantment, on the outer rings you can resist the draw, but as you go closer and closer to the center it becomes extremely hard to resist. The Portals work because (among other things) there is orange magic concentrated at each end so strong that it will literally yank you right across whatever distance it covers.
Gold magic is used for changing the shape or form of something. [Thanks Seer!] This is how magicians were able to change the shape of Elvarian spies during the War of the Portals. Gold magic is very bright and beautiful, but one of the challenges of working with it is that it flows like a viscous liquid (honey, for example) and it has a tendency to drip out of your mental grasp. Another challenge that makes it extremely hard to work with is that Earth is an Element that strongly resists change, and most things were created out of Earth (think Adam being formed from dust). Unless you are very powerful, Gold magic is almost never worth the effort.
Copper magic, the "freak" color, is not used for one specific thing but many. It is known to be "hungry". often turning on the one who uses it. It has been used to cause intense pain, warp emotions, seize control, and emphasize fear and dread. It rivals silver magic for beauty. One consistent feature is its tendency to throb with light, like a heartbeat. Inherently evil; the most dangerous kind of magic.
Iridescent magic cannot be understood or used by mortals.
Whew, that turned out to be a lot more than I expected! Hope it wasn't confusing. If it was, don't hesitate to ask what I meant.  I still need to come up with something for orange and gold magic, don't I? Hmm...
_________________
2 Corinthians 3:17 ~ Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
eleutheria - Greek for liberty
My blog:
http://exhortationsbyelizabeth.blogspot.com
A fan of my book?
http://facebook.com/wingstrilogy/
|
|
) 
Anyone have any ideas?
Very good! I like the limits you placed on gold magic. *nods*